Tag: Apartment Technology
Questions to Ask on Your Apartment Tour
Apartment searching can be difficult, overwhelming even, especially if you are in a city filled with communities to choose from.
That’s why it’s always recommended to take an apartment tour of your options to get a first-hand feel for the type of living experience you would have, should you decide to sign a lease.
At Venterra, we love tours as they give prospective residents a chance to walk through the community, view the amenities and see their potential floorplan in person. Whether our prospects are taking an apartment tour with a leasing agent, or utilizing Venterra’s self-guided tour option, we always recommend that they ask questions. After all, they are signing a contract for a lease, and we wouldn’t want any surprises to pop up later on.
What we have found over the 20+ years that we have offered tours is that sometimes renters might not know what questions to ask, especially if they are first-time renters. That’s why we’ve put together the following list of questions that will help any renter get the answers they need to find the perfect home for them.
Application Process:
- What is the application process?
- Is there an application fee?
- How do you decide on approval?
- How many paycheck stubs do you require?
- How do I add an additional applicant or occupant to my apartment?
- What if my roommate has to move out, can they be taken off the lease?
Venterra’s Advice: The application process should be simple and seamless. In fact, with SMARTLEASING by Venterra, all you have to do is 1.) complete the 5 minute form 2.) click submit 3.) get approved in 5 minutes – and you don’t pay any fee’s until you’re approved! Typically, apartments consider 3 things when processing applications: criminal history, credit history and current income and will ask for your two most recent paystubs.
Lease Logistics:
- How long is the lease term?
- How much is rent? Does pricing fluctuate?
- What is included in the rent (utilities, electricity, trash, etc)?
- How much do utilities cost, on average, if they are not included?
- Will I need someone to co-sign my lease? Is a guarantor a co-signer?
- How many people are allowed per apartment?
- Is a security deposit required?
- Is renter’s insurance required? If so, is there a minimum coverage required? Do you have a recommended provider?
- What forms of rent do you accept? How can I pay rent?
- What happens if I have a late rent payment?
- How often does rent go up, and by how much?
- Are there plans to update the building?
Venterra’s Advice: Good property management companies will offer flexible lease terms that allow you to choose options that work best for you. While pricing can fluctuate daily and costs can vary per property, it is important to be upfront, honest and realistic with your leasing consultant about your budget, that way they can ensure they set you up for success.
Community Amenities:
- What community amenities does this property offer?
- Are there any restrictions of use on the amenities?
- Are my guests allowed to use the amenities?
- Are the amenities available 24/7 or are there specific hours of operation?
- Do your community areas offer free wi-fi?
- Are there any planned upgrades to the amenities?
Venterra’s Advice: Be sure on your apartment tour to get a full understanding of when and how you can use the community amenities. For instance, you wouldn’t want to cancel your gym membership for a community gym that doesn’t allow 24-hour access, would you?
Personal Apartment Amenities:
- Does the apartment come with all appliances (oven, fridge, dishwasher, washer, dryer, etc.)?
- What finishes are used throughout the apartment?
- How am I able to access my apartment?
- What internet/cable providers do you offer?
- Am I allowed to paint the walls and/or hang pictures?
- Are there any restrictions on decorations?
Venterra’s Advice: This is your opportunity to ensure you get the perfect apartment for you. Voice your opinions about lighting, finishes and personal décor with your leasing consultant during your apartment tour to make sure they understand your vision for the space. That way they can notify you when the apartment with your dream view of the skyline becomes available!
Access and Maintenance:
- What are the leasing office hours?
- How are maintenance requests made?
- What is the average response time for a maintenance request?
- Is 24-hour emergency maintenance available?
- What is the parking situation? Can I have multiple cars? Are there any restrictions on cars?
- How secure is the property? How is access to the apartment being handled?
- Do residents consider the complex safe at night?
Venterra’s Advice: Access and maintenance are essential questions for your everyday living. Be sure you understand the parking situations and that access to your community and unit are easy whether it be through a key, fob, or code. Unfortunately, maintenance issues don’t always happen during business hours. So it’s important to know if resources are available to you 24 hours a day and that your problems will be fixed for you in a timely manner.
