Will Fitzgerald is a Leasing Manager for Equity Residential, where he oversees a luxury building in the Gallery Place/Mt. Vernon Triangle area along Mass Ave.
How long have you been working with Urban Igloo to find renters?
Approximately one year.
The apartment vacancy rate in DC is relatively low and your building is in a highly desirable spot. Why do you need the help of an apartment finder service?
The vacancy rate is relatively low but that goes hand in hand with the transience of this city. There is constant turnover and always something available or on notice. Like many other buildings in DC, we do have to market through a multitude of mediums. While the internet (ILS’s, Craigslist, property website) is still our largest provider of traffic, getting those extra few leases each month from Urban Igloo clients makes a huge difference – particularly in a smaller building where a couple of move ins can dramatically increase your occupancy! Urban Igloo has also marketed us on the internet and posted videos of our floor plans on youtube.com – which has been incredibly helpful.
Tell us how the process works from your perspective? What happens when an Urban Igloo renter is interested in your property?
Once an Urban Igloo agent knows their client is interested in our community, the agent will contact me with a detailed description of what their client is looking for. I compare their needs and wants with my availability and let the Urban Igloo agent know what we can do for their client. While we do send Urban Igloo weekly updates on availability, pricing, and any specials, I still appreciate them contacting me before they come in given that anything can change over the course of a couple days.
The Urban Igloo agent will then set an appointment with us for their client, and typically the agent will meet their client here for the tour. I’ve even noticed that the agents will sometimes drive their clients around from property to property as well, showing them the neighborhoods, local shopping, dining, and so forth.
If a client chooses to rent at our community I generally take over from there.
What are the top 3 reasons you continue to partner with Urban Igloo?
They bring in qualified traffic.
Their clients usually already know a good amount about the community before they get here which makes my job much easier.
They are the best locator service in DC.
What else have you found to be effective in attracting renters in this market?
Craigslist and a truly effective property website are important. We also do outreach marketing to local businesses; it’s amazing how effective even a simple phone call can be.
