A 7-Day Digital Leasing Funnel That Cuts Days Vacant

Vacancy is usually a queue problem, not a marketing problem. Prospects drop when nobody answers, the application dies on a desktop form, or the lease packet is missing an addendum on Friday afternoon.

This playbook is a seven-day operating cadence you can run on every turn.

The funnel and the SLA

Publish these targets to leasing staff. If a step misses the SLA twice in a week, fix the process before you buy another lead source.

Virtual tours help pre-qualify interest. They do not replace a show-ready unit or a human for accessibility questions.

Days 0–2: stop losing the tour

• Put real availability on the listing (date the unit is ready, not “call for details”).
• Offer self-serve scheduling with a reminder and a one-tap reschedule.
• Ask three pre-qual questions before the tour (move-in date, occupants, pets). Do not invent extra “gotcha” fields.

No-shows drop when the reminder includes address, parking, and what to bring.

Days 3–5: one application, one criteria sheet

The application must finish on a phone. Save progress. Show the applicant what happens next and a typical review window.

Screening is where teams get into trouble. Write the criteria before the first file hits the queue: income documentation, rental history, guarantor rules, pets. Apply the same sheet to every applicant. Review HUD fair housing guidance if your team has been deciding “case by case.”

AI and automated checks can assemble the file. A person still makes the housing decision.

Days 6–7: sign and collect without a scavenger hunt

E-sign (for example Dropbox Sign) is useful because of the audit trail: who signed, when, and which version. It is not useful if addenda are attached by memory.

Bundle automatically by building and unit type:

• Lead-based paint or other required disclosures
• Pet and parking addenda
• Utility responsibility
• Any local rider your counsel has approved

Collect deposits and first month in the same system that will post the ledger. Send a move-in packet the same day: utilities, trash, how to request maintenance, emergency contacts, and how access works.

Common failure modes

• Five tools, one spreadsheet. Every handoff is a missed SLA.
• No human path. Cosigners, international IDs, and reasonable accommodations need a named person, not a dead-end form.
• Criteria live in someone’s head. That is both a vacancy problem and a fair-housing problem.

Unitz keeps listings, applications, e-sign, and move-in payments on one leasing timeline. If you want to map this seven-day cadence onto your current stack, book a consultation.