Tips for leasing an IAC apartment
The IHB Forums are a great resource and there are many solid contributions being made there every day. Some of you have been hanging out there for well over a year and a half.
If you haven't stopped by, check it out. Recently, we had a new member, Cuatro, join the forums. He created a topic on Tips for leasing an IAC apartment. There is some great advice there so I thought I'd put it up on the blog for the weekend post:
Tips for leasing an IAC apartment:
Leasing Consultants (LCs) are NOT the enemy. Rather than viewing them like other sales people, consider the following. The typical IAC Leasing Consultant has zero interest in the amount of rent you pay for your apartment. They are paid on a tier system that rewards the number of leases they get signed per month...period. They will usually do anything in their power to get you the best deal, because at the end of the day, your signature on a $1200 studio pays the same as your signature on a $3000 3x2. Their first and foremost priority is to fill their property. (As an interesting aside, IAC LCs make between $32k and roughly $85k per year...the primary difference is volume).
Visit the property when you are ready to make your decision. Never give the impression that you won’t reserve an apartment on that first visit. The sooner you tell them you are ready to move, the more likely you are to get the best deal. NEVER say you are looking to move 45+ days from now. As a general rule, the best deals are on vacant apartments. Vacant apartments must be moved into within 2 weeks. If you are looking to move more than 2 weeks out, you are automatically going to be offered apartments that are “on notice” with other residents currently living in them. Discounts on these apartments are rare and always significantly worse than vacant apartment specials.
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