Interviewing prospective residents is an important part of finding out if they’re a good fit for your community. Coming prepared for that interview not only ensures you get a good feel for prospective residents, but it also lets prospects know just how thorough your community management team is. Unpreparedness during an interview may send a message that your team has a habit of being unprepared or disorganized in other aspects of community management.

If you’re preparing your questions list, some to include for your interview are:

  • Who will be living in the residence?
  • Do you have any pets?
  • Will any smokers be living in the residence?
  • Do you have references?
  • Have you ever been evicted?
  • What is your employment status?

Not only do these questions let community management teams know a bit more about a prospective resident, but they can also let prospects know if a community is a right fit for them. For instance, if a prospect has a dog, and learns that the community is dog-friendly with a deposit, they’ll know that this is a great choice for them and their furry friend. Adversely, if a prospect learns that the community is not pet-friendly, they can easily move forward and find a community that may be a better fit.

There are also some more “personality forward” questions you can ask during an interview to let you and your prospect get to know each other a little better. Questions like:

  • Are you looking for a friendly community?
  • Do you like to volunteer?
  • What are your hobbies?
  • Do you like to get to know your neighbors?

With these “personality” questions, you can show off your community culture a little bit. You can talk up how your community fosters a natural and organic community feel. You can use this as an opportunity to talk about community events, volunteer projects, and fun activities. It lets you show off your brand personality, and lets prospects get excited about what they can experience being a part of the community you’ve built.

At OccupancySolutions.com we want to help management teams find the best fit to build a natural sense of real community. To learn more about nailing the prospective resident interview, contact us at OccupancySolutions.com today.