Weekly AI tools and business insights for independent mortgage brokers building a durable book of business.
It’s 5:15 and you’re staring at two tasks: call a realtor you’ve been meaning to thank, and finish an intake so you can get paid this week. You choose the intake. Again. Your realtor relationships matter more than ads or cold leads, but they also take time. You send a quick text, forget to follow up, and wonder why that one top-producing agent sends deals to the same competitor every quarter.
Plain and simple, inconsistent outreach kills referral volume. The answer isn’t more charm or coffee. It’s a repeatable, compliant system that keeps you top-of-mind without stealing hours from your pipeline. Here’s the fix that fits in your CRM, plays nice with Encompass/LendingPad, and actually pays for itself.
Tool: Homebot
What it does — one sentence: Homebot sends co‑branded homeowner value reports that keep past clients and realtors engaged every month.
Who it’s for — be specific: Independent LOs and small brokerages who want realtor partners to pass them pre-approved buyers and referrals without manual chasing.
What it actually costs: Homebot offers individual originator plans and team tiers. Expect a base monthly fee for a single originator, with per-contact or per‑team pricing as you scale. MLS or enterprise-sync features and concierge integrations add costs. In short: small users pay a modest monthly fee; teams pay more for deeper CRM/MLS ties.
Before / after example: Before: you emailed ten realtor partners once a quarter and averaged zero referral conversions over 90 days. After: Homebot delivers a monthly home value report to the realtor’s shared sphere, and one realtor sends a buyer referral that converts to a $300,000 loan. At a 1% origination, that’s $3,000. One extra referral per quarter equals about $12,000 a year.
One limitation or gotcha: Homebot primarily uses email and in-app reports. If you want SMS-heavy outreach, you’ll need a compliant SMS provider that connects to your LOS/CRM. Also verify opt-ins to avoid TCPA exposure.
Verdict: A low-friction way to stay in front of realtors and homeowners with content they actually use.
How To Build a Hands-Off Realtor Referral Campaign
Here's exactly how to set a campaign that runs while you close loans.
Pick your top 30 realtor partners and export their contact info into your CRM today.
Create a co-branded Homebot invite for each realtor, label the campaign in your CRM, and import the 30 contacts.
Build a 3-channel cadence: monthly Homebot email, a LinkedIn nudge every 60 days, and a single compliant SMS reminder per quarter (only if you have written consent).
Use your CRM to auto-create a “check-in” task when a contact clicks a report link; assign it to you or an assistant for a personal follow-up call.
Track three KPIs weekly: invites sent, report opens/clicks, and referrals generated; tie those to an automatic dashboard in your LOS or CRM.
This takes about 3 hours to set up and saves about 3 hours per week.
Referral Half-Life — a mental model
Here’s the thing: realtor memory decays fast. If you don’t give a realtor something useful every 60–90 days, their attention shifts. Call that the Referral Half‑Life — the time it takes for your presence to fall to half in a realtor’s mind. The short version: frequency matters more than fancy pitches.
Use homeowner value reports as your regular, useful touch. Realtors love shareable data they can use with sellers and buyers. Homeowner reports do the heavy lifting for you. They give realtors something to forward, comment on, and use in listing conversations. Put another way: one helpful monthly email beats ten sporadic “how’s business?” calls.
What this means for your business: replace random check-ins with scheduled homeowner value touches, and you’ll get steady referral volume without adding admin hours.
Want a quick audit of your top 10 realtor relationships? Hit reply and tell me the name of one realtor who used to send you business, but doesn’t anymore. I’ll reply with one specific tweak you can make to get back on their radar this week.
- Tyler, The Pipeline
PS: If you plan to use SMS, use this opt‑in script: “Reply YES to receive market updates and home value alerts from [Your Name]. Msg&Data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out.” Store the consent in your CRM immediately. Compliance saves deals.