EdR Moves to Online Leasing

by Katie Sloan

Memphis, Tenn. — Partnership with on-site.com will offer online leasing for 37,000 beds by the end of this summer.

Chris Richards of EdRMemphis, Tenn. — On-Site.com, a company founded to apply web-based software solutions to real estate management, has partnered with EdR to introduce online leasing to its 67 communities, comprising 37,000 leasable beds, by the end of summer 2013.

On-Site’s online leasing solution will allow EdR’s student renters to shop apartments, apply, qualify and e-sign a lease in one continuous, online checkout process, optimized to run on smartphones and tablets.

Christine Richards, EdR senior vice president and chief operations officer, led the move to online leasing, stressing a need for greater usability and convenience in the renting process.

“EdR is putting a priority on leasing technology since we need to be able to interact with students in the same manner they are accustomed to in every other facet of their lives,” Richards says. “Students today register for classes online, buy their books online, and now they can lease online in an easy checkout process that puts an end to all the paper pushing.”

EdR needed a solution that allowed student renters to apply to a floorplan, pick lease terms and payment options based on the start and end dates for the school semester or quarter, qualify separately from their guarantors, immediately execute the lease via electronic signature—and then invite the guarantor to sign electronically as well.

Students can sign the lease once they meet the community’s rental criteria and without the assistance of the leasing agent.

“The student signs the lease, and then they can invite a guarantor to qualify separately according to a different set of rental criteria and complete the guarantor agreement,” said Scott Jones, On-Site’s chief technology officer.

“Once we have the students’ attention, we want them to sign the lease immediately,” said Scott Casey, EdR senior vice president and chief technology officer. “Getting their attention again can be difficult, so it’s important that we remove the bottlenecks from the leasing process and let the students complete the entire leasing transaction in one session.”

Both paper and online leasing will be available to renters, but online leasing will be promoted heavily, with a future goal of eliminating paper leases entirely.

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