Two-man open houses: one agent on-site, one coordinator working online in parallel, so no prospect gets missed and the on-site agent stays focused on selling the prospects.
Remote coordinators: everything that doesn't require being physically at the property is handled offshore.
One system for all leasing: texts, calls, showings, and applications all live in RentEngine, with sync back to their PMS (AppFolio).
AI on a schedule: suggested replies while the team is in office, full AI responses after hours.
Keen focus on conversion tracking: monitors exactly where listings are losing prospects in the funnel, instead of lowering rent off the bat.
Reduced vacancy time by 7 days after consolidating all leasing workflows into RentEngine
800 Apartments and houses across Cape Cod
Howzer Property Management leases and manages 800 units across Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The portfolio includes single-family homes, Class A multifamily buildings, and new construction lease-ups.
For showings, Howzer uses a mix of self-guided showings, two-person open houses, and agent-accompanied showings.
Success at managing three different leasing types across single-family and multifamily properties comes down to communication.
Howzer previously used 3 different tools for the leasing process (showings, application, communication).
Messages were often missed or unclear on who was handling them, and phone calls lived on an entirely separate system that never talked to the other. Now texts, calls, applications, and showings all live in one place, giving the team one view into every conversation and allowing them to double down on faster prospect communication.
Howzer's leasing team is small by design with two remote, off-shore leasing coordinators, two local showing agents, and an operations manager oversees the group.
The Residence at 850 in Hyannis, a standout luxury community on Cape Cod, managed by Howzer.
The Tech Stack
CRM / Prospect Communication: RentEngine
Showings & Scheduling: RentEngine
Tenant Screening: RentEngine Applications
Lockboxes: Manual lockboxes
Property Management Software: AppFolio
The "two-man" system for open houses
Howzer groups 2+ prospects into the same showing for efficiency and to create ‘urgency’.
Howzer’s playbook
Howzer staffs every open house with one person on-site and one coordinator working online in parallel, with the online coordinator answering questions about parking, applications, and prospects running late. That split is what gives prospects top-tier, undistracted showings.
Additionally, grouping several prospects into the same showing slot creates visible scarcity. When a prospect sees other people touring the same unit, it moves them from interested to applying faster, thinking that if they don’t act fast, the unit might lease before they get a chance to apply.
"We find that by having those two people run that open house together, you both have a better online experience, and you have a better in-person experience."
One system for single-family and multifamily leasing
Howzer uses one leasing platform for the entire portfolio, letting them work leads from first inquiry to approved application in the same system.
Howzer’s playbook
With a mix of freestanding homes and apartment complexes, they are careful about which types of showings are offered for each.
At the Class A multifamily buildings, owner clients expect close to zero downtime between tenants. There Howzer does occupied-unit and model-unit showings, meaning an agent has to be on-site. The on-site agents focus on giving the best possible tour experience, while the remote team handles the scheduling and arrival logistics.
Single-family homes use self-guided showings since Howzer's portfolio covers a huge swath of southern Massachusetts. This allows a remote leasing coordinator to cover the entire territory without an agent driving hundreds of miles a day. But the benefit goes beyond staff time: giving prospects more flexibility on when they view a unit is part of what leases it faster.
New construction multifamily falls in between, combining occupied-style oversight with self-guided convenience. Once the first building is finished, Howzer plans to use it as the tour unit with unit-specific codes, since every unit in the development is identical.
Previously Howzer was processing applications through AppFolio, but that meant his team was using multiple leasing tools and leads were falling between the cracks. They consolidated communication, scheduling, and applications into RentEngine and conversion rates jumped.
Now a prospect’s full journey lives in one system, enabling accurate lead-to-application conversion rate tracking, better pricing decisions, and lower DOM.
"This isn't just something to make our lives easier. It does that, but by also offering self-showings, we're providing more options to the prospect, and so it's more likely to get rented faster."
Howzer uses AI to instantly answer routine questions, like parking, pet policy, and move-in dates, so that the two leasing coordinators can stay focused on urgent messages, follow-ups, and calls that actually move a lease forward.
Howzer’s playbook
Howzer’s coordinators and AI work hand-in-hand. During business hours, the two leasing coordinators handle the bulk of incoming messages themselves, sped up by suggested replies from RentEngine that let them move faster.
After hours, RentEngine AI fully takes over, answering questions, scheduling showings, and helping prospects submit their application.
Laser focused on the conversion funnel
He manages leasing like a real sales process.
Howzer’s playbook
With leads, showings, and applications tracked on one system, Howzer's team can see the conversion rate at each stage.
When diagnosing a slow listing Howzer’s team analyzes the expected-vs-actual conversion rate at each stage before recommending a price cut.
If leads aren't converting to showings, that usually points to a follow-up or showing availability problem. If showings aren't converting to applications, something about the property needs attention. If applications aren't converting to signed leases, there is friction in collecting the deposit and lease. Breaking it down this way means they only recommend a price cut when the conversion data points to price as the issue.
What RentEngine unlocked for Howzer
After consolidating all their leasing into one platform, Howzer reported a 7-day improvement in vacancy time.
Previously they had been running showings on a scheduling software, using AppFolio for screening, and relying on a separate phone system for communication.
The feature Casey Howe comes back to most is the Command Center, RentEngine’s CRM that keeps every conversation with a prospect in one place.
"What I love about RentEngine is it's a CRM. It's not just a lease scheduling solution or just an application solution. It's a true CRM that helps you be more effective to prospective residents."
