A How-To Guide for Landlords and Brokers to Conduct Virtual Apartment Tours

At the onset of stay-at-home orders in March 2020, many landlords had to quickly roll out alternative plans for showing vacant apartments in Chicago. The go-to solution was virtual showings, where a live video call or pre-recorded walkthrough video had to substitute for the traditional methods of in-person showings to slow the spread of Coronavirus in Chicago apartments.

Illinois and the City of Chicago have progressed beyond the most severe shutdowns, and stay-at-home orders as new Coronavirus cases have declined. The state’s reopening has preceded a surge in traffic and interest among renters who may have waited out the bulk of the 2020 rental season. 

The question facing many real estate pros as Illinois barrels toward the summer of 2021: Is it better for landlords and brokers/agents to continue hosting virtual tours, or should they go back to traditional, in-person showings? It depends on a few things.

Landlords who find virtual tours make life easier should read this blog post with valuable tips for setting up virtual apartment tours. Renters benefit from the added efficiency of remotely touring homes and apartments, so this is one of those “win-win” scenarios for landlords and renters in their busy lives.

Staying Safe with Help from Technology

"We've seen potential tenants use virtual tours to help narrow down their options and follow up with a self-guided or in-person showing," says Aaron Galvin, co-founder, and CEO of Luxury Living Chicago Realty. "I expect this trend will continue," Galvin says, ", especially for relocation customers who can be even more efficient in their research when moving to a new city."

Landlords should indicate that they're open to arranging virtual showings in the apartment description field. Mention that you're willing to host tours via FaceTime, Skype, Zoom meetings, Google Hangouts, or whichever platform is most intuitive and easy to use.

Leasing agents should make things interactive, not just giving an "on rails" tour like an amusement park ride. Anyone with an iPhone can use FaceTime to showcase the excellent natural light in an apartment or broadcast the spacious floor plan. Allow renters to ask questions and try to show them exactly what they inquire about with the smartphone's camera. For example, if a renter asks about the age of the appliances in the apartment, then agents can point the camera at the kitchen and let renters at the other end of the video call see for themselves.

Using Video Chat Tools to Show Apartments

Agents and landlords should block out the time of a showing on the calendar, so the video calls don't interrupt other errands or plans. Consider hosting a "virtual open house" where renters can connect via video chat for a specific set of hours. Leverage social media, email lists, and your ILS listing to advertise the virtual open house hours.

Domu's listing setup includes a field for open house dates/times.

Leasing managers who need to advertise a newly listed unit can try live-streaming a walkthrough on Facebook or Instagram Live. People are invariably turning to their phones during a time when they're instructed to avoid social gatherings of more than 50 people. Landlords and brokers can accomplish a lot with virtual tours that they might have overlooked back when they were done in person. Start capturing tours on camera and sharing clips on social media to garner a following of apartment enthusiasts and prospective tenants.

Enhance Listings by Posting Video, 3D Floor Plans & Panoramic Photos

Photos are a crucial asset to marketing a listing. But landlords can further step up their photo game with panoramas and wide-angle shots. Many of the latest generation smartphones have similar features built into their cameras. Additionally, many smartphone accessories and apps enhance photos taken on slightly older phones. Agents can use this time to get comfortable with posting walkthrough videos on Youtube. It's easy to share these videos directly on their Domu listings by adding the link in the listing setup form.

If a walkthrough video doesn't have fancy opening credits or high production value. Don't sweat the details. But DO try to follow a few basic guidelines:

  • Record videos during the day when natural light is abundant.

  • Introduce the apartment for rent with its street address, unit number, and leasing start date. Do this at the start of the recording and once again before ending the video.

  • Shaky videos can make viewers nauseous! If speaking during the video, make sure audio is enabled.

  • Consider purchasing a gimbal or another tool to steady the video while recording. 

  • If it's too challenging to record while walking through smoothly, try standing in one corner of each room and slowly panning across the room to show it in full.

  • Go slow and steady, don't rush through the apartment and miss any highlights that may intrigue renters.


Should Landlords & Agents Continue Hosting Virtual or Self-Guided Apartment Tours?

Landlords and agents have quickly adopted another method of showcasing vacant apartments that complies with social distancing recommendations: the self-guided apartment tour. This method involves more planning by brokers or property managers, but self-guided tours present several efficiencies once up and running. 

Hypothetically speaking, a one-bedroom apartment in a 100-unit building will be available starting July 1. The apartment's currently occupied, but the tenants aren’t comfortable with future renters arriving for in-person tours. They prefer that the landlord doesn’t enter the apartment for a video tour. Landlords can pick out a vacant apartment in the building with the same floor plan and use that vacant unit to substitute for the apartment that will soon be available to rent. Renters interested in the soon-to-be-vacant apartment for rent can check in remotely, help themselves tour the empty “lookalike” apartment, and leave their own accord once they’re finished -- no contact is required! Self-guided tours are undoubtedly one of the most sanitary (and therefore safest) methods to conduct apartment tours in the age of COVID-19. Landlords who implement the self-guided tour method should still allow enough time between showings to clean and disinfect the apartment.

Apartment Lease Signed? Excellent, Now Follow Up With Tenants Using Technology

Landlords can use digital collaboration software to set up a checklist of move-in items and communicate with tenants about their new apartment after the lease is signed. They can set up a step-by-step guide for everything from lighting the stove to calling the cable company in this virtual environment. Think of things or hardware in the apartment that may need troubleshooting down the road, e.g., smoke detectors, wireless routers, electric panels, etc. Of course, some apartments come with more baggage than others, specifically furnished apartments or subleases. Some apartment sublets have used project management software like Basecamp or Trello to set up a digital checklist for renters who will take over the apartment lease.