Leasing Consultant (Village on the Lake Apartments)

Leasing is often described as a sales role, and it is. But the consultants who actually build strong occupancy and earn renewals understand that the sales part is the easy half. The harder skill is relationship management: knowing your residents, following up without being pushy, and turning a complaint about a slow service request into a reason someone signs another lease. Van Metre is hiring a Leasing Consultant for Village on the Lake, a residential apartment community in Spring Lake, NC, and this role develops both sides of that equation.

Day to day, you'll be the first person a prospective resident meets, whether they walk in off the street, call ahead, or find the property online. You'll conduct tours, follow up by phone and email, process applications, and work toward occupancy goals through grassroots marketing efforts in the local area. That's the sales side. On the relationship side, you'll check in with current residents, coordinate with the service team on open maintenance requests, help plan resident events, and process lease renewals. You'll also do three exterior inspections each week and flag anything that needs attention, from landscaping to visible property damage, and inspect vacant units to confirm they're ready to show or report what's needed to get them there.

What separates a strong leasing consultant from an average one in a role like this is follow-through. Traffic matters, but unconverted leads and ignored service concerns quietly erode both occupancy and retention. The candidates who thrive here are organized enough to manage follow-up consistently and self-aware enough to know when a resident interaction needs more than a scripted response.

Prior leasing or property management experience is preferred but not required. Van Metre genuinely recruits from hospitality, retail, and customer-facing sales backgrounds, and those environments build skills that transfer well: handling volume, reading people quickly, and staying composed when someone is frustrated. Bilingual candidates are preferred. Weekend availability is required, which is standard for leasing roles where Saturday and Sunday often drive the highest tour traffic.

What you'll bring

• Experience in customer service, sales, hospitality, or a related field
• Comfort conducting property inspections indoors and outdoors in varying weather
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to manage time across competing tasks without losing the personal touch
• Familiarity with social media as a leasing and marketing tool
• Bilingual ability (preferred)

Compensation ranges from $18 to $20 per hour depending on experience, with up to $5,000 in annual bonus potential plus leasing and renewal commissions. Van Metre also offers a benefits package that includes medical, dental, and vision coverage, a company-matched 401(k), tuition reimbursement, paid certifications, mentorship programs, and a wellness reimbursement of up to $900 annually. For someone entering property management, the professional development structure here is worth noting: this is a company that treats the leasing consultant role as a starting point, not a ceiling.