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How to Keep in Touch With Real Estate Clients After Closing
Keep in touch with past real estate clients by sending a short, useful message every two to three months. Tie each one to something real: a home anniversary, a sale on their street, a seasonal tip or news in their life. The principle: be useful or be personal, never be a pitch. Clients who hear from you steadily call you first when they move again.
Most clients would use their agent again. Most do not, because they cannot remember the agent's name three years later. That is the whole problem. The agent went silent after closing. Steady contact, even a few lines a few times a year, is what keeps you their agent for life.
What lands is a message that gives before it asks. A note about the house down the street that just sold. A reminder to clean the gutters before the first freeze. A text on their kid's first day of school. Small, specific, and about them. The referrals follow on their own.
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Free, no signup. The example is filled in: press the button, then replace it with your own situation. In Capstone, a message like it is written for each person you know when their check-in is due.
12 examples to copy
One message is easy. Hundreds of people, all year, is the hard part. Capstone Outreach puts everyone you know on a rhythm you pick, from weekly to every three months. When someone is due, a message like these is already written in your voice from your history with them. You approve it, and it goes from your own email or phone. See the CRM for real estate agents.
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Everyone on a rhythm. Who is due, and when. Recorded in the app on a demo account.
1. Email: 30 days after closing
Subject: One month at [address]: how's it going?
Why it works: The first month is when small problems show up, so a useful check-in sets the tone for years of contact.
2. Text: Home anniversary
Why it works: The anniversary is a date only you and they share, which makes the text feel personal, not scheduled.
3. Email: Annual home value update
Subject: What [address] is worth this year
Why it works: Every owner wonders what their home is worth, and you are the one person who can tell them for free.
4. Email: Seasonal home maintenance note
Subject: Three things to do before the first freeze
Why it works: A practical list arrives as help, not marketing, and keeps your name in their inbox every season.
5. Text: A home on their street just sold
Why it works: Neighbors are always curious about the house down the street, and you are the one who knows.
6. Email: Invitation to a client event
Subject: You're invited: [event, e.g. pie pickup] on [date]
Why it works: An event turns a name on a list into a face you see once a year, which no email can match.
7. Text: Client's birthday
Why it works: A birthday text is personal, costs nothing and has no agenda, which is exactly why clients remember it.
8. Email: Reconnecting after two years of silence, no ask
Subject: It's been too long
Why it works: Owning the silence and asking about them, not business, is the only way to restart a cold relationship.
9. Email: Property tax assessment season
Subject: Your new assessment, and whether to appeal
Why it works: Helping with an appeal can save them real money, and it uses exactly the skill they hired you for.
10. Text: Something reminded you of them
Why it works: A text with no reason other than thinking of them is the kind friends send, and it gets friendly replies.
11. Email: Client whose family is growing or shrinking
Subject: Congratulations on [the news]
Why it works: Life changes drive most moves, and naming that openly is more honest than a disguised check-in.
12. Email: Asking a happy client for a referral
Subject: A favor, only if it feels right
Why it works: Asking only after a long warm relationship, with an easy out, makes the request feel fair and easy.
Sending these to more than a few people? See how people keep track of who to follow up with, and when: what a personal CRM does and the best personal CRMs, compared.
When to send it
- Send something every two to three months. Four to six touches a year is the floor, not the ceiling.
- Mark the home anniversary and the client's birthday in your calendar the week you close. Those two dates are the easy wins.
- Send a home value update once a year, around the anniversary or at tax assessment time.
- Text within a day when a home on their street sells or lists. Neighbors always want to know.
- Reach out the same week when you hear life news: a baby, a promotion, a retirement, a move for a parent.
Subject lines
- One month at [address]: how's it going?
- What [address] is worth this year
- Three things to do before the first freeze
- You're invited: [event] on [date]
- It's been too long
- Your new assessment, and whether to appeal
- Congratulations on [the news]
- A favor, only if it feels right
- A house on [Street Name] just sold
- Happy home anniversary, [Name]
- Spring checklist for [Street Name] homes
- How's the house treating you?
- Something made me think of you
- Still your agent, years later
What to avoid
- Going silent after closing and then showing up three years later asking for a referral.
- Sending the same monthly newsletter everyone else sends. If it is not about them or their street, it is noise.
- Making every message a pitch. Most touches should give something and ask for nothing.
- Sending home value updates with no context. Add one line about what the number means for them.
- Forgetting the details that made the sale theirs: the dog, the kids, the kitchen they planned to redo.
- Treating contact as a chore you batch twice a year. Steady and small beats rare and long.
After you send it
Reply to any response the same day, and ask one more question about them. If there is no reply, do not chase it. Past client notes are not meant to get answers every time. They are meant to keep your name warm. Put the next touch on the calendar for two to three months out before you forget. Over a year, aim for four to six contacts: the anniversary, a value update, two seasonal notes and something personal. Add a call or a coffee for your best clients.
Building the habit: how to keep in touch with contacts and what a personal CRM does.
Sending this to a whole list? Capstone Outreach remembers everyone you send it to. When it's time to check in again, the next message is already written in your voice. You approve each one, and it goes from your own email or phone.
Start 14 days free, then $25/mo
A study of 20 million LinkedIn members found that acquaintances, more than close friends, led to new jobs (Science, 2022). Capstone keeps those people warm. You approve every message, and it goes from your own email or phone.
Frequently asked questions
How often should a realtor stay in touch with past clients?
Reach past clients at least four to six times a year, about once every two or three months. Anchor it on the home anniversary and a yearly value update. Fill the gaps with seasonal tips, a text when a neighbor's home sells, and life events. Call or meet your closest clients once a year. Steady and small beats rare and long.
What should I send past real estate clients?
Send things that are useful or personal. Useful: a yearly home value update, seasonal maintenance reminders and a note when a home on their street sells. Help with a tax assessment appeal counts too. Personal: a home anniversary message, a birthday text, congratulations on life news. Mix the two. Save any referral ask for once a year at most.
How do I reconnect with past clients I have not talked to in years?
Send a short, honest email that owns the gap. Say it has been too long and that is on you. Mention their house or something specific you remember. Ask how they are doing. Make no ask at all in that first message. Once they reply, put them back on your regular schedule. Most people are glad to hear from you.
Should I text or email past clients?
Use both, based on the message. Text for short personal moments: a birthday, an anniversary, a sale on their street. Email for anything they might want to save, like a value update or a maintenance list. Match the client too. If they texted you all through the sale, they will prefer texts now.
When is it okay to ask a past client for a referral?
Ask once you have stayed in touch for a while and given more than you asked. For most clients that means a year or more of steady, useful contact. Make the ask small and specific: pass along my name if a friend mentions moving. Give them an easy out. Then thank every referral within a day.