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Email template to ask an apartment leasing office about availability and move-in specials

You are apartment hunting and have a building or two in mind. The listing shows a starting rent, but the number you will actually pay each month is usually higher once mandatory fees are added: parking, trash, pest control, package lockers, an amenity fee, and a utility billing fee are the common ones. Buildings also run move-in specials, sometimes called concessions, like a free month or waived fees, that are not always advertised. Asking by email before you tour gets you the true monthly cost and the specials in writing, lets you compare buildings on the same terms, and saves a visit to a place that has nothing in your budget on your date.

Before you send

  • Your move-in date, or the earliest and latest dates that work.
  • What you need: number of bedrooms and bathrooms, a floor plan name if the website lists them, and your monthly budget including fees.
  • The lease length you want. Twelve months is standard; shorter terms usually cost more per month and some buildings price 13 to 15 month leases lower.
  • Pets, if any, with breed and weight, since pet rent and deposits change the total.
  • Whether you would like to tour, and a couple of times you are free.
Subject Availability for [bedroom count] bedroom, moving in around [move-in date] 
Hi [leasing office or agent name],

I'm looking for a [bedroom count] bedroom, [bathroom count] bath apartment at [building name] with a move-in date around [move-in date], on a [lease length] month lease. [I have a cat / I have a dog, breed and weight / No pets.]

Could you tell me which units are available for that date, and for each one the floor, the base rent, and the full list of monthly fees I'd be paying on top of rent (parking, trash, pest, amenity, utility billing, pet rent, or anything else)? I'd also like to know the one-time costs to move in: application fee, administrative fee, and security deposit.

If you're running any move-in specials right now, please include them and note any conditions, like lease length or a move-in deadline.

I'd be happy to tour on [day and time] or [day and time] if something fits. Thanks for your help.

Thanks,
[Your name]
[Your phone number]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • A good reply lists two or three specific units with the base rent and every fee, and states the special plainly. Add the fees to the rent yourself and compare buildings on that total, not on the advertised rent.
  • A bad answer is "prices change daily, come in for a tour." Many large buildings use software that reprices units constantly, but they can still quote you today's number. Reply once and ask for it in writing.
  • Watch for a special that only applies to certain units or a lease longer than you wanted, and for a "free month" that is spread across the lease rather than taken up front.
  • Send the same email to three or four buildings. When one offers a better special, tell the others; leasing offices near each other often match.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Find me an apartment that fits my budget and move-in date 
Hi StandIn,

Please find out what apartments are available for me and what they really cost per month.

Where: [neighborhood or city, and any specific buildings I already like].
What I need: [bedrooms, bathrooms, and anything I cannot live without like in-unit laundry or parking].
Move-in date: [date or range].
Budget: [monthly total including fees].
Lease length: [months].
Pets: [type, breed, and weight, or none].

Ask each building for available units, base rent, every monthly fee, move-in costs, and current specials, then bring me a side-by-side comparison on the true monthly cost.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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