Real Estate Virtual Assistants: 12 Tasks + Cold Calling Guide

What an assistant can take off your desk

The workload is easy to underestimate. NAR's 2025 Member Profile found that the typical member completed 10 transaction sides in 2024, and every side brings its own run of deadlines, documents and status calls. The same report found that members earned 20% of their business from repeat clients and 21% through referrals. Staying in touch with past clients is the work that slips first when the calendar fills up, and it accounts for a large share of where future deals come from.

The dividing line for delegation is the license. State regulators publish guidance on what an unlicensed assistant may do, and the lists agree on the broad shape. An assistant can prepare documents, schedule appointments, update records and relay factual information. Negotiating, explaining contract terms, showing property alone and soliciting business stay with a licensee. The details vary by state, which matters most for cold calling, so read your own commission's guidance before you write the job description.

12 tasks to hand a real estate virtual assistant

1. Answer and route new leads

Portal inquiries, website forms and sign calls arrive at all hours, and a slow reply gives the buyer time to call another agent. An assistant can answer with a message you approved in advance, log the lead in your CRM and book a call on your calendar. Mississippi's commission, for example, lets an unlicensed assistant give "general" information about a listed property, such as its location and availability. Anything touching price or terms should be routed to you.

2. Keep the CRM and follow-up running

A CRM is only as useful as its records are current. The assistant tags each contact by stage, merges duplicates, enrolls new leads in the drip sequences you wrote and flags anyone who replied. Give the person a written definition of each stage, because "warm" means something different in every office.

3. Schedule showings and appointments

Mississippi's list of permitted duties includes scheduling appointments for the licensee to show a listed property. In practice that means confirming times with sellers and occupants, sending the buyer the route for the day, and rebooking when an offer lands on the house you were about to see. The assistant needs edit access to your calendar and a written rule for how much travel time to leave between stops.

4. Enter and update listings

The same guidance permits an unlicensed assistant to complete and submit listings and changes to a multiple listing service. The assistant enters the property details, uploads the photos, posts status changes and applies price changes you have approved. Ask your MLS whether it issues separate assistant accounts before you share anything, since logging in as you may break its rules.

5. Draft listing copy and marketing

California's Department of Real Estate treats preparing advertising as unlicensed work, provided the broker or associate licensee reviews and approves it before publication. That covers listing descriptions, flyers, email campaigns and just-listed mailers. Build the approval step into the workflow from the first day so nothing goes out on the assistant's judgment alone.

6. Run the social media calendar

An assistant can schedule posts, pull listing photos into templates and answer routine comments with information you have already published. Direct messages that ask about a specific property's terms go to you. My guide to hiring a social media virtual assistant covers the setup in more detail.

7. Gather data for CMAs

Both the California and Mississippi guidance allow an assistant to gather the information for a comparative market analysis. The assistant pulls comparable sales and tax records, then drafts the report for your review. You set the price opinion and present it.

8. Coordinate the transaction

Between contract and close, an assistant can track contingency deadlines, collect signatures through your e-signature platform and tell each party when a report or document will arrive. California's guidance allows that kind of status communication and also allows an assistant to review a file for completeness, provided a licensee makes the final determination. It bars discussing what a document means with a party to the transaction, so the assistant's script for an anxious buyer ends with "I'll ask your agent to call you."

9. Book inspections, appraisals and vendors

At the licensee's direction, California lets an assistant order reports and services from third parties, including inspections, appraisals, title reports and repairs. The same person can book the photographer and the stager, and let the inspector into the property when you have arranged it with the seller.

10. Stay in touch with past clients

Given how much business comes from repeat clients and referrals, this is the task with the longest payoff. The assistant keeps a calendar of home-purchase anniversaries, sends an annual value update, mails holiday cards and asks for reviews after each closing. You write or approve the templates, and the assistant handles the sending.

11. Prepare cold calling lists, and call where your state allows it

List work is safe to delegate everywhere. That includes pulling expired and withdrawn listings, building a neighborhood list, matching phone numbers and scrubbing everything against the Do Not Call Registry. Whether the assistant can also dial depends on your state, and the next section covers how to decide.

12. Track the business

A weekly one-page report keeps you in charge of work you no longer do yourself. It should cover new leads by source, appointments booked, pending deals with their next deadline, and the receipts collected for your bookkeeper. My virtual assistant tasks list has more general admin work to add once these twelve are running.

How to run cold calling with a virtual assistant

People searching for a real estate cold caller usually want someone to dial expired listings, for-sale-by-owner homes and farm areas while they work active clients. Three sets of rules decide how much of that a virtual assistant can do. State license law decides who may solicit. The federal telemarketing rules then govern whom you may call and at what hours, and your brokerage may add a stricter policy of its own. Many provider pages focus on scripts and dialers, so the license question is easy to miss.

