Specific Client Types II

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CLIENT TYPES (2 of 2)

Here are a few more client types which require special care.

  • Dogs & Other Pets
  • Emergency Mover
  • First-time Renter
  • Government-Assisted

Dogs and Other Pets

Finding homes that will also accommodate your clients and their pets can be a tough task. It’s pretty standard for a manager to consider a small pet under 25 pounds. 80% of companies in California have a dog breed restriction list that is non-negotiable (list of breeds below). Your job will be to reach out to the other 20% of landlords, managers, listing agents. In most cases, you’ll receive a definitive yes or no, but sometimes the agent will need to think about it or discuss with the owner. You will need to call and email agents on your customer’s behalf using the example below.

  1. Number of pets.
  2. Breed and weight of each pet.
  3. Pet Certificates (Emotional support, Service animals) – Emotional Support and Service Animals are not considered pets in the state of California. A customer cannot be turned away for this reason according to CA State Law.
  4. Ages of pets – Older pets are less active then younger ones, owner may be more open.

Emergency Mover

Some of our clients will wait until the last minute to find a place. Most of the time, these customers will have just a couple weeks to move. To service them, you must set their expectations from the beginning. The customer will need to know that you will need at least 2 weeks to find them a place. Based on our experience, the more viewings the customer is available to attend, the faster you will find them a suitable rental. Please follow the requirements customers must meet in order to be serviced as an “Emergency Mover”.

  1. Customer must have decent credit (650-800+). This applies to all adults moving in.
  2. No evictions, bankruptcies, foreclosures, or judgments
  3. Customer must have total move-in price ready (first and last, plus any other deposits)
  4. Good renter history (no first-time movers)
  5. Available for viewing daily
  6. Have an open line of communication

 

If a client meets the qualifications, you’ll need to send customer two daily emails and book a minimum of two appointments per day. This will allow them to view at least 10 places in a week. At this point, most clients will choose a couple of places that work for them. You will need to expedite the application process by having applications ready in advance for all scheduled viewings.

First-Time Renters

Some of our clients are first-time renters. Usually, first-time renters are very young adults. They have a hard time finding places, because they don’t have any rental history stating they’re able to pay rent. Before servicing a first-time renter, they must meet the requirements below. First-time renter requirements:

  1. Customer must have decent credit (650-800+). This applies to all adults moving in.
  2. No evictions, bankruptcies, foreclosures, or judgments
  3. Customer must have total move-in price ready (first and last, plus any other deposits)
  4. Good renter history (no first-time movers)
  5. Available for viewing daily
  6. Have an open line of communication

 

If a client meets the qualifications, you’ll need to send customer two daily emails and book a minimum of two appointments per day. This will allow them to view at least 10 places in a week. At this point, most clients will choose a couple of places that work for them. You will need to expedite the application process by having applications ready in advance for all scheduled viewings.

First-Time Renters

Some of our clients are first-time renters. Usually, first-time renters are very young adults. They have a hard time finding places, because they don’t have any rental history stating they’re able to pay rent. Before servicing a first-time renter, they must meet the requirements below. First-time renter requirements:

  1. Minimum 550 credit score (this is the usual minimum score requested by leasing agent)
  2. Must be employed with at least 1yr experience, unless renter will be using a cosigner
  3. Income needs to be 3.5 times the monthly rent
  4. Has a cosigner – cosigner must have exceptional credit and make 7x times the rent amount

 

If the client meets our requirements, then you can begin to approach managers and landlords on your client’s behalf. Managers are very blunt about any questions you may have. Sometimes you can save time by reading property descriptions. Look at example below. You’ll start your search by contacting management companies. You can use google to find a list of management companies (for example, “Long Beach CA property management”). This will provide you with a list of management companies to contact. After you find at least 5 companies, you can begin to email your client the listings from those companies that match your client’s specifics.

Government-Assisted Housing

Government assisted housing is a program geared to help people with low income. When assisting these clients, please ask customer questions below. Not many places participate with government assistance programs. Most clients know that their options will be limited, but some assume that you can find them something in the suburbs. Setting the customer’s expectations is necessary from the beginning, as the customer needs to know that most of the places you’ll find will not be in the most desirable areas. For clients who understand, you can begin to reach out to managers to see if they participate in the program your client is in. Please view manager example below. You’ll need to reach out to each place that’s within the customer’s voucher amount. You will email the customer a list of all the places participating in their program. Since there is a lack of options available, appointments must be made ASAP. Information Necessary for Servicing Clients Needing Government Assistance:

  1. What type of voucher does customer have?
  2. How many bedrooms will the voucher cover?
  3. What county is the voucher for? – voucher must match county for approval
  4. What’s the voucher amount? – monthly rent cannot exceed voucher amount
  5. Is customer currently employed? – if yes, find out household monthly income
  6. Current credit score – will not be a major factor if the score is poor
  7. Does customer have any evictions? – an eviction less than 7yrs old will disqualify customer

Some Government Rental Assistance Programs:

  • HUD (Federal Agency of Housing and Urban Development) rental assistance programs

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  • HUD Resource Locator - search for HUD field and regional offices, local PHAs (Public Housing Agencies), Multifamily and Public Housing locations, homeless coordinated entry system points of contact, and USDA rural housing - https://resources.hud.gov/

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  • Privately owned subsidized housing - HUD helps apartment owners offer reduced rents to low- income tenants. Search for an apartment and apply directly at the management office.
  • Public Housing - affordable apartments for low-income families, the elderly and persons with disabilities.

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  • Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8) – find your own place and use the voucher to pay for all or part of the rent – https://www.benefits.gov/benefits/benefit-details/710