I always tell my agents you close your client in the pre-qualification. Meaning at the end of a pre-qual you understand exactly what they are looking for. When you go on appointment with your client the main objective is to only show them properties that work for their wants/needs. The appointment is the fun part! That’s where you get to know your client and building your relationship, not learn more about their search.

Here is the good flow to follow for pre-qualification glory:

Phase 1 – Identify the Property

For the most part, when a prospect is contacting you – it’s about a listing you have. Well then naturally your first interaction will be about just that. Figure out what questions they have about the property and make sure to answer those first. Be informative and make sure to establish your expertise from the beginning. A natural spill over is then to ask them about their time frame with the search. This is next step.


Phase 2 – Sensing Urgency

Rentals move quickly, especially in the summer months. One of the most important aspects to find out is the time frame of the clients search. A good way to dive into the topic is asking when their move in date is. A sweet spot where most clients should be looking is 0 – 30 days before move in date. This is when the bulk of the inventory is available and when most clients are ready to move forward and secure a unit. However there are many clients that look 30 – 60 days before move in date. This is a good time frame as well, as long as they are ready to secure a unit when you go out. One way to find out when a client is ready to make a decision is by asking, when are you looking to secure a unit by?

At the end of this phase you need to know their time frame of making a decision. You should only go out when the client is ready to make a decision. Again rentals move quickly so the decisions have to be made at the same pace.

Phase 3 – Gaining information about the search

This is going to be the meat of the conversation. The questions that will paint the picture in your mind of exactly what the client is looking for. This section is the one that will gain the most from experience. There will be specific based questions that will be quick answers and other questions that will help you understand their motivations behind the move and what will really make them happy in their new home. Some of the specific questions would be:

How many bedrooms are you looking for?
Do you have any pets?
Will you need parking?
Is a view important?

The more in depth questions – the ones that really help you understand the motivations are ones such as:
What are your deal breakers and deal makers?

What will make you ready to call a place your home?

Once the picture is painted move on to Phase 4

Phase 4 – Educating clients on how to be a good client

You’re going to be a good agent for them, work hard and make sure they are fully satisfied. Make sure your client will be good to you as well. Win their business by describing what you will do for them and how hard you will work. I always tell my clients that I will never waste their time and only show them options that work. They have many other agents they could call but I always make sure they know to come to me first if they see another property that looks interesting. Of course there will be clients that will still go without you. However you can hedge some of that by describing to them the value in using your services. You should have a 30 second elevator pitch ready for these moments that explain why you are the best option for your clients search. However you better be ready to walk the talk because bluffing only goes so far!

Phase 5 – Closing Remarks

Every pre-qual needs to end with a call to action. The ultimate end goal would be to set up an appointment to view properties. If this is not feasible then make sure to establish an agreed upon next point of contact so your client knows what to expect next.

Happy Renting!

Grigory Pekarsky
Managing Principle/Vesta Preferred
@gregpekarsky

The goal of each pre-qualification is to establish trust with your client and learn exactly what they are looking for. It is your responsibility to ask questions and listen. The less you are talking the better you are at pre-qualification. You should make your clients paint a picture for you with their wants/needs as you take notes. You only chime in when you want to dig deeper and get clarification on a point. Remember this takes a lot of practice and gets better with time. Mistakes made should be seen as lessons for the next client. When I just started out I remember I had a client that loved a property I showed him. At the closing table he asked me if there are extra fees for his German Shepard. At that point we were told German Shepard’s are not allowed in the building. It was embarrassing and the client was really irritated. It sucked! However from that point forward I never again did not ask what type of breed my client’s pets are. Each mistake can be a lesson learned, the trick is to not learn the same lesson twice!

I will go over the specifics of a quality pre-qualification in my next blog post. Remember better pre-qualifications make happier clients and more deals for you!

Happy Renting!

In front of one of the developments I’m a part of

Around that time I got in touch with a real estate company that was hiring in Chicago. I decided to interview, got the gig and as quickly as my College days came to an end I picked up and moved to the Windy City. I had zero experience with Real Estate, my family had no history in Real Estate and this was going to be my third time in Chicago outside of a trip with my family when I was 8 and a New Year expedition with my buddies for a New Years Party extravaganza. So my knowledge of this city was close to zero. Looking back at the way my cards stacked up actually makes me realize I had a very unique welcoming to the Real Estate world. I had zero expectations, knew nothing about the city I was about to begin working in and no connections.