Guests:
- What is the guest policy?
- Is there a limit to how many guests you can have at once?
- Where do guests park?
- How are guests able to access the community?
- Is there a clubhouse? Can the clubhouse be rented?
Venterra’s Advice: Most renters have friends, cleaning services, or maybe even dog walkers that will need to access their unit at some point. Understanding the guest policy will help make their visit enjoyable from parking to accessing the property to entering your unit.
Pets:
- How many pets can I have?
- Are there weight restrictions?
- What are the costs associated with pets at the community? Is there a monthly pet fee or pet deposit?
- Can I pet sit for a friend?
- How can I register my pet with the office?
- Are there restrictions on where pets are allowed on community grounds?
- Do you have a place where I can walk my pet?
Venterra’s advice: All communities should love furry friends, we know we do! In fact, we love them so much that we allow you to have up to 3 of them! We’re pretty alone in that respect as most communities only allow up to 2. With that said, If you’re a pet parent, be sure you understand any restrictions and costs associated with adding pets to your lease as well as what community amenities your pets can have access to run-off energy!
Referrals:
- Do you have a referral system? Do I get a reward for referring residents?
- Do I get referral rewards for referring to a sister property?
- Can I receive referral rewards after I move out?
Venterra’s advice: Want to get paid to have someone you know move into your community? If so, you better ask if that’s a program the community you’re looking at offers! Through Venterra’s resident referral program, residents will receive a credit on their account for every resident they refer. To top that, Venterra even offers rewards for sister properties, if you refer someone to
another Venterra community, even in another state, you will receive the referral reward.
Packages:
- How do I receive packages?
- Can I pick up packages 24/7 or are there specific hours?
- What happens if I am late to pick up a package?
- Am I able to send packages through the community?
Venterra’s Advice: Don’t wait until the holidays when your 20 packages are on the way to realize your community doesn’t have a place to deliver them or you have limited access to pick them up! Ask these questions upfront so there are no surprises down the road.
Lease Renewal and Cancellation:
- Can I transfer to another apartment?
- How are apartment lease renewal rates selected?
- When will I be notified about my apartment lease renewal options?
- Is there a penalty for breaking my lease contract?
- What happens if I don’t submit 60-days’ notice for my apartment?
Venterra’s advice: Things can change and most property management companies get that, offering varying degrees of flexibility. What if you need to upgrade to a larger apartment at the end of your lease? Or downsize after your roommate moves to a different city for that job offer? At Venterra, transferring apartments at the end of your lease is always free!
Now that you’re equipped with the right questions, it’s time to find the perfect home for you! Schedule an apartment tour today – we’ll be ready to answer any and all of your inquiries! Or if you’ve experienced a Venterra tour with someone from our leasing staff, leave us a google review and let us know if it was helpful!
New Venterra Community: The Villages at Oakleaf
We have added yet another amazing community to our growing portfolio in the Sunshine State, The Villages at Oakleaf!
The Villages at Oakleaf, a 512-unit, garden-style multifamily, located within the Oakleaf Plantation master-planned community consists of Gemstone, Fieldstone, Cobblestone, and Village at Oakleaf Plantation in suburban Jacksonville, Florida.
The Villages at Oakleaf is the only apartment community in Oakleaf Plantation, giving it unique access to the centralized multi-million-dollar community recreational amenity center, which includes swimming pools, a water park, picnic areas, sports fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, and indoor fitness centers. What more could you ask for?
The community is perfect for growing families, with many floorplans offering 3- and 4- bedroom options, as well as many kid-friendly amenities including a playground. The area is known for its desirable school system and all three schools to which The Villages at Oakleaf are zoned are highly rated and within walking distance!
Oakleaf offers excellent connectivity to residents, with First Coast Expressway within 1.5 miles of the property. The Oakleaf Town Center, a 44-acre regional lifestyle center featuring Target, Publix, Walgreens, PetSmart, Starbucks, and Epic Theatres, is located within 2-miles of Oakleaf, providing convenient day-to-day shopping needs.
