HOW TO USE THE INTERNET IN THE RENTAL OFFICE.

If you manage rental housing, you've probably been wondering whether you need to have access to the Internet in the rental office. You might be hesitating, thinking the Internet is nothing more than another electronic toy, fun for use at home but a time waster at work.

You couldn't

Even if you've never been on-line yourself, you have no doubt heard colleagues talk about how convenient e-mail is, or about how they save time by ordering supplies on-line, or you may have even heard about how they rented an apartment to someone several states away. Here are some ideas to get you started using the Internet in your rental offices:

E-MAIL

Most people start using the Internet for e-mail. It's a convenient way to communicate, because it's available 24 hours a day and, unlike voice mail, you can review what you are saying before it is sent. It's also nice to have a record of what you said and when, and it is certainly cheaper than long distance telephone calls.

E-mail is not just for jokes and chain letters. Use e-mail to contact vendors who are hard to reach during the day, and give precise instructions or ask specific questions. Make use of e-mail postcards to congratulate colleagues or to thank a vendor for great service. Send documents back and forth between offices via e-mail and save money on the paper and telephone charges you have when you fax.

ON-LINE ADVERTISING

Whether you are advertising vacant apartments for rent, recruiting a new leasing agent, want to reach new property management clients, or need a new maintenance supervisor, the Internet is an essential tool. Ask around, and you'll find more and more people are using the Internet to search for an apartment, a job, or some kind of product or service. Just like television became a standard advertising medium in the 1950s, the Internet has become a standard advertising medium today. If you are doubtful, pick up any national magazine and try to find an ad without a "www" address.

Advertising an apartment on-line allows you to reach a world-wide audience of potential renters. Best of all, because powerful search tools allow renters to select just the apartments that meet their needs and desires, the contacts you get from these ads are more likely to result in leases. These are people who already know what amenities and floor plans you offer; if they have called you, chances are they want what you have.

If recruiting on the Web is new to you, you'll be surprised how many job seekers are using the Internet. Again, the advantage is the availability of search functions to narrow down the listings to a personal set of criteria. There are many places you can post an ad free, and in most cases you can give more information on the Web than you could in a classified ad you pay for by the word. This is a benefit for both applicants and recruiters searching resumes, because the more information exchanged on the Internet the better the chances of a fit in "real life."

For those of you doing fee management, the Internet is a great place to "meet" new clients, and you don't need a company Web site to accomplish this. As a matter of fact, unless your company name is well known, the chances that a potential new client will find your site among the 320 million pages currently on the Internet are pretty slim. You'll have a much better chance advertising on a site that is being marketed specifically to apartment owners. Just make sure they are the primary visitor to the site; you don't want to be on a site that's for renters when you are marketing property management services.

ON-LINE SCREENING

You know you should consistently screen all potential residents, but sometimes the office is too busy to spend time on hold trying to call in an application. You can try faxing the app in, but if the provider's fax machine is busy, you could find yourself with a prospect demanding to know if they're approved and no way to know if you should.

Using the Internet to do resident screening is a natural. There are a number of companies offering on-line screening (maybe even the one you already use), and with most of them, all you need is a computer with Internet access. You can choose the level of service you need, anything from a simple credit report to a complete review of the prospect's financial status along with a recommendation to accept or decline the resident. Whatever service level you choose, you'll have a clean, legible copy of the information you gathered--an important benefit in case you ever find yourself with a discrimination complaint. And of course, the Internet is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year--unlike most screening companies.

FINDING VENDORS

If you have ever played phone tag with a vendor only to find out they didn't do the service you needed, you'll find it much more convenient to find products and services on the Web. Because most companies advertising on the Internet can be contacted easily by e-mail, you can tell them what you're looking for anytime, whether it's during business hours or not. And if you've ever been on the phone trying to tell a vendor what you need when a prospective resident came in, you'll appreciate the fact that an e-mail can wait, while a prospective resident won't.

BUYING SUPPLIES ON-LINE

Wouldn't it be nice if the suppliers you buy from were open when it was convenient for you to shop there--even if it's 11 p.m. and you're in your sweats? Ask the companies you buy supplies from (maintenance supplies or office supplies) if they offer on-line ordering. Some companies even offer discounts for those using the Internet to order from them, because they don't have to pay someone to take the order. Even without a discount, you save money by saving the time it would take you to drive to their location to buy what you need.

KEEPING UP WITH THE COMPETITION

Running an apartment building is a lot like running any other kind of business, and part of running a successful business is knowing what your competitors are up to. You could call your competitors and pretend to be a resident shopping around, or you could do some research on the Internet.

You can find quite a bit of information about the properties you compete with by looking for them on one of the on-line vacancy listing sites. Rents charged, deposits required, and amenities offered are usually included in the advertising on these sites. Even if the specific buildings you want aren't listed, you can still get a feel for what the other properties in your area are offering.

TRAINING

Whether you have been in the business for years or are new to property management, whether you own the property or work for the person who does, additional training can benefit you. The challenge for apartment owners and operators is finding training opportunities that fit into your busy schedule, and that fit the budget.

The Internet offers a wealth of training resources for the rental housing industry professional, most available around the clock, and many for free. Even sites that don't specifically relate to property management can be of benefit. For example, if your leasing reps aren't closing as many leases as they should, perhaps a site with general selling tips would be useful.

These are just some of the almost limitless ways you can make use of the Internet in your office. It's kind of like fax machines--before you had one, you probably wondered if you really needed it. Now it's an integral part of your daily life. It's the same with the Internet. Once you start using it as a tool, you'll wonder how you ever did business without it!

Miller is vice president with Apartment Owner. com, San Diego, California.