Check what your state lets an unlicensed caller do. This is where states diverge most. The Mississippi Real Estate Commission's guidelines for unlicensed assistants, revised in September 2025, say unlicensed assistants may not "place calls that would require a license such as cold calling, soliciting listings, contacting sellers, buyers or tenants in person or by phone, contacting expired listings, placing marketing calls, or extending open house invitations." The California Department of Real Estate's guidelines take a narrower view of what needs a license. They allow an unlicensed caller to canvass for general interest in a broker's services and to refer an interested person to a licensee or book an appointment, but "at no time may the caller attempt to induce the person being called to use a broker's services." A script that works in Sacramento is off-limits in Jackson. Ask your broker and read your commission's guidance before the first dial. Where your state bars unlicensed callers, the assistant does the list work and a licensee makes the calls.

Investors buying property for their own account may fall outside brokerage licensing, but the federal calling rules can still apply. Get legal advice on that before assuming otherwise.

Scrub every list against the National Do Not Call Registry. The FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule guide requires sellers and telemarketers to remove registered numbers and to rescrub at least every 31 days. NAR's telemarketing guidance for agents adds a point that catches many agents out. You can't call an expired or for-sale-by-owner seller whose number is on the registry to offer listing services. Keep your own internal do-not-call list as well, and honor every request to stop calling. The FTC's established business relationship exception covers 18 months after a purchase and three months after an inquiry, so a past client or a recent web lead is treated differently from a cold number.

Call inside the permitted hours, with a real number showing. The FTC rule bars calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the recipient's time zone, and requires caller ID to show the telemarketer's number and, when available, its name. An assistant working from another country needs the dialer set to the lead's local time, not their own.

Keep autodialers and prerecorded messages out of it without written consent. NAR's guidance says the Telephone Consumer Protection Act requires prior express written consent before using automated dialing systems for telemarketing calls or texts. The FTC requires a written agreement before a prerecorded telemarketing call. Text-message campaigns fall under the same consent rules, so a "quick text blast" to a purchased list needs the same review as a call campaign.

Know what a mistake costs. Under the TCPA, anyone who receives more than one call in a year "by or on behalf of the same entity" in violation of the do-not-call rules can sue for up to $500 per violation, trebled if the violation was willful or knowing. The words "on behalf of" are why hiring a caller does not transfer the risk to the caller. The FTC's guide lists a civil penalty of $53,088 for each violation of the Telemarketing Sales Rule. NAR describes a safe harbor built on a written compliance plan, training for the people making calls, and records of the numbers that can't be called. Put all of it in writing before the campaign starts.

Write the script around a hand-off. In a state that allows canvassing, the caller's job is to find out whether someone is interested and pass them to you. The script below is an illustrative example, not legal advice, and it needs your broker's approval before use.

"Hi, this is Sam calling on behalf of Jordan Lee, a licensed agent with Harbor Realty. Jordan asked me to check whether anyone on Maple Street is thinking about selling in the next year. Is that something you're considering? Would you like Jordan to give you a call, or would you rather I note that you're not interested?"

The script names the licensee and the brokerage, and it never argues the case for listing. An opt-out is offered in the first minute. Anything past a yes or no, including questions about price, commission or timing, goes to the agent.

Log every call. Record the number, the time, the outcome and any opt-out, along with the date of the registry download the list was scrubbed against. Review a sample of calls each week, and remove opted-out numbers the same day.

Where to hire a real estate virtual assistant

The services below place people with real estate agents or investors. The first three offer dedicated assistants. The last is a managed calling service for investors.

Cost tiers are effective hourly rates: $ offshore dedicated, $$ mid-market, $$$ standard US-based, $$$$ premium US and Europe. "Quote only" means the service publishes no pricing to place in a tier. Check each vendor's current pricing page before you buy.

Magic

Magic places a dedicated assistant who works in your own tools, with the scope agreed before the handover. Its real estate guide lists lead outreach and prioritization, drafting and updating listings, tracking contracts, inspections and appraisals, and running social media. Those map onto most of the twelve tasks above, and a single person can carry them alongside your inbox and calendar.

Assistants must pass Magic's live training and assessments before they meet you. After placement, they get weekly one-on-one coaching and paid access to AI tools. Magic advertises hiring in under a week, and payment starts only once you have selected the assistant you want.

The part-time plan is 20 hours a week and the full-time plan is 40, both in the offshore dedicated tier. That part-time plan is the contrast with MyOutDesk, which builds every placement as full time, and it suits a solo agent who needs half a week of support. Both plans bill every four weeks, which is thirteen cycles a year rather than twelve months, with no contract and cancellation at any time. Full-time plans include Magic 24/7, a concierge on standby for urgent tasks when your assistant is offline. Treat that as backup, not as continuous staffing for your phone line. A growing team can move to Magic Teams, which starts at three assistants with a dedicated success coach.

