It arrives on a Tuesday evening, then again on Thursday: “Hey, any update?” You answer, because you always answer. Often the honest reply is “Nothing new — the lender’s still reviewing,” which takes thirty seconds to type and does very little to settle your client.
The problem isn’t that you’re slow to reply. It’s that the question isn’t really about news. When a buyer or seller asks for an update, they’re usually telling you they can’t see their deal moving — and a deal that looks still feels like a deal in trouble.
What “any update?” really means
Escrow is mostly invisible to clients. The work happens between lenders, escrow officers, appraisers and the other agent, often in emails they’re not copied on. From the client’s side, days pass with nothing to look at, and their imagination fills the gap with the worst version of events.
So the text is really standing in for a few quieter questions:
- Is it still moving, or has something stalled?
- Is anyone waiting on me?
- Is the closing date still the closing date?
- Would you tell me if something went wrong?
Answer those, and the “any update?” texts slow down on their own, even in weeks when nothing happens.
Why replying faster doesn’t fix it
The natural response to update anxiety is to update more: a quick text here, a check-in call there. It feels like good service, and in the moment it is. But it has three problems.
- Each reply is a snapshot. “Appraisal is Thursday” is true when you send it and quietly wrong if it moves on Wednesday.
- It builds the habit. If texting you is the only way to learn anything, clients learn to text you.
- It scatters the story. The inspection date is in one thread, the insurance reminder in an email, the closing time in a voicemail — and a spouse or co-buyer sees none of it.
Multiply that by every live deal and you’ve built a job where your phone sets your schedule.
Update on milestones, not on a calendar
The updates that calm people are tied to real events: inspection done, appraisal in, loan approved, clear to close. A weekly “just checking in” message is easy to send and easy to ignore, because it carries no information. A milestone update carries news, so it gets read.
Keep every update in the same three-part shape, so clients learn where to look:
- What just happened.
- What’s next, and roughly when.
- Whether they need to do anything.
For example: “The inspection is done and the report is in your email. Next, we decide on repair requests by Friday. Nothing for you to do until we talk tomorrow at 10.” Three lines, nothing to decode.
And when there’s genuinely nothing new, say so on purpose: “Quiet week, which is normal right now — the lender is reviewing the file. Next milestone is the appraisal, expected around the 14th.” A planned “no news” note beats an unexplained silence every time.
Give them one place to look
The bigger fix is structural. Clients stop asking when they can answer the question themselves — at 9pm, on their phone, without waiting for you. That means one place that shows the whole deal and stays current on its own: every step in order, what’s done, what’s happening now, who it’s waiting on, and what’s on their plate.
Two details make that page work. First, it shows who each step is waiting on. “Appraisal — waiting on the lender” turns a worried text into a nod, because the client can see the hold-up isn’t them and isn’t you. Second, it’s the source of truth for dates. When a date moves, the page moves with it, so nobody is working from an old message.
Teach clients to check before they ask
A tracker only helps if clients use it, and that habit is set in the first week. Introduce it on day one as the place to look, not as an extra:
“Everything about your purchase lives here — every step, what’s next, and anything I need from you. It updates as things happen, so it’s always more current than my texts. If something there doesn’t make sense, message me right from the page.”
Then, when a client texts “any update?”, answer warmly and point them back: “Yes — the appraisal was ordered this morning. You’ll see it on your page, along with the next step.” After a few rounds, most clients check first. The ones who still text are usually asking about something real, and those are the conversations worth your time.
One more signal is worth watching: whether a client is looking at all. A client who hasn’t opened their page in a week is often confused or quietly worried. That’s a good moment for a two-minute call, before it turns into a frustrated one.