Every Buyer and Tenant Call Answered: An AI Receptionist for Real Estate Agencies

TL;DR: An AI receptionist answers buyer calls about a listing from your own listing information and books the inspection, replies to portal enquiries within minutes, and takes tenant repair requests with urgent ones put first. It never gives an opinion on value and never dispatches trades itself.

Why do agencies miss so many calls?

Because agents are out of the office for most of the working day: at open homes, inspections, appraisals and settlements. Buyers, meanwhile, ring when they see a listing, which is often in the evening or at the weekend. Property managers have the same problem the other way round: tenants call when something breaks, which is rarely during office hours.

An AI receptionist answers the calls you forward to it, so the enquiry that comes in while you are running an open home still gets a real answer.

What does it do with buyer enquiries?

It answers the questions buyers actually ring about, such as whether the property is still available, when the open home is and whether they can book a private inspection, using only the listing information you give it. Then it books the inspection into real free time in your calendar and sends a confirmation with reminders.

If a buyer asks for the price, it repeats the price guide you have published, and nothing more. It never offers an opinion on value. If it doesn't know the answer, such as a strata detail you haven't provided, it says so and takes a message.

Enquiries from portals work too. Point portal lead emails such as realestate.com.au at your Velobiz lead address and each one is read on arrival, replied to within minutes and followed up until the buyer answers. See how it works for residential sales.

How does it handle tenant repair requests?

It takes the property, the problem and how serious it is. Urgent repairs, such as a burst pipe, no hot water or a property that can't be secured, are marked urgent and go to the top of your list with an email summary the moment the call ends.

It does not send a tradesperson or approve a repair. That stays with you. If you use after-hours trades, put their details in its information and it can pass them on to the tenant. Routine questions, such as inspection dates and how to pay rent, are answered from your information so they never reach your desk. More on property management.

What about follow-up?

Most enquiries need more than one reply. It follows up by text or email over the next week, keeping follow-up texts to 8am to 8pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm on Saturdays, never Sundays or public holidays, and stops the moment someone replies, books or asks it to stop. Marketing texts only go to people who opted in, and STOP requests are honoured automatically and permanently.

Does it replace our property management software?

No, and it doesn't sync with it yet. Every call, enquiry and booking is logged in your Velobiz portal with a written summary, so you can see exactly what was said and what was promised.

Can the whole team use it?

Yes. Each agent or property manager can connect their own calendar, and it books into the right person's free time. You keep your office and mobile numbers, forwarding them on no-answer, when busy or for every call. Start with the real estate overview.