The Look-Ahead Question, The Driveway Note and The January Callback — prepared by Edmund Bogen
December is the month people say out loud what is changing next year: a new job, a move closer to family, a house that suddenly feels too big. Those are the reasons people move. In NAR’s 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 35% of recent buyers said a life change, such as marriage, a new family member, children moving out or retirement, could make them move again. And 66% of sellers hired an agent they already knew or were referred to, while 80% contacted only one agent. This session gives you three systems for the 30 days from Dec 2 to Jan 1, and the two weeks after. The Look-Ahead Question: one natural question, “What are you looking forward to next year?”, asked the same way of everyone, at every gathering. The Driveway Note: sixty seconds in your own words before you start the car, holding only the plan the person chose to share. The January Callback: from Jan 4 to 15, AI drafts a personal message about that plan, and you check it and send it yourself.
December is the month people say out loud what is changing next year: a new job, a move closer to family, a house that suddenly feels too big. Those are the reasons people move. In NAR’s 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 35% of recent buyers said a life change, such as marriage, a new family member, children moving out or retirement, could make them move again. And 66% of sellers hired an agent they already knew or were referred to, while 80% contacted only one agent.
We will master 3 systems live, together:
1 · The Look-Ahead Question — One question. Everyone. Every room. Ask “What are you looking forward to next year?” the same way of everyone, listen for a move inside the answer, follow up once, and stop.
2 · The Driveway Note — Sixty seconds, in your words. Before you start the car, five lines: who, where, their words about the plan, when, and what comes next. Never a recording of them.
3 · The January Callback — AI drafts. You send. From Jan 4 to 15, one personal message per note that quotes only the plan they stated and offers one useful thing.
Register for the SessionEvery page of the 46-page course study is on this page, in order — the PDF is the same content, formatted to print. Jump to any section:
Three systems, and the three habits underneath them: asking one natural question, writing down only what was said, and following up personally once the holidays are over.
| # | Module | The skill it teaches | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Why December works | The honest numbers: where listings come from, why people move, the listing season, the research | 4–8 |
| 2 | The rules of the season | Recording, consent, Do Not Call, FCC 26-67, gifts, hosting and fair housing | 9–14 |
| 3 | System 1: The Look-Ahead Question | One question for everyone, one follow-up, and rooms where you can hear | 15–18 |
| 4 | Listening for the move | Stated plans, five outcomes, and what you never write down | 19–21 |
| 5 | System 2: The Driveway Note | Five lines before you start the car, and where the note lives | 22–24 |
| 6 | System 3: The January Callback | Jan 4–15: AI drafts, you check and send, by the right channel | 25–29 |
| 7 | Your 30-day December plan | Dec 2 to Jan 1, then Jan 4–15; three counts; what to re-check | 30–31 |
| ✓ | Assessment and appendices | Answer keys, reference card, prompts, practice lines, questions, glossary, sources | 32–45 |
Six exercises sit where the skill was just taught. All of them use sample data, labelled as such: the people, parties and messages are invented for this book. Do them on paper first, then check Appendix A. The keys give the reasoning, not just the answer.
This is the seasonal repeat of last year’s holiday session. It keeps what worked, and it builds on this fall’s workbooks instead of repeating them.
| When you need… | Use this | From the workbook |
|---|---|---|
| The deeper conversation after someone names a change | The One Reason; the One-Reason Note; Outcomes A–E | The Golden Handcuffs Conversation (Nov 18, 2026) |
| Where your December notes go in your CRM | The Monday Call List and its stated-signal field | The Sunday Night Workflow (Nov 4, 2026) |
| How far AI may go on a message; FCC 26-67 | The Autonomy Dial (“draft”); Module 3 | AI in 2027 (Nov 25, 2026) |
| What never goes into an AI tool | The Data Line; the Fair Housing Firewall | Keeping AI Compliant (Sep 23, 2026) |
| Your answer to “What do you do?” | The Positioning Rewrite | Death of the Generalist (Sep 9, 2026) |
| Asking for referrals | The Referral Farm | Death of the Generalist (Sep 9, 2026) |
| People who do not reply in January | The 5-Touch Conversion Protocol | The Power of Follow-Up (Dec 17, 2025) |
| Nerves before a room full of people | The Glass Wall | Complete Confidence (Oct 28, 2026) |
| A January call that becomes a listing appointment | The Sequence Architecture; the Seller Brief | The 7-Touch Pre-Listing Sequence (Aug 5, 2026) |
| AI drafts that sound like you | The Voice Print and Voice Card | Own Your Voice (Sep 2, 2026) |
| Saving the six prompts | The “Database & Referrals” category | Building a Reusable Prompt Library (Jul 22, 2026) |
No earlier workbook teaches these: one question for every gathering, listening for a move inside an ordinary answer, a note that holds only what the person chose to share, and a January message that refers only to the plan they stated.
The honest case for holiday networking is not a conversion rate. It is where listings come from.
NAR, 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers (released Nov 4, 2025; buyers who bought July 2024–June 2025; 6,103 responses). NAR is the REALTOR® trade association and has an interest in showing agents’ value. Exhibits 7-2, 7-3 and 4-6.
The seller figure splits into 37% referred by a friend, neighbor or relative and 29% who used an agent they had worked with before. Only 5% found their agent through “personal contact by agent (telephone, e-mail, etc.)”. On the buyer side, 43% were referred, 15% used an agent they had used before and 4% came from the agent’s own calls or e-mails. And 74% of buyers interviewed only one agent (Exhibit 4-8). Most people never call a second agent.
Last year’s version of this session leaned on numbers we could not source. This year every number in the book has a source, a publisher and a date, all listed in Appendix F. Here is what the data do and do not show.
The one real estate cold-calling study we found is old and small. In November 2011, 50 Keller Williams agents made 6,264 calls that produced 19 appointments and 11 referrals. It counted no listings or closings (Baylor University’s Keller Center with Keller Williams, which trains agents to prospect; Sep 1, 2012). It settles nothing either way.
NAR’s 2026 Member Profile found that the typical REALTOR® earned 28% of their 2025 business from repeat clients and customers and another 22% from referrals by past clients and customers (NAR, Aug 19, 2026). In the 2025 Profile, 91% of buyers would use their agent again or recommend them, and 62% of buyers and 65% of sellers had already recommended their agent at least once. The holidays put you in the same rooms as the people who do that recommending.
The reasons people give for moving are the same things people mention when someone asks about next year.
| Reason | Share |
|---|---|
| Want to move closer to friends or family | 26% |
| Home too small | 10% |
| Home too large | 10% |
| Change in family situation (marriage, birth of a child, divorce) | 8% |
| Retirement | 7% |
| Job relocation | 6% |
| Upkeep too difficult due to health or financial limits | 5% |
| Reason | Share |
|---|---|
| Life changes (addition to family, marriage, children move out, retirement) | 35% |
| Never moving: a “forever home” | 28% |
| A household member’s health | 23% |
| Downsize | 17% |
| Job or career change | 16% |
| Want a nicer home or added features | 15% |
| Better area | 14% |
NAR, 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers (released Nov 4, 2025; buyers who bought July 2024–June 2025; 6,103 responses). NAR is the REALTOR® trade association and has an interest in showing agents’ value. Seller data come only from buyers who also sold a home.
Distance changes the reason. For moves of more than 100 miles, 44% of sellers said they wanted to be closer to friends or family. For moves of 10 miles or less it was 6%, and “home too small” led at 22%. The median seller had owned their home for 11 years, a record, and moved a median of 30 miles.
The Census Bureau sees the same pattern across all movers, renters included. In the year before its 2023 survey, 25.6 million people moved, 7.8% of the population, the lowest rate in its 1948–2023 series. Housing reasons led at 41.3%, then family at 22.7% and employment at 21.0%. A new job or transfer alone was 12.5% (CPS ASEC Tables A-1 and A-5, released Dec 2024, the latest published).
In a CBS News/YouGov poll of 2,267 adults (Dec 15–17, 2025), most Americans named time with family and friends as their favorite part of the holidays, and more expected to trade family stories and updates at gatherings than to discuss current events or politics. The poll’s percentages are in charts we could not read, so we quote none. And in an online poll for the Chinet brand, which sells disposable tableware, respondents expected to attend 3 holiday gatherings on average in 2024, down from 5 the year before (Talker Research, Nov 11, 2024). The gatherings you already go to are the ones that count.
Both big portals’ data show the same pattern every year. A December conversation is a conversation about the new year.
| Source and area | Dec 2025 | Jan 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Realtor.com, U.S. new listings | 235,040 | 331,624 | +41.1% |
| Zillow, U.S. new listings | 174,240 | 269,825 | +54.9% |
| Zillow, Miami metro | 7,047 | 10,517 | +49.2% |
| Zillow, Tampa metro | 3,263 | 5,426 | +66.3% |
| Zillow, Orlando metro | 2,158 | 3,582 | +66.0% |
| Zillow, Jacksonville metro | 1,382 | 2,252 | +63.0% |
Realtor.com Economic Research, RDC Inventory Core Metrics, and Zillow Research, New Listings (SFR + condo), monthly; both data through Sep 2026, downloaded Nov 3, 2026. The changes are our arithmetic on their counts, except Realtor.com’s +41.1%, which is its own field. The two portals count listings differently, so compare each only with itself. Realtor.com (Move, Inc., News Corp) sells leads and ads to agents; Zillow sells agent advertising.
