An apartment tour is an opportunity for you to check out a new place and see if it’s right for you. It’s also a chance for the property manager or landlord to show you what their apartment has to offer.
When touring, it’s important to ask a lot of questions so you can get an honest, complete picture of the apartment and its community.
How long should I expect to tour an apartment?
There are many factors that can affect how long an apartment tour will take, including whether you have any questions for the agent, if there are other people in your party, and if you need to wait your turn. However, you can expect an average apartment tour to take about 25 minutes to an hour.
Before touring an apartment, you should be prepared with a list of questions that will help you determine if the unit is right for you. Having these questions ready can save you time during the tour and make sure that you don’t miss any important details.
When you tour an apartment, it’s important to look at every room in the unit. This can help you decide if the unit is large enough for your needs and to ensure that there aren’t any potential issues that you may want to address before you sign a lease.
You should also look at the floors and ceilings to ensure that they are in good condition. Keeping these elements clean and well-maintained will keep you happy with your new apartment for years to come.
Finally, you should check to see if the doors and windows are insulated and secure. This will help you feel more confident in your decision and avoid any surprises when it comes to signing a lease.
Some apartment complexes will even offer virtual tours, which can be a great way to learn more about a unit without actually visiting it in person. Typically, these tours are done through a video call with an on-site representative who will walk you through the space and answer your questions in real time.
Getting Started
When you’re looking for an apartment, it can be overwhelming. But a well-planned tour is the best way to ensure you find the right home.
The first step is to decide what type of tour you want to do. The most common is an in-person tour, where you meet with a leasing agent at the property and walk through a model or actual apartment that’s ready to lease.
During an in-person tour, it’s important to take notes and listen to the information the leasing agent gives you. This will help you get a better sense of the property and make sure you ask all the right questions later on.
You may also want to bring a checklist with you so that you can make sure you’ve covered everything you need to check during the apartment tour. This will ensure you’re not distracted and can keep your focus on what matters most to you.
One of the most important things to check during an apartment tour is water pressure. This can make a difference when you’re trying to wash clothes, cook or even shower. The leasing agent should be able to turn on and test all faucets in the apartment so you can see how strong the water is.
Another thing to check is that there are no issues with noise. It’s easy to hear a person talking in another room, especially when the walls are thin or there’s no soundproofing in place. If you can hear a lot of noise, it could be a sign that the property has poor sound insulation or that there are other issues that need to be addressed.
Finally, be sure to check the floors and walls for water damage, mold, mildew or other issues. These can be a big red flag for a potential tenant, so make sure you’re checking all areas of the unit during your apartment tour.
While a virtual tour can’t give you a complete picture of the building and property, it can help you feel more comfortable with your decision. It can be especially helpful for people who have roommates who aren’t able to attend the apartment tour in person, or if you’re traveling a long distance. Just be sure to capture all the relevant areas of the property on the video, including the common area, elevators, stairwells, and amenities like a gym or laundry room.
Video Tours
Video tours are a great way to show potential residents what your apartment community is all about. They’re also a great way to increase your conversion rate and get more prospects into the lease signing process.
Video is an incredibly powerful marketing tool that’s a lot easier and more affordable than you might think. You can use a smartphone or tablet to record high-quality footage, and you can easily add your voiceover to the videos to make them more compelling.
A video tour of your apartment will give prospective tenants an inside look at the space, showing them every detail they’ll need to know before deciding to sign a lease. Plus, they’re much more appealing than photos because they can show the layout, size and features of the unit.
Depending on the technology used, virtual tours can be extremely detailed and include interactive elements such as animations and interactions that allow users to explore at their own pace. Some tours even let you open and close doors and move furniture around.
Before a leasing agent takes you on a virtual tour, it’s always a good idea to ask a few questions. These can range from spacial concerns like whether or not there are enough rooms in the apartment to what amenities the building offers (if any).
For example, some buildings offer a laundry facility and other amenities that would be hard to see on a virtual tour. Be sure to ask about them and how long it’ll take to get those services.
Be sure to take the time to ask these questions during a virtual tour, and make note of any other details that you find important as well. This will help you keep track of everything and ensure that you’re able to compare your findings to the listing information you found online.
If you have a budget and time, investing in a professional-quality video tour is the best way to market your apartments. It’s an effective way to showcase your property and its features, and it’s an easy and inexpensive way to increase your conversion rate.
Self-Guided Tours
When you’re in the market for a new apartment, it’s important to see all of your potential options before making a decision. Traditionally, this meant scheduling tours with a leasing agent.
Self-guided tours are a great way to give prospective tenants the opportunity to tour an apartment on their own schedule without having to wait for a leasing agent to show them around. This option can help increase conversion rates and keep your occupancy rates high by offering more flexibility to prospects.
The process is simple: Prospective residents set up a tour via the app, provide their ID, and choose a time that works best for them. Then, they’re shown through their selected units and shown the amenities in the community.
These tours can be done anytime of day or night. This flexibility allows you to offer more tours to your prospects, increasing your chances of leasing units faster.
Many property managers are taking advantage of the on-demand economy by offering these tours outside traditional leasing office hours – including evenings and weekends. This allows renters to view available apartments when it’s most convenient for them and gives them a sense that management respects their time.
In addition to offering more flexibility for your prospects, self-guided tours are a great way for you to stay connected with them throughout the leasing process. You can continue to send them helpful information, such as when your open houses are or how to request a walkthrough.
A self-guided tour can also allow you to take advantage of new technologies that make your apartment tours more interactive for prospective residents. These include Matterport tours, computer-animated virtual tours and more.
These new technologies help you create an immersive experience for your prospects, from the moment they land on your website to when they get off the elevator and start touring the apartment. They also help you provide the kind of information that your prospects want and need during this phase of their apartment hunt.
With so many new ways to interact with prospects during the leasing process, it’s crucial that property managers prioritize security and ease of use for all aspects of the tour experience. This includes wayfinding technology with “blue dot” features and tracking beacons, as well as an integrated solution that integrates smart access, guest and delivery management, connectivity, and services. By integrating these solutions into one platform, you can offer a seamless self-guided tour experience for your prospects and a more secure and convenient experience for your team.
In-Person Tours
In-person apartment tours are a great way to experience an apartment before making the commitment to move in. The traditional way is to schedule an appointment with a leasing agent, who will take you through the apartment at a predetermined time. Some agents will even allow you to tour more than one apartment at the same time.
Depending on the apartment, an in-person tour can last 30 to 40 minutes or more. While this is a long time, it’s well worth the effort to learn as much about an apartment as possible.
It’s also a good idea to bring a friend along on your tour, so that you can have two sets of eyes inspecting the apartment. This will help you ensure that all the features and amenities of the apartment are up to par.
The key is to ask questions on the spot to get an accurate picture of how the apartment will work for you. Then, you can decide whether or not it’s the right place for you to live.
Another option is to schedule a self-guided tour with the property manager. These tours are a great way to see the apartment at a time that is convenient for you, and they are usually easier on busy property staff.
Once you’ve booked a self-guided tour, the property manager will provide you with an access code to the apartment. This code is scanned and verified, so it’s important to have the right ID on hand.
This process can take some time, as you’ll need to provide ID and credit card information for damage insurance purposes. It’s also a good idea to be sure you have the right amount of cash on hand so that you can cover any potential expenses during your visit.
You should also make sure that the apartment has all the amenities you’re looking for, including a washer and dryer. This will save you time and money in the long run, as you won’t need to pay extra for laundry facilities.
Finally, it’s a good idea to document your apartment tour with photos and video so that you can look back on it later. This is especially helpful if you have roommates, as it will give them a visual of the apartment.