Written by an agent who still closes deals every week: 60+ active listings, 160+ closed land transactions. Method first. No hype.
Start with Parts 1 and 2. They give you the method and the files that make every prompt safer. Then keep Part 5, the prompt library, open while you work.
This guide teaches method. Model names, limits, and prices change, so check Anthropic's documentation before you build on any spec. Nothing here is legal advice.
1
Part 1
The Method
Chapter 01 · The ground rules
Claude writes. You are still the agent.
Claude drafts, sorts, extracts, and checks. It does not hold your license, and it does not know your market unless you hand it the facts.
Three things decide whether Claude helps or hurts your business: what you hand it, what you forbid it, and what you check afterward. Everything in this guide is a way to control one of the three.
Rule 1
It only knows what you give it
Claude has no MLS login, no county records, and no memory of your listings unless you supply them. Any fact about a property, a parcel, or a market that you did not paste in is a guess.
Rule 2
It sounds sure even when it is wrong
A confident paragraph is not a verified one. Acreage, taxes, utilities, zoning, and dates get checked against the source, every time.
Rule 3
The license is yours
Fair Housing, advertising rules, disclosures, and valuation opinions stay your responsibility. Claude can flag a problem. It cannot carry the liability.
Hand to Claude
Keep for yourself
First drafts of listing and marketing copy from verified facts
A price opinion without comps you verified
Dates and terms pulled from documents you supply
Legal conclusions about contracts, zoning, or title
Summaries of data exports you supply
The final Fair Housing call on any copy
One source turned into several formats
Sending anything to a client
A draft checked against its source
Publishing anything
Follow-up drafts you review and send
Chapter 02 · The field brief
Five lines before every prompt
A vague request makes Claude invent the missing parts. The field brief takes the guesswork out.
The five parts
01
Job
What should exist at the end, and who reads it? "A listing description for a buyer scrolling on a phone."
02
Facts
The source of truth, named and dated. "Use the MLS sheet dated [date] for every fact."
03
Fence
What must not appear: invented amenities, unverified claims, protected-class language, anything outside the sources.
04
Shape
Format, length, and voice. Point to your voice file instead of describing your style every time.
05
Proof
The check Claude runs before it finishes. "List each factual claim next to the line it came from."
The request that fails
Prompt
Write a great description for my acreage listing.
Claude has to invent the acreage, the utilities, the access, the tone, and the length. Then you spend four turns fixing guesses you could have prevented.
The same request as a field brief
Prompt
JOB: Listing description for [property], read by buyers on a phone.
FACTS: Use only the MLS sheet and survey summary below, dated [date].
FENCE: No amenities, views, or development potential that are not in the facts. No language about who should live here.
SHAPE: [word count] words, plain and specific, in my voice file.
PROOF: End with each factual claim and the line it came from. List anything you could not support.
Ask only when it matters
Add one line: if a missing fact would change the result, ask me one question. Otherwise state your assumption and keep going. Twenty questions up front is work, not help.
Revise one thing at a time
Name the part that failed, name what to keep, and ask for the smallest fix. Change five things at once and you never learn which one worked.
2
Part 2
The Source of Truth
Claude is only as accurate as the files you give it. Build them once, keep them current, and keep each brand in its own set.
Chapter 03 · Context packs
One pack per brand. Never mix them.
If you run more than one brand, each one needs its own set of files, so voice and rules never bleed across.
A context pack is five short files. If you use Claude Projects, load them as Project knowledge. If you use skill files or Claude Code, keep the same five files in the folder.
The five files
1
START-HERE
Who the brand serves, what this project does, and an index of the other files. Update it when the scope changes.
2
FACTS
Verified facts with dates and sources: team numbers, service areas, listing details. Update it every time a fact changes.
3
VOICE
Two real writing samples plus short rules: how you open, how you write numbers, the words you never use.
4
FENCE
The Fair Housing guardrail, required brokerage disclosures, claims you do not make, and data you never paste in.
5
DECISIONS
Choices already made and why, so Claude stops reopening them in every chat.
Keep stable rules apart from changing facts. Rules that last go in the instructions. This week's listing, offer, or campaign goes in its own file. A dated campaign should never become a permanent rule.
Name your sources when you prompt. "Use the MLS sheet for price and acreage, and the seller disclosure for utilities" beats "use my files." Ask Claude to list the files it actually used. If a key file is missing from that list, fix it before you trust the draft.