December was the lowest month of the year for new listings in every year from 2017 to 2025 in Realtor.com’s data, and from 2018 to 2025 in Zillow’s. In Miami, Tampa and Orlando the one exception was 2020, when the low month was April. In December 2025, Realtor.com’s new listings fell 29.0% from November. Redfin, a brokerage and portal owned by Rocket Companies, said the same thing in words: “Would-be home sellers and buyers are retreating as we enter the holiday season” (Redfin News, Dec 11, 2025).
Realtor.com named Apr 12–18, 2026 the best national week to list. Based on 2018–2019 and 2021–2025 data, homes listed that week historically carried list prices about 1.3% higher than in the average week (Realtor.com release, Mar 18, 2026; list prices, not sale prices). Its 2026 Florida weeks were Mar 22 in Jacksonville, Apr 19 in Tampa and Orlando, and May 24 in Miami–Fort Lauderdale–West Palm Beach. Zillow’s analysis pointed to the last two weeks of May (via National Mortgage News, Mar 19, 2026). The portals disagree on the week but agree on spring. No one has published a 2027 week; Realtor.com’s 2026 analysis came out in March. A conversation on Jan 4 is about 14 weeks before mid-April.
Florida also fills up with visitors. AAA forecast 122.4 million Americans traveling 50 miles or more from Dec 20, 2025 to Jan 1, 2026, a record, with Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Miami the top three domestic destinations and Tampa sixth (AAA, Dec 10, 2025; S&P Global Market Intelligence methodology). AAA is a motor club that sells travel, and these were forecasts.
AAA’s 2026 holiday forecasts and NAR’s 2026 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers were not yet out, so this module uses the 2025 editions, labelled as such. If NAR’s 2026 Profile is out when you read this, check each figure against it before you repeat it.
Peer-reviewed studies about talking to people. Each has limits, listed beside it. None of them measures home sales.
| What the study found | Study | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Commuters expected talking to a stranger to be worse than sitting quietly. Those told to connect had a more positive experience, and the people they talked to enjoyed it just as much. | Epley & Schroeder, J. Exp. Psych.: General, 2014 | Short commutes; self-reported mood |
| Deeper conversations with strangers felt less awkward and more connecting than people predicted. People expected others to care less about what they shared than others did. | Kardas, Kumar & Epley, JPSP, 2022 | Lab and online strangers |
| People who ask more questions, especially follow-up questions, are better liked, and people do not expect this. | Huang, Yeomans, Brooks, Minson & Gino, JPSP, 2017 | Online chats and one speed-dating dataset. Critiqued by Kluger & Malloy (2019); the authors replied. A 2025 correction fixed several minor errors after an independent audit, which confirmed all its conclusions. |
| After a conversation, people underestimate how much the other person liked them: the “liking gap.” It lasted for months. | Boothby, Cooney, Sandstrom & Clark, Psych. Science, 2018 | Students and workshop members; liking, not business |
| Conversations almost never end when both people want them to, and people cannot tell when the other wants to stop. | Mastroianni, Gilbert, Cooney & Wilson, PNAS, 2021 | 932 conversations: intimates (self-report) and lab strangers |
| People underestimate how much others appreciate being reached out to, more so when it is a surprise or comes from someone less close. | Liu, Rim, Min & Min, JPSP, 2023 | Appreciation, not replies; timing not tested |
| Reconnecting with dormant ties, people you have lost touch with, was very useful and compared favorably with current ties. | Levin, Walter & Murnighan, Organization Science, 2011 | Executive MBA students seeking work advice |
| Writers of thank-you letters underestimated how positive recipients would feel and overestimated how awkward they would feel. | Kumar & Epley, Psych. Science, 2018 | Letters to people the writer already knew |
| Searches for “diet”, gym visits and goal commitments rise after fresh starts, such as a new year. | Dai, Milkman & Riis, Management Science, 2014 | Goals, not housing decisions |
The numbers you repeat at the office and at the party should survive one question: who counted?
The five questions from AI in 2027 (Nov 25, 2026) work on any number you are about to repeat: Who counted? Of whom? What exactly was asked? Who sells what? Measured, or forecast for what date?
| A line you can say | Source |
|---|---|
| “Four in five sellers call only one agent.” | NAR 2025 Profile, Exhibit 7-3 |
| “Only 5% of sellers found their agent through the agent’s calls or e-mails.” | NAR 2025 Profile, Exhibit 7-2 |
| “About a third of recent buyers say a life change is what could move them again.” | NAR 2025 Profile, Exhibit 2-15 (35%) |
| “Moving closer to family is the top reason sellers give.” | NAR 2025 Profile, Exhibit 6-15 (26%) |
| “December is the low month for new listings. January jumps.” | Realtor.com data, 2017–2025; Zillow data, 2018–2025 |
| “The share of Americans who moved fell to 7.8% in the Census’s 2023 survey, the lowest in its 1948–2023 series.” | Census CPS ASEC, Table A-1 |
| “People tend to like you more after a conversation than you think.” | Boothby et al., 2018 |
Six lines you might hear at an office meeting this month (sample wording). For each, write Keep, Fix or Drop, and then the version you would say. Use only facts in this module.
Answer key: Appendix A, page 33.
Florida and California require every party’s consent to record a private conversation. A note in your own voice, after you walk away, is a different act.
| Where | The rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | All parties must consent before a private conversation is recorded. A violation is a felony. | Fla. Stat. 934.03 |
| California | All parties to a “confidential communication” must consent, face to face included. Our reading: a quiet one-on-one in a corner can qualify, even at a party. | Cal. Penal Code 632(a), (c) |
| Federal floor | One party’s consent is enough under federal law. States can be stricter, and these two are. | 18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d) |
| Other states commonly listed as all-party | Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington. Lists disagree at the edges. Check your own state’s statute. | Kilpatrick Townsend (law firm), Jul 29, 2024 |
Whether a noisy party gives a guest an “expectation of privacy” under Florida law is a question of fact, decided case by case. Do not bet a felony on it.
| Company | What its own help page says |
|---|---|
| Apple | “make sure the other call participant is willing and gives explicit consent to be recorded.” iPhone call recording also plays an audio notice to both people (Personal Safety User Guide, current). |
| “get permission from others before recording them” (Pixel Phone Help, current). | |
| Plaud | It “does not collect consent from participants on your behalf” (Plaud Support, updated Oct 26, 2026). |
| OpenAI | “always get the right consents before recording others” (as quoted by MacRumors, Jul 17, 2025). |
Dated examples, not recommendations. One wearable recorder’s page we read on Nov 3, 2026 had no consent language at all. “Audio is processed instantly and then deleted” is not consent.
Dictating your own recap afterward records your own voice, not their communication. That is our reading of 934.02(3), not a court ruling. Module 5 covers what goes in that recap, and what never does.
Federal Do Not Call rules ask whether you personally know the person, or whether they asked you to call. Ask in the room, and write down the answer.
| Situation | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Their number is on the National Do Not Call Registry | No telephone solicitation unless they gave signed, written permission naming the number, you have a personal relationship with them, or an established business relationship applies. The rule covers calls and texts to cell phones. | 47 CFR 64.1200(c)(2), (e) |
| “Personal relationship” | “any family member, friend, or acquaintance.” The FCC means someone “personally known” to you, with a “firsthand” relationship who would expect your call. Referrals to people you do not know are not covered. Federal list only: Florida’s list has no such exception (page 11). | 64.1200(f)(17); FCC 03-153 ¶¶47–48, n.165 |
| They asked you about buying or selling | An inquiry creates an established business relationship for 3 months; a purchase or transaction, for 18 months. A do-not-call request ends it. | 64.1200(f)(5); FCC 03-153 ¶114 |
| They said “don’t call me” | That is a do-not-call request, even at a party. Record it and honor it within 10 business days at most. | 64.1200(d)(3) |
| Federal calling hours | No telephone solicitation before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., their local time. Florida is stricter: see page 11. | 64.1200(c)(1) |
Our reading: someone you chatted with once at a party is a weak “acquaintance.” The FCC’s test is “firsthand” and “expected,” and one meeting may not be enough. An inquiry on Dec 12 runs out around Mar 12. When in doubt, ask permission, and ask your broker.
A marketing call or text to a cell phone that uses an autodialer, or an artificial or prerecorded voice, needs prior express written consent: a signed agreement, an e-signature included, that names the phone number and says signing is not a condition of buying anything (47 CFR 64.1200(a)(2), (f)(9)). The FCC treats AI-generated voices, voice clones included, as artificial voices (FCC 24-17, Feb 8, 2024), and a ringless voicemail as a call that needs consent (FCC 22-85, Nov 21, 2022). A text you type and send yourself is not an autodialed message, but the Do Not Call rules above still apply to it.
An email whose main purpose is to market your services needs a clear way to opt out, a valid postal address and, unless the person agreed in advance, a clear statement that it is an advertisement. Opt-outs must be honored within 10 business days, and a misleading subject line is unlawful (15 U.S.C. 7704). The FTC’s maximum penalty is $53,088 per violation (16 CFR 1.98(d)). A pure holiday greeting may not be commercial. Once it markets your services, treat it as commercial.
FCC 26-67 took effect a week before this session. Florida adds its own rules on consent, identification, calling hours and STOP.
