Guide
How to keep clients updated during a real estate transaction
Clients rarely leave a review about the price. They remember whether they knew what was happening. Here is a simple rhythm for keeping buyers and sellers informed from contract to closing, without writing the same text twenty times a week.
Updated by the HomeAxis team
Why updates matter more than agents think
From the client’s side, a transaction is long stretches of silence broken by stressful moments. During the silence they wonder whether something has gone wrong. The “any update?” call is not impatience; it is worry. Each one costs you a few minutes and costs the client a little confidence.
Agents are hired on referrals and reviews, and both come from how looked after the client felt. Most of the work you do on a deal is invisible to them: the calls to the lender, the inspection negotiation, the follow-up with the attorney. Updates are how that work becomes visible.
The rhythm: milestones, plus a weekly note
Two kinds of update cover almost everything.
Milestone updates
Send one each time the deal crosses a line: offer accepted, inspection booked, inspection report in, appraisal ordered, commitment received, closing scheduled, walkthrough set, closing day. Each is two or three sentences: what just happened, what comes next, and whether they need to do anything.
A weekly “here is what I did” note
On weeks with no milestone, a short note of what you did on their behalf (called the lender, confirmed the appraisal is ordered, sent the commission statement) tells the client the deal is moving even when nothing visible has changed.
Text, email or a page: which to use
- Text for short, timely updates: the inspection is booked, the commitment came through, today is closing day. Send it from your own phone so it comes from your number.
- Email for anything with detail or documents: the executed contract, the final steps before closing, what to bring.
- A client page for the always-on view: where the deal is, what is next, what you did this week, and the documents you chose to share. The client checks it whenever they wonder, instead of calling.
What a good update says
- What happened, in plain words. “Your mortgage commitment came through.”
- What it means. “That is one of the biggest hurdles behind us.”
- What is next, and whether they need to act. “I’m sending it to the listing agent now, and we’re on track for closing.”
Leave out jargon (contingency, commitment, CD) unless you explain it, and never leave a bad-news update without the next step. For wording at every stage, see what to text your client at each stage.
Keep it personal
Templates save time, but a message that reads like a robot wrote it does more harm than silence. Use the client’s first name, mention the property, and add one line that only you would write. Send it yourself. Clients can tell the difference between an agent who is on top of the deal and software that is sending in the agent’s name.
That is why HomeAxis drafts and never sends. The draft is waiting on the task with the client’s name and the deal’s details filled in. You read it, change what you want, and tap Send: your own Messages app opens and it goes from your number.
A client page that answers “any update?” for you
A private page for each client turns updates from something you push into something they can check. In HomeAxis the client portal opens with a link and a PIN. It shows your photo and logo, the stage and closing day, the next step, what you did this week, the documents you chose to share, and a message thread back to you. It never shows your notes, commission or other people’s details.
The client still calls when something matters. What goes away is the call that only asks where things stand.
The other people on the deal
Clients are not the only ones who need updates. A short check-in to a co-broker who has gone quiet, a lender who has not confirmed the appraisal, or an attorney waiting on documents keeps the deal moving. The rule is the same: a few sentences, what you need, by when, sent by you.