Issue #3 · 2026-10-14

Coastal Prompt #3: CMA summaries, open-house follow-ups, and vacant-home prep

Tested AI workflows for Orange County real estate agents. One a week. Copy, paste, verify.

Hi,

This one is a little longer: three workflows that tie together, from pricing to the open house to getting a vacant home ready for photos.

— Derek

Workflow 1: Turn a CMA into a one-page seller summary

The problem. Your CMA is accurate but dense. Sellers skim it, fixate on one comp, and the pricing talk goes sideways.

Here is my CMA for a [BEDS]/[BATHS] in [NEIGHBORHOOD], [CITY]. Write a one-page
seller summary in plain English:
1) The 3 most comparable sales and why each matters (one sentence each).
2) What the active and pending competition tells us.
3) A recommended price range with my reasoning, using only these numbers.
4) Two questions the seller is likely to ask, with short honest answers.
Do not invent data. If something is missing, list it at the end.
[PASTE CMA DATA: address area, price, $/sq ft, DOM, condition notes]

Guardrail: Remove client names and full addresses before pasting into any AI tool you don't control.

Workflow 2: Open-house follow-ups that get replies

The problem. You collected 15 sign-ins. By Tuesday most haven't heard from you, and the ones who did got the same generic text.

I hosted an open house at a [TYPE] in [CITY] on [DAY]. Here are my sign-in notes,
one visitor per line, with what they said or asked:
[PASTE NOTES — first names only]
For each visitor, write a short follow-up text (under 300 characters) that
references what they specifically mentioned, offers one useful next step,
and ends with an easy question. No pressure language. Then group visitors into:
likely buyers, neighbors, and early-stage, with a suggested follow-up in 2 weeks.

Time saved: About 30 minutes of drafting, and your texts sound like you listened.

Workflow 3: Vacant-home prep checklist

The problem. Vacant homes photograph cold and show small. Buyers struggle to judge room scale, and empty rooms highlight every scuff.

I'm listing a vacant [TYPE] in [CITY], about [SQ FT] sq ft, rooms: [LIST].
Photo date: [DATE]. Budget: [BUDGET].
Build a prep plan by room: (1) repairs and touch-ups, (2) cleaning and lighting,
(3) which rooms most need furniture to show scale and use, ranked,
(4) a day-by-day schedule working back from the photo date.
Flag anything that should be checked by a licensed contractor.

Staging note. If the plan says the living room, primary bedroom, and dining area need furniture, that's typical. Staging just the key rooms is often a middle path between a full stage and virtual staging. I run Staging OC and we do partial "key rooms" setups across South OC, if you ever want a quote.

And if you go virtual instead, remember California's B&P Code §10140.8 disclosure rule from Issue #1.

Your turn

Reply with the one prompt you use most. I'll share the best ones (with credit) in a future issue.

— Derek

← All issues