Before Nov 25, the rules in force since Apr 11, 2025 made callers honor any reasonable request, such as “no thanks, please stop texting me.” From Nov 25, a caller that names and discloses an exclusive method needs to process only requests made that way, though a caller that names a reply word must honor all seven standard words. A caller that names no method must still process any reasonable request, and a voicemail or email is presumed to revoke consent (47 CFR 64.1200(a)(10)–(11), as amended by FCC 26-67). The simple practice: treat any request to stop, in any words, as a stop.
| Florida rule | What it says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Texts count | A “telephonic sales call” includes a text message or voicemail, and “consumer goods or services” includes real property. | 501.059(1)(j), (1)(c) |
| Consent for automated | An unsolicited sales call or text that uses an automated system for selecting and dialing numbers, or a recorded message, needs prior express written consent. A call they asked for, or to someone you already do business with, is not “unsolicited.” Checking a box can count as the signature. | 501.059(8)(a), (1)(h), (1)(k) |
| Say who you are | On an unsolicited sales call or text, give your true first and last name and the business you represent “immediately upon making contact.” Do it in every January message anyway. | 501.059(2) |
| STOP | Before suing over texts, a person replies STOP; the sender then has 15 days. The federal limit is 10 business days, so honor STOP at once. | 501.059(10)(c) |
| Damages | Actual damages or $500, whichever is greater, up to triple if the violation is willful or knowing. | 501.059(10)(a)–(b) |
| Hours and frequency | No solicitation calls before 8 a.m. or after 8 p.m. in their time zone, and no more than 3 in 24 hours on the same subject. Real estate licensees are not exempt from these two rules. | 501.616(6); 501.604(25) |
The Florida hours rule is in 501.616(6), not in 501.059. It says “phone calls,” and we could not confirm whether it reaches texts. Using the same 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. window for texts is the safe practice. Florida also keeps its own no-sales-solicitation list, and it includes every Florida number on the national registry (501.059(3)(d)). A number on it may get a sales call or text only at that person’s express request or with a prior or existing business relationship; there is no family, friend or acquaintance exception (501.059(1)(k), (4)). Licensees are also exempt when answering a seller’s or landlord’s own yard sign or ad (501.059(4)).
In effect from Nov 25, 2026. AI in 2027 reported no petition or stay as of Nov 3, 2026; ask your broker whether that has changed. A companion FCC proposal on a one-step “revoke all” option takes reply comments until Dec 28, 2026.
Three sets of rules meet at the holiday party: RESPA for lenders and title companies, your state’s license law, and the IRS.
| Rule | In plain words | Source |
|---|---|---|
| RESPA Section 8 | No one may give or accept a fee, kickback or “other thing of value” for referring settlement-service business. A real estate agent’s services are a settlement service. Paying “another person’s expenses” is a thing of value. | 12 U.S.C. 2607; 12 CFR 1024.14(b), (d); 1024.2(b) |
| No small-gift exception | “There is no exception to RESPA Section 8 solely based on the value of the gift or promotion.” Sponsoring events in exchange for referrals violates it. | CFPB RESPA FAQs (answers updated Oct 7, 2020) |
| Co-hosted events | If a lender or title company co-hosts, its spending must be for its own promotion, not conditioned on referrals, and not covering costs you would otherwise pay. A seminar open to all agents, whether or not they refer, is the CFPB’s permitted example. | 1024.14(g)(1)(vi); CFPB FAQs |
| Florida license law | A licensee may not pay a fee or “other compensation” to an unlicensed person for the referral of real estate business. Doing so is a second-degree misdemeanor. | Fla. Stat. 475.25(1)(h); 475.42(1)(e), (2) |
| Other states differ | Texas allows a merchandise gift worth $50 or less, but not a bank gift card that can be turned into cash. | TREC FAQ; 22 TAC 535.20(a) |
| NAR Code | Disclose any financial benefit you receive when you recommend a service. Inducements are allowed only within state law. | Article 6; SOP 6-1; SOP 12-3 (2026 Code) |
Only $25 of business gifts per person per year is deductible. You may spend more; you just cannot deduct more. You and your spouse count as one giver, a gift to a client’s spouse counts against the client, and packaging and mailing usually do not count toward the $25. An item that costs $4 or less with your name permanently imprinted, given out widely, is not counted as a gift (26 U.S.C. 274(b); IRS Pub. 463, 2025). Entertainment is not deductible, and business meals are generally limited to 50%. How a private client party is treated is a question for your CPA.
In Florida, serving guests of legal drinking age does not make you liable for their intoxication, with two exceptions: willfully and unlawfully serving someone under 21, and knowingly serving someone habitually addicted to alcohol (Fla. Stat. 768.125). Knowingly letting minors drink at a party in your home without taking reasonable steps to stop it is a misdemeanor (856.015). The Insurance Information Institute, an insurance-industry group, says homeowners liquor-liability limits are typically $100,000 to $300,000 and suggests a licensed venue with a professional bartender (Triple-I, undated). Call your insurance agent before the party. And ask before you post anyone’s photo (The Close, Oct 5, 2026).
Fair housing covers what you say at the party when the talk turns to homes, not only your printed ads.
| Rule | What it means at the holidays | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Spoken words count | The ban on statements that show a preference based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin applies to “all written or oral notices or statements” by a person engaged in the sale or rental of a dwelling. | 42 U.S.C. 3604(c); 24 CFR 100.75(b) |
| Who sees your ads | Choosing media or locations so that some groups do not hear about housing, because of familial status or another protected class, is itself prohibited. Do not build a “new parents” audience or a holiday-faith audience. | 24 CFR 100.75(c)(3) |
| Pregnancy | Familial status protects “any person who is pregnant.” Congratulations are ordinary conversation. Steering because of it is not. | 42 U.S.C. 3602(k) |
| Steering | Telling someone they would not be “comfortable or compatible” in a community because of familial status is steering. | 24 CFR 100.70(c)(3) |
| Holiday words | “Merry Christmas” and secular holiday images do not violate the Act, per HUD’s 1995 advertising memo (archived copy; its current status is unverified). A religious symbol standing alone on a listing ad may indicate a preference. | HUD memo, Jan 9, 1995 |
| REALTOR® members | The Code adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the list, and bars steering and panic selling. | SOP 10-1, 10-3 (2026 Code) |
Use inclusive wording in what you send: “the holiday season,” “the new year.” Asking someone what they are looking forward to is ordinary conversation. Sorting or targeting people by what you learn about family, faith, age or health is not.
If a move comes up, ask, “Are you working with an agent?” before you offer anything substantive. If they are under an exclusive agreement, be friendly, do not solicit their listing, and do not offer a CMA or put them in a targeted campaign (NAR Article 16; SOPs 16-4, 16-5, 16-9, 16-13). A general mailing to your whole sphere is fine (SOP 16-2). If they come to you, you may discuss a future agreement that starts when theirs ends (SOP 16-6). The Code binds REALTOR® members.
Make it readily apparent that you are a real estate professional, name your firm, and spell out the terms of any giveaway in advance (Article 12; SOPs 12-3, 12-5). Do not describe your brokerage services as costing nothing unless you will receive no compensation from any source (SOP 12-1). If an online RSVP or sign-up form feeds a partner’s list, say so on the form (SOP 12-11).
Keep this page for December. Every line points back to its lesson.
| When | The rule in one line | Page |
|---|---|---|
| At the gathering | Record no one. Ask everyone the same question. Ask “Are you working with an agent?” before anything substantive. Ask “May I call you in January?” | 9, 13 |
| In your note | Only what they chose to share about their plans. No health, divorce, loss, money trouble or children beyond their own plan. | 21 |
| Gifts and events | No referral pay to unlicensed people. No lender- or title-paid party tied to referrals. $25 is a deduction limit, not a spending limit. | 12 |
| January contact | A personal message you send yourself. Do Not Call: personally known, an inquiry within 3 months, a transaction within 18 months, or signed permission. Florida: no acquaintance exception; a number on its list needs their express request or a past business relationship. | 10 |
| Anything automated | Treat it as needing prior express written consent first. The law requires it for autodialed or artificial-voice marketing, and whether a CRM sequence counts is unsettled, so ask your broker. A stop ends all your automated marketing (FCC 26-67), within 10 business days at most. | 11 |
| Florida | Give your first and last name and business. Calls 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., no more than 3 in 24 hours. Honor STOP at once. | 11 |
Six December situations (sample data). For each, name the rule and say what you would do instead.
Answer key: Appendix A, page 33.
The Look-Ahead Question. One question. Everyone. Every room.
Why this question. It is positive, so people answer it easily. It invites plans, not problems. And it lets the big things come up without you naming them: a new job, a move closer to family, a house that no longer fits. It is the social cousin of Question 3 of The One Reason in The Golden Handcuffs Conversation (Nov 18, 2026): “What has changed, or what do you think will, in the next few years?” The holiday question is the doorway. The One Reason is the room, and it comes later.
| Setting (sample) | The same question, in your words |
|---|---|
| Office party | “What are you looking forward to in the new year?” |
| Neighbors at an open house | “Anything big coming up for you next year?” |
| A past client | “What’s on the list for next year?” |
| Someone who asks you about the market first | “Honestly, it depends on the street. What are you looking forward to next year?” |
At a party you are a guest first. The question works because it is not a pitch.
