Trulia - Email Parsing Integration

Trulia is a leading real estate and rental platform, generating thousands of inquiries for property managers and real estate agents every day. Fast response times are critical for converting these leads into signed leases or closed deals. While Trulia doesn't offer a native API integration, Propel automatically handles Trulia leads by parsing the email notifications you receive when prospects inquire about your listings.

How Propel Works with Trulia

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

1. Parses the email to understand the Trulia 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 Trulia 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

Trulia Email Format

Propel recognizes and parses Trulia emails in formats like:

Subject: New Lead: [Property Address]

Contact Information:
Name: [Name]
Email: [Email]
Phone: [Phone]

Property: [Property Address]
Inquiry: [Message]

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

What Propel Extracts from Trulia Emails

From each Trulia 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 Trulia Leads

Prospects from Trulia 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: What is the neighborhood like? Schools, amenities, walkability

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.

Trulia-Specific Considerations

Trulia presents unique challenges that make automation essential:

High Volume, Fast Response Expectations: Trulia is one of the leading real estate and rental 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.

Buyer vs Rental Lead Routing: Trulia sends both buyer and rental inquiries. Propel automatically distinguishes between the two based on:

• Keywords in the inquiry (e.g., "rent", "lease" vs "buy", "purchase")
• Property type in the listing (rental vs for sale)
• Inquiry context (asking about viewing vs asking about listing services)

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

MLS Integration: Trulia pulls listings from MLS systems. Propel can match Trulia leads to your MLS listings automatically, ensuring accurate property information in responses.

Lead Quality: Trulia 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.

Multi-Property Inquiries: Prospects often inquire about multiple properties or ask to see similar homes. Propel can identify when a prospect is interested in multiple properties and can suggest alternatives if their first choice isn't available.

Setting Up Trulia Integration

Since Propel works with Trulia 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 Trulia notifications
4. Propel will automatically monitor this inbox for Trulia emails

Trulia emails typically come from noreply@trulia.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 property details are current

You can import listings from:

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

Step 4: Test the Integration

1. Send a test inquiry on Trulia 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 Trulia leads automatically:

1. Prospect inquires on Trulia → 2. Trulia 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.

Trulia Email Subject Patterns

Propel recognizes Trulia emails by these common subject patterns:

• New Lead: [Property Address]
• New Inquiry: [Property Address]
• Lead for [Property Address]
• Inquiry: [Property Address]

Field Mappings

Propel extracts the following information from Trulia emails:

• Prospect Name: Usually in format "Name: [Name]" or "Contact Information: Name: [Name]"
• Email: Format "Email: [email]" or in contact information section
• Phone: Format "Phone: [number]" or "Phone Number: [number]"
• Property Address: Usually in subject line or "Property: [address]"
• Message: In email body, often labeled as "Inquiry: [message]" or "Message: [message]"

Special Considerations

• Trulia emails may include HTML formatting
• Some emails include property photos or links to the listing
• Lead source tracking: Look for "Source: Trulia" or similar in email headers
• Property ID may be in email body or subject line
• Some emails include prospect preferences (move-in date, budget, timeline) when provided
• MLS listing ID may be included for matching purposes

Measuring Success

Track these metrics to measure your Trulia integration success:

• Response Time: Average time from Trulia email to first reply (target: under 5 minutes)
• Response Rate: Percentage of Trulia leads that receive a reply (target: 100%)
• Parsing Accuracy: How accurately Propel extracts information from Trulia emails
• Tour/Showing Booking Rate: Percentage of Trulia leads that book tours or showings (target: 30%+)
• Conversion Rate: Percentage of Trulia leads that sign leases or close deals (target: 12%+)

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Trulia send phone leads?

Trulia 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 Trulia leads with showing links?

Yes, but timing matters. Trulia leads often ask specific questions first (availability, pricing, property details). Propel answers those questions first, then offers to schedule a tour or showing. After the prospect expresses strong interest, Propel can provide showing links and availability.

How do I handle Trulia 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 has been rented/sold, 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 Trulia's buyer vs rental leads?

Trulia sends both buyer and rental inquiries. Propel automatically distinguishes between the two based on:

• Keywords in the inquiry (e.g., "rent", "lease" vs "buy", "purchase")
• Property type in the listing (rental vs for sale)
• Inquiry context (asking about viewing vs asking about listing services)

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

For Real Estate Agents: Propel focuses on buyer/seller 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 Propel handle inquiries about multiple properties?

Yes. If a prospect inquires about multiple properties or asks to see similar homes, Propel can:

• Identify all properties mentioned in the inquiry
• Provide information about each property
• Suggest alternatives if their first choice isn't available
• Schedule tours or showings for multiple properties if requested

How does Propel handle Trulia's lead forwarding?

Trulia may forward leads to multiple email addresses if you have a team. Propel can handle this by:

• Detecting duplicate leads across mailboxes
• Consolidating conversations to avoid multiple responses
• Routing leads to the appropriate team member based on your configuration

Can Propel integrate with MLS listings?

Propel can match Trulia leads to your MLS listings automatically. If you import listings from MLS or sync with your MLS system, Propel can:

• Match Trulia leads to MLS listings by address or listing ID
• Pull accurate property details from MLS
• Ensure responses include up-to-date MLS information

Troubleshooting

Propel isn't detecting Trulia 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 Trulia emails are arriving in the monitored inbox/folder
4. Check email filters that might be moving Trulia emails to other folders

Information not extracted correctly

If Propel isn't extracting information correctly from Trulia emails:

1. Check the email format in your inbox - Trulia 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 Trulia 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
• Homes.com - Email Parsing Integration
• Craigslist - Email Parsing Integration

Need Help?

If you have questions about integrating Trulia with Propel:

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