Best Virtual Assistant for Realtors (2026): One Solo Agent's Week, Before and After

Disclosure: Codot is our product. Marisol, the agent below, is fictional, and her two weeks are a composite written to show where each kind of help fits. Competitor prices come from each company's own pricing page, checked November 8, 2026.

TL;DR:

• A solo agent's week usually leaks in five places: feedback said at the curb between showings, open house sign-ins that sit in a tote bag, contract deadlines buried in email, past clients nobody calls, and leads that ring while you're driving.
• A human VA (Wing Assistant lists $699 a month for 80 hours) fits once you have enough data entry, listing prep and scheduling to fill those hours.
• An AI receptionist (Smith.ai: free for 25 calls a month, Pro from $150) picks up the calls you can't. In Virginia, an unlicensed assistant may not answer questions on financing, contracts or listings, so check what yours is allowed to say.
• Codot catches the other four leaks for $12.99 a month: say one sentence and it becomes a note on the client's contact, a reminder at the time you name, or a Friday list of past clients who have gone quiet.

At a glance

What does a solo agent's week look like with and without a virtual assistant?

Marisol is a solo agent with two buyers under contract, a Saturday open house and about 140 past clients in her phone. Her brokerage gives her a real estate CRM; she has no assistant.

The left column is a normal week. The right column is two weeks later, after she spent a Sunday evening setting up Codot.

Wednesday changed least: the phone still rang out while she drove, and she only called back faster. If missed calls are your leak, see the AI receptionist below.

Which tasks should a realtor hand to a virtual assistant?

Sort the week by who has to be there.

Tasks that need your license. Virginia's real estate board spells this out in 18VAC135-20-335, effective April 1, 2026. It lists "Showing property", "Holding an open house" and "Answering questions on listings, title, financing, closing, contracts, brokerage agreements, and legal documents" among activities that "may only be performed by an individual or business entity licensed". The same section lets an unlicensed assistant handle "Scheduling appointments", "Submitting listings and changes to MLS" and "Following up on loan commitments after contracts have been ratified". Other states write their own lists, so read your state commission's rule before you hand a VA or an AI receptionist a script.

Tasks that need a person's hours: CRM data entry, listing descriptions, transaction paperwork, scheduling with three other parties. A human VA does these well.

Tasks that need to be remembered at the right time: what Ken said about the yard, the inspection deadline, Joanne's anniversary, the lead to call back after you park. A VA can't catch these unless you first get them out of your head, usually by typing later.

Option 1: a human virtual assistant for realtors

A human VA is the right call when the admin is real volume. Wing Assistant lists a part-time general VA at "$699/Month" for "80 Hours per month" and full-time at "$999/Month" for 160 hours (wingassistant.com, checked Nov 8, 2026). Wishup lists its Prime VA plan at $1,999 a month (wishup.co/pricing).

A VA logs open house sign-ins into your CRM, drafts listing copy, chases the title company and keeps your calendar. You still have to tell them things. The Tuesday yard comment reaches the VA only if you write it down first, so a VA works best with a capture habit on your side.

Option 2: an AI receptionist for realtors

An AI receptionist answers the phone when you can't. Smith.ai's free plan includes "25 calls/mo ($3.00/call after that)", and its Pro plan is "$150 /mo" for 75 calls a month (smith.ai, checked Nov 8, 2026).

This fixes Marisol's Wednesday: the Maple Court lead gets an answer and a booked call while she drives. Two cautions. First, write the script so it schedules and collects details without answering financing or contract questions, given rules like Virginia's above. Second, a receptionist knows only what the caller says. It won't remember what Ken told you at the curb.

What is the best virtual assistant for realtors who work alone?

Use Codot when your problem is follow-ups: what clients tell you between showings, contract deadlines, and sending real estate follow-up text messages to past clients who should hear from you this month. Codot is a voice AI assistant for iPhone, Apple Watch, Android and the web.

Notes on the person, said at the curb. "Ken and Priya would go to 540 for a yard, hated the galley kitchen" becomes a note on Ken's contact in Codot's personal CRM. The personal CRM, voice input, tasks and notes are on the free plan.