We know Jacksonville is a popular location for renters, in fact Jacksonville was ranked as the fastest-growing Florida city by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2020, ranking 9th in the country in terms of highest migration in the U.S.
We will implement our resident-focused programs such as the Live it. Love it. Guarantee.™, the 48-Hour Maintenance Guarantee, SMARTHUB, as well as our overall commitment to providing a world-class living experience for which Venterra has become known.
Are you looking to move to Florida or interested in The Villages at Lakeland? Check out pricing and availability here! If you find something you like, with Venterra’s SMARTLEASING application process all you have to do is 1) complete the 5 minute form; 2) click submit; 3) get approved in 5 minutes – and you never have to pay any fees until you are approved!
Venterra Begins Community Wide Wi-Fi Roll Out
At Venterra, our goal is to make living at our communities simple and seamless, and we have been cooking up the newest integration to make the lives of our renters even better.
One of these areas is Wi-Fi. We know just how frustrating spotty internet service can be. That’s why we have started rolling out our latest innovation: Community Wide Wi-Fi.
With Community Wide Wi-Fi, our renters will no longer need to worry about switching on and off to different Wi-Fi services based on their location at a Venterra community, as this new system will provide residents with fast, reliable, and accessible internet throughout all areas of a property – whether it be at the dog park, gym, or relaxing by the pool.
With 98% of residents having between one and 20 online devices in their apartments according to a 2020 NMHC/Kingsley Apartment Resident Preferences Report, we understand that devices are important to our renters so we want to make sure they can use and access them whenever and wherever they want at the community.
Enter our partnership with Comcast Xfinity. This partnership will help to install Fiber-Optic Internet services in our properties, and through the placement of an access point and ethernet port inside each apartment as well as in common areas, a Community Wide Wi-Fi network will be created that not only helps renters have internet access in any space within the community but will also offer a significant savings over the standard retail rate! So, no longer will renters have to worry about:
- Long buffering times
- Restricted internet access based on location
- Limitations on hours or types of services accessible
- Unpredictable connectivity
- High internet bills
The first implementation of the Community Wide Wi-Fi was installed at The Preserve at Colony Lakes in Stafford, TX and the results were successful, with 90% of residents opting into the new service during just the first week. The install took only 8 weeks with little to no renter disturbance to those residents who requested to opt-in received instant access to a private Wi-Fi network inside their apartment as well as the ethernet port with download and upload speeds of up to 500 Mbps for just $60 per month.
“Installing a true ‘Community Wide’ Wi-Fi network has always been a crucial factor in truly making a community ‘Smart’. With this innovation, we are thrilled to finally be able to provide efficient mobilization and Wi-Fi access to the employees, residents, and visitors the second they step foot on our properties,” said Venterra CEO, John Foresi.
While innovative in of itself, the Community Wide Wi-Fi implementation is part of a larger focus of Venterra’s, which is creating a SMARTCOMMUNITY, which includes SMARTHOME optimized technologies including smart locks, thermostats and lighting that can be controlled via an app and SMARTPACKAGE lockers allowing for fully automated package delivery notifications and contactless pickup. Also, renters at Venterra’s SMARTCOMMUNITY can take advantage of SMARTMOVE, Venterra’s contactless move-in process, SMARTRENT, a location-driven experience where future renters can complete self-guided tours of the community using Wi-Fi connectivity.
Speaking of moving in, how nice is it to think that you could move into an apartment with a managed Wi-Fi solution where there is no need to call a service provider to install your Wi-Fi? We think that sounds pretty ideal.
The Preserve at Colony Lakes was just the beginning of the rollout. “We will now be rolling out the upgrade to our infrastructure across the rest of our communities, allowing our residents and employees to stay connected no matter where they are on the property and ensuring our communities are well prepared with the technology infrastructure they will need in the future,” said Venterra Chairman, Andrew Stewart.
Interested in living in a SMARTCOMMUNITY? Check out Venterra’s technology-enabled apartments here! Or, if you’ve experienced Venterra’s SMARTHOME technologies, leave us a google review telling us how much you loved them!
