Homes.com - Email Parsing Integration

Homes.com is a major real estate and rental platform that generates leads for both property managers and real estate agents. Whether you're managing rental properties or selling homes, Homes.com inquiries need fast responses to convert prospects into tenants or buyers. While Homes.com doesn't offer a native API integration, Propel automatically handles Homes.com leads by parsing the email notifications you receive when prospects inquire about your listings.

How Propel Works with Homes.com

When a prospect inquires about a property on Homes.com, you receive an email notification in your inbox. Propel monitors your inbox for these emails and automatically:

1. Parses the email to understand the Homes.com email format
2. Extracts prospect information including name, email, phone number, and inquiry message
3. Identifies the property mentioned in the inquiry
4. Understands the request using AI to determine what the prospect is asking about
5. Responds automatically with personalized information about the property
6. Logs the conversation in your Propel dashboard for tracking and follow-up

This all happens automatically without any manual intervention, ensuring you never miss a Homes.com lead.

Works for All Use Cases:

• Rental Properties: Propel handles inquiries about rental listings, answers questions about availability and pricing, and schedules tours
• Properties for Sale: Propel handles buyer inquiries, answers questions about properties for sale, and schedules showings
• Both: If you manage both rentals and sales, Propel automatically distinguishes between the two and responds appropriately

Homes.com Email Format

Propel supports all common email formats from Homes.com. Here's an example of the email format Propel handles:

Subject: New inquiry for [Property Address]

Prospect: [Name]
Email: [Email]
Phone: [Phone]
Message: [Inquiry]

Propel's AI understands variations in Homes.com's email format and can extract the relevant information regardless of minor formatting differences.

What Propel Extracts from Homes.com Emails

From each Homes.com lead email, Propel automatically extracts:

• Prospect Details: Name, email address, phone number (if provided)
• Property Information: Address, listing ID, or property name mentioned in the inquiry
• Inquiry Content: The prospect's message or questions
• Additional Context: Move-in date preferences, budget, number of occupants, or other details (when available)

This information is used to create personalized responses and is logged in your Propel dashboard for tracking and follow-up.

Common Questions from Homes.com Leads

Prospects from Homes.com typically ask different questions depending on whether they're inquiring about rentals or properties for sale:

For Rental Properties:

• Availability: When is the property available for move-in?
• Pricing: What is the monthly rent and what fees are included?
• Pet Policy: Are pets allowed? What are the restrictions?
• Amenities: What amenities are included (parking, laundry, etc.)?
• Application Process: What is required to apply? How long does approval take?

For Properties for Sale:

• Availability: Is the property still available? When can I see it?
• Pricing: What is the asking price? Are there any price reductions?
• Property Details: Square footage, lot size, number of bedrooms/bathrooms
• Showing Availability: When can I schedule a showing?
• Neighborhood Information: Schools, nearby amenities, market trends

Propel automatically answers these questions using information from your property listings and can provide accurate, up-to-date details about availability, pricing, and property features.

Homes.com-Specific Considerations

Homes.com presents unique challenges that make automation essential:

Dual Platform Focus: Homes.com serves both rental and sale markets, which means you receive inquiries for both property types. Propel automatically distinguishes between rental inquiries and sale inquiries, routing them appropriately based on your configuration. Without automation, you waste time sorting through mixed lead types.

High Volume, Fast Response Expectations: Homes.com is one of the highest-traffic property platforms. Prospects expect responses within minutes, not hours. Research shows that responding within 5 minutes increases conversion rates by 9x. Manual response times of 2-4 hours mean you're losing leads to competitors who respond faster.

Structured Lead Format: Homes.com sends well-structured lead emails with consistent formatting, making them ideal for automated parsing. This reliability means Propel can extract information accurately and consistently.

Use Case-Specific Handling:

• Property Managers: Propel focuses on rental inquiries, answers questions about availability and pricing, and schedules tours
• Real Estate Agents: Propel focuses on buyer/seller inquiries, answers questions about properties for sale, and schedules showings
• Both: Propel can handle both types of inquiries and route them to the appropriate team or workflow

Lead Quality: Homes.com leads are typically more qualified than other sources because prospects have already viewed property details and photos. This means faster responses can lead to higher conversion rates.

Setting Up Homes.com Integration

Since Propel works with Homes.com through email parsing, setup is straightforward:

Step 1: Connect Your Email Account

1. Navigate to Settings > Integrations in Propel
2. Connect your Gmail or Microsoft 365/Outlook account
3. Grant Propel permission to read and send emails

For detailed instructions, see:

• Gmail - Email Provider Setup
• Microsoft 365 - Email Provider Setup

Step 2: Configure Your Mailbox

1. Go to Settings > Mailboxes
2. Create a new mailbox or select an existing one
3. Choose the email account where you receive Homes.com notifications
4. Propel will automatically monitor this inbox for Homes.com emails

Homes.com emails typically come from noreply@homes.com or similar addresses. Propel automatically recognizes these senders.

See Setting Up Your First Mailbox for detailed instructions.

