How Soon Are You Looking to Move?

There are people right now busily surfing the Internet for a new apartment home or duplex, yet haven’t bothered to look at the calendar to find out exactly when they will give their landlord notice, schedule packing days and secure a moving date, and most of all know exactly when they will be arriving at their new location.

Too often a leasing consultant is sitting down with the potential resident helping he or she and family figure it all out. When the leasing consultant picks up the phone to answer a prospect’s question about apartment availability, he or she is also trained to ask the most important question of all, “How soon are you looking to move?” When the prospect stammers and stutters about it, the consultant will most likely help the person settle on a moving date. This is important because he or she doesn’t want the prospect to miss out on a desired apartment. What usually happens at this point is the prospect will say, “I’ll call you back.” But if the consultant is a good salesperson he or she will not let the prospect off that easy. A few more questions might be asked about one’s preference and a contact name and number is usually written down to be called again nearing the future move-in date.

Some apartment shoppers will ask if the desired apartment can be held. Most communities may hold the unit for about 24 hours without any money placed on the home. However, there is a little disclaimer that goes along with the granted request, “I can’t guarantee you that the apartment is yours, because if someone walks in here ready to put money down on it, I will have to give it to that person.” I have personally seen the disappointment in a variety of faces showing up 72 hours later or longer expecting to see the available unit and rent it the same day. There is nothing to do at this point, but show potential residents other suites which usually aren’t what they wanted. They were sold on what the person told them over the phone.

Apartment shoppers should try their best to know exactly what their needs are in an apartment home and when they would want to move-in. Without such important information, it can be frustrating for both the consultant and the shopper. It can also be annoying for the shopper to find something and not have the money to hold the apartment. This happens frequently as well. The shopper is so excited about finding a desired apartment only to be told, “You will need to put down a deposit to hold the apartment which this money goes toward your security deposit. The remaining security deposit amount and first month’s rent is expected within two weeks prior to move in which at this time you will sign your lease.” Unfortunately, some potential residents can’t afford to come up with the money so quickly. They also aren’t expected to pay twice the amount of a security deposit when it is discovered that their credit is bad.

Apartment shoppers may want to plan to save money prior to calling a consultant to schedule a tour. This way they won’t miss out on possible specials. Sometimes there is a discount given to those who sign a lease within a certain period of time. There are also discounts an apartment shopper may not know about. Some communities offer employer discounts for residents who will be working in the local area.