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AMA: What’s the easiest thing I can do to provide value right off the bat in 2021?

Tyler Smith is the CEO of SkySlope, and he’s here to take on the industry’s questions, speaking from his experience as a tech leader and former top producer. And when he says, “Ask me anything!” he means it. Check out episode 1, 2 and 3.


All right, so you sold a bunch of homes in 2020 and represented a lot of clients. There’s one thing you can do to provide a tremendous amount of value to your clients: provide them with their HUD-1.

The HUD-1 or closing disclosure is an itemized list of all the charges that were incurred during the mortgage transaction and your clients will need this to verify any tax-deductible costs when they file their taxes.

With any transaction, there is a lot of shuffling back and forth, but this year things were even more hectic and complicated.

January is when many folks are prepping for tax season. And what a great opportunity to touch base with your clients and look like the true professional you are. You just represented them. You probably gave them a closing gift. Maybe you helped them find movers. And now, the deal’s done, and they probably think, “My Realtor is gone.”

But you’re not gone. Because you’re going to reach out, wish them a happy new year, and supply them their closing disclosure so they don’t have to dig around for it when they file their 2020 taxes.

Back when I was a Realtor, I used to have to print all these out, put them in an envelope, and throw them in the mail. Now with technology, obviously, it is super easy.

Here is an email template you can use. All you have to do is copy and paste it. If you’re feeling extra savvy, go ahead and tweak it to make it your own. But be sure to attach your client’s closing disclosure. Bonus tip: if you use a transaction management platform, you should be able to quickly find this document in there.

Think this is a lame item of value? Well, the proof is in the pudding. Here’s a tweet from a Realtor who took my advice and, within one week, received a $1.2 million referral from sending an email with their client’s HUD-1!

I’m telling you, not only is this the best thing you can do right now, it’s effective, and it works.

If you’re a broker, I recommend you share this post with your Realtors. Because you should be providing value to your Realtors right away, so they can grow their business. If you’re a Realtor, you should stop reading this post and get started. And if you’re a transaction coordinator, you can call up your agents and offer to help them get this sent out.

This simple outreach is such an easy way to get more business and an effective way to be proactive in 2021.