Venterra Delivers 1 Millionth Resident Package!
What’s better than coming home to your apartment and having a new package to open? If you ask us, nothing! That’s why we’re so proud to have reached two package delivery milestones – installing our 50th SMARTPACKAGE locker system and safely delivering 1 million packages to our residents.
To celebrate, we gave a $500 Amazon gift card to the lucky resident who received the millionth package!
“Since having the SMARTPACKAGE lockers installed, our residents are now able to conveniently retrieve their deliveries without the limitations of the office hours. Before this amenity, we accepted and held packages in the leasing office, which limited our residents to either waiting until their schedules aligned with our hours, or having it delivered to their door, exposed. With the SMARTPACKAGE system, residents have an increased sense of safety and ease of use,” said Jo Canares, Community Manager at The Vinings in Stafford, TX.
The average American receives 21 packages over the course of the year – that’s almost two packages a month (no judgment). To add to that statistic, during the pandemic eCommerce sales increased by 25% with consumers spending more time at home than ever before and shopping from the convenience of their computers, phones, and tablets.
While witnessing online shopping and package deliveries soar over the past year, Venterra has been hard at work installing SMARTPACKAGE Parcel Pending contact-free package management systems to offer safer, easier ways for residents to retrieve their packages with a touch-less experience and no human interaction involved. Through SMARTPACKAGE, our residents no longer have to come to the leasing office to pick up their packages. They can simply scan a barcode or push a button on Parcel Pending’s mobile app to enable package pickup without even having to use the locker kiosk touchscreen.
Additionally, Venterra’s SMARTPACKAGE lockers offer several additional benefits for residents including:
Security:
In January of 2020,1.7 million stolen or lost packages were reported per day, leading to upwards of $25 million worth of items. When it comes to SMARTPACKAGE, there is maximum security with built-in cameras capturing each and every delivery and pick up. The package is secured in a specific lockbox until it is picked up by the resident, taking out the fear of porch pirates or someone getting the wrong package.
24/7 Access:
Long gone are the days of rushing home to get to the leasing office to grab your package before office hours are closed. Had a long day and the last thing you feel like doing is going to grab your package? Totally fine. The SMARTPACKAGE system provides residents 24/7 access, allowing them to pick up their packages on their own schedule.
Vacation Mode:
When you’re going on vacation, you don’t want to have to worry about not being able to pick up the late package with the bathing suit you ordered being gone when you come back. Within the Parcel Pending App, residents can jot down out of town and return dates to avoid incurring storage fees after 2 days.
Customer Service:
Let’s say for some reason the door to the locker you need isn’t opening, or you find yourself needing to call customer service for some other reason, Parcel Pending provides access to the customer care team 24/7/365 via phone or email – so no need to worry!
Automatic Integration:
We are often asked how long the process will take to set up the locker system. Luckily, the process couldn’t be more hassle-free. Our residents are automatically set up through integration with Venterra’s property management system, making for a frictionless user experience.
Not only are these package systems convenient and useful for our residents, but they are also a design piece that we look forward to creating for our residents as well! Each SMARTPACKAGE system is customized to that specific property, using a design that best represents the city or community to provide a further sense of home for our residents.
Time is valuable – that is something we certainly understand. With the integration of SMARTPACKAGE, our residents and our staff get time back in their day. Packages are now rarely touched by a leasing agent, maintenance crew or any other Venterra Employee. That’s Parcel Pending’s promise: Courier to locker to customer. So now, you can spend more time relaxing at the pool and our staff can focus on creating a better living experience for you.
“The SMARTPACKAGE integrations have automated the last-mile delivery experiences at our communities. We have received positive feedback from our residents, who now are able to pick up their packages at their own convenience, and we look forward to further installing the SMARTPACKAGE systems across the rest of our portfolio,” said Venterra Chairman, Andrew Stewart. “By installing SMARTPACKAGE devices in 50 of our communities over the past year, we are able to meet our residents’ demand for quick and secure package delivery. We are confident in the systems’ ability to streamline the entire package and management process, providing a better experience for residents and package delivery companies alike,” added Venterra CEO, John Foresi.
