Getting That Lease Signed: Tips For Apartment Owners And Property Managers

January 24th, 2012 by Caitlin Morgan| Posted in Apartment Market Info, Apartment Marketing, Apartment Relationships, Known Issues and Fixes, MultiHousing News, Multifamily, Multifamily Leases and Paperwork, Resident Life, Tenants & Management Relationships, Tips & Tricks | No Comments »

You can own the most magnificent apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, but unless you sell it right, a prospective renter could just as easily rent the second most magnificent apartment on the Upper East Side, owned by your property manager nemesis, Dr. Strangerent.

So how do you ensure that it’s your lease that gets signed?  As a Desperate Housewife once said, “perception is reality.”  If your apartment looks and feels like a home, renters will perceive it as a home.   According to Jessica Fiur at the Multi-housing News Blog, staging should be your #1 strategy.  Some (tasteful) art on the walls, some well-arranged furniture, and the blank canvas transforms into a place they could imagine living.  It’s a cliché, but remember the old baking-cookies-in-the-oven trick.  Everyone seeks comfort and relaxation, especially at home.  Create the illusion of it, and they will do the rest.

Close behind comfort comes bragging rights.  Tell the apartment’s story—does it have a sordid past?  Was it designed in a special way?  Did anyone famous ever stay here?  Make people familiar with the place.  It’s not unlike adopting a puppy; he’s just another slobbering canine until his prospective parents know how well behaved he is and how he likes his belly rubbed.

And learn from your successes and mistakes.  How have you sealed the deal in the past?  Is there a pattern to the times people walked away?  If it’s not your first time finding a tenant, you already know something about making it work.

Have some good tricks for achieving a signed lease?  Let us know what! We’d love to hear from you – here or on our Facebook page.