From the CAG Journal: An inside look at the thinking, testing, and development behind NeighborLink Living as we prepare for our initial Charlotte launch.
Every industry reaches moments where it's worth stepping back and asking different questions.
Apartment leasing is no different.
Over the years, our industry has built incredible technology.
Communities are more visible than ever before.
Marketing is more sophisticated.
Data is richer.
Reporting is better.
Yet one thought continued to surface during countless conversations with owners, operators, regional managers, leasing professionals, and renters.
The leasing process itself still begins the same way it always has.
Renters search.
Communities wait.
Eventually someone reaches out.
We wondered...
What if renters could simply begin the conversation?
Not by completing another application.
Not by joining another waiting list.
Not by calling ten different leasing offices.
Simply by saying:
"Here's where I'd like to live."
"Here's when I'd like to move."
"Here's what fits my budget."
Then allowing participating communities to respond.
That idea became NeighborLink Living.
Not because we believed apartment leasing needed to become more complicated.
Quite the opposite.
Because we believed it could become simpler.
More transparent.
More local.
More conversational.
More human.
Today, NeighborLink is the result of hundreds of conversations, countless hours of testing, and thoughtful feedback from apartment professionals who generously shared their ideas along the way.
While we are incredibly excited about what NeighborLink may become, we're even more excited about what we expect to learn from the professionals who help shape its future.
Because the best ideas rarely begin finished.
They improve through listening.
Follow the NeighborLink Journey
NeighborLink Living officially opens next week.
Over the coming weeks we'll continue sharing lessons, improvements, and marketplace insights as we grow neighborhood by neighborhood throughout Charlotte, the Carolinas and beyond.
Every marketplace begins with a handful of leaders willing to try something new.
That brings us to an invitation.