In our second part of this series of email tips for real estate professionals, we’ll take a look at the items you should avoid at all cost. These items can make life very difficult for the real estate professional and cause confusion and delays in getting things done. Many of these email tips are based in commonly practiced “netiquette” and apply to personal emails just as much as business emails, but when it comes to real estate related email, some of these items can cause serious delays or misunderstandings between agents and potentially derail a transaction. Remember, always be clear and concise. That is probably the number one email tip that we can give you. Without that one, you might as well not even bother to send an email at all.

Email Tips – Avoid These Items

Chatting – While real estate professionals offer a lot of resources through various websites, they are still a business and as such, cannot just give out all of their knowledge and insights for free. Sending endless emails without any regard to that fact can seem innocent enough, but it is not reasonable to expect them to give their time freely for any lengthy period.

Multiple Sources – These days, most of us have multiple email addresses and various devices to send email from. Make sure you’re replying from the right address when corresponding to an email chain. Switching email addresses mid-discussion can cause confusion and delays. Also be sure your devices include “quoting” so that the previous emails are still attached to the chain – getting an email that says “yes, go ahead with that plan” without any reference can be confusing to say the least.

Who Are You? – Forgetting to address your emails to a specific person or not signing them is unacceptable in business emails. Remember to always specify who you’re talking to and include a signature line so that the recipient knows who sent it to them.

Bombardment – Also known as dumping, this is the act of sending excessive amounts of emails and attachments with unnecessary information – remember to be concise and clear about your purpose in your business emails.

Shouting – NO ONE LIKES TO BE YELLED AT! TURN THE CAPS LOCK OFF! THANK YOU! USE A FEW LESS EXCLAMATION POINTS WHILE YOU’RE AT IT!!!!

Slang and Text Talk – In addition to correct grammar and spelling, avoid “text talk” (ie, ur instead of your) and slang. You are a professional, so your business emails should reflect that at all times.

Religion – Avoid references to your personal religious beliefs. Whether it’s direct quotes from religious texts, blessings, or spiritual advice in the form of quotes or other email sign offs, these religious nods imply that the recipient shares your same beliefs, which they may or may not. In addition to potential Fair Housing violations, these can make some people uncomfortable and do not have a place in business transactions.

Politics – Much like religion, political topics can be a hot button for some. Avoid political talk and remain neutral in your emails.

Rambling – Remember how we mentioned you should be clear and concise in your emails? Avoid rambling on and on about a topic – get to the point. Use bullet points and paragraphs. Avoid meandering from one topic to another. If you’re discussing something rather complicated, break it into small bites and use numbers to codify it.

Center of the Universe – You are not the center of the universe. Real estate professionals and those in the industry receive hundreds of emails a day. Without a clear indication of what the email is referring to or who it is coming from, you are making the assumption that you are the only client in the universe. While you should be made to feel that way, truth is, you are not. Help everyone out by (have we said this somewhere before?) being clear and concise, so that there are no questions about your intent with your email.

It’s All About Bob – This one made us laugh, because we’ve seen it before. Email arrives requesting urgent action and is signed simply “Bob.” We work with a lot of Bobs (as it’s a common name) and without some reference to a transaction, property, negotiation, etc. in the email, it is next to impossible to know what the email is about. No one is that psychic – if they were, there would be no need for email – we could all just magically know what to do next without any communication.

More Email Tips for Real Estate Professionals

If you missed the original article, check out “Email Tips for Real Estate Professionals Part I” where we talk about best practices for writing business emails.

image courtesy of gajman

this post is based off of an article by David J. Willis, a Houston real estate attorney

We use email everyday to conduct our real estate business, so we thought it appropriate to share these excellent email tips that will help you in your daily dealings with others in the world of real estate. A good email can make a lot of difference, so take a look at these email tips and see where you can improve your emails, so you’re communicating effectively. And don’t forget, these email tips don’t just apply to real estate or business emails – these are practical tips and generally recognized “netiquette” for all emails, whether business or personal (although personal tend to be a bit less formal).

Email Tips and Best Practices

Sender and Recipient – Because of the confidential nature of much of the email we send regarding real estate, the recipient and sender should always be clearly communicated in your email. Often, multiple people have access to email and computers, so being clear about who you are (sender) and who the email is intended for (recipient). Start your email off with a salutation to the recipient (ie, Hi Paul) and always utilize email signatures (in which you should include your name, company name, phone number, and fax number). Don’t leave the recipient guessing who sent them the email.

Subject Line – Use the subject line to define what the email is in regards to. Use property addresses in the subject line, along with a descriptive phrase to define the content…and don’t be afraid to update the subject line as the email chain evolves. The better the subject line is defined, the easier it is to find the email later when looking for something specific about a particular transaction. If every email has the subject line of “123 Main Street” you’re going to need to do a lot of digging to find one particular email when you need it.

Content – Be direct and concise in your emails. Be definitive. Start your email with a brief sentence identifying the parties involved in the communication (ie, “I am the agent representing the buyer of 123 Main Street”). Your main content should clearly define your purpose in sending the email. Use paragraphs and bullet points to break up the email and make it easy to read. Try to stay under 200 words. End your email with a brief conclusion, reiterating the goal of the email. Remember, being clear about your intentions makes for more efficient email and removes the need for follow up emails with questions that could have easily been answered in the original email.

Who Are You? – While you may think everyone should know exactly who you are, who you work for, and what it is you do (are you an agent, a lawyer, a CPA?), not everyone recognizes your name immediately. Again, this is a time for clarity, even if it seems like overkill.

Attachments – Include any relevant documents for your email as attachments. Remember, not all email addresses can accept large files (a typical rule of thumb is to stay under 10MB for file sizes). Make sure the attachment is in a common format (send someone TIFF or BMP image files is not a good idea, unless you’re emailing them to a graphics professional). Adobe PDF rules the roost when it comes to documents – most computers these days have the ability to print to PDF. Do not send documents that are financially sensitive in formats like Microsoft Word (doc or docx files – these can be edited and therefore present a risk of fraud or forgery). If you have a large set of files, consider using an archiving tool to put them all into a .zip file – this will also save some file size.

Courtesy and Tone – Emails can often feel abrupt and a bit commanding. Remember what your mother always taught you – use words like please and thank you. A little friendliness goes a long way, particularly in a tense negotiation or discussion.

Formal Demands – If you’re making a formal demand, put it in writing and forget the email. While we all use email constantly, if you want it to stand up in court, you’re better off putting it in writing and getting appropriate signatures.

Answering Questions – If you receive an email with multiple questions, it’s often useful to quote the sender first, then answer below that question. Then move on to the next question and do the same. It can also help to use bold or colors to separate your responses, but remember, some older email applications may not pick up the text adornments. Just be sure to tell the recipient what you’ve done to separate the text so that they are clear as to what to look for in the email.

image courtesy of Esparta

this post is based off of an article by David J. Willis, a Houston real estate attorney