Renters look at apartments after work. If your leasing office closes at five, you are missing the busiest part of the day.
How many rental inquiries come in after hours?
More than half. RentEngine found that 53% of leads in the first quarter of 2026 arrived after business hours, and 48% of showings were scheduled after hours (RentEngine). Calls are the hardest to catch: across 170,825 calls to apartment properties, 60.8% went unanswered (Digible).
Option 1: a voicemail that moves renters to text
The cheapest fix is a better greeting. Instead of “leave a message”, tell renters to text the number with the address and promise a reply with showing times. Texts are easier to answer the next morning than a pile of voicemails, and renters who will not leave a message will often send a text.
Cost: nothing. Catch: you still answer in the morning, after the renter has kept looking.
Option 2: an on-call rotation
Forward the leasing line to whoever is on call in the evening and on weekends. It works for small teams with a few vacancies.
Cost: staff time and goodwill. Catch: people burn out, and a busy spring can mean dozens of calls a night.
Option 3: self-scheduling on every listing
Put a booking link with your real open slots in every listing and auto-reply. Renters book their own showing at 11 p.m. without talking to anyone.
Cost: a scheduling tool, often included in showing software. Catch: it only helps renters who find the link. Callers and people with questions still wait.
This analysis is published by Nolan. Product comparisons were checked on October 9, 2026. Calculated amounts are examples, not quotes or measured conversion results.
Options 4 and 5: human answering or AI agent?
How do call, minute and customer prices compare?
Use the same workload before comparing a price per door with a price per call. The following scenario assumes 100 answered calls lasting four minutes each, 80 distinct callers, and 20 appointments. Taxes and optional services are excluded unless stated.
| Product and plan | Scenario calculation | Monthly subtotal |
|---|---|---|
| Smith.ai human Basic | $810 for 90 calls + 10 × $10.50 overage + 20 × $1.50 booking | $945 |
| PATLive 300 minutes | $479 + 100 extra minutes × $1.89 | $668 |
| Goodcall Starter | 80 distinct customers within its 100-customer allowance | $79 |
| Ruby 500 minutes | 400 minutes within the 500-minute plan | $1,725 |
This is a cost scenario, not a claim of equal booking capability or service quality. Smith.ai human follow-up by text/email costs another $0.50 per applicable call; 100 such follow-ups add $50. Its AI offering is separately priced: free for 25 calls with $3 extra calls, or Pro from $150 for 75 calls with a listed $2.50 extra-call rate at that tier. Confirm which product you are being quoted.
Goodcall bills distinct customers, not every repeat call: Starter $79/100, Growth $129/500 and Scale $299/2,000, with respective extra-customer rates of $0.79, $0.26 and $0.15. For 120 distinct customers, Starter is $94.80. Its limits on tools, team members and retained history can matter even when minutes are unlimited.
Can these services nurture and book, or only take messages?
| Service | Documented conversation and booking scope | What requires a separate decision |
|---|---|---|
| Smith.ai human | Qualification; paid appointment scheduling and text/email follow-up | Which add-ons apply to each call; listing updates and repeat follow-up cadence |
| PATLive | Human calls, scheduling and separate outbound calling and live-chat services | Separate channel plans; ongoing listing instructions and escalation |
| Goodcall | AI phone service with connected tools | Demonstrate live inventory, calendar actions and any non-phone conversation |
| Ruby | Human answering, scheduling, outbound help and optional live chat | Chat package and the exact leasing workflow |
| My AI Front Desk | AI voice, SMS, web chat, CRM and sequence automation | Channel allowances, credit consumption and listing-data maintenance |
PATLive’s outbound example is $309/month for 50 outreaches, while its 50-chat plan is $279/month. Adding both to the $668 inbound scenario makes $1,256/month before excess outbound/chat use. These services should not be described as phone-only simply because the inbound plan is the first price shown.