When people learn what you do, they usually ask you about the market. One Tennessee agent lists the three questions she gets at every holiday party: “How’s the market doing?” “When will rates finally drop?” “Is the market going to crash?” (Heather Skender-Newton, Agent’s Advantage newsletter, Dec 22, 2025). Answer in one honest sentence, then turn it around.
| Habit | What it sounds like | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Don’t sell at the party | “Let’s find a time in January.” | RISMedia’s advice: don’t “shout across the dinner table to try and close something out”; set up a time, or “let them come to you” (Dec 22, 2022). |
| Share a little of your own year | “We’re finally redoing the kitchen.” | It keeps it a conversation, not an interview. |
| Be kind to everyone in the room | Learn the host’s name, the server’s, the doorman’s. | Edmund’s rule from last year’s call. It is also just how to be at a party. |
| Have one line for “What do you do?” | Your Positioning Rewrite one-liner | Built in Death of the Generalist (Sep 9, 2026). Use it; don’t write a new one here. |
The worry is reasonable. Nobody wants to be the agent who corners people by the punch bowl. The Look-Ahead Question answers it: you ask about them, you ask once, and you leave the real estate for January. The person you talked to probably liked the conversation more than you think (Boothby et al., 2018). If nerves are the problem, start with the Glass Wall (Complete Confidence, Oct 28, 2026).
If the answer holds a move, ask one short question about it. Then let the conversation go somewhere else.
| They say (sample) | Your one follow-up | Then |
|---|---|---|
| “We might finally sell and get something smaller.” | “Oh? When would that be?” | Listen. If it fits: “May I call you in January?” |
| “I start a new job in Denver in March.” | “Congratulations. Are you moving out there?” | Listen. Offer to help in January. |
| “My son is getting married in the spring!” | “Congratulations!” | No housing follow-up. The plan is his, not theirs. |
| “Nothing much. Same old.” | “Sounds like a good year.” | Move on. That is a complete answer. |
| “It’s been a hard year.” | “I’m sorry. I’m glad you’re here.” | Listen. No follow-up, no note, no January mention. |
| “How’s the market?” | One honest sentence. | Then the Look-Ahead Question. |
Follow-up questions are the part of a conversation shown to raise liking (Huang et al., 2017, in online chats and speed dating). One is enough. The aim is to understand what they said, not to qualify them as a lead.
Conversations almost never end when both people want them to, and people cannot tell when the other person wants to stop (Mastroianni et al., 2021). So leave first, on a good note. If a move came up, ask permission for January. If they say “call me,” write it down that night with the date. If they say “please don’t,” write that down too, on your do-not-call list.
| Ways to leave | |
|---|---|
| “I’ve kept you long enough. May I call you in January?” | When a move came up |
| “Let’s pick this up after the holidays.” | When they want to talk business now |
| “Enjoy the party. Happy New Year.” | Every other time |
If they start asking what their home is worth or when to list, ask, “Are you working with an agent?” before you answer in any detail (SOP 16-13; page 13). Then book the real conversation for January.
You have 30 days. Use the gatherings you were going to anyway before you add new ones.
On last year’s call, one member described a reunion of 10 to 12 women that produced two business opportunities, while the loud parties produced nothing. That is one person’s account, not a study. But anyone who has tried to talk at a wedding knows the point. Rank your invitations by one question: can I actually talk here?
| Gathering (sample) | Can I talk here? | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Neighbor’s holiday open house, about 20 people | Yes | Go. Ask everyone. |
| Office party with a DJ, about 150 people | Briefly | Go early; a few conversations near the door. |
| A past client’s cookie exchange | Yes | Go. Offer to help set up. |
| A gala with a band | No | Enjoy it. Don’t work it. |
| A pie pickup you host at your office | Yes, a few minutes each | See Lesson 3.10. |
Rank events only by whether you can talk there: size, noise, setting, time. Never by who attends: not by age, faith, family or neighborhood demographics.
Practitioners teach small, personal formats. Kyle Crawford’s Century 21 New Millennium offices host pie pickups where clients stop in for a few minutes (via Florida Realtors, Oct 27, 2026). Buffini & Company teaches the Pop-By, a small, useful item delivered in person, and a “Reverse Pop-By,” where clients come to you to pick up a pie (undated). The Close suggests a cookie exchange (updated Dec 3, 2025). One agent’s family holiday party at a botanical garden cost about $8,500 in 2023, shared with her lender, closing attorney and a moving-pod company (Tom Ferry blog, Oct 5, 2023). Any cost-sharing with a lender or title company needs the RESPA check on page 12 first.
Members’ ideas from last year’s call: emceeing an HOA breakfast of about 70 people, where a couple who wanted to sell and buy came up afterward; food bags dropped off to past clients; and a one-page sheet of the area’s most significant sales from the last 90 days, built from MLS data you are allowed to share (check your MLS’s rules first).
Six openers an agent might use at a gathering (sample wording). Keep it, rewrite it as the Look-Ahead Question, or drop it. Say why.
Answer key: Appendix A, page 34.
People rarely say “I want to sell.” They say what is coming up, and the move is inside it.
| What you hear (sample) | The plan inside it | What it is not |
|---|---|---|
| “We want to be closer to the grandkids.” | A possible move, often a long one | Not a label. Never tag anyone “empty nester.” |
| “This place is too much house for us now.” | A possible downsize, often local | Not a reason to ask about health. |
| “My company is moving me to Atlanta in the spring.” | A relocation with a date | Not yours to refer on without asking. |
| “We’re out of room.” | A possible move up | Not a cue to ask about children. |
| “I retire in June, finally.” | A date, and maybe a move | Not a reason to steer them to a 55-plus community. |
| “Our lease is up in the summer.” | A renter with a date | Not a reason to ask about their finances. |
| “My sister is looking for a place near here.” | Someone else’s move | Not permission to contact the sister. |
These match what NAR’s 2025 Profile says people move for: to be closer to family, a home too small or too large, a job, retirement (Exhibits 6-15 and 2-15). They are not predictions. They are things the person said.
The Sunday Night Workflow (Nov 4, 2026) drew the same line in Lesson 2.7. Act on a statement someone made about their own intentions, recorded as they said it, never on a guess about who they are. That statement is exactly what its Monday Call List ranks in the stated-signal field, so your December notes feed a system you already have.
The Golden Handcuffs Conversation (Nov 18, 2026) taught five outcomes for a seller conversation. They work at a party too.
| Outcome | At a holiday gathering it sounds like (sample) | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| A. Home | “We love it here. Nothing’s changing.” | Enjoy the conversation. A one-line note is fine: they said they are happy where they are. In January they get a plain new-year hello, with no real estate in it. |
| B. Someday | “Maybe in a few years.” | Note their words and rough timing. A friendly January hello, no pitch. |
| C. Now, if it works | “If we found the right place, we’d go this spring.” | Note it. Ask permission for January. In January: The One Reason, then The Two Futures. |
| D. Someone else’s reason | “My brother is moving here in March.” | Ask: “Would he like an introduction?” Store nothing about him unless he contacts you or agrees. |
| E. Trouble | “We may not be able to keep the house.” | Do not pitch. Do not write it down. If they ask, point them to their loan servicer, a HUD-approved housing counselor or an attorney. Let them raise it again. |
Outcome A is a good result. You had a real conversation, and you know where they stand. If you feel pushed to turn an A into a B, remember which way your incentive runs.
When someone mentions a friend’s or relative’s move, the person in front of you is your contact, not the friend. Ask whether they would like you to help, and let the friend reach out to you, or get the friend’s OK before you reach out. Do not write down the third person’s details. The Referral Farm (Death of the Generalist, Sep 9, 2026) covers how to ask for referrals. Paying an unlicensed person for one is out in Florida (page 12). A licensed Florida broker may pay a referral fee to a broker licensed in another state (475.25(1)(h)); ask your broker how your office handles it.
Edmund’s line from last year’s call: the client who moved to Savannah is “not dead” to you. People who leave still know people who are coming, and they still have friends who are thinking about moving.
A plan with a date is worth more than a plan without one. “By summer,” “when the lease is up,” “after June” all go in the note as said. One in five recent buyers told NAR they “did not have much choice, had to purchase” (2025 Profile, Exhibit 1-22). When life sets the date, the person usually says it out loud.
Some of what people tell you at the holidays is not a plan. It is their life. Listen, and leave it there.
Why, in three parts. First, fair housing: familial status and disability are protected, and notes that sort people by them are the exposure The Sunday Night Workflow (Nov 4, 2026) warned about, naming “getting divorced,” “new baby” and “mother moving in.” Second, security: in Florida, a name combined with “any information regarding an individual’s medical history, mental or physical condition” is personal information under the breach law (Fla. Stat. 501.171; page 23). Third, it is the decent thing to do.
If someone tells you about an illness, a divorce or a loss, listen. Say you are sorry, or glad for them, as fits. Do not turn it toward real estate, and do not write it down. In January, mention only a plan they stated, never the event behind it. If they want to talk about it, they will raise it.
The Golden Handcuffs Conversation set the rule: “Do not raise it again unless they do.” This book takes one more step for parties. The plan goes in your note. The health, divorce or loss behind it never does.
Eight things you might hear (sample wording). For each: is there a stated plan? If yes, write the line for your note, in their words. If not, write “nothing” or “listen only.”
Answer key: Appendix A, page 34.
The Driveway Note records what the person chose to share about their plans. Never the conversation itself.
Why the driveway. Names are much harder to recall than occupations (McWeeny, Young, Hay & Ellis, 1987). You are likelier to recall “the nurse moving to Tampa” than “Linda Moreno.” Working memory holds about four things at once (Cowan, 2001), and a party is full of things. So write it before the next conversation, or the drive home, crowds it out.