The listing facts sheet
Prompt
ADDRESS OR PARCEL ID:
SOURCE AND DATE: (MLS sheet, survey, seller disclosure)
ACREAGE OR SQUARE FOOTAGE:
COUNTY AND TAXING UNITS:
WATER, SEWER OR SEPTIC, ELECTRIC, INTERNET:
ACCESS AND ROAD FRONTAGE:
ZONING, ETJ, OR CITY LIMITS STATUS:
RESTRICTIONS, EASEMENTS, HOA:
MINERALS:
EXEMPTIONS: (AG, WILDLIFE, HOMESTEAD)
UNVERIFIED OR PENDING:
The last line matters most
Anything you list under "unverified or pending" may not appear as fact. Tell Claude that in the FENCE file and again in the prompt. A gap that stays visible is safer than a gap Claude fills for you.
Hand off before you start a new chat. Ask Claude for a short handoff: the goal, decisions made, facts with their sources, open questions, and the next three steps. Read it for errors before you reuse it. A summary preserves a mistake as well as it preserves the truth.
Chapter 04 · Listing and land copy
Facts in. Copy out. Nothing else.
The fastest way to get in trouble is a listing description that says something the property cannot back up.
The workflow
Build the facts sheet from your sources.
List what is unverified or pending.
Run the listing prompt (Library 01 or 02).
Read the claim table it returns.
Check each claim against the source.
Run the Fair Housing review (Library 11).
You publish.
Claims that cause trouble on land
Development potential and subdivision
Utilities: at the road, at the building site, or only nearby
Access, road frontage, and easements
Water source, septic, and flood
Minerals and tax exemptions
Zoning, ETJ, or city limits
The rule
If a claim describes what a buyer could do with the land, it must be in the facts sheet or it does not appear. Say what the documents say, and say where a buyer should verify.
"Could be subdivided" is a claim. So is "utilities available." Treat both as facts that need a source.
Risky · vague promise
"Prime development land, ready for your dream home or your next subdivision."
No source. No limits. It promises a use the documents may not allow.
Facts-bound · structure to fill
"[ACREAGE] acres in [COUNTY]. [FRONTAGE] feet on [ROAD]. Utilities: [AS DOCUMENTED, WITH SOURCE]. Zoning or ETJ status: [FROM DOCUMENT]. Buyers should verify [ITEM] with [AUTHORITY]."
This is a structure, not real data. Every bracket is filled from your sheet or it stays out.
3
Part 3
Data and Documents
Two jobs Claude does well once you set the terms: summarizing numbers you supply and pulling terms out of documents you supply.
Chapter 05 · Market data
Define the terms before the math
Claude can run an MLS export, such as an NTREIS pull, in seconds. It cannot know what your columns mean or whether your sample is big enough. You decide that first.
Write these down before you upload
Prompt
WHAT COUNTS AS A SALE: (closed only?)
DATE RANGE:
PRICE BASIS: (list or close)
PROPERTY TYPES AND COUNTIES:
ACREAGE BANDS:
HOW DAYS ON MARKET IS COUNTED:
OUTLIERS: (keep, flag, or remove)
MISSING VALUES: (leave blank or exclude)
MINIMUM SALES PER GROUP:
Ask for the data check first
Before any analysis, have Claude report the row count, missing values, duplicates, and odd values. Tell it not to remove outliers or fill gaps on its own. Decide what to do after you see the report.
Three traps
Trap 1
Thin samples
A county with a handful of sales can swing a median. Make Claude show the number of sales next to every figure and flag any group under your minimum.
Trap 2
Mismatched periods
Two quarters with different numbers of sales or a different mix of acreage tell you little. Compare like with like, and show rates, not only totals.
Trap 3
Stale knowledge
Claude's own knowledge of the market stops at its training cutoff. Every statistic in your output must come from the file you supplied.
Reconcile before you publish. Ask Claude to total its figures back to the source file. Then recompute two or three numbers yourself in a spreadsheet. If they do not match, stop.
Keep findings and causes apart. A rise in price per acre is a finding. The reason for it is a hypothesis. Ask Claude to label which is which, and write only the finding as fact.
The prompt for this chapter is Library 07.
Chapter 06 · Contracts and documents
Every answer gets a page number
Contracts, ordinances, covenants, surveys, and title commitments are long. Claude is good at finding what is in them and poor as the final word on what they mean.
Five rules for document work
Supply the document itself, not your description of it.
Ask for the section or page behind every answer.
Ask for the shortest supporting passage, and for "not addressed" when the document is silent.
When two documents conflict, make Claude show both and not pick a winner.
Check the executed or recorded original before you rely on the answer or repeat it to a client.