Click here to find a community equipped with a SMARTPACKAGE locker in your desired location!
Rentgrata Technology to Connect Future and Current Renters
Have you ever wanted to ask a current resident how they like their apartment? One of the toughest parts of choosing an apartment community is reading through hundreds of reviews and not being able to get real time feedback from residents that actually live at the property – but what if you did have the ability to chat with current residents? Talk about a game changer.
Enter Rentgrata, the only technology on the market that offers prospects the opportunity to message current residents of apartment buildings when considering a new place, helping renters gather feedback
from a resident’s point of view before moving in. Through the Rentgrata platform, real conversations about floor plans, amenities, and other renter questions can easily be answered via SMS text, the Rentgrata app or online.
Venterra has partnered with Rentgrata to test the platform at five properties, with intentions to expand. The fist five properties to have access to the platform will be: Apex West Midtown Apartments, Belterra Apartments, Calais Midtown Apartments, Canton Mills Lofts, The Harrison Apartments.
One may ask, why would a resident have interest in participating? Well, for each lease that is signed, both the new resident and current the resident are rewarded by the property. In short, residents can make money by simply responding to questions and if the person moves in, they get paid! On top of that, it gives residents the ability to connect with potential new neighbors.
For Stephanie Gonzalez, Venterra’s Vice President, Property & Customer Innovation, testing the platform was a no-brainer, “Rentgrata’s platform is quite innovative and is a natural progression for our customer reviews. Now, instead of a prospective renter sorting through reviews for one that matches their concern, they can ask a current resident, gaining real-life insight while potentially making a new friend along the way. We are confident that our communities provide residents with a differentiated living experience that they will feel confident sharing with anyone who asks. Rentgrata’s technology instills first-hand trust with prospective renters who may be thinking, ‘who else lets you speak with their current residents?’”
On top of creating connections, the platform will also provide Venterra with anonymized data extracted from the conversations, reporting on important details including what prospective residents are seeking in a new home and items current residents think could be improved – so that we can make updates accordingly and improve our resident experience in real-time.
By integrating the Rentgrata platform, Venterra will be able to:
- Introduce prospective renters to their peers – Venterra’s current residents.
- Build community and retain more residents.
- Help prospects gain familiarity sight unseen, if leasing virtually or from afar.
- Increase resident sentiment and improve online reputation.
- Improve leasing conversion rates.
“Deciding on where to live can be a difficult choice, especially when decisions are based on evaluating various online ratings and reviews. Through implementing Rentgrata, genuine conversations can be facilitated between current and prospective renters while offering insights on the backend that will help uncover areas where Venterra can improve the lives of our residents,” said Venterra CEO, John Foresi. “Our residents are the sole individuals who can truly speak to the day-to-day experiences of living at a Venterra property. We look forward to providing opportunities for our residents to be a part of our customer experience strategy, sharing their first-hand insights to help guide potential future neighbors,” said Venterra Chairman Andrew Stewart.
91% of Rentgrata renters recently surveyed agreed that chatting with a resident helped them feel more confident in their decision. A solution that not only encourages interactions with real customers, but facilitates it, such as Rentgrata, is a promising tool for a company like Venterra who holds multiple Customer Satisfaction Awards from companies including Kingsley and ApartmentRatings.com.
“Rentgrata is proud to partner with Venterra Realty, a company that shares our vision in providing an enjoyable resident experience through innovation and a people-first culture. Throughout the process of developing Rentgrata, frequent communication with the Venterra team has helped our employees build a technology that leverages resident sentiment through multiple channels,” said Zach Sloan, Co-Founder, and Chief Sales Influencer of Rentgrata.
Venterra is excited to begin the test phase at the first five properties and continue to find ways to further include our residents in the customer satisfaction process!
Looking for an apartment at Apex West Midtown Apartments, Belterra Apartments, Calais Midtown Apartments, Canton Mills Lofts, The Harrison Apartments? Connect with us to learn more.