Across 94 tests, people who made specific if-then plans were more likely to reach their goals (d = .65; Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006). Yours is one line: “If someone names a plan, then I write the note before I start the car.” The member habit worth keeping from last year was capturing the same night. This is that habit, with a trigger.
| Field | What you wrote |
|---|---|
| Who | Dana R., neighbor two doors down |
| Where | Lopez holiday open house, Sat Dec 12 |
| Their words | “We’re out of room. We want a yard by fall.” |
| When | “by fall” |
| Next | She said “text me after the holidays.” I offered a list of what sold with big yards nearby this year. |
Notice what is missing: why they are out of room. She did not say, and you did not ask. If she had told you, it still would not go in.
Your phone’s notes or your CRM. Names stay out of consumer AI. Sensitive details stay out of everything.
| When | Where it goes | The rule |
|---|---|---|
| The same night | Your phone’s notes, or the contact record in your CRM | Five lines, in your words, dated. |
| By Sunday | The stated-signal field the Monday Call List ranks (The Sunday Night Workflow, Nov 4, 2026) | One line: their plan and timing, in their words. |
| Consent fields | Your CRM’s call, text and email opt-in fields | Record only the permission the person actually gave. One CRM’s help page says these fields default to No and warns: “Record only consent the lead actually gave” (Lofty, updated Oct 12, 2026). |
| “Don’t contact me” | Your do-not-call list, that night | Honor it within 10 business days at most. Sooner is better. |
Follow The Data Line (Keeping AI Compliant, Sep 23, 2026): client situations and timelines are “Caution,” so anonymize them first, and use an AI tool your broker has approved with training turned off. That session’s warning was that consumer plans may train on what you type by default. Replace the name with initials or “Contact A.” Never paste a phone number, an email address or a street address.
Two facts about CRM AI, as of Nov 3, 2026. First, the AI call summaries we checked work on calls (and, for some, texts) made through the CRM, not on conversations in person (Follow Up Boss, Jul 1, 2024; Lofty, updated Dec 5, 2025). Second, AI assistants can now connect to some CRMs and write to them, and some can send. One vendor describes turning “a passing thought into a logged note and a scheduled follow-up” (BoldTrail MCP, via RISMedia, Oct 13, 2026). Before you connect one, check what it is allowed to send. For the Callback, it is allowed to send nothing. (Dated examples, not recommendations.)
Florida’s breach law covers any business, a sole proprietor included, that keeps personal information. A name plus “any information regarding an individual’s medical history, mental or physical condition” counts. Take reasonable measures to secure it, notify the people affected no later than 30 days after you determine a breach, and shred or erase records when you dispose of them (Fla. Stat. 501.171). The big privacy laws work differently. Florida’s Digital Bill of Rights is aimed at companies with more than $1 billion in revenue (501.702), and California’s CCPA at businesses with $26.625 million or more in revenue, or that buy, sell or share the personal information of 100,000 or more California residents or households (CPPA FAQ). Most state laws turn on thresholds, so check yours.
A voice memo as an agent dictated it (sample). Rewrite it as a five-line Driveway Note. Cross out everything that does not belong, and say why.
“Okay, Tom and Priya S., the Garcias’ party, Saturday the 19th. Tom’s dad passed in October, really sad, so they’re inheriting his place in Sarasota. Priya said they’ll probably sell it next year and maybe keep ours. They have twins, maybe twelve? Tom asked what Sarasota condos go for. I said I’d send him some recent sales. Didn’t ask about January. I think they’re loaded.”
Answer key: Appendix A, page 35.
Sample data. The second note shows what happens when a recap holds everything.
At a cookie exchange (sample): “We’re finally doing it. Jorge’s job is moving to Orlando in May, so we’ll sell here in the spring. The kids are not thrilled.” She asks you to text her after the holidays.
| Field | The note |
|---|---|
| Who | Maria G., my past client’s sister-in-law |
| Where | Cookie exchange at the Chens’, Wed Dec 9 |
| Their words | “Jorge’s job is moving to Orlando in May, so we’ll sell here in the spring.” |
| When | Sell in spring; move by May |
| Next | “Text me after the holidays.” I offered recent sales near her and an introduction to an Orlando agent. |
Left out: how the children feel. She said it, but it is not a plan.
| # | The line | What is wrong | Page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Full name and cell number in a consumer AI chat | Anonymize first; never paste contact details (The Data Line) | 23 |
| 2 | “going through a divorce” | Not a plan she stated. Never in a note or an AI tool. | 21 |
| 3 | “son was just diagnosed” | A child’s health: disability and familial status | 21 |
| 4 | “needs a quiet street near a good school” | Your inference, not her words | 19 |
| 5 | “Catholic… somewhere near there” | Religion, and steering by it | 13 |
| 6 | “Probably in her 50s”; “Money’s tight” | A guess about age; money trouble | 21 |
| 7 | “I recorded most of it on my phone” | All-party consent in Florida; a felony risk | 9 |
| 8 | “Score her… STRONG buying signal” | Scoring on life events she never framed as a plan | 19 |
| 9 | “set up a text sequence” | Automated marketing needs her written consent. She gave none. | 10 |
AI drafts. You send. Each message refers only to the plan the person stated, and offers one useful thing.
Why January. December is crowded. “In late November and December, every agent, every lender and every title rep reaches out to your client at the same time” (Kyle Crawford, Inman, Jul 28, 2026). His advice: “Leave room on the calendar for January… A new-year thank-you offers another chance to connect when customers may have more time to talk” (via Florida Realtors, Oct 27, 2026). A new year is a fresh start, and goal-directed behavior rises after fresh starts (Dai, Milkman & Riis, 2014). People also underestimate how much a check-in is appreciated (Liu et al., 2023).
No study we found names the best number of days to wait after a networking conversation. Jan 4–15 is a practical window, not a researched one.
| Date (2027) | What happens |
|---|---|
| Fri, Jan 1 | New Year’s Day. Send nothing. |
| Mon–Fri, Jan 4–8 | Week 1: your Outcome C and B notes first (page 20), then anyone who said “call me.” |
| Mon–Fri, Jan 11–15 | Week 2: everyone else with a note. |
| Mon, Jan 18 | Martin Luther King Jr. Day. For anyone who has not replied, the 5-Touch cadence runs from the date of your first message (page 29). |
The Autonomy Dial (AI in 2027, Nov 25, 2026) set to “draft.” Nothing goes out unless you send it.
| Step | What you do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Anonymize | Copy the note. Replace the name with initials or “Contact A.” Remove phone numbers, emails, addresses and anything sensitive. | The Data Line (Sep 23, 2026) |
| 2. Draft | Run Prompt 4 (page 38) in an AI tool your broker approved, with training off. | A warm, short first draft in seconds |
| 3. Check | Run the six checks below; fix by hand. | What you send is yours |
| 4. Send | Type or paste it into your own phone or email, one person at a time. Put the real name back yourself. | A personal, one-to-one message |
| 5. Log | Date sent, channel, reply, and any stop. | Stops must be honored |
| Channel | What applies | Source |
|---|---|---|
| A text you type and send yourself | Not autodialed. A sales text still needs a Do Not Call reason: personally known, an inquiry within 3 months, a deal within 18 months, or signed permission. Florida: no acquaintance exception on its list; give your full name and business. | 64.1200(c), (e), (f); 501.059 |
| A call you place yourself | The same Do Not Call test. Federal hours 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Florida 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., no more than 3 calls in 24 hours on the same subject. | 64.1200(c)(1); 501.616(6) |
| Anything automated or AI-voiced | AI or prerecorded voice, ringless voicemail and autodialed marketing need prior express written consent. Whether a CRM text sequence counts is unsettled, so treat it as needing consent and ask your broker. A stop ends all your automated marketing to that person. | 64.1200(a)(2); FCC 24-17, 22-85, 26-67; 501.059(8)(a) |
| An email that markets your services | A working opt-out, your postal address, and opt-outs honored within 10 business days. | 15 U.S.C. 7704 |
| A handwritten note | Practitioners favor it: “nothing beats a handwritten note to garner attention,” for a select group, not the whole list. | The Close (updated Dec 17, 2025) |
On last year’s call, one member said he personally texts about 250 people on the holidays, and 25 to 50 reply (his estimate). They were greetings he typed himself. If a text markets your services, Do Not Call applies to each one, and the FCC presumes the personal-relationship exemption does not cover a marketer making “more than a limited number of calls per day” (FCC 03-153, n.165).
Sample data: Maria’s Driveway Note from page 24, taken through every step to the message you send.
Contact A. Met at a cookie exchange, Dec 9. Their words: “J.’s job is moving to Orlando in May, so we’ll sell here in the spring.” When: sell in spring, move by May. Next: “Text me after the holidays.” I offered recent sales near her and an introduction to an agent in Orlando.
| Check | Result | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Facts in the note | Yes. The cookie exchange, the Orlando move, the spring sale, both offers. | Put “Jorge” back by hand; she said his name. |
| 2. Only her stated plan | Yes. Nothing about the children. | None |
| 3. Name and firm | Placeholders | Fill in your full name and firm. |
| 4. One useful thing, one question | Two offers, one question | Fine. Both were offered at the party. |
| 5. Channel | She asked for a text. | Send from your own phone, to her alone. |
| 6. Timing | Not yet sent | Tue, Jan 5, mid-morning. |
Sam Rivera and Sample Realty Group are invented for this example.
