Where to call, email, Apartment agents?
July 30, 2014 7:28 AM   Subscribe

The typical craigslist apartment ad in Boston might have (in addition to the craigslist anonymous email) a broker's corporate email, a corporate phone, or a cellphone. What is the most effective endpoint to deliver inquiries to, and at what time should it be done?

When responding to a craigslist ad, is it more effective to use the corporate email if given? If there is a phone number not specifically designated as an office number, should I restrict my call times? Is it blanket ok to call at 9am?

I work, and only have time to apartment hunt after 6pm (though I could make pre-planned calls during the day) and don't want to lose out on an apartment because my email / voicemail gets lost. I'm hesitant to cc on a second email, but maybe it's the rude and effective thing to do in the face of uncertainty.
posted by tintexas to Work & Money (3 answers total)
 
Best answer: I think call the cell phone. While reasonable minds might differ about whether to call at 3:00 in the morning, the onus is on the agent to turn their phone off if they're posting the number on CL. I would certainly feel free to call at 9 am or 9 pm.

Good luck. The rental market in Boston is a bear. Don't be afraid to be pushy with brokers, honestly.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 7:50 AM on July 30, 2014


Best answer: Brokers use phones. Some of them are good about email, but many are not. Largely it is cellphone all the way. Most residential brokers I know pick up their cellphones on Sundays and in the evenings. This is because they work on commission. Go nuts. This is not a situation in which to be polite. Email, phone and text all at once. Make them work for you.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 8:47 AM on July 30, 2014


Response by poster: Yep, 0-2 day old listings on craigslist have a 50% chance of still being available by phone, but I had 0% success with emails. Calling is the correct strategy.
posted by tintexas at 6:00 PM on July 30, 2014


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