Leasing Agent

Leasing is one of the most skill-dense entry points in property management. You're running sales cycles, reading people quickly, managing your own calendar, and representing the asset's brand all at once. At Birgo, a Cleveland-based owner-operator working across the Edgewater portfolio, this role puts those skills to work in a structure that's built to compound them.

The Skills This Role Sharpens

Conversion is the core competency here. You're taking inbound inquiries and moving them through a full leasing cycle: initial contact, scheduled tour, application, approval, move-in inspection. Each step requires a different gear. Early in the funnel you're building rapport and reading what a prospect actually needs. Later you're processing applications accurately, coordinating with property management and maintenance, and making sure every move-in is fully documented and inspected before a new resident gets their keys.

Fair Housing fluency matters. Birgo leases market-rate apartments, and staying compliant while still being persuasive is a skill that transfers directly into assistant manager and property manager roles. You'll also keep an eye on listing activity and advertising, which gives you exposure to how occupancy is managed at the portfolio level. That kind of visibility is harder to get in a third-party management environment where information moves more slowly between ownership and operations.

Because Birgo manages its properties in-house, you're closer to the decision-making than most leasing agents at comparable companies. When a resident concern needs to escalate, you know who to call. When occupancy shifts, you hear about it. That direct line between leasing and operations is where a lot of institutional knowledge gets built early in a career.

What the Role Requires

• At least one year of experience in leasing, sales, customer service, or hospitality
• Working knowledge of Fair Housing principles
• Strong relationship-building instincts and genuine comfort with persuasion
• Detail orientation through the application and move-in process
• Familiarity with property management or leasing software (preferred)
• High school diploma
• Valid driver's license, insured vehicle, and ability to travel between Shaker Heights and Edgewater regularly; occasional travel to Pittsburgh

The schedule includes Saturdays and select evenings, with a recurring weekday off. On-target earnings run from $46,000 to over $70,000 annually, built on an $18-per-hour base plus uncapped commission. The commission structure means your output directly affects your income, which suits candidates who are goal-oriented and self-managing.

Where This Role Leads

Leasing agents who develop both the sales skills and the operational awareness this role offers tend to move into assistant property manager or property manager positions within a few years. At a growing owner-operator like Birgo, that path can move faster than at a larger institutional platform, because the company's growth creates new properties and new roles to fill. The leasing function is where you learn what drives traffic, what kills conversions, and how occupancy connects to NOI. Those are the fundamentals that make a property manager effective, not just a leasing manager who got promoted.

One note worth knowing: because this role involves managing rental properties on behalf of Birgo, team members cannot run outside real estate sales, leasing, or property management activity concurrently.