Leasing with AppFolio,
the Fidelity way

How our leasing works

A computer system does the repetitive follow-up. You do the part only a person can: showing the home and helping people apply.

Create your AppFolio account

We create your user. You'll get an email from AppFolio to activate it.

Steps

1. Open the email titled like “You've been invited to AppFolio” and click Activate Now.No email? Check spam, then ask us to resend it. It comes from our account, not from AppFolio support.
2. Create a strong password. Use a password manager if you have one.
3. Set up two-step verification with your mobile number. AppFolio texts you a code each time you sign in on a new device.Tick “remember this device” on your own phone and laptop so you're asked less often (about every 30 days).
4. From now on, sign in at fidelityresidential.appfolio.com. Bookmark it.
5. Optional: create a passkey (fingerprint or face sign-in) from your account settings, using Create Passkey. It works on the website. The phone app still uses your password and text code.

Download the AppFolio mobile app

The staff app is called AppFolio Property Manager. It's free on iPhone and Android.

Phone screens on this page are illustrations with made-up people. Button placement in the real app can differ slightly. If you can't find something in the app, open fidelityresidential.appfolio.com in your phone's browser. Every screen in this guide works there too.

Turn on your alerts

Choose which events AppFolio emails you about, or sends to your phone as a push notification.

Steps

1. Click your name in the top-right corner, then My Settings.
2. Scroll to Notifications → Leasing.
3. Tick both Email and Mobile Push for:• A showing I'm assigned to is created, updated, or canceled (the most important one)
   • New guest card interests are received
   • New rental applications are received
4. Under Communication, tick A new text message is received for an inbox conversation I am assigned to.
5. Scroll to the bottom and click Save.

On your computer On your phone

On your computer

My Settings → Notifications

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Common mistakes

• Turning off “showing assigned to me” emails. You'll miss bookings and changes.
• Changing General Settings. Those are company-wide; only change My Settings.

Set your showing hours

Your weekly availability is the only list of times prospects (and our AI caller) can book. No hours means no showings.

Steps

1. Click your name (top right) → My Settings. In the Tasks panel on the right, click Set Showing Availability.Shortcut: the Calendar page has the same link.
2. Check Showings Settings at the bottom: set Time Zone to Central Time, plus your Buffer Time and Drive Time so you're never booked in Decatur and Huntsville back-to-back.
3. Click Bulk Add Availability. Pick the property group (Alabama) or specific properties, set a start and end time, tick the days, and click Create Availability.
4. Use Edit on a single day to adjust or remove hours. A day with no hours shows Not Available.
5. Optional: under Sync Personal Calendar, connect Google or Outlook so busy time blocks bookings and showings land on your own calendar.
6. Update your hours every week, especially before weekends, when most people want to look.

On your computer On your phone

On your computer

Showing Availability → Weekly Recurring Availability

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Create Availability

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Showings Settings

The calendar

See every showing, and who it's assigned to, by week, day, month or list.

Steps

1. Click Calendar in the left menu. It opens on the Alabama properties.
2. Switch views with Month · Week · Day · Agenda. Agenda is the easiest list for a busy day.
3. Click a purple showing to see the time, home, prospect, phone, Assigned to and Status. Click the guest card name to open it.

Calendar → Week

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On your phone: open the same Calendar in your phone's browser, or check your synced Google or Outlook calendar.

The Vacancies page

Every home currently for rent, with its rent, size, available date and photos. It's your source of truth for prices.

Steps

1. Left menu: Leasing → Vacancies.
2. Each card shows the address, BD/BA, SQ. FT., RENT and AVAILABLE date. Click the address for full details and photos.
3. Quote rent and availability only from this page (or the public listing). Never from memory.

Leasing → Vacancies

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Guest cards

A guest card is one prospect's file: contact info, the homes they asked about, showings, and every text, email and call.

Find a guest card

1. Left menu: Leasing → Guest Cards. Newest activity is at the top.
2. Use Click here to search to filter by name, property or date, or type a name into the Search AppFolio bar at the top of any page.
3. Click a name to open the card.

Leasing → Guest Cards

Read a guest card, top to bottom

Guest card

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The Activity tab: always check it first

Guest card → Activity

Guest card → Add

Common mistakes

• Texting a prospect from your personal phone. Nothing gets logged, and they get replies from two numbers.
• Trying to delete a guest card. You can't, and shouldn't; ask us to mark it inactive.

Create a guest card

Most guest cards create themselves. Make one by hand only for a walk-in, a referral, or a caller whose card doesn't exist yet.

Steps

1. Search first with the top search bar (name, phone, or email). If the person exists, use their card.
2. Go to Leasing → Guest Cards and click New Guest Card in the Tasks panel.
3. Enter First Name, Last Name, Email and Phone Number. Pick a Source (for example “Yard sign” or “Walk-in”).
4. Under Interests, choose the property or unit. Fill in what you know: bedrooms, move-in, pets.
5. Save. Then add a note about how you met them.

Guest Cards → New Guest Card

The unified inbox

One list of every text conversation, newest first: prospects, tenants and vendors.

Steps

1. Left menu: Communication → Inbox. The number shows unread conversations.
2. Use Filters to show only Prospect conversations. Tenant and vendor messages aren't yours.
3. Click a conversation to read and reply. A red Message failed to send usually means a bad number or an opted-out prospect.

Communication → Inbox

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Email and text a guest

Always message prospects from inside AppFolio, so every word is saved on their guest card.

Steps

1. Open the guest card and click Inbox (or the blue conversation bar at the bottom).
2. At the bottom, the switch reads Send via SMS. Click it to change to email if you need to.
3. Type your message, or click Use Template, then click Send.

Guest card → Conversations

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Send showing invitations and rental applications

A showing invitation texts and emails the prospect a personal link to pick a time. A rental application sends them the link to apply.