Step 3: Add Your Property Listings

For Propel to provide accurate information in responses, make sure your property listings are up to date:

1. Go to Listings in Propel
2. Add or import your properties
3. Ensure availability, pricing, and amenities are current

You can import listings from:

• Data Sources (Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox)
• Manual entry via the Listings page

Step 4: Test the Integration

1. Send a test inquiry on Homes.com for one of your listings
2. Check your Propel dashboard to see if the email was parsed correctly
3. Review the automated response to ensure it's accurate and personalized

Automation Workflow

Here's how Propel handles Homes.com leads automatically:

1. Prospect inquires on Homes.com → 2. Homes.com sends email notification → 3. Propel detects email → 4. AI parses email and extracts information → 5. Propel creates personalized response → 6. Response sent to prospect → 7. Conversation logged in dashboard

This entire process happens within minutes, ensuring prospects receive timely, personalized responses even when you're not monitoring your inbox.

Homes.com Email Subject Patterns

Propel recognizes Homes.com emails by these common subject patterns:

• New inquiry for [Property Address]
• New message about [Property Address]
• Inquiry: [Property Address]
• Lead for [Property Address]

Field Mappings

Propel extracts the following information from Homes.com emails:

• Prospect Name: Usually in format "Prospect: [Name]" or "From: [Name]"
• Email: Format "Email: [email]" or in reply-to header
• Phone: Format "Phone: [number]" or "Phone Number: [number]"
• Property Address: Usually in subject line or "Property: [address]"
• Message: In email body, often after contact information

Special Considerations

• Homes.com emails may include HTML formatting
• Some emails include property photos or links to the listing
• Lead source tracking: Look for "Source: Homes.com" or similar in email headers
• Property ID may be in email body or subject line
• Homes.com may send both rental and sale inquiries to the same email address

Measuring Success

Track these metrics to measure your Homes.com integration success:

• Response Time: Average time from Homes.com email to first reply (target: under 5 minutes)
• Response Rate: Percentage of Homes.com leads that receive a reply (target: 100%)
• Parsing Accuracy: How accurately Propel extracts information from Homes.com emails
• Tour/Showing Booking Rate: Percentage of Homes.com leads that book tours or showings (target: 30%+)
• Conversion Rate: Percentage of Homes.com leads that sign leases or close sales (target: 15%+)

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Homes.com send phone leads?

Homes.com primarily sends leads via email notifications. Some prospects may call directly, but most inquiries come through the platform's email system. Propel handles email leads automatically while flagging any phone leads for immediate manual follow-up.

Can I auto-reply to Homes.com leads with calendar links?

Yes, but be strategic. Homes.com leads often ask specific questions first (availability, pet policy, amenities for rentals; pricing, property details for sales). Propel answers those questions first, then offers to schedule a tour or showing. Sending calendar links too early can feel pushy.

How do I handle Homes.com leads for properties I've already rented or sold?

Propel can check your property database in real-time. If a property is already rented or sold, the system can automatically respond with: "Thanks for your interest! This property is no longer available, but I have similar properties available. Would you like to see those instead?" This saves you from manually checking availability for every inquiry.

What about Homes.com's rental vs sale leads?

Homes.com sends both rental and sale inquiries. Propel automatically distinguishes between the two based on:

• Property type in the listing (rental vs for sale)
• Keywords in the inquiry (e.g., "rent", "lease" vs "buy", "purchase")
• Listing category from your Homes.com account

For Property Managers: Propel focuses on rental inquiries and can either ignore sale leads or forward them to the appropriate team member.

For Real Estate Agents: Propel focuses on sale inquiries and can either ignore rental leads or forward them to the appropriate team member.

For Teams Managing Both: Propel can handle both types of inquiries and route them to the appropriate workflow or team member based on your configuration.

Can automation handle Homes.com's application feature?

Homes.com may send application emails directly, not just inquiries. Propel can detect these application emails, extract applicant information, and route them to your application review process automatically.

Troubleshooting

Propel isn't detecting Homes.com emails

Possible causes:

• Email account not connected
• Mailbox not configured or not enabled
• Emails going to a different folder

Solutions:

1. Verify your email account is connected in Settings > Integrations
2. Check that your mailbox is enabled in Settings > Mailboxes
3. Ensure Homes.com emails are arriving in the monitored inbox/folder
4. Check email filters that might be moving Homes.com emails to other folders

Information not extracted correctly

If Propel isn't extracting information correctly from Homes.com emails:

1. Check the email format in your inbox - Homes.com may have updated their format
2. Review parsed emails in your Propel dashboard to see what was extracted
3. Contact support if you notice consistent parsing issues

Responses not being sent

If responses aren't being sent to Homes.com prospects:

1. Verify your mailbox is enabled
2. Check response rules in Settings > Mailboxes to ensure responses are allowed
3. Review approval settings if approvals are required before sending

Related Integration Guides

Looking to integrate with other lead sources? Check out our guides for:

• Zillow - Email Parsing Integration
• Apartments.com - Email Parsing Integration
• Realtor.com - Email Parsing Integration
• Craigslist - Email Parsing Integration
• Facebook Marketplace - Email Parsing Integration

Need Help?

If you have questions about integrating Homes.com with Propel:

• Support Email: partners@propelhq.io
• Documentation: Browse our complete documentation for more guides
• Getting Started: See Getting Started for setup instructions