Step 5, log it: Jan 5, text, sent. Reply: “Yes please!” Next: send the sales list that day, and ask when she would like to talk timing. If she wants to talk now, that is Outcome C, and the next conversation is The One Reason (Nov 18, 2026).
The kind of message an AI tool can produce from an over-stuffed note and a vague prompt. Find the problems before you read the table.
| # | The line | What is wrong | Page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | “So sorry to hear about the divorce” | A sensitive detail, in writing. Not a plan she stated. Let her raise it. | 21 |
| 2 | “your son’s therapy” | A child’s health. Never in writing. | 21 |
| 3 | “A fresh start calls for a fresh home!” | Turns a life event into a pitch. | 25 |
| 4 | “Rates are dropping in 2027” | A prediction with no source. | 16 |
| 5 | “homes near St. Mark’s” | Ties housing to her church: religion. | 13 |
| 6 | “flying off the market… now is the perfect time” | An urgency line with no number behind it. | 8 |
| 7 | “I’ve signed you up for my weekly market texts” | Automated marketing without her signed written consent. | 10 |
| 8 | “Reply YES” and no way to stop | It names no way to stop. Any reasonable stop she sends still counts, and under FCC 26-67 it ends all automated marketing to her. | 11 |
| 9 | “Your favorite Realtor” | No name or firm. Florida requires your true first and last name and business; NAR requires your firm. | 11, 13 |
| 10 | Automated, 9:30 p.m., a Do Not Call number | No consent, personal relationship or inquiry shown. After 9 p.m., the federal limit for sales texts to a cell phone (64.1200(c)(1), (e)), let alone our 8 p.m. Florida window. Before Jan 4. | 10 |
Six January drafts (sample data). For each: send as is, fix it (say how), or don’t send it (say why).
Answer key: Appendix A, page 35.
Most people will not reply the first time. Some will want to talk now. A few will ask you to stop. Each has a place to go.
| What happens | What you do | Where it is taught |
|---|---|---|
| No reply | Follow the 5-Touch cadence: touches at 2–3, 5–7, 10–14 and 21–30 days. | The Power of Follow-Up (Dec 17, 2025) |
| “Let’s talk”: a real now | The One Reason, then The Two Futures. | The Golden Handcuffs Conversation (Nov 18, 2026) |
| They book a listing appointment | The Sequence Architecture and the Seller Brief. | The 7-Touch Pre-Listing Sequence (Aug 5, 2026) |
| They mention a friend’s move | Ask before you reach out; store nothing about the friend. | The Referral Farm, Death of the Generalist (Sep 9, 2026) |
| “Stop” or “don’t contact me” | Log it that day. Honor it within 10 business days at most. For automated marketing, it ends all of it. | Page 11 |
| They raise something personal | Reply as a person. Real estate can wait. | Page 21 |
| Someday, not now | One line in the stated-signal field, and the year-round nurture you already run. | The Sunday Night Workflow (Nov 4, 2026); Make AI Your Marketing Assistant (Sep 17, 2025) |
The offer is what makes a January message worth opening. Match it to the plan they stated.
| Their plan (sample) | One useful thing |
|---|---|
| Selling in the spring | What sold near them in the past year, from MLS data you may share; and Realtor.com’s best-week analysis, if it publishes a 2027 edition (the 2026 one came out in March) |
| Relocating out of state | An introduction to an agent where they are going |
| Moving closer to family | A short list of neighborhoods near where they want to be, built only from the criteria they gave you |
| Downsizing nearby | Recent sales of smaller homes nearby |
| Not sure yet | A local news story that affects their area, like the St. Andrews annexation story Edmund described sending on last year’s call |
The practitioner sources agree: personal and specific. Buffini & Company teaches a personal note after every party (undated); The Close says, “Afterward, follow up individually with all attendees” (Oct 5, 2026). None recommends a broadcast.
Small, checkable steps. Use the gatherings you were going to anyway.
| When | Do this | Done means |
|---|---|---|
| Wed, Dec 2 today | List every gathering on your calendar through Jan 1. Rank each one: can I talk here? Say the Look-Ahead Question out loud three times. | A ranked list |
| Week 1 Dec 2–8 | Ask the question at every gathering. Write a Driveway Note before you start the car. Do Exercises 3 and 4. | Your first note this weekend |
| Week 2 Dec 9–15 | Same. Check your CRM consent fields and your do-not-call list. Take the gift and event questions in Appendix E to your broker. | Broker answers written down |
| Week 3 Dec 16–22 | Same. On Sunday, move the week’s notes into the stated-signal field. Do Exercise 5. | Notes in your CRM, nothing sensitive |
| Week 4 Dec 23–Jan 1 | Fewer gatherings, more family. No outreach. Draft January messages with Prompt 4 and check them, but send nothing. | Drafts checked, none sent |
| Jan 4–8 | Send your Outcome C and B messages, and anyone who said “call me,” one at a time. | Each one logged |
| Jan 11–15 | Send the rest. | Every note has a message sent, or a reason not |
| After each first message | The 5-Touch cadence for anyone who has not replied (touches at 2–3, 5–7, 10–14 and 21–30 days). | A next date on each |
Those are the only targets in this book. There is no conversation quota and no deal count. If you want a number of your own, set it, and call it a goal, not a forecast.
Every one of these is normal. Each has a fix.
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| You forget to ask | Nerves, or a loud room | Ask the first person you talk to. After that it is easier. Find a quieter corner. |
| The conversation turns into a pitch | You answered the market question at length | One honest sentence, then the question back to them. |
| Your notes run long | You are writing what you think, not what they said | Five lines. Their words only. |
| You wrote down something sensitive | Habit | Delete it that night. It never goes in the CRM or an AI tool. |
| An AI draft adds a statistic or a family detail | It filled a gap | The prompt rules say NOT KNOWN. Check by hand and delete it. |
| Nobody replies in January | Normal. It is a busy month. | The 5-Touch cadence, with one useful thing each time. |
| Someone says stop | Normal | Log it, honor it, and thank them. |
NAR’s 2026 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers was not out on Nov 3, 2026. If it is out when you read this, check each NAR figure you plan to repeat against the new edition. Checked on: ________
AAA’s year-end holiday travel forecast was not out on Nov 3, 2026; last year’s came out Dec 10. Use the new one if it is out. Checked on: ________
FCC 26-67 is in effect from Nov 25, 2026. Ask your broker whether any petition or stay of it has been filed. Checked on: ________
Your MLS’s rules on sharing sold data, before you hand anyone a local sales sheet. Checked on: ________
Every figure in this book carries a date so you can see when it has aged. NAR’s 2025 Profile came out Nov 4, 2025. Realtor.com’s 2026 best-week analysis came out Mar 18, 2026. The latest Census reason-for-moving tables, released Dec 2024, cover survey year 2023. When a number in these pages is replaced, replace it in your scripts too.
Nobody is marking this but you. Tick only what you could do tomorrow, at a party or in front of your broker, without this book open.
| ✓ | I can… | Module |
|---|---|---|
| Quote NAR’s referral, repeat and one-agent figures, with the exhibit and the date | 1 | |
| Explain the December-to-January jump in new listings without mixing the two portals’ numbers | 1 | |
| Run the five questions on any number before I repeat it | 1 | |
| Explain why I never record a conversation, and what Florida’s law says | 2 | |
| Apply the Do Not Call “personally known” test and the 3-month inquiry rule | 2 | |
| Explain what a stop does under FCC 26-67, and Florida’s consent, identification and calling-hour rules | 2 | |
| Give a holiday gift or co-host an event without paying for a referral | 2 | |
| Ask the Look-Ahead Question the same way of everyone, follow up once, and stop | 3 | |
| Rank my December invitations by whether I can talk there, and nothing else | 3 | |
| Tell a stated plan from an inference, and sort what I heard into Outcomes A–E | 4 | |
| Name what never goes in a note or an AI tool, and what I do when someone raises it | 4 | |
| Write a five-line Driveway Note in under a minute | 5 | |
| Draft a January Callback with AI from an anonymized note, and run the six checks | 6 | |
| Choose the right channel for each January message, and say what consent it needs | 6 |
| Item | My answer |
|---|---|
| The date I wrote my first Driveway Note | |
| By Jan 15, 2027: I sent a personal message for every Driveway Note, or wrote down why not. Messages sent: | |
| By Jan 15, 2027: nothing sensitive is in my notes, my CRM or any AI tool. The date I checked: | |
| By Feb 1, 2027: I followed up once more with everyone who had not replied. Done on: | |
| My broker’s answers on gifts, co-hosted events and consent: the date I asked | |
| Who holds me to the Jan 15 and Feb 1 dates |
Your wording will differ. Check it for the idea, not the words. This is education, not legal advice.