Send a showing invitation

1. Open the guest card → Showings → Send Showing Invitation.
2. Pick the Unit. Leave Email and Text ticked (untick Text if they opted out).
3. Click Send Invitation. They'll get a link that shows your open hours.

Showings → Send Showing Invitation

Send a rental application

1. Guest card → Rental Application → Send Rental Application.
2. Check the Unit or Campaign and the recipient email. Tick Send an SMS with a rental application link if they'd like a text too.
3. Click Send. At a showing, send it before you leave so they can start on their phone right away.

Rental Application → Send Rental Application

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Common mistakes

• Sending an invitation to a brand-new lead. The system did it minutes ago.
• Re-sending an application because a pop-up seemed to hang. Check Activity for “Rental Application Sent” first.

Schedule, reschedule or cancel a showing

When you and a prospect agree on a time by phone or at a showing, book it yourself. Change it with Edit, and cancel only when they really cancel.

Schedule a showing (you book it for them)

1. Guest card → Showings → Schedule a Showing.
2. Choose the Unit and Duration (30 minutes is typical). Pick a time from the availability grid, or type the Date and Time.
3. Under Internal Use Only, set Assign To to yourself.
4. Leave Send showing details to Prospect: Email and Text ticked, and Require confirmation by Prospect: Text on. Click Save.

Showings → Schedule a Showing

Reschedule (change the time)

1. Guest card → Showings tab → click the arrow on the showing to expand it → Edit.
2. Pick the new time in the grid, or change Date and Time. Keep the notification boxes ticked so they're told.
3. Click Save. The system moves its reminders to the new time on its next daily check.

Guest card → Showings tab

Edit Showing

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Cancel

1. Only when the prospect says they're not coming and don't want another time. If they just want a different time, use Edit instead.
2. Showings tab → expand the showing → Cancel Showing. Add a note on the card saying why.

Mark a No Show

If a prospect confirmed but didn't come, record it in AppFolio so everyone knows what really happened.

Steps

1. Wait at least 15 minutes past the time, and call and text them once from AppFolio.
2. Open their guest card → Showings tab → expand the showing.
3. Click Mark as No Show. (This appears once the showing time has passed.)
4. Add a note: how long you waited and how you tried to reach them.
5. Message us the same day (see the warning below).

Guest card → Showings tab (past showing)

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• Marking No Show when the prospect never confirmed, or cancelled ahead of time. Use it only for “confirmed, then didn't come”.

Take an application by hand

For someone who can't apply online. You type their paper application into AppFolio.

Steps

1. Open their guest card (create one first if needed) → Rental Application → Enter Rental Application.No guest card? Leasing → Rental Applications → Tasks panel → New Rental Application.
2. Type in every field from the paper form: unit, move-in date, contact info, where they've lived, landlords, income. Screening can't run until it's complete.
3. Upload a photo or scan of the signed paper form as an attachment.
4. Save, then message us. AppFolio doesn't alert anyone about manually entered applications.

Guest card → Rental Application

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Leasing → Rental Applications

The daily follow-up schedule

Every new lead gets a 30-day series of texts, emails and friendly AI phone calls. It runs once a day, mid-morning (about 10 AM Central), and never at night.

Day 1 is the day the lead arrives. Scroll sideways on a phone.

What stops or changes it

Showing reminders and cancellations

Once a showing is booked, the system reminds the prospect and watches for cancellations, so you're less likely to drive out for nothing.

Sign calls and recordings

The phone number on our yard signs is answered by Casey, our AI leasing assistant. After every call, an email summarizes it, with a link to the recording.

What happens on a sign call

1. Casey answers: “Thank you for calling Fidelity Residential! This is Casey, an A.I. leasing assistant, and this call may be recorded.”
2. Casey finds out which home, answers questions from the listing facts, asks a few friendly questions (move-in, occupants, pets, budget), and offers a showing.
3. If they want to see it, Casey books a time from your availability and reminds them about the 1-hour CONFIRM text.
4. If they ask for a person, or Casey can't answer, Casey takes a message and promises a callback. It never transfers calls.
5. An email arrives within minutes: BOOKED, FOLLOW UP, or ABANDONED (they hung up early).

Read the email

What to do with each email

The system emails

These come from the automation mailbox. We decide who's copied on each one, so ask us which you'll receive.

When to step in

A cheat sheet for “the system has this” versus “this needs you”.

A day in the life

A sample Friday, so you can see how it all fits together.

Glossary

Guest card

A prospect's file in AppFolio: contact info, interests, showings, messages and notes.

Lead

A person who asked about a home. Every lead gets a guest card.

Inquiry / interest

One request about one home. A guest card can have several.

Showing

An appointment to see a home. Statuses include Scheduled, Completed, No Show and Canceled.

Showing invitation

A text and email with a personal link where the prospect picks a time from agent availability.

Scheduling link

That personal link. It looks like appfol.io/…

Availability

Your weekly hours for showings. Prospects and the AI caller can only book inside them.

Cadence

Our system's 30-day series of follow-up texts, emails and AI calls.

Sign call

A call to the number on a yard sign, answered by Casey, our AI assistant.

CONFIRM text

AppFolio's text about an hour before a showing. No reply can cancel the showing.

No Show

The prospect confirmed and didn't come. Mark it in AppFolio and tell us.

Unified inbox

Communication → Inbox: every text conversation in one list.

Opted out / STOP

The prospect asked not to be texted. Never text them again.

Activity (audit log)

The guest card tab listing everything sent and done, and by whom.

Troubleshooting

Quick reference card

The ten things you'll do most, and where to click.

Who to contact

For anything unclear, stuck, or needing a decision, contact us.

Fair housing rules and contractor conduct are covered in your contractor agreement.