Whenever I am running an AD on CL, Zillow or whatever,....my business phone number is listed since I want the prospects to call me. I make it a point to answer all incoming calls. My primary reason for this old fashion practice is so that I can 'phone screen' my rental prospects the moment they make the first call.

If you are a person who is opposite of me and want all calls go to Voicemail, e-mail or Text,...what is your reason(s) for doing this?

I will admit it. I am starting to have difficulty understanding people talking on the phone.

I did well talking on the phone to prospect, but that seems to be in the past.

Z ill ow and fb marketplace dominate the advertising for rentals in my area.

Neither direct shoppers to my phone number.

CL fell off to zero effectiveness 2-3 years ago. To answer your questions, I don’t answer my phone. I check voicemail....none of which messages are business related.

My local market has spoken loud and clear about their preferred method of communication, anything but voice.

Sisco,

As Brad20K said in another post,...'this is a people business that we are in',...and I agree with this. So, why is it that people don't want to talk to each other anymore?

I prefer email. I can review when I want and not when they want. "partygirl" at xxx is not someone I want to consider.

Roy, I too am puzzled by the strong aversion to phone conversations.

The point I have attempted to make is that to insist on audible communications will result in failure as it is clearly not the method that most prefer, and that the prospects will first exhaust all competitors housing offerings before engaging in audible phone conversations.

Smart phones have changed the way people communicate. I think that it is hard to grasp that basic human behavior has been changed.

"All calls go to voicemail"...even current tenants. But you knew that would be my answer. ;-)

I'm with Sisco: younger folks who are a large portion of my "starter" rental market do NOT want to talk on the phone. They don't even talk on the phone with their friends. Gone are the days when girls with poodle skirts sat by the phone "wishin' and hopin'" that their dream-boat would call. Today, they communicate via Instagram and Snapchat. FB isn't even that cool and more. Parents and "old folks" got onto it, so the younger generation fled to other media.

Some older folks will still call and leave messages. Know what I hear? "I'm on disability, my boyfriend is on disability, and we get $1100/month combined...and we have five dogs and two cats..." They're calling on my $550/month house and our states clear that we max out at 2 animals. Not gonna happen.

Btw, not to be blunt, but I think you're overlooking the way to phone screen via voice mail. I DO get the chance to phone screen them. The messages I get are priceless. I heard the kids screaming in the background...and even better, I hear them talking to each other before the voicemail message "beeps" to let them know the recording has started. This is the wonder of Google Voice. When I get a business call, my phone uses a special ringtone tells me it's a Goggle Voice call. I can press a button to send the caller to voice mail and still listen in as they wait on the other end for my message instructing them what to do. Oh, the stuff I've heard! I heard one guy literally asking his "fiance" (or whatever), "Hey what should I tell this guy about our last land lord evicting us?" Doh! Then the message he left: "We're moving because our land lord won't fix anything." I did NOT return his call. He shot himself in the foot by telling the truth while I was listening in, then lying about it. Booyah!

Do I miss a few decent tenants? Yeah, probably so. But I avoid wasting time and mental energy listening to TONS of bad ones. My voice mail message is clear: All the info about the property is on our website. Our application process and what we look for is on our website. Schedule a viewing on our website. Apply online at our website. If they can't follow instructions now, it's because they have a "story" to tell me. I like stories, but only before bed time, and not the kind where it's a bunch of ogres or dragons getting ready to eat the unsuspecting land lord. ;-)

The market determines how they want to communicate. A few years ago I could tell the age group by the type of response I received; the younger market never called and the over 50 always called. Today age is not a distinction. If I receive 100 responses less than 5 are calls the rest are emails.

NO. The Caller is asked to leave a Clear, Detailed Message,

(including the Listed Address)

and their interest in this Rental Property.

99% Failure Rate, of the Screen x3. (Effort)

So its a Process of Elimination, Watson.

I used to answer all calls. So many were so useless that I now have a message describing the available rental and asking people to leave their name and number if they would like more information.

Like Barbara, I then screen them first for any past histories of evictions. Such information is online through our local Marshal Service.

Just last night as we going out for dinner someone called, left their name and number and commented they were interested in moving in BEFORE the new year. I suspected a red flag and yes, a check of the online service showed a history of at least 10 dispossessory/eviction events; the latest this month.