My AI Front Desk lists $99/month, or $79/month billed annually, with 200 voice minutes, 400 SMS and 100 chat conversations. The page distinguishes 500 email drafts from autonomous inbox handling and caps outbound calls at 20/day. An included 1,000-credit overage pool and automatic paid reloads complicate the headline allowance; request a worked invoice for your channel mix.
When is each model a better fit?
A human service suits a team that values a person on the line and can keep the service supplied with unit details. A generic AI front desk can be economical for modest phone volume, provided its tools complete the required booking. Nolan should be evaluated for the complete leasing conversation, including nurturing, questions, qualification and the booked next step, rather than only for answering a missed call. Test every product against the same inquiry and judge completed work, not the category name.
A leasing-specific product can also connect listing context with the conversation workflow. The broader platform comparison details LetHub, Leasey.AI and other options.
What does Nolan cost for the same portfolio?
The Nolan price list uses a per-door price for Starter, 1 to 10 doors, and graduated door bands for Pro. All amounts below are USD, before taxes, usage extras and promotional discounts.
| Plan or portfolio | Annual plan, monthly equivalent | Monthly billing |
|---|---|---|
| Starter, one door, portfolio of 1 to 10 doors | No annual commitment required | $29 |
| Pro, 100 doors | $299 | $359 |
| Pro, 200 doors | $598 | $718 |
| Pro, 500 doors | $1,195 | $1,435 |
| Pro, 1,000 doors | $2,190 | $2,630 |
Annual Pro rates are $2.99 for the first 200 doors, $1.99 for doors 201–1,000 and $1.49 thereafter, with at least 100 doors billed. Monthly rates are $3.59/$2.39/$1.79 for the same bands. Multiply the annual-plan monthly equivalent by twelve for its annual subscription cost.
Starter pools 30 voice minutes per door; Pro pools five minutes per door. Extra voice is $0.20/minute. At 100 doors, 800 minutes add $60 above the 500-minute pool, making annual-plan monthly-equivalent cost $359 before registration and taxes. Text, email and chat are not metered; users and the main number are included. Extra numbers are $3/month each. There is no Nolan setup fee.
Local-number texting adds carrier registration of $19.50 once and typically $1.50/month, or $2/month for sole proprietors; a rejected campaign resubmission adds $15. The 14-day trial requires a card. Compare ordinary list prices first; any introductory promotion needs its own expiry and renewal calculation.
What does Nolan include, and what still needs verification?
Nolan’s scope is the full AI leasing conversation: nurturing a prospect, answering questions, qualifying interest and reaching a booked call or showing. Evaluate that outcome with a real conversation, including objections and delayed replies. A roadmap promise is not proof that every outbound cadence or booking type is available today.
Nolan covers phone, SMS, web chat, listing-email intake and replies, renter history, a leasing pipeline, team handoff and showing bookings in Google Calendar. Since October 12, Nolan also narrows many listings down with each renter: the move-in month, budget and bedrooms asked in one question, the nearest unit by date, price or distance when nothing fits, and the units that fit sent by text or email, with a link to each. US texting requires carrier registration. It connects to Outlook, Buildium, Follow Up Boss, HubSpot and LeadSimple. Other PMS connections vary by connector. It answers Facebook Page and Instagram messages. Personal Marketplace work is Muse-assisted; it is not the same as a native Page-message integration. Zapier and Make connect through Nolan’s apps. We have not verified a general outbound AI prospect-calling campaign or WhatsApp channel for Nolan.
When enabled by the owner, Nolan follows up with eligible unbooked SMS/email leads after about one, three and seven days. The messages use fixed wording; replies return to the conversation. Booking, opt-out, team intervention and other eligibility checks stop the sequence. These follow-ups are off by default and do not establish outbound AI voice or social-message campaigns.
Ask for one demonstration from inquiry to booking: a listing question, a follow-up after silence, a changed preference, a new available time and a human takeover. Verify that an opt-out or completed booking stops unnecessary follow-ups. A booking link, reminder and adaptive conversation should be assessed separately. Check current availability before purchase.