What should realtors do after closing?
In the first week after closing, send a handwritten thank-you, put the closing date on your calendar as the home anniversary, and give your client the pros they will need for the house. Then check in at 30 days to ask what is broken or confusing. Those steps keep you in touch before a client goes quiet.
What should you do in the first week after closing?
Do four small things while the deal is still fresh, because each one is harder to do a month later. None of them takes long, and none of them asks your client for anything.
- Write a thank-you note by hand and mail it the same week.
- Put the closing date on your calendar as a yearly event called "[Client] home anniversary". You'll use it every year, as home anniversary messages explains.
- Remind your client to file a change of address with USPS if they haven't yet. It can be filed online, and USPS says to allow at least 7 to 10 business days for it to go into effect. It only changes their address with the Post Office, so they still need to tell their bank, employer and anyone else who sends them mail.
- Send your client the list of pros they'll need for the house, the same week. The next section explains why.
What do you actually write in a thank you note after a closing?
Write about one real moment from the deal, thank them for trusting you with it, and stop there. A note that names the kitchen they fell for or the offer that finally won reads as yours. A note that could go to any client reads as a form, so don't ask for anything in it.
Here are three you can copy. Change the details in brackets to something that actually happened. If you want to send a gift along with the note, here are some realtor closing gift ideas.
For buyers
Dear [Client], I keep thinking about the moment you walked into the back yard on [street] and went quiet. I'm so glad that house is yours now. Thank you for letting me be part of it. [Your name]
For a deal that was hard
Dear [Client], that was not an easy one, and you stayed calm through all of it, even the second appraisal. Thank you for trusting me with it. I hope the first night in the new place is a quiet one. [Your name]
For sellers
Dear [Client], handing over the keys to the house where you raised your kids is a big day. Thank you for letting me help you do it. I hope the move to [city] goes smoothly. [Your name]
Why send your client a list of pros right after closing?
Send it because the first repairs show up in the first weeks, and whoever answers "who do I call?" gets the call. A buyer who finds a slow drain or a sticky lock will search online if they don't have a name from you. If they have your list, they call your plumber and your locksmith instead.
Send it as a link they can open on their phone, not a PDF attached to an email they'll lose. A Proferral go-to list opens with no app and no login, and the link doesn't expire, so it's still there when the water heater goes in year three. If you're still choosing who belongs on it, read what to put on a realtor vendor list. After your client hires someone from it, follow up after the referral to find out how it went.
How do you keep past clients from going silent after closing?
Check in at 30 days with a question about the house, not about business. By then your client has lived there long enough to find what's broken or confusing, like a breaker nobody labeled or a sprinkler timer still set for the last owner. A short text asking about it gives them a real reason to write back.
Hi [Client], it's [Your name]. You've been in the house a month now. Has anything broken or turned out to be confusing? I probably know someone who can help.
After that, the touches get further apart. How often to follow up with past clients lays out the rest of the first year, month by month. For a guide you can send the client directly, see what to do after buying a house.
Sources
Your client keeps the list as a link
In Proferral, you send a client their go-to list by text or email from your own phone the week they close, and they keep the link. It only holds the pros you add, so it's only as useful as the names you put on it. See getting started and your go-to list.
It's free, no credit card needed, and you're never charged unless you choose Pro.