For those without the means to drive around the city to find a new place to live, Apartment Seekers helps future tenants find living options for free.
Apartment Seekers, established in March 2000, is a marketing and advertising avenue for apartment companies. The establishment does business with over 90 percent of the complexes in Tallahassee said Christina Wimberley, one of the owners of Apartment Seekers.
Apartment Seekers works with about 15,000 people a year said Wimberley. She said the company not only works with students, they “see all type of people.”
Prospective tenants must come into their office and fill out an application that will detail what type of apartment they want. The application contains questions like what type of apartment, townhouse or house the applicant desires.
Along with type of living area desired, prospects are asked to decide if the want roommate matching, a furnished or unfurnished living arrangement, pet-friendly accommodations, a certain number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and a certain price range.
After the application process, prospects are directed to a rental consultant.
“People sometimes ask us to guide their search because they sometimes don’t know what they want,” Wimberley said.
Brian Nathan, one of Apartment Seekers’ rental consultants, helps prospects find exactly what they want. After Nathan consults prospects about their preferences, he presents them with a sample booklet that presents individuals with a list of living areas.
Each page in the booklet displays a different apartment complex. People looking to rent can view each complex’s management, cost of rent, application fees, security features and amenities, among other information for that particular area.
What makes Apartment Seekers different from other apartment locators, Wimberley said, is they have an “accurate view of what the market look like now.” She said they know “everything others apartment finders wouldn’t necessarily know.” Apartment Seekers updates their website daily, keeping their information up to date. Another one of the company’s advantages is that they “know what the specials are,” Wimberley said.
She said that apartment complexes give them information on discount deals like free months’ rent or others deal to which other apartment-finding companies would not have access.
In order for Apartment Seekers to provide their services free of charge, they ask prospects to reference the company’s name once they sign a lease.
The apartment companies that choose to work with Apartment Seekers, give them a three percent referral fee of the tenants total lease amount, which allows Apartment Seekers to offer their services free of charge.
The size of the apartment community determines the number of tenants the complex references. The company’s busy season begins between February and August, which is when students begin to prepare for next school year’s living arrangements.
Apartment Seekers, located at 1918 W. Tennessee St., operates Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Their phone number is (850) 523-9388.
Apartment Seekers will have their first housing extravaganza March 16. Apartment representatives will come and speak to prospective tenants about their establishments at the extravaganza.
Contact Anthony Anamelechi at famuannews@hotmail.com