Michelle Shinault and Karen Fuquay want to take away the stress that’s an inevitable part of moving through Carolina Apartment Source, their unique home placement service that’s free to homeseekers.
Though they can’t eliminate all the difficulties of a residential relocation, they can help make finding short-term or long-term housing easier. Their clients include people moving to the area for a new job, homebuyers building a house and in need of a temporary arrangement, people who are in between homes, or area residents simply looking for new accommodations.
The company links the homeseekers — referred by employers, real estate agencies and simple word of mouth — to residential communities in the Triad.
The service also meets demand fueled by the economy. People are turning to the rental market and holding off on buying houses, or are renting out their properties until they have a better chance of selling.
“We bridge the gap between renting and buying,” Shinault says.
Shinault and Fuquay determine clients needs by gathering information such as desired price range, moving timeline, home size and property type needed, preference for furnished or unfurnished homes, and geographical area. Education is a key concern. “We get a lot of school questions,” Shinault says.
Then they identify options through their specially designed database and help clients review them by providing brochures, photos, directions and other data. For long-distance clients, they relay the information through mail and e-mail.
A feature popular with newly transplanted corporate clients is a fee-based driving service they can use to take care of chores, from buying groceries to applying for driver’s licenses, when they arrive in the Triad.
More than 200 communities are represented in their database. The economy, mid-priced and high-end property types include apartments, condominiums, townhomes and single-family homes. The communities are throughout the Triad, from Burlington to Winston-Salem.
Just in case you missed it, the homeseeking service really is free. The apartment community or landlord pays a referral fee.
Shinault says clients frequently ask whether that translates into higher rent, but she steadfastly affirms, “No, not at all.”
One reason: The system is based on results. “(The communities) don’t pay us anything until (clients) sign a lease and move in,” Fuquay says.
The service offers communities another tool for attracting residents.
“We try to qualify (our clients) the best we can before we send them to the apartment community,” says Fuquay, adding that they don’t send clients to properties for which they wouldn’t qualify.
“We’re like an insurance policy,” Shinault says.
Ray Trapp, interim executive director of the Triad Apartment Association, says Fuquay and Shinault have the market cornered with their business. “I don’t know of anyone who does what they do.”
And he sees a need, not only for people moving to the area with their jobs but also for people who have limited time and resources. “It’s definitely for busy people,” Trapp says. “You don’t have time to drive around on a Saturday or even surf the Net anymore.”
Fuquay and Shinault developed their home placement skills in the RentFast department at Prudential Carolinas Realty, where they worked until last fall. They started Carolina Apartment Source in January, working out of their homes before opening office space at 2828-E Battleground Ave. in July. They communicate with anywhere between 30 to 60 clients a month.
They’ve also continued their relationship with Prudential Carolinas and provide services for the company’s relocation clients. Shinault and Fuquay’s business requires them to keep up with available rental properties and prices, details Realtors don’t concentrate on as their work is tied to sales.
“We think of Michelle and Karen as our lifeline over here,” says Becky Dougherty, director of client relations and relocation at Prudential’s Winston-Salem and Greensboro offices. “Typically, our agents help people purchase homes. It helps them answer a client’s needs and stay in touch with that client when they’re ready” to sell or buy.
Shinault thinks the business’s services fit the marketplace. “If everybody knew about us, why wouldn’t they use it?”
For more information about Carolina Apartment Source, call 285-8667 or visit www.carolinaapartmentsource.com.
Heather L. Modlin can be reached at 373-7144 or hmodlin@news-record.com.
