The messages that work are short, personal, and tied to the date a client closed: a note on each anniversary of the closing, a check on the home's value a year later if the client wants it, and a thank you for referrals. A Custom Date Reminder in GoHighLevel sends them from a closing date field. The bottom line: NAR data shows how long clients stay and how often they recommend their agent, so the point is to still be the agent they think of, years later, without becoming a nuisance.
Why the long game
NAR's 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers reports that the median seller had owned the home for 11 years, a record, and that buyers expect to stay a median of 15 years. It also reports that 91 percent of buyers would use their agent again or recommend them, that 62 percent had already recommended their agent within a year of purchase, that 18 percent of repeat buyers used an agent they had worked with before, that 43 percent of buyers found their agent through a friend, neighbor, or relative, and that 66 percent of sellers used a referred agent or one they had worked with in the past. So a past client is both a possible repeat client and a source of referrals, and the gap between closing and the next move can be a decade.
The anniversary schedule
| When | Message | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1 week after closing | Thank you, plus a short list of local contacts the client may need | Personal note |
| Each closing anniversary | Happy home anniversary, and a reply invitation for any questions | Personal note |
| Year 1 | An offer to send a free estimate of the home's value on request | Reply driven |
| Around year 3 and 5 | A note on the market in their area, if they asked for updates | Opted in |
| When a referral comes in | A thank you note | Personal note |
The consent limits
The National Association of REALTORS says the FCC's one to one consent rule was vacated, that real estate professionals are not required to get one to one consent, and that they must still follow the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Do Not Call Registry. Texts count as calls, and the Registry's protections extend to texts. Law firm and vendor summaries describe the established business relationship exception as 18 months after a transaction and 3 months after a consumer's inquiry, note that some states set shorter windows, and put statutory damages at $500 per call or text, up to $1,500 for willful violations. A person who asks to stop must be added to the agent's own do not call list, and an inquiry to another agent or a public record search does not create a relationship with you. Rules differ by state, and one summary reports that Washington has no established business relationship exemption for residential contacts and that Pennsylvania rewrites its telemarketing statute effective October 18, 2026, so check your state with counsel.
Law firm summaries describe an established business relationship as lasting 18 months after a transaction. Beyond that, a text that markets your services to a person on the Do Not Call Registry needs consent. A personal note on an anniversary is not clearly a solicitation, but the line is not settled, and a message that asks for a listing or referral looks like marketing. The cleanest approach is to collect written consent for updates at closing, record it, and send email, which is covered by CAN SPAM, to those who agreed. Ask counsel where the line falls in your state.
Build it in GoHighLevel
GoHighLevel's Custom Date Reminder page says the trigger fires before, on, or after a date, that in contact based workflows you can choose supported contact date fields and supported opportunity date fields, that it does not fire for a contact whose date field is empty, and that a workflow can hold two triggers, one before and one after the date. It also describes a Match on the year option for reminders that repeat every year, so read that setting's description in your account and test it with a real date field.
- Create a date field called Closing date, and fill it from the transaction file.
- At closing, send a consent form for updates by email and text, with the agent's name, and tag clients who agree as Updates consent.
- Build a workflow with the Custom Date Reminder trigger set to repeat every year on the closing date, that sends a personal note by email and, for consenting clients, a text.
- Use a custom value for the client's first name and the property address, and have the agent edit the first line.
- Add a task for the agent to call clients on years 1, 3, and 5.
- Remove the contact from the sequence on an opt out or when they list the home with another agent.
- Report replies and referrals each quarter.
Worked example
For example, an agent who closes 50 transactions a year and keeps 40 clients consenting has 40 anniversary notes a year from the first cohort alone. After 5 years with the same retention, that is about 200 notes a year (40 times 5). If 62 percent of clients recommended the agent within the first year, the first cohort alone could generate about 25 recommendations (40 times 0.62), a figure to replace with the agent's own tracking.
Mistakes to avoid
- Sending sales messages as anniversary notes. Keep them personal.
- Texting clients without consent after 18 months. The relationship window may have ended.
- Using stale closing dates. Fill the field at closing.
- Never calling. A call on year 1, 3, and 5 does more than a text.
How this was handled before
Agents mailed a pop by gift or a card at the closing anniversary and kept the list in a spreadsheet. A date field and a recurring trigger do the remembering, and the consent rules decide which channel each client can receive.
What to measure after launch
Track clients with a closing date, notes sent, replies, referrals received, and opt outs. Check that every client has a recorded consent for updates.
Check before you switch it on
US text messages sent from a standard 10 digit number need A2P 10DLC registration. The HighLevel support portal says registration is required for texts to US recipients from 10 digit long code numbers and that toll free numbers do not require it. HighLevel's opt in guidelines also say a person cannot be forced to agree to text messages in order to submit a form, so keep the consent box optional. One compliance guide separates informational texts, which need documented consent, from marketing texts, which need prior express written consent. Ask your attorney which category your reminders fall into. Check your state's texting rules and the Do Not Call exceptions with counsel, and collect written consent at closing. This is general information, not legal advice.
Questions people ask
How long do homeowners stay?
NAR's 2025 Profile reports the median seller had owned the home for 11 years, a record high.
Do past clients recommend their agent?
NAR's 2025 Profile reports 91 percent would use or recommend their agent again, and 62 percent had already recommended their agent within a year.
How long can an agent text a past client without new consent?
Law firm summaries describe an established business relationship as lasting 18 months after a transaction. Written consent allows more.
Ready to try it yourself? Start a GoHighLevel account here.
You can also see this in action in our GoHighLevel capabilities demo.