How many LL's here have old fashion ways of answering your phone when you have an Ad on Zillow,...assuming you even put a phone number in your Ad? Right now, I am answering 8-10 calls a day for the house I have listed on Zillow. Yes, I have to listen to a lot of people giving me their life history but I do not mind since I am 'pre-screening' them while they babble on about this and that. If I like what I am hearing, I will invite them to my Open House on Saturday. If not, I will end the conservation.

I answer and like you Roy, I am pre-screening them the whole time they are talking.

And while I am talking to them, if Caller ID comes up with a name, I am already on the online courts for our state looking them up there as well.

Next stop after there is Facebook.

I do not answer the phone. My vm says to leave me an email and I'll send the prescreen form. Also says all detail in ad and it's available if they can hear this msg. So many call and wasn't m me to tell them about the listing. Read the effen listing, geeze.

Sometimes I'll call an email contact, but only if it's slow and I want to switch things up.

I don't answer. Here's what I send out via text:

"Thanks for your interest! This property is a duplex and we have a three bedroom unit available at this property. The unit is newly renovated and has central air and heating as well as in unit laundry hookups. The rent is $ 1,375 a month. Minimum household income requirements are $ 4300 a month from consistent gainful employment. At this time, we don't accept section 8 . If you have a history of landlord tenant cases , you will not qualify for this apartment. To set up a showing, complete the tour request linked below. This is a google survey form. If the link isn't clickable, you'll need to cut and paste into your browser. Message me here when complete. Thanks."

I use this same message on Zillow and etc as well as via text. It addresses the basic questions and requirements. If they complete the form and get through the pre-screening, we'll talk later. If I didn't have this in place, I'd be tying up too much time on the phone repeating the same thing over again.

Hi Roy,

I still take calls and texts from prospects. I only have 15 units - 3 multi-unit buildings - and I typically get 5 - 10 prospects each week when I do advertise. I provide my screening criteria in my advertisements and also require an application fee in order to submit an application.

I typically don't answer unknown numbers calling me. All my tenants are tagged and know to text instead of call.

I honestly cant remember the last time I had an actual phone call from a prospective tenant. They respond via text or email. Some of them may TRY to call first, but if they don't leave a message, they don't get a return call. Most just send a text instead.

I answer my calls when I have an ad out. I'm not too optimistic about the initiative for much of my tenant pool. :) "Pay the rent on time" and "take care of the house" are the best I can depend on. Anything beyond that is gravy. :)

If I don't have an ad out, and I don't recognize the number, I don't answer it.

Roy,

Have you tracked how many of those calls result in a good resident?

I found that the calls were from people with problems who wanted to convince me to "give them a chance". The good people were looking at our website or Zillow photos and applying online.

You know we don't answer the phone. It's partly a matter scale. We average 5 listing at any time. We'd be on the phone 24/7. I had to find a more efficient method.

If this helps those who still take calls, THIS was my format back when I answered the phone.

First, take control of the conversation. Interrupt them and say I have a few questions so I know how to help you. I think people appreciate that.

1. WHEN do you need a place?

2. Where do you work? How much?

3. How much rent do you pay right now?

Do not allow them to deflect the question. Do not move to the next question until you have a real answer.

End with "You are welcome to complete an application. They are in the pouch on the yard sign (or go to our website).

BRAD

What's a phone call? ;-)

Scaling requires systems. A system can be created for free with a robust combination of voicemail, email, a good website, and text auto-responses.

If you really want a human voice answering every call, then hire a VA for $1 per call answered. Your time is more valuable. CEOs don't handle incoming calls about this week's blue light special. They only take calls from other CEOs, Wall Street, and trade group presidents. Not because they are arrogant, but because the CEO's time is more productively spent elsewhere.

Observation: I am fairly certain you let calls go to voicemail after you go to sleep until when you wake up. Why are you comfy with that, but not during the day time?

Folks work all shifts: days, nights, weekends, holidays, etc. You have to draw a line somewhere or you are on call 24/7/365 Why be arbitrary about where you draw your line?

CEO Elon Musk builds a car that he sells for over $100,000. He also plans to sell rock trips into space for $250,000 a person. He will not take your phone call, even if you buy a fleet of his cars or the entire cabin of his space cruiser. No offense to you; this is how to modern world works.

To each his own: I've pontificated enough.

I have them e-mail first. Then, I check them out through public records. If they pass that far, then I send them an e-mail and ask them to call to schedule a time to look at the place. That goes to voice mail because I want to hear their babbling and rambling before meeting with them. Time for these numerous steps? Less than five minutes total.

One of the effects of this Wuhan virus shut-down is that I no longer have a receptionist/secretary working in my office. I am working alone in this 1,000 square foot space.

I no longer have buffers to screen my incoming telephone calls. So I personally answer all calls to my office lines, unless I am on another line. If someone leaves a voicemail message, I will usually return the call.

I would estimate that about half of the calls are spam/phishing, which my receptionist used to protect me from. And no, I do not want from some cold caller an extended car warranty or to transform my debt into interest free loans, and please do NOT send me a "charitable donation" envelope. I now appreciate the protection that my screeners used to provide to me, now that I know how much they protected me from!

I rarely answer unknown numbers calling to my cell phone (but I rarely get unknown calls on it). My cell number is not advertised.

