Bread Crumbs, AI, and the Disappearing Leasing Desk
Can you believe it’s already May 2025? I know—I blinked and somehow we skipped spring altogether. But before we get too deep into summer lease-up season, I wanted to take a quick trip back to the beginning of the year. The leasing landscape came out swinging. Buckle up—this ride gets bumpy.
Mission: Shop ‘Til I Drop
This year, I’m doing things differently. The goal is five properties a month—some in-person, some digital, and some over the phone. Because let’s be honest, I don’t have the time (or budget) to cross the country like Carmen Sandiego anymore. So instead, I’m taking the prospect journey like any real renter would: website, guest card, maybe a chatbot flirtation, and if I’m lucky, an actual tour.
Digital Déjà Vu
I started with digital shops. Seven websites. One of them? Completely broken. Like, 404-error-meets-abandoned-mall broken. Just an “Applicant Login” and “Resident Login” staring back at me like the ghost of customer service past.
The other six? All used AI to respond to my inquiries. Love that for them… sort of. Because when you blast out six guest cards in ten minutes (like any normal, semi-committed prospect does), you get six eerily similar replies back-to-back.
They all went a little something like this:
“Thanks for your interest in [Insert Property Here]. Our community features Wi-Fi, quartz countertops, and thrilling proximity to a strip mall.”
It was like playing Mad Libs with leasing bots. And don’t get me started on the typos. One message kicked off with, “you please let me know…” Lowercase ‘y’ and everything. The AI forgot we were capitalizing things in 2025. Cute.
The Grand (Un)Tour
Then came the in-person adventures. I narrowed it down to five properties and booked appointments—well, kind of. One place was literally closed on Mondays (who knew we were doing European business hours now?), and another greeted me with a locked door and a sign that said, “Closed Until 2 PM.” My appointment? 1:30 PM. I Ubered across town for that, y’all.
I tried to rebook while standing outside the building, and the chatbot told me I already had an appointment. The gaslighting was real.
When I finally got inside, the leasing agent didn’t acknowledge me. Just sat there while someone filled out paperwork. Not a “Hi,” not a “Be right with you,” not even a nod. So I left. And spoiler alert: no one ever followed up to say, “Hey, sorry we missed you.” But they did send six emails about even better specials, each one more desperate than the last. If concessions could talk, they’d be screaming.
Self-Guided to Self-Doubt
At another brand-new lease-up, I was handed a key fob and a laminated map and told to “follow the breadcrumbs.” That was the literal instruction. No name, no ID check, no information about which apartments to view. Just me and my laminated treasure map. It felt less like an apartment tour and more like a very low-stakes episode of Survivor.
The apartments had cutesy signs like “King Bed Fits Here,” but the signs were crooked. And all I could think was: what if my king bed doesn’t fit and I have no one to ask? Also, what if I was a shady person with a master key fob and a grudge?
Human Interaction: A Relic?
Out of the five tours, not a single leasing professional asked me to apply for an apartment. Most didn’t learn—or use—my name. One didn’t tell me his name at all. One showed me the exact same floorplan three different times like I was collecting them in a Pokémon game. And one gave me a business card with his name… only to follow up with an email from someone else entirely. It’s giving identity crisis.
The one highlight? A guy actually walked me through how to apply online, screen-share style. He was the only one who treated the leasing process like something I might actually do—and didn’t just assume I’d “think about it” and wander off into the void.
The Takeaway
Look, I get it. Leasing is hard. AI is helpful. And sometimes you just want to eat lunch in peace without a surprise shopper ruining your vibe. But if you can’t:
Greet prospects by name,
Know your own specials,
Provide a working link to book a tour,
Or offer a reason to fall in love with your community...
Then no amount of concessions is going to close the deal.
These were all easy wins, folks. And they were missed.
Until next time… Happy Leasing
