In real estate, some tasks are very important in steering your business in the right direction. The problem is that these tasks are often too tedious for one person. With more people adopting remote work, it makes sense to hire a real estate virtual assistant.
Keep reading to learn more about a virtual assistant for real estate, what they do, and the benefits of hiring one. Before we get into that, let’s first define who is a real estate virtual assistant.
What Is a Real Estate Virtual Assistant?
A real estate virtual assistant (REVA) is a remote worker providing support services to real estate professionals and agencies. They take over the supportive tasks, allowing agents to focus on revenue-generating activities. A REVA facilitates the smooth functioning of a real estate business.
Most realtors’ virtual assistants are familiar with the industry; hence, explaining what to do to them is easier. A VA can work full-time or part-time, depending on the workload and nature of your business.
Learn more about what a real estate virtual assistant is from Linkedin.
What Does a Real Estate Virtual Assistant Do?
A real estate virtual assistant performs administrative tasks such as responding to emails, scheduling appointments, data entry, and answering phone calls. They handle social media and get feedback from clients. They can also conduct web research for market trends and update your website.
Does your company need more than just a REVA? If yes, take a look at our list of most in-demand virtual assistant services.
Here is an in-depth look at what a real estate virtual assistant does:
- Responding to Emails.
A VA may help you sort out your inbox and respond to clients’ inquiries. However, avoid letting a virtual assistant handle transaction-related emails. - Schedule Appointments.
An assistant sets up meetups and showings for agents. They can also remind clients and agents about upcoming events. - Data Entry.
Data is crucial in real estate. A virtual assistant can use tools like budget sheet templates to track and plan finances and ensure everything is well-updated. - Answering Phone Calls.
VAs answer simple calls about inquiries and confirm showings. Real estate virtual assistant cold calling may also assist you in gaining more leads. - Social Media.
A virtual assistant can handle social media by scheduling posts, tracking engagement, and monitoring competition. They also respond to messages on social platforms about an agency. - Research for Market Trends.
VAs help real estate agents keep up with market trends to give them a competitive edge. - Get Client Feedback.
Most agents struggle to follow up with clients. A virtual assistant may track down a client after a transaction and get helpful reviews. - Update your Website.
A virtual real estate assistant may post blog posts and add new listings on your website. - Travel Arrangements. When traveling for work, a VA helps ensure flights and hotels are booked.
Discover top tasks to leverage to virtual assistants in real estate from Linkedin.
4 Types of Real Estate Virtual Assistants
Here are the 4 types of real estate virtual assistants and the tasks they do:
- Commercial Real Estate Virtual Assistants.
They help in closing successful real estate sales deals. These types of VAs handle scheduling appointments, organizing emails, and maintaining databases. - Administrative REVA.
They ensure that all paperwork required to close a successful deal is available, including contracts and mortgages. They also handle other administrative tasks. - Marketing Real Estate Virtual Assistants.
They oversee all marketing materials, such as content writing, graphic design, and creating social and email campaigns. - Customer Service REVA.
They take care of customers to ensure they are served correctly. This includes listening and responding to customer complaints and conducting regular follow-ups.
How to Hire a Real Estate Virtual Assistant
Here are the steps for hiring a real estate virtual assistant:
Step 1: Identify Your Needs
Narrow down the tasks you’d like to delegate and the gaps you want to fill in your agency or practice.
Step 2: Consider the Region
Do you want an on-shore or off-shore virtual assistant? Ask yourself whether you need someone familiar with local laws or looking for experience beyond borders. On the same note, consider the time zone.
Step 3: Contemplate Where You Want to Hire a Virtual Assistant
Do you prefer hiring someone from a freelance platform, agency, or a traditional listing site? You can advertise the position and invite candidates to apply based on your preference. You can also ask for referrals.
Step 4: Make a Decision
Choose an assistant from the qualified applicants. Your decision should be based on their skill set and expertise.
11 Top Sites to Hire Real Estate Virtual Assistant
Here are the top 11 sites for hiring a real estate virtual assistant:
- VA4Rei.
This site has a 10+ years track record as a real estate investor virtual assistant company. They have a simple 3-step client onboarding process. Additionally, their monthly pricing plans range from $637.26 to $1,290. - Real Estate Virtual Assistant.
This platform allows you to hire home-based (remote) and office-based VAs. However, the minimum hours you can hire a VA are 20 a week, and it takes 1-2 weeks to get assigned a VA. Their prices are charged per hour. - Transactly.
The platform deals exclusively with real estate. Their VAs help with marketing, sales, client support, and administration. - Zirtual.
The platform is comprised of US-based college graduate assistants. Zirtual has a stringent onboarding process to ensure all the assistants have the right skills and qualifications. Their payment model is on a per-monthly basis. - Wishup.
Through Wishup, you can get a REVA in less than 24 hours. The platform offers personalized pricing plans. If you aren’t satisfied with your current VA, you can also get an instant replacement. - Elite Virtual Assistant.
Elite has a strict screening process, with only 2% of applicants cutting. This means that all clients get the best VAs. They are known for diversity and inclusivity. - Virtudesk.
This is a US-based VA provider. With Virtudesk, you can hire a part-time, full-time, or project-based assistant. - MyOutDesk.
The platform offers a tailored assessment to match clients with an assistant according to their needs. All their VAs undergo FBI background checks and vetting. However, the platform is very expensive, starting at $1,988 monthly. - Vasumo.
This growing platform has worked with some big brands, including Tesla and Hubspot. Each of the VAs has passed 16 certifications. Their pricing ranges from $398-$598 per month. - Boldly.
Boldly has also worked with renowned brands like Amazon, Morgan Stanley, and Microsoft. They offer REVAs with 10+ years of experience. The best part is the platform has hourly plans. - User Per Wish.
This platform offers a multi-layered quality control system. Every task a VA does undergoes a second review to ensure clients get quality results. User Per Wish pricing plans range from hourly to monthly. - 2nd Office.
With a track record of working with Fortune 500 companies, 2nd Office has over 500 skilled VAs with a 92% client retention rate. Their pricing is available on demand.
Want more options? Here are 15 companies for your outsourcing needs.
Benefits of Hiring a Real Estate Virtual Assistant
Clients can expect the following benefits from hiring real estate virtual assistants:
- Flexibility.
Most virtual assistants are available on-call, unlike traditional employees. Additionally, with a VA, you can have flexible working hours without the exhaustion of extra tasks. - Increased Productivity.
Virtual assistants deliver tasks faster than workers alone. With a good and experienced VA, you get quick turnaround times with minimal supervision. - Scalability.
Delegating recurrent tasks to a REVA gives you room to focus on important tasks that help your practice grow. - Fewer Overhead Costs.
A virtual assistant works remotely, so you spend less on office supplies and bills. They also don’t require hefty compensation compared to full-time hires. - Access to Skilled Expertise.
When hiring a VA, you can choose to outsource only skilled individuals with the necessary expertise to complete a certain task. This will help you stand out in the market.
Discover the benefits of real estate virtual assistants from Linkedin.
Get a Real Estate Virtual Assistant
Real estate virtual assistants help with administrative tasks, social media, and website updates. Working with an experienced VA assists real estate agencies and professionals in getting things done quicker with minimal supervision.
You can hire a REVA from freelancing platforms or job sites like Vasumo and Zirtual. However, before hiring an assistant, analyze your business needs, locality, and where you’d prefer your assistant to be from.
