Jake Harrington 

More than ever, over the next two years, apartment companies need to focus on what they can control. Winning and retaining the right residents will make the difference...The final frontier of online leasing is signing the lease contract and move-in forms.

Does your community website say “Apply now!” but then link unhelpfully to a static form to be downloaded, filled out and faxed? If so, you’re not alone, but you’re also lying to your customer. Worse, you’re missing out on the majority of renters who prefer to do business online.

When the apartment business thinks of going green, it often means recycling programs, sustainable construction or eco-friendly gimmicks. Green leasing however, is the simplest shift you can make, and it offers two benefits that having nothing to do with saving the environment… winning residents and saving money. Tip #1: Find new residents on the cheap.

Last Monday, Punxsutawney Phil emerged to find a long shadow and forecast more cold weather. Sound familiar? This season, it doesn’t take a groundhog to tell a landlord that the housing market is in for a long winter. Don’t get me wrong, the last months of the year through January are always an off-season for landlords. The resident-screening company where I work processes a high volume of applications to rent, and traditionally we see a decline in traffic of over 15 percent during this season. But this year the seasonal slump is far more pronounced. In fact, it’s unprecedented.