To date at least 80 percent of the people who have contacted me requesting more information on the available rental property (and despite the ad clearly stating NO history of evictions) have such on their rental history.

In the past, I've been taking calls, but with a current vacancy, I'm going to operate strictly with google voice and/or e-mail. I'm also going to take the position that an application is completed before I agree to show the place. Once I show and they want to move forward, I'll collect the app fee and run it. That will save considerable time and running around and allow these guys to self screen themselves.

If they text.....I reply.

If they email.....I reply.

If they call.....I answer.

Yes, I get to talk to some really mentally challenged people. But, many times the call is productive and makes me money.

OKHMB OK WHY?? -- so my answer machine gets hit first by these mental cases. Mental cases don't make me money.

I used to answer every call as well. I have found it to be way more efficient to let all calls go to voicemail. I pay for a monthly fee with Verizon to have the voice message translated into text. I then copy my standard screening questions and text message the prospect. An appointment is scheduled if the candidate meets the criteria. The first words are spoken at the showing.

Sid,

Another benefit of google voice and having a separate cell phone # is when you only use the google voice # to advertise and your cell for regular operations.

Roy,

Good question.

I'm beating a new drum - WHY do LLs think they have to use their bodies and their life (their time) to screen prospects?

As I look back over our 40 years and realize I'm on the downhill slide, posts like this remind me of all the life I gave to deadbeats and liars when the call really did not matter.

I cannot deny or approve them over the phone. I need their app in writing. Turning them away over the phone is dancing on thin ice with Fair Housing law.

Answering the phone is a HUGE time waster. Sure you can weed out some but think for a moment about what we just said - *I* can take MY time, put MY LIFE on hold, put projects on hold, to let any person monopolize MY LIFE for several minutes, hours if the ad is popular.

And people do NOT want to talk to a LL. They want to know about the home. A recording and/or flyer can do that BETTER than a LL on the phone.

The LL spends their life (their time) and used their own body (their ears and mouth) chatting with deadbeats and liars.

The prospects who want to TALK are the ones we don't want to talk to.

The real issue is "how do I get info to interested people?"

It is soooo easy to let the answering machine give them basic info, EVERYONE is welcome to drive by the home and pick up an application. Keeps us square with Fair Housing law AND they have seen the exterior, maybe peeked in the windows.

They take a pic of the app with their phone and text or email it in, or drop off the app at The UPS Store. For a long time a simply screwed a mailbox to the side of a storage garage in the center of town as a drop off point.

Search Youtube for 1010GraysonProp.com to see my virtual showings. Took me about an hour to film and upload the video. HUNDREDS of views "while I sleep" or enjoy my family.

And posting pics on Zillow is super easy. Do you know anyone with photo skills???:)

BRAD

I have a full time paycheck job. That doesn't allow me to be on the phone taking care of my personal business whenever I want. When advertising a rental, I check for email & voice messages when I get home, and reply with whatever means they used.

I do prefer it if we use email - at least at first - because I can send a reply to accomplish basic pre-screening at any hour of the day or night. This is useful since my work hours vary greatly. I will send an e-mail late at night, to be seen the next morning. But I will not call someone that late, so there could be a delay in my response. I like to reply as soon as possible.

I do want to speak to a person before doing a showing - for the same (screening) reasons already stated by others. HOWEVER, I have had to make concessions for rooming house applicants. Many of them don't have access to the internet, so I talk to them more.

Brad20K,

The vast majority of my tenant leads come from email or text, very few people call.

Roy,

Take a handful of meaningful stills.

Email them to my guy and he will assemble them into a slide show and post them on YT for you with a VERY small fee.

You’ll have to find someone who knows how to take the. Off your camera or phone and email them. Start with a teenager.

Some public libraries now have media centers to do this.

Any neices or nephews around?

PS

My videos are made with a $69 wide angle lens attached to my iPhone, held with a $135 stabilizing gimble.

Simple and cheap compared to what you are used to!

Nope, all calls go to Google Voice, so I can have a record. If I answer a call, I rarely have a pen & paper ready to take their information. I assume that everyone is calling from a cell phone and I will text them back the rent price, security deposit & other specifics. Drives me nuts when answering the phone and people are asking me “how much is the rent”.

1. Answer you question, yes. BUT...

2. I don't put my phone number out there. I agree of phone number, they get a website address. They can see pics videos and fill out an application on their time. I'll get a hold of them on my time.