| # | The rule | What you do instead |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | RESPA §8: a lender paying your party in return for referrals gives you a thing of value for referrals. There is no exception for size. | Decline. If a lender co-hosts at all, its spending must be its own promotion, not tied to referrals, and not covering your costs. Ask your broker first. |
| 2 | Florida all-party consent (934.03). A hidden recording is a felony risk. | Record no one. Dictate your own recap in the car afterward. |
| 3 | Florida 475.25(1)(h): no fee or “other compensation” to an unlicensed person for a referral. A Visa card works like cash. | A handwritten thank-you. Ask your broker before giving anything of value. |
| 4 | Fair housing: choosing an ad audience by familial status is prohibited (24 CFR 100.75(c)(3)), and pregnancy is covered (3602(k)). | Run it to a general audience. Describe the homes, not who should live in them. |
| 5 | NAR Article 16. Ask whether she is under an exclusive agreement (SOPs 16-9, 16-13). Do not solicit a listing held by another broker (16-4). Substantive services such as a CMA only with her agent’s consent or at her direction (16-13). | Be friendly. Take the CMA question to your broker before doing anything. If she comes to you, you may discuss an agreement that starts when hers ends (16-6). |
| 6 | His Dec 12 inquiry covers a call for about 3 months. Treat an automated text as needing prior express written consent: federal law requires it for autodialed marketing (47 CFR 64.1200(a)(2)), Florida for unsolicited sales texts from an automated system (501.059(8)(a)), and whether a CRM sequence counts is unsettled. | Call him yourself in January, once, as he asked. Automated updates only after he signs up in writing. |
Where more than one answer is defensible, the key says what makes the difference.
| # | Stated plan? | What goes in the note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yes | “We’ve outgrown the condo. We want a yard by fall.” Why they outgrew it: not asked, not noted. |
| 2 | No | Listen only. A separation is never written down, and “I don’t know what I’ll do” is not a plan. Let her raise it. |
| 3 | Yes | “I’m being transferred to Charlotte in April.” |
| 4 | No plan of theirs | Listen only. A parent’s health stays out. If they later say “we need a bigger place,” that is a plan, and you note only that. |
| 5 | Yes | “Thinking about Florida for the winters. Maybe something small.” |
| 6 | No | Listen only. Money trouble is never written down. If they ask for help: their loan servicer, a HUD-approved housing counselor or an attorney (Outcome E). |
| 7 | No: Outcome A | A one-line note is fine: “Nothing changing; love the neighborhood.” |
| 8 | Someone else’s | Outcome D. Ask whether the daughter would like your number, or would like you to reach out. Store nothing about her until she agrees. |
The six checks and the channel rules decide most of these. Your broker’s policy comes first.
| Field | A good note |
|---|---|
| Who | Tom and Priya S.; how I know them: NOT SAID |
| Where | The Garcias’ party, Sat Dec 19 |
| Their words | Priya said they’ll probably sell the Sarasota place next year and maybe keep ours (my recap, not her exact words). |
| When | “next year” |
| Next | Tom asked what Sarasota condos sell for. I said I would send recent sales. January call: not asked yet. Ask when I send the sales. |
Crossed out, and why: Tom’s father’s death and the inheritance (a loss; “the Sarasota place” is enough); the twins and their ages (children, not part of the plan); “I think they’re loaded” (a guess about money). Tom’s question about Sarasota prices is an inquiry, so sending the sales he asked for is responsive.
| # | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Send, after the six checks | Her words, her plan, her channel, your full name and firm, one useful thing and one question. |
| 2 | Don’t send | It raises his loss and assumes a plan he never stated. If you know him well, a new-year note with no real estate in it. |
| 3 | Don’t send | An automated marketing sequence to people who never signed written consent: treat it as needing that consent (page 26). It is not personal, and under FCC 26-67 one stop would end all your automated marketing to that person. Send personal messages, one at a time. |
| 4 | Don’t send it yet | SOP 16-13 bars substantive services such as a CMA to someone under an exclusive agreement unless her agent consents or she directs it, and SOP 16-4 bars soliciting the listing. A question at a party is not clearly a direction. Be friendly, and take it to your broker before you send anything. |
| 5 | Fix the time | Florida’s 8 a.m.–8 p.m. rule (501.616(6)) covers unsolicited sales calls. He asked for this one, but the six checks use the same window for every January message, and 8:30 p.m. on a Saturday is not a decent hour. Call on a weekday morning. |
| 6 | Fix | A marketing email needs a postal address and a working opt-out, honored within 10 business days (CAN-SPAM). Name your firm (NAR SOP 12-5), and check the listing copy for fair housing. |
The note decides the message. A note that holds only the plan produces a message that holds only the plan. And the channel decides the consent: treat anything automated as needing signed, written consent before it goes out.
One page for your phone or your car.
A Home · B Someday · C Now, if it works · D Someone else’s reason · E Trouble: no pitch, no note.
Health or disability · divorce · a death or loss · money trouble · children beyond their plan · pregnancy · religion · guesses about age.
Use an AI tool your broker approved, with training off. No real names or contact details. Everything these produce is a draft for you to check, and none of them sends anything.
Below is a list of the gatherings on my calendar between Dec 2 and Jan 1. Your goal is to help me decide where I can actually have a real conversation. It is not to rank events by who attends, and not to add more events.
MY LIST: [PASTE: event, date, rough size, setting (home / office / venue), noise, who invited me (relationship only, e.g. "neighbor", never a name), whether I was going anyway]
Do this:
1. Make a table: event, date, "Can I talk here?" (Yes / Briefly / No), and a one-line plan.
2. Put the events I was going to anyway first.
3. Flag any event that a lender, title company or other referral partner is paying for, so I can check it with my broker.
RULES:
- Rank only by whether conversation is possible: size, noise, setting, time.
- Never rank or comment on attendees' age, religion, family, race, national origin, disability or neighborhood demographics.
- Use no names of hosts or guests.
- If a detail is not in my list, write NOT KNOWN. Never fill in a guess.
Then name the two events I should check myself, by asking the host, before I decide.
I want to practice one question for holiday gatherings: "What are you looking forward to next year?" Your goal is to play a guest so I can practice asking it, asking one follow-up, and stopping. It is not to coach me to sell, and not to write scripts that steer toward real estate.
THE GATHERING: [type of event]
Play one invented guest. Give ordinary answers: sometimes a plan with a move in it, sometimes nothing, sometimes a market question back at me. After five of my turns, stop and score me:
1. Did I ask the question in plain words?
2. When there was a move, did I ask only one follow-up?
3. Did I ask about age, health, children, marriage or who lives in the home? Quote the line.
4. Did I pitch, predict rates or prices, or offer a valuation?
5. Did I ask "May I call you in January?" and leave first?
RULES:
- The guest is invented. Use no real person's details.
- If you cannot tell whether a line of mine was a pitch, quote it and write NOT KNOWN. Never fill in a guess.
Then give me one line to say out loud, and tell me to practice it once with a real colleague before my next gathering.
Prompt 3 tidies your own recap. Prompt 4 drafts the message you check and send yourself.
Below is my own recap of a conversation, typed or transcribed from a voice memo of MY voice. Before pasting, I replaced the person's name with initials, removed phone numbers and addresses, and deleted anything about health, disability, pregnancy, divorce or separation, death or loss, money trouble, religion, national origin, age, and children beyond a plan the person stated. Your goal is to turn it into a five-line Driveway Note that holds only what the person chose to share about their plans. It is not to interpret, score or predict anything about them.
MY RECAP: [PASTE, anonymized]
Use exactly this format:
WHO: [initials, and how I know them]
WHERE: [gathering and date]
THEIR WORDS: [the plan they stated, quoted from my recap]
WHEN: [the timing they gave]
NEXT: [what I offered; whether they agreed to a January call or text]
RULES:
- Use only my recap. Quote their words where it quotes them. Do not turn a remark into a plan.
- If my recap does not give a field, write NOT KNOWN. Never fill in a guess.
- If anything in my recap still falls in one of those categories, do not repeat, summarize or use it. Reply only: "Stop: your recap still contains [category]. Delete it and paste again."
- Do not rank, score or label the person.
Then tell me to read the five lines and ask: would this person say "Yes, that's what I told you"? If not, I fix it by hand.
Below is one Driveway Note, anonymized. Your goal is a short, warm first draft of a personal January message that refers only to the plan this person stated and offers one useful thing. It is not to sell, predict the market or create urgency. I will check, edit and send it myself.
THE NOTE: [PASTE, anonymized]
THE CHANNEL they agreed to: [text / call / email / handwritten note]
THE ONE USEFUL THING I can offer: [ ]
MY VOICE CARD, if I have one: [PASTE or leave blank]
Write 3 to 4 plain sentences: where we met, their stated plan in their words, the useful thing, one easy question. Sign it [MY FIRST AND LAST NAME], [MY FIRM]. For a call, write a 20-second voicemail instead.
RULES:
- Use only facts in the note. If something is missing, write [NOT KNOWN]. Never fill in a guess.
- Never mention health, divorce, loss, money trouble, pregnancy, religion or children. If the note contains any of them, do not use or repeat it; reply only: "Stop: delete [category] from the note and paste it again."
- No statistics, rates, prices, predictions or claims about the market. No "act now" lines.
- This is a draft only. Do not schedule, send or store anything.
Then list every fact and placeholder you used, so I can check each against my note by hand before I send.
Prompt 5 never looks up the person. Prompt 6 flags problems; it does not decide what is legal.
Below is one stated plan from a Driveway Note, anonymized, and my market. Your goal is three useful things I could offer in January that fit their plan. It is not to pitch my services, and not to find out anything about the person.
THE STATED PLAN: [PASTE, e.g. "selling in spring; moving by May"]
MY MARKET: [city or county]
WHAT I CAN PRODUCE: [e.g. MLS sales reports I may share, introductions, local news, a broker-approved vendor list]
1. Suggest three offers, one sentence each, each tied to their stated plan.
2. For each, say what I must check first: MLS rules, broker approval, or RESPA if a lender or title company is involved.
RULES:
- Do not invent market facts, numbers, dates or sources. If a fact is needed, write NOT KNOWN. Never fill in a guess.
