Speed to lead, measured honestly.
The time between a renter's inquiry and your first real reply decides who gets the tour. Bulldog sends the first text on a new daytime lead in about two minutes and answers every renter reply in a median of 7 seconds.
What speed to lead actually means.
Speed to lead is the elapsed time from a renter's first inquiry to the first reply that moves the conversation forward: a real answer, a qualifying question, or a tour offer. An auto-reply that says "we'll get back to you" doesn't count, and renters know it doesn't.
In apartment leasing the renter is comparison shopping in real time. They send the same message to several communities and talk to whoever answers first. Minutes matter, and after hours, the gap between communities is measured in days.
Pickup, first text, then seconds.
Pickup
New leads are pulled from your property-management system, listing sources and web forms continuously. On AppFolio, guest cards are polled every two minutes, which is most of the first-contact time.
First text
Sent as soon as the lead is picked up, personalized with the renter's name and the property, asking the one question that moves things forward. Between 9pm and 8am local it waits for 8am: quiet-hours rules.
Every reply after that
Once the renter texts back, Bulldog answers in a median of 7 seconds at any hour, qualifies them, and offers real tour slots.
Same leads, more applications.
Median first text, daytime
New inquiries between 8am and 9pm local, last 30 days (100 seconds). 65% are texted within 5 minutes.
Median reply to renter texts
3,089 replies over the last 90 days; 90% within 10 seconds.
Applications
Two client communities, matched 30-day windows before and after.
Results are from a two-community owner-operator on AppFolio; seasonal control against the prior year is in progress, so treat the lift as provisional. Full write-up.
Fast and careful.
- Not a chatbot script. Replies are written for the question asked, in the tone you set for the property.
- Not a spam cannon. Follow-ups run on a measured cadence and stop at a polite close. The AI stands down the moment a renter applies.
- Not a black box. Every message is logged, every thread is one tap from manual takeover, and Fair Housing rules are enforced in every reply.
Common questions.
What exactly does the 7-second figure measure?
The median time between a renter's text and Bulldog's reply, across 3,089 replies on live accounts over the last 90 days (90% within 10 seconds). First contact on a brand-new inquiry is slower because Bulldog first picks the lead up from your system: a median of about 100 seconds for daytime inquiries over the last 30 days.
Does speed matter if the renter inquired at 2am?
If the renter texts at 2am, Bulldog answers at 2am, in seconds. If they submit a listing or web inquiry at 2am, the first text goes out at 8am local, because unsolicited texts overnight break quiet-hours rules. That still lands before most leasing offices open.
Which lead sources are covered?
Anything that reaches your property-management system or web forms: Zillow, Apartments.com, your website, and direct texts to the community number.
See it on your leads.
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