Now that Sid is finally done with his pontificating rant, allow me to make one more argument in my own defense before you all convict me and escort me to gallows.

At my last open house, just a week ago, I asked everyone who showed up,..."Have you all looked at any of other houses listed on Zillow for rent? And if you did, how did they compare to what I have for rent here?

The typical response from most was,.."I tried to look at everything available but no one answers their phone anymore and when I leave a VM, no one returns my call. I am here because you are the only one who answered my call, you were professional and most important,..'you personally invited me to come see your house.'

In own defense, this is why my houses rent out in less than 1 week and other LL's here (who don't answer their phone or return VM's) their houses stay VACANT for at least 1 month or more.

Paulio,

Sisco,

Roy, With multiple homes on the market we were getting at least 50 calls a day. WE have 2 lines so if one line is busy it rolls to the other line's answering machine.

My helper was spending an hour trying to write down all the messages, then 2-3 hours calling them back. MOST never answered. It's the current culture.

Out of those 50 calls, 1, MAYBE 2 would submit an application.

We were approving 1.5 out of 10 apps so to get *1* new resident we had to field 500 calls.

AND I discovered most renters (40% are Millennials, 10% are IGen, that's HALF the prospects) don't really want to talk to some old Boomer.

Do some research for me please - tally all the incoming calls, tally the incoming apps, how many were approved, how many signed a lease?

BRAD

PS

Now we post the home on our website and hundreds of views over the next few days. I like to think each view was a phone call we did not have to entertain.

PPS

Housing providers are sued by Fair Housing over comments made during recorded phone calls.

I do email. There were too many people who didn't read the ad back when I did phone, or wanted to talk for too long.

Brad20K,

I am not going to argue statistics with you because deep down I know you are correct in your assertions. However, you know as well as I do that we all have to kiss some frogs in this business before we find our princess. And many of those frogs are downright ugly smelly toads! However, when we (finally) get to french-kiss our princess, that makes it all worth the time and the effort we invested here. Wouldn't you agree?

Gkarl,

Way to go there plenty! Yes, it is a numbers game.

Roy,

Here's an example of a message conversation I had yesterday after I send my standard message with the prescreening form:

Applicant: We have RENTERS insurance through Liberty Mutual! What is the complete address so we may view rental? (I don't ask about renter's insurance while pre-screening. This is a diversionary tactic).

Me: If interested in seeing the property, please complete the tour request linked in the initial message.

Applicant: There is a problem on our background. We have a criminal charge from 2020 from a jealous ex. The charge is false and have no evidence, but we like to be up front with this before moving forward. I had my background and criminal pulled and can provide you with this if you want to move forward.

Me: The form is used to pre-screen. I cannot assess your situation until the form is completed and submitted. Generally however, crimes that involve violence and assault are a disqualifying factor.

A couple of things to note: My google voice number is listed but he didn't call me and the pre-screening went quickly. All the information I needed was gotten through the messaging platform. He attempted some diversionary tactics here like offering me his background information as if it weren't going to be pulled anyway. But handling in this manner got me the information I needed without voice contact.

I think all of this really gets down to preference and how we prefer to handle this process. It's not just about not taking calls. My system ensures that everyone is processed the same and the data I get to evaluate is summarized in the google form. It replaces a phone conversation. What I am suggesting also is that the most of the tenants themselves prefer to communicate in this manner.

I don’t think there is a right way or a wrong way. The best way is what you feel comfortable doing.

I basically do what Nicole/PA does.

I get literally 100 email inquiries. Our of those maybe 5 will ultimately pass my screening. If they haven’t already provided the info required in the ad I will reply asking for any missing info.

I check any seemingly qualified people in public records and on Facebook and reply back to them about scheduling an appointment to show the property.

99% of those I select this way ultimately pass the formal credit/criminal check and I haven’t had a bad renter in years and years.

The only three I passed on after prescreening were:

1. One had too many vehicles and parking would be an issue. Did not move forward with criminal/credit check.

2. Criminal/credit check showed a 200k tax lien they “didn’t know they had”.

3. Didn’t pay the holding fee in a timely fashion after being approved, so moved on to next one.

I prefer to prescreen via email first and only engage those I know have a good chance at passing. I know I’m not just not quick enough on my feet and don’t want to say something I regret or not say something I should have on a phone call.

Roy- got an easy way to deal with the toads in this biz. 1. Don't answer the phone. 2. Send all applicants to your website. Have pics, video, and application. 3. Respond to those that have filled out application and not a toad. Easy....

I usually get about 15 application, one will approve and see it. Next day they are signing the lease. No open houses, unlocked doors, no show, etc...

Thanks for describing this: This is a diversionary tactic.

I have recognized this happening. And thought "why are the volunteering such and such?" Trick?

If my hearing weren’t so iffy, I’d answer the phone too. But, my hearing has good days and bad. ( Menier’s maybe?) So, I have them text names, month and day , but not year, of birth, I can look them up on our online courts. Then I set appointments to view, where face to face, I can see/hear.

This last screenings was very worried about the masks interfering with my abilities to decipher their speech, but my hearing ‘was having a good day’ ( extra allergy meds, decongestants)

Question: both my husband and I get multiple (LOTS) of spam calls a day. Car warranties, Marriot, Hearing Aids, Someone Hacked Our SSN, the ones that have human sound voices that saym, 'Hello! My name is Steve! Are you there?" etc. etc. etc.