- Suggest nothing of value in return for a referral, and nothing for an unlicensed person who refers business.
- Base nothing on age, family, religion, health or any other protected characteristic.
- Do not search for the person or their property.
Then tell me which offer to verify by hand first, and how.
Below is a January message I plan to send, name removed, and the note it came from. Your goal is to check it against my rules before I send it. It is not to rewrite it as a sales message, and not to decide whether it is legal.
THE MESSAGE: [PASTE, name removed]
THE NOTE: [PASTE, anonymized]
THE CHANNEL: [text I type / call / email / automated or AI-voice tool]
MY STATE: [ ]
Answer PASS, FIX or NOT KNOWN for each, quoting the line:
1. Every fact appears in the note.
2. It mentions only a plan the person stated: no health, divorce, loss, money trouble, pregnancy, religion or children.
3. It gives my first and last name and my firm.
4. No statistics, predictions, prices or urgency lines; one useful thing and one easy question.
5. If the channel is automated or an AI voice: flag it for my broker, because it needs prior express written consent and a stop ends all my automated marketing.
6. If it is an email that markets my services: does it have a postal address and an opt-out?
RULES:
- If you cannot tell, write NOT KNOWN. Never fill in a guess.
- No legal conclusions. For consent, Do Not Call, calling hours or state rules, write "ask your broker".
- Do not send, schedule or store anything.
Then remind me to read the message out loud once myself, and to put the real name back by hand.
Practice listening for the move. Cover the last two columns, decide for yourself, then compare. Every line is generic sample wording, not a quote from a real person.
| # | What you might hear | A stated plan? | What you do |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | “We’re finally selling the house in the spring.” | Yes | Note it in their words. Ask: “May I call you in January?” |
| 2 | “I start a new job in Austin in March.” | Yes | Note it. Offer an introduction to an agent there. |
| 3 | “We want to be closer to our kids.” | Yes, no date | Note their words. One follow-up: “Where would you go?” |
| 4 | “This place is too big for us now.” | Maybe | Note their words only. No question about why. |
| 5 | “We’re out of room.” | Maybe | Note it. One follow-up: “Would you move, or add on?” |
| 6 | “Our lease is up in June.” | Yes | Note it, with the date. |
| 7 | “We’re thinking about Florida for the winters.” | Yes | Note it. One follow-up: “Where in Florida?” |
| 8 | “I retire in May, finally.” | Not yet | Congratulate them. Follow up only if they mention a move. |
| 9 | “My mom might come live with us.” | Not their move | Listen. Note nothing about her. |
| 10 | “We just got engaged!” | Not yet | Congratulate them. Nothing about housing unless they raise it. |
| 11 | “We’re expecting in July.” | No | Congratulate her. Note nothing. |
| 12 | “It’s been a hard year since my husband died.” | No | Listen. Never note it. Never raise it. |
| 13 | “We’re getting divorced.” | No | Listen. Never note it. Let them raise it. |
| 14 | “Work has been brutal. We’re behind on bills.” | No | Listen. Never note it. If asked: servicer, HUD-approved counselor, attorney. |
| 15 | “How’s the market? Is it going to crash?” | No | One honest sentence. Then the Look-Ahead Question. |
A plan goes in the note in their words. A life event stays where they left it.
| # | What you might hear | A stated plan? | What you do |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | “When will rates finally drop?” | No | “Nobody knows, and I won’t pretend to.” Then the question. |
| 17 | “We already have an agent. We list in March.” | Yes, with an agent | Wish them well. No pitch. Don’t offer a CMA (Article 16). |
| 18 | “My brother is moving here in April.” | Someone else’s | Ask whether he would like an introduction. Store nothing about him. |
| 19 | “We love it here. Nothing’s changing.” | No (Outcome A) | Enjoy it. A one-line note is fine. |
| 20 | “We have a condo we might sell next year.” | Yes | Note it. If they say how they got it, leave that out. |
| 21 | “Our youngest leaves for college in the fall, so who knows.” | Not stated | Congratulate them. Note nothing about children. Don’t ask “Will you downsize?” |
| 22 | “We’re putting in a pool, so we’re staying put.” | No (Outcome A) | A one-line note is fine: staying. |
| 23 | “I’d like to buy a rental property next year.” | Yes | Note it. One follow-up: “Around here?” |
| 24 | “Call me after the holidays about our place.” | Yes, with permission | Note it with the date they asked. |
| 25 | “Please don’t call me about real estate.” | A do-not-call request | Put it on your do-not-call list that night. Honor it. |
Of these 25 lines, fewer than half hold a plan you would note. That is normal. The Look-Ahead Question is a good question even when the answer has no move in it, because you asked about them.
Several of these have no settled answer we could find. That is the reason to ask. Write down who answered, and when.
| # | Question | Ask | Answer, who, date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May I co-host a client event with a lender or title company? What may they pay for, and what must I disclose? | Broker, counsel | |
| 2 | What is our policy on thank-you gifts to people who refer business, licensed and unlicensed? | Broker | |
| 3 | Where is our office do-not-call list and written policy? How do I add a request I hear at a party? | Broker | |
| 4 | Which CRM consent fields must I fill in, and what counts as written consent for automated texts? | Broker, counsel | |
| 5 | How are our texting and calling tools set for FCC 26-67 since Nov 25, 2026? Has any petition or stay been filed? | Broker, counsel | |
| 6 | Is someone I met once at a party a “personal relationship” for Do Not Call purposes? | Counsel | |
| 7 | Does Florida’s 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and 3-calls rule (501.616(6)) apply to our texts? | Counsel | |
| 8 | Which AI tools are approved for drafting client messages, on which plans, with training off? | Broker | |
| 9 | Where may I keep notes about people I meet, and how do we delete them? | Broker | |
| 10 | What is our consent script if a client asks to record a call, or if I use an AI notetaker? | Broker, counsel | |
| 11 | May I hand out a one-page sheet of recent local sales? What do our MLS rules allow? | Broker, MLS | |
| 12 | How does our office handle referral fees with brokers in other states? | Broker | |
| 13 | If I host a party, what do my homeowners, umbrella and business policies cover? | Insurance agent | |
| 14 | How much of my holiday gifts and client event is deductible: gifts, meals or entertainment? | CPA | |
| 15 | Are pop-by items with my name imprinted, costing $4 or less, treated differently? | CPA | |
| 16 | (Outside Florida) What are my state’s rules on recording, gifts to referrers and calling hours? | Broker, counsel |
Plain definitions for the terms in this book.
All-party consent. A rule that everyone in a conversation must agree before it is recorded. Florida (934.03) and California (Penal Code 632) have one.
Autonomy Dial. From AI in 2027 (Nov 25, 2026): off, read, draft, act after sign-off, act alone. The January Callback runs at “draft.”
CAN-SPAM. The federal law on commercial email: a working opt-out, a postal address, honest subject lines.
Do Not Call Registry. The national list of numbers that telephone solicitations may not reach, with limited exceptions.
Driveway Note. System 2. Five lines in your own words before you start the car: who, where, their words, when, next.
Established business relationship. A purchase or transaction in the last 18 months, or an inquiry in the last 3 months. A do-not-call request ends it.
FCC 26-67. The FCC order, effective Nov 25, 2026, under which a stop in reply to a marketing call or text ends consent for all of that caller’s marketing calls and texts that need consent. Treat it as a do-not-call request too.
Familial status. Fair Housing Act protection for households with children under 18, including anyone who is pregnant.
FIPA. The Florida Information Protection Act, Fla. Stat. 501.171: security, breach notice and disposal of personal information.
Fresh start effect. Goal-directed behavior rises after landmarks such as a new year (Dai, Milkman & Riis, 2014).
FTSA. The Florida Telephone Solicitation Act, Fla. Stat. 501.059.
Inference. A guess about someone (“probably downsizing”). Never the basis for a note or a message.
January Callback. System 3. From Jan 4 to 15, one personal message per note, about the plan they stated. AI drafts; you send.
Look-Ahead Question. System 1. “What are you looking forward to next year?” The same question for everyone, one follow-up, then stop.
Outcomes A–E. From The Golden Handcuffs Conversation (Nov 18, 2026): Home, Someday, Now if it works, Someone else’s reason, Trouble.
Personal relationship. For the federal Do Not Call list: a family member, friend or acquaintance personally known to you. Florida’s list has no such exception.
Prior express written consent. A signed written agreement, e-signature included, that authorizes marketing calls or texts by autodialer or artificial voice to a named number (47 CFR 64.1200(f)(9)).
RESPA Section 8. The federal ban on giving or accepting anything of value for referring settlement-service business.
Stated plan. Something a person said about their own intentions, written down as they said it. The only thing that goes in a Driveway Note.
Steering. Restricting someone’s housing choices by word or conduct because of a protected class (24 CFR 100.70).
TCPA. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the federal law on robocalls and texts.
Thing of value. Under RESPA, almost anything: money, discounts, services, trips, or paying someone else’s expenses.
Training (on or off). Whether an AI vendor may use what you type to improve its models. Plans differ.
Checked Nov 3, 2026, unless noted. “Via” means we read a report of the source, not the source itself. Publisher stakes are noted in the text where they apply.
Rules and products change. Confirm the current text before relying on any of these.
To Your Next Listing,
Edmund Bogen
Because Small Talk That Goes Nowhere is NOT an Option!