A Magic assistant is not a licensed agent in your state, so the cold calling rules above apply in full, and the same question is worth asking of any ISA service before you hand it a list. Where your state permits unlicensed canvassing, the assistant can make those calls on your approved script. Where it doesn't, the assistant prepares and scrubs the lists and you make the calls.

MyOutDesk

MyOutDesk builds roles specifically for real estate, including an inside sales agent who handles expired listings, circle prospecting and appointment setting, and a transaction coordinator who manages files from contract to close. It screens each hire through dual-stage live video, government ID and document verification, followed by a background check, and says most teams begin onboarding within seven days. Its pricing page states that every placement is full time and dedicated, and it offers a replacement at no cost if the fit doesn't work. Choose it when you want a full-time ISA and already have the volume to keep one busy.

REVA Global

REVA Global places Philippines-based assistants who complete a four-week real estate training program. Each client gets a client services manager who oversees the assistant's daily activity, which suits an agent who doesn't want to supervise closely. Its roles include ISA and cold calling alongside admin and transaction coordination, and its assistants work only for you, with moonlighting prohibited. Its homepage doesn't state contract terms or onboarding times, so ask for both.

vCallers

vCallers serves US real estate investors rather than agents, with cold calling, skip tracing and assistant support. It says do-not-call scrubbing is included, and it describes call monitoring, live supervision and account managers reviewing calls. Coverage runs across US time zones from Eastern to Pacific. Pricing and contract terms come only through a strategy call. Consider it when you run an investor calling campaign and want a managed team rather than one assistant.

Setting up the first two weeks

Start with three tasks and add the rest later. Lead routing, CRM upkeep and showing scheduling are good first choices, because the results are visible within days and the mistakes are easy to catch. Write a one-page instruction for each task, with an example of a finished result.

Grant access by delegation rather than by sharing your password. Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 both let you add a delegate to your mailbox and calendar, and most CRMs and transaction platforms support a separate user with limited permissions. Keep anything that moves money, including earnest money instructions and wire details, with you and your title company. Have a confidentiality agreement signed before the first task.

Add a new task each week once the previous ones run without correction. Cold calling comes last, after the compliance plan is written and your broker has approved the script. My guide on how to hire a virtual assistant covers interviews, trial tasks and the first 30 days in more detail.

What this guide is based on

The task list follows the published guidance on unlicensed assistants from the California Department of Real Estate and the Mississippi Real Estate Commission, chosen because they show how far states diverge. Calling rules come from the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule guide, NAR's telemarketing guidance and the text of the TCPA, all linked above. Industry figures come from NAR's 2025 Member Profile coverage. Services are included if they market real estate roles on their own pages, and each is described from those pages: the roles offered, where assistants are based when stated, how they are screened and trained, and what the service publishes about terms. Cost tiers come from each vendor's pricing page where one exists and from the model and location where it does not. None of this is legal advice. State rules change, so check your own commission's current guidance.

FAQ

What does a virtual assistant for real estate agents do?

A virtual assistant for real estate agents handles the work around a deal that doesn't require a license. That includes answering and routing new leads, keeping the CRM current, scheduling showings, entering listings, drafting marketing for your approval, gathering CMA data, coordinating transaction deadlines and staying in touch with past clients. Negotiation, contract advice and showing property stay with you.

Can a virtual assistant cold call for a real estate agent?

It depends on your state. Mississippi's commission bars unlicensed assistants from cold calling, soliciting listings and contacting expired listings. California's guidelines allow an unlicensed caller to canvass for general interest and pass interested people to a licensee, as long as the caller never tries to induce anyone to use a broker's services. Check your commission's guidance, then scrub every list against the National Do Not Call Registry at least every 31 days.

Does a real estate virtual assistant need a license?

Not for clerical and coordination work such as scheduling, listing entry, document preparation and status updates, which state guidance generally treats as unlicensed activity when you direct and supervise it. A license is needed for anything your state counts as brokerage, which typically includes negotiating, explaining contract terms, showing property alone and, in some states, soliciting business by phone.

How much does a real estate virtual assistant cost?

Dedicated offshore assistants, including Magic, MyOutDesk and REVA Global, sit in the lowest cost tier. US-based assistants typically cost several times that, and managed calling services such as vCallers don't publish pricing. Magic's part-time plan lets a solo agent start at 20 hours a week instead of paying for a full-time seat.

How often do I need to scrub my call list against the Do Not Call Registry?

At least every 31 days, according to the FTC. You also need to keep your own internal do-not-call list and honor every request to stop calling. The established business relationship exception covers 18 months after a purchase and three months after an inquiry.

Should I hire a general virtual assistant or a real estate specialist?

Choose a specialist service when the role is a single real estate function at full time, such as a dedicated ISA or transaction coordinator. Choose a general dedicated assistant such as Magic when you want one person across your inbox, calendar, CRM, listings and transaction paperwork, and give that person written instructions for each real estate task.