Deadlines with reminders before them. "Inspection response due Thursday at 5, remind me Wednesday at 9 and Thursday at noon" creates the reminders and writes the deadline into your Google Calendar or Apple Calendar. Codot writes its own tasks into your calendar; it doesn't read the events already there. Reminders at a set time are part of Codot Max. One habit to know: if you ignore a reminder, Codot doesn't send it again, so give important deadlines two reminders.

Birthdays and home anniversaries that repeat. Say "Joanne closed on Maple Court on November 13, 2023, remind me every year on November 13 at 9" and it repeats every year. Birthdays can go on the contact the same way. Repeating reminders are part of Codot Max.

A Friday list of who has gone quiet. A routine is a scheduled automation: "Every Friday at 4, list past clients I haven't contacted in 90 days." Codot runs it on its own each Friday. You can keep up to 20 routines, so a second one might be "Every Monday at 7, list this week's contract deadlines." Routines are a Codot Max feature.

A morning brief. On iPhone, Codot Max builds a daily brief at 7 a.m. with your reminders for the day. Marisol's Monday started with the appraisal date and the inspection deadline already listed.

We'd start with the 7-day free trial of Codot Max that every new account gets. It falls back to the free plan on its own if you don't subscribe, and nothing is charged. The paid plan is $12.99 a month or $99.99 a year in the US App Store, with 20 times the free plan's usage.

Human VA, AI receptionist or AI assistant: which should a realtor pick?

Pick by the leak that costs you the most deals.

• You lose follow-ups, deadlines and past clients: start with Codot.
• You lose leads to voicemail: add an AI receptionist. Smith.ai's free tier is enough to find out how many calls you actually miss.
• You spend more than 15 hours a week on data entry and paperwork: hire a human VA, and keep Codot for capture so you have something to hand them.

For most solo agents we'd start with the first and add the third later. The three combine fine: the receptionist books the call, Codot keeps what you learned on it, and the VA moves it into the brokerage CRM.

Codot takes care of what you say and when you need to hear it again. Your brokerage CRM, such as Follow Up Boss (or a specialized CRM for mortgage loan officers if you're on the lending side, or the best CRM for insurance agents if you handle life and health), stays the system of record for leads and drip campaigns, and a receptionist service handles phone calls, since Codot doesn't answer calls or sync with real estate CRMs.

More on the pieces: our roundup of personal CRM apps, a field rep's day with the apps that fit each moment, and how a lock screen to-do list saves the tap.

FAQ

How much does a virtual assistant for realtors cost?

A human VA costs $699 to $1,999 a month at the two services we checked: Wing Assistant lists $699 for 80 hours, Wishup lists $1,999 for its Prime VA plan (November 2026). An AI receptionist like Smith.ai is free for 25 calls a month. Codot Max is $12.99 a month.

Can a virtual assistant show property or hold an open house?

In Virginia, no: 18VAC135-20-335 reserves "Showing property" and "Holding an open house" for licensees. An unlicensed assistant there may schedule appointments and submit MLS changes. Check your own state's real estate commission rules.

What is the best AI assistant for realtors who work alone?

Codot is built for the solo agent's follow-ups: a voice note after a showing becomes a note on the client's contact and a reminder at the time you name. Codot Max ($12.99 a month) adds a Friday routine that lists past clients you haven't contacted in 90 days.

Does Codot work with Follow Up Boss?

Codot works alongside it. Use Codot to capture what clients say and get timed reminders on your phone, and keep Follow Up Boss for leads and campaigns; the two don't sync, so each keeps its own job.

Can Codot answer my phone when a lead calls?

Codot handles what happens after the call: say "call back the Maple Court lead in 15 minutes" and the reminder is set, with the lead's details on their contact. Codot doesn't pick up the phone, so pair it with an AI receptionist such as Smith.ai if you need calls answered.

Try Codot free for 7 days with Codot Max included: download Codot on the App Store.