AppFolio Tutorials - Ep. 4 Guest cards and applications

Hello everyone, and welcome to APM Academy. In today’s video, we’ll cover the process of converting a potential lead into a rental application and then into a full tenant.

Guest Cards

You can find your potential leads under Leasing → Guest Cards.

• Auto-generated guest cards: Created automatically from online inquiries.
• Manual guest cards: For in-person inquiries or text messages not captured online.
  
  

To create a manual guest card:

1. Click New Guest Card.
2. Enter the tenant’s information.
3. Specify the source of the lead (default is “Noah,” but update as needed).
4. Assign the lead to a specific in-house property manager.
5. Select the unit they are interested in.

If the guest card comes from an online inquiry, you’ll get additional info automatically, including:

• Desired bedrooms and bathrooms
• Maximum rent
• Desired move-in date
• Additional occupants
• Monthly income
• Estimated credit score
• Pets (dog or cat)

The Additional Comments section typically includes tenant follow-up requests, such as scheduling tours.

Click Save to create the guest card.

Creating a Rental Application

Next, you’ll convert the guest card into a rental application:

1. Click Send Rental Application (if the guest has an active email).
2. For manual entries, fill in the rental application yourself:
   
   • Desired unit and move-in date
   • Contact info (phone, email)
   • Residential history
   • Previous landlord contacts
   • Personal information
   • Financial information

Note: If a paper rental application is received, all this info must be manually entered before screening.

Once complete, click Save.

Tenant Screening

After the rental application is submitted:

1. Go to the Tenant Screening section.
2. Locate the green Run Screening Report task.
3. Click to generate the screening report, which includes:
   
   • Criminal history
   • Credit score
   • Other relevant metrics

Review the report. If everything looks good, proceed to convert the applicant into a tenant.

Converting to Tenant

To convert an applicant:

1. Click Convert to Tenant on the right-hand task panel.
2. Complete the Lease Details section:
   
   • Move-in date
   • Lease start and end dates
   • Renters insurance requirement
   • Recurring charges (monthly rent, utilities, etc.)
   • Late fee policy (use property default or create a custom policy)
   • Amounts due at move-in (typically security deposit and first month’s rent)
     
     
3. Click Continue to reach the Generate Lease section.

Important: A lease template must be set up in advance to complete this step. (We’ll cover lease templates in the next video.)

4. Enter the lease sign date and finalize the move-in.

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Tenant Portal Activation

Once the tenant is created:

• An online portal activation email is sent to the tenant.
• The tenant can then log in, view their account, and pay any outstanding balance.

This completes the workflow from guest card → rental application → full tenant in AppFolio.

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