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Michael Schott

Michael Schott

Co-founder & CEO at Lease Ups

Michael co-founded Lease Ups to fix a problem he kept running into on the agency side: apartment communities were buying leads when what they actually needed was leases. He works with owners, developers, and management companies on lease-up and occupancy marketing, using AI as the method rather than the headline.

He leads strategy across paid search, AI search visibility, and the demand-side research that tells an owner whether a rent assumption is supportable before a dollar of media is spent. He writes about what holds up in the field and what quietly does not.

Writes about

Lease-up strategyMultifamily PPCAI search / GEOOccupancy marketingTrade area analysisRenter demand

Experience

  • Co-founder & CEO, Lease Ups
  • Co-founder, Mastering Digital
  • Multifamily lease-up and stabilization campaigns across new construction and repositioning

Also

  • Built the Community Intelligence Map
  • Operator focused on measurable lead quality, tours, and signed leases

Author

18 articles

5 CRO Changes That Doubled Our Clients' Tour Booking Rates

Your apartment website is probably losing 70% of its visitors without a tour booking. Here are the five conversion rate optimization changes that consistently produce the biggest results.

CRO · 7 min read · 2026-08-20

The 7-Email Nurture Sequence That Converts Cold Leads into Signed Leases

Most apartment communities send one follow-up email and give up. Here's the exact 7-email sequence we use to keep prospects engaged from first inquiry through lease signing.

Email Marketing · 8 min read · 2026-08-20

GEO: How to Appear in AI Search Results for Apartments

45% of renters now use AI tools for local recommendations. Here's how to optimize your apartment community for GEO — and what actually moves the needle.

GEO / AI Search · 8 min read · 2026-08-20

How to Allocate Your Multifamily Marketing Budget

Generic budget advice ignores lease-up stage. Here's the channel allocation framework for properties at every stage from pre-leasing to stabilized.

Portfolio Strategy · 8 min read · 2026-08-20

ILS Strategy for Apartments: Where to List & Win

Renters still use ILS platforms to search — but standing out takes strategy. Here's how to choose the right listing sites and optimize every one of them.

ILS Strategy · 8 min read · 2026-08-20

Modern Pre-Leasing Playbook: Build Momentum, Not Just Leads

Learn how multifamily teams can replace reactive lead buying with a full-funnel pre-leasing momentum system that fills units faster.

Pre-Leasing · 9 min read · 2026-08-20

How Leasing Landing Pages Drive 5x More Apartment Tours

Learn why dedicated multifamily landing pages convert more paid traffic into tours, leads, and leases than generic apartment websites.

Landing Pages · 8 min read · 2026-08-20

7 Leasing Website Fixes That Convert More Apartment Leads

Seven multifamily website CRO fixes that turn apartment traffic into more tours, leads, and leases without increasing ad spend.

CRO · 8 min read · 2026-08-20

Retargeting for Faster Apartment Lease-Ups

Learn how retargeting turns paid traffic into warmer apartment leads, lower cost per lease, and faster occupancy for multifamily lease-ups.

Retargeting · 8 min read · 2026-08-20

How to Get 90% Pre-Leased in 60 Days

A practical lease-up system for launching early, capturing demand, nurturing prospects, and converting qualified renters before opening day.

Lease-Up Strategy · 8 min read · 2026-08-20

The 90-Day Lease-Up Formula: How to Fill Units Before Opening Day

A practical 90-day lease-up marketing timeline for building demand, capturing leads, and converting renters before opening day.

Lease-Up Strategy · 9 min read · 2026-08-20

Beyond Lease-Up: A Resident Retention Marketing Playbook for Protecting Occupancy

Lease-up marketing fills units. Retention marketing keeps them full. Here's the playbook for protecting occupancy once a property stabilizes.

Resident Retention · 8 min read · 2026-08-20

Video & Virtual Tours for Apartments: Why They Convert

Photos alone no longer close leases. Here's the data on why video and virtual tours drive more leads, more applications, and more signed leases.

Virtual Tours · 7 min read · 2026-08-20

How to Benchmark a Lease-Up Against Competing Communities

Guessing at what competing communities are doing costs leases. Here's a practical framework for building a real comp set and benchmarking against it.

Lease-Up Strategy · 7 min read · 2026-08-20

Marketing Apartment Amenities That Actually Drive Leases

Pickleball courts get attention, but AC and in-unit laundry close leases. Here's how to market the amenities that actually influence rental decisions.

Amenity Marketing · 7 min read · 2026-08-20

Using Meta and Instagram Ads to Fill Your Lease-Up Faster

Learn how Meta and Instagram ads help apartment lease-ups build demand before renters search, plus how to target, budget, and stay Fair Housing compliant.

Paid Social · 9 min read · 2026-07-07

How to Reduce Cost Per Lead by 50% with Multifamily PPC

Most apartment communities are overpaying for leads from Google Ads. Here's the exact framework we use to cut CPL in half while maintaining lead quality.

PPC Performance · 8 min read · 2025-12-15

The Complete Guide to SEO for Apartment Communities in 2025

Organic search is the most cost-effective lead channel for multifamily properties — if you do it right. This guide covers everything from local SEO to content strategy.

SEO for Apartments · 12 min read · 2025-11-28

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