Knowledge of your Kansas City Community is Key in Making a Leasing Team Successful.

To be successful, leasing teams must know their rental properties inside out and backwards. This means they must understand the units, the amenities, the pricing and the rules and be able to sell those features to potential tenants. But there’s more than just this involved if a good leasing team wants to become a phenomenally successful one.

To ensure that today’s renters are comfortable with and interested in a property, leasing teams must also know the community at large. This means they need to know about schools, attractions, restaurants and more. Tenants are looking for more than a place to hang their hats – they want to know about the community in which they intend to make their home.

Find out how well versed you and your leasing team is by asking these questions:

• Have you checked out local schools well enough to be able to describe them to potential renters? Do you know the student-teacher ratios? How about hours and special programs?
• Do you know where the nearest hospital or urgent care facility is?
• Can you describe the location of the nearest day care centers? Pre-schools?
• Are you able to pass on information about seasonal shopping locations? Farmers’ markets?
• Can you share with potential residents the best gas stations to stop at based on price per gallon? How about the nearest place to get their oil changed at a reasonable rate?
• Can you tell residents how to handle recycling? Where can they go if the community itself doesn’t offer the service?
• How far away is the nearest library? Movie theater? Fast-food restaurant?
• Where is the closest stop for public transportation? How far away is the airport?
• Where do new residents go to get driver’s licenses? How about tags for their cars?
• Where’s the closest grocery store? Mall?

The more you and your leasing team know about the neighborhood and community as a whole the better. Renters feel more comfortable moving into a community when they know people they’ll be dealing with are knowledgeable about their surroundings and are more than willing to share the information. Think of yourselves as a concierge service of sorts and your potential tenants will thank you for the effort.

Beyond understanding the community’s perks, a good rental team also has to have a fair handle on the entire housing market in the area. This means understanding the single-family housing market and the benefits of renting versus buying. Being able to field all kinds of questions from “Where’s the best deli?” to “Are the taxes more here than elsewhere?” Be honest, be fair and be knowledgeable and your renters will trust you and appreciate your willingness to help.