Sit Back & Relax While We Innovate
Let’s face it, many apartment communities nowadays are updated and have beautiful amenities. When walking around a property, you may see lush greens and sparkling pools. Those features are undoubtedly pleasing to the eye, but what’s really driving the current multifamily industry – and potentially even your apartment tour through the community – are innovative technologies and ideas.
Lately, the multifamily industry has been faced with a challenge: how to enable potential and current renters with ways to complete their apartment search on their own terms. That’s where technology, as you may know, has become the most popular kid in school. Not to mention, where Venterra’s Core Value of the Never-Ending Pursuit of Excellence truly shines. We take pride in what we do and our pursuit of a “better way” is never-ending – especially when it comes to innovation and new ideas that will help create positive experiences for current and potential residents.
Below are a few innovations we launched to meet the needs of renters when they needed us the most.
Self-Guided Tours
Moving is stressful. That’s when we asked ourselves, what can make this experience better? Renters were are now looking for options that allowed them to shop for their next home on their own, while maintaining their own standard of comfort. To help create a positive apartment touring experience, Venterra was one of the first property management companies to launch self-guided apartment tours. Through a partnership with SmartRent, a provider of smart home automation products, Venterra integrates its tour process with SmartRent’s platform, which allows prospective renters to tour a community on their own terms, without contacting the office, using only their smartphone. SmartRent’s Self-Guided Tour options help to offer convenient alternatives for renters with busy lifestyles who want to see a space before they rent.
“Self-Guided apartment tours are a necessity in this environment,” said Stephanie Gonzalez, Vice President of Property and Customer Innovation at Venterra Realty. “The space and opportunity for a future resident to be able to arrive at a community, scan a QR code, select the apartment type they want to tour, and take the tour independent of the office staff sets everyone up for success. We are meeting the needs and wants of our customers and creating the personalized experience Venterra is known for.”
Engrain SightMap
Imagine going on your first self-guided tour and not knowing the property – trying to find the elevators, the pool and even the unit could be frustrating. To enhance the prospect experience for renters, Venterra partnered with Engrain to implement their tool, SightMap. SightMap’s interactive map shows exactly where available apartments are located within the property relative to amenities, parking, and wayfinding. Now, residents can get a better idea of where the specific units they are interested in lie on the property through our Community Stage Touch Screen.
Looking for a new apartment and using these technologies first hand? View our properties list, find a complex near you and schedule a self-guided apartment tour through your favorite unit!
SMARTLEASING
Once you have found the perfect apartment through a self-guided tour, next comes the leasing process. Lucky for you, this once dreaded item has been innovated for a seamless quick and easy process. Through Venterra’s SMARTLEASING innovation, it only takes 5 minutes for you to fill out the paperwork, and you’ll pay nothing until you are approved and decide to reserve an apartment. Yet another way to save time and headaches throughout your day spent on the hunt for that perfect place.
Future Innovations:
Venterra is always looking for ways to innovate and improve the rental process and living experience. A few innovations taking place in the near future include:
- A fully integrated resident app, allowing residents to be untethered from their computer and stay in contact with their community
- Visual representations of what garage, storage units and parking spaces are available when leasing
- Interactive 3D site maps to property websites.
Venterra is leading the way in multi-family innovation – and not only at the property level, but throughout the company as a whole. In fact, Venterra employees helped rank Venterra’s innovation in the top 6% of the thousands of companies that participate in the Great Place to Work Institute’s annual anonymous employee survey sponsored by FORTUNE magazine. In the survey, an Innovation Velocity Ratio (IVR) is calculated based on employee responses, with companies receiving an IVR ratio of 11:2 or higher defined as being in an “Accelerated” state. Venterra Realty received an IVR of 15:2, meaning for every 15 Venterra employees willing and able to innovate, there are only two who are not. This unusually high ratio highlights Venterra’s ability to quickly harness, mobilize and respond to new information and ideas.
New ideas don’t have to come from Venterra employees either – we love hearing from our current and future residents on how we can improve! Do you have a suggestion? Tell us! If we implement your idea, we’ll send you $100!