The first six months were brutal outside of learning the intricacies of the Real Estate game I had to figure out the lay out of the city with all of her one ways and 6 point intersections. I still have nightmares of my clients screaming as I turned into oncoming traffic thinking the one way was a regular street. Trust in your fellow REALTOR! I learned my ways and got my feet planted strong. I fell in love with Chicago and decided to make Real Estate my life long career. I started in Real Estate January 2008, not the most opportune time to say the least. However as luck would have it the company I was working at focused primarily on Chicago’s booming rental market. When people tell you those years were some of the worst they have ever experienced in Real Estate, I had some of my best. Its simple when people are not buying they are renting. And Chicago having the second largest rental market in the country business was good!

As I continued to climb the ranks in the leasing field I became more receptive to everyone involved. From the agents to the leasing professionals in the apartment complexes to the renters. I kept my ear to the ground and listened/observed what was going on. With the rise of popularity and opportunity in the leasing field has come a tidal wave of concern. Unprofessional conduct, lack of care and illegal practices in the leasing industry have been present and constantly on a path of acceleration. With the rental market in Chicago this summer poised to be one of the most active in recent history I fear this is a volcano that is about to explode.

The opportunity will be tremendous for all real estate agents that are ready. We have to remember the importance of care behind what we do. In my speeches on the issues concerning the leasing industry I have come to realize that many real estate agents just don’t know much about leasing. The intricacies on what to do when representing a landlord or how to really listen to a rental client. However there are not many avenues to go to get questions answered and discuss particular issues.

My idea is to create a public space to discuss best practices and answer questions you might be having. I was honored with a National 30 under 30 REALTOR title by the National Association of REALTORS in 2012 for my work in the leasing field. I am not saying this to boast but to give you confidence in me.

I will put out posts on topics I see relevant to this topic. Come and read/share/comment and lets create a community of care and trust so we can succeed together. There is enough business to go around however I want to make sure it will stay this way for a long time. If we allow the leasing industry to keep corrupting itself we will soon lose the consumers trust. I won’t let it happen and I hope you will join me.

If you have any questions in particular about leasing please reach out to me at gpekarsky@vestapreferred.com. If I can’t answer it I will find someone that will.

Cheers to 2013, let’s make this the best year yet!

Greg
Managing Principle/ Vesta Preferred, LLC

Start with Online Research

Remember these two websites: Zillow.com and Rentometer.com. Both include unbelievable tools that analyze thousands of rental properties across the country and average them together according city, neighborhood etc.

Visit each site and enter the zip code of the area your searching for apartments. Make sure you’re looking in the rental section. Set the number of bedrooms you’re hoping for in the search settings.

Zillow.com lists dozens of current rental properties and their asking prices. The nice part about Zillow is that they also provide a “Rent Zestimate” in each property listing. This figure represents the average of many rentals in that specific area.

Rentometer provides a slightly less detailed estimate, but they still give you the median rental price for your area with the number of bedrooms you entered. Plus when you run the tool it’s fun to watch!!

Using both online tools will give you a very good idea on what you should be paying for your luxury apartment. But you can still be even more thorough as you’ll see in the next step.

Call Multiple Real Estate Agents

Though many realtors, like myself, can provide you with a range of prices for your area, it’s still best to contact multiple agents to get a number of opinions. Call three or four agents that work often in the region of Chicago you’d like to live. The local agents always have the best grip on prices. Provide them with the number of bedrooms you’re looking for and the neighborhood you would like. They’ll give you an estimate.

Write It All Out

Write down all of the prices ranges you’ve heard from each source on a sheet of paper. Bring this paper with you as you begin apartment hunting. If a price seems you high, you no longer have to second guess yourself. You’ll have a convenient way of comparing the landlord’s asking prices to what people are actually paying.

Finding and securing your Chicago apartment in the “busy” season

The “busy” season is back with a vengeance this year. The busiest time in the Chicago rental market ranges from the beginning of March to the end of September. More renters then ever are searching to find that perfect place to call home this year. Limited inventory and high demand is limiting the shelf life of many apartments to less then 24 hours in some cases. What can you do to better your chances in not only finding the perfect place but also locking it in to call it your own? Follow these steps and you will be ahead of the curve:

1. Work with a professional real estate agent that knows the rental market in and out
2. Make sure you know the exact properties you will be looking at with the latest rental pricing
3. Know your exact move in date or range of dates that will work for you
4. Bring employment verification – last 2 pay stubs or offer letter are usually fine
5. Bring a check book with you on appointment and come ready to make a decision

In this market indecision is the main reason many lose units from under them. If you are working with the right agent there should be no surprises of what you will be seeing on appointment. Too many times do I speak to clients that are frustrated with their last agent because they didn’t know what they were seeing and even worse the agent showed them properties that didn’t match what they wanted.