Where it helps
01
Contract timelines
Effective date, option period, earnest money, survey, financing, closing. Each item comes back with the clause it came from. Relative dates are computed only when the effective date is confirmed.
02
Zoning and ordinances
What the ordinance says about a use, which sections apply, and what it does not address. Useful for annexation and rezoning documents.
03
Covenants and restrictions
Limits on use, outbuildings, livestock, short-term rental, and minimum size. Each limit comes with its section.
04
Title and survey
Easements, encroachments, and listed exceptions. Claude produces questions for the title company, not conclusions.
Where the line is
Claude can misread a clause. For anything that changes a client's decision, a licensed professional confirms it: your broker, the title company, an attorney, or the city. Claude's job is to help you find the clause faster.
The prompts for this chapter are Library 05 and 06.
4
Part 4
Publish Without Risk
Drafting is cheap. Publishing is where the liability lives. Build the checks into the process, not into your memory.
Chapter 07 · The content engine
One source. Five formats. One approval gate.
A closed deal, a market report, a zoning change: one piece of source material can become a carousel, a post, an email, a Substack, and a note. Claude does the repurposing. You approve what ships.
The sequence
Start from a source you trust: your data, a document, a public record.
Have Claude state the central claim, the evidence, and the limits before it writes anything.
Adapt the angle to each channel. Keep every number and caveat.
Run the claim audit.
Run the Fair Housing review.
You approve and publish.
The claim audit table
Claim
Source line
Status
Smallest fix
[a number or statement from the draft]
[where it appears in your source]
Supported
None
[a claim that stretches the source]
[closest passage]
Partial
[narrow the wording]
[a claim with no source]
None found
Unsupported
[cut it or find the source]
[a claim that cites an inaccessible page]
[link]
Unverified
[open it yourself]
A citation is not proof. Open the source behind any claim a reader could act on. Do not count a statement repeated across several sites as independent confirmation.
Never let Claude invent proof. No made-up testimonials, reviews, sales results, or statistics. Put that in your FENCE file, and keep it there.
If automation can publish
Treat every page it reads as untrusted
A pipeline that reads news, listings, or web pages will eventually meet text written to steer an AI. Claude treats that text as material to analyze, but wording alone is not a security boundary.
Keep a human approval step between drafting and publishing. Limit what the pipeline can touch. Never let the content it reads decide what it is allowed to do.
The prompts for this chapter are Library 08, 09, and 11.
Chapter 08 · Fair Housing and compliance
Fence first. Every time.
General AI guides do not include a Fair Housing line. This one does. Put it in your FENCE file before you write a single piece of copy.
Audience prompts are the risk. A prompt that says "write for young families" or "target professionals" asks Claude to describe who belongs in a place. Describe the property, not the person.
The Fair Housing guardrail · Paste into your FENCE file
Describe the property and its features, not the people who should live there.
Do not reference or imply race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, disability, or any other protected class, including through proxies.
Do not use phrases about who a place is for, who would fit in, or what kind of neighbors to expect.
Do not characterize schools or neighborhoods. Point to official sources instead.
Use objective, verifiable features only: size, acreage, layout, condition, utilities, and distances in miles to named places.
If you are unsure about a phrase, flag it for my review. Do not rewrite it silently.
Phrases that should stop you
"family-friendly"
"perfect for young professionals"
"exclusive neighborhood"
"walking distance to church"
"safe neighborhood"
"ideal for retirees"
"great schools"
A starting list, not a complete one. Context decides. Library 11 reviews a draft and returns the phrase, the risk, and a neutral replacement.
What else goes in the FENCE file
Required brokerage name and disclosures, per your broker's policy and current TREC advertising rules
No invented testimonials, results, or statistics
No price or value claims without comps you verified
No client names, financing details, or net sheet figures unless your broker and your plan allow it
Anonymize before you paste
Replace names with roles, strip contact details, and round figures when exactness is not the point. A summary of a seller's situation is usually enough for Claude to do the job.
Claude flags. You decide.
Claude's silence is not clearance. A clean Fair Housing review means it found nothing it recognized. You make the final call, and your broker is the authority on your brokerage's rules.
5
Part 5
The Prompt Library
Twelve prompts for work agents repeat. Fill the brackets, supply the sources, and run the check on the last line of each card.
Paste the Fair Housing guardrail from Chapter 08 into your FENCE file. Several prompts below tell Claude to follow it. Every prompt is a draft maker: nothing here sends, posts, or publishes for you.
Prompt 01
Listing description, facts only
Use when you have a verified facts sheet and need copy a buyer can read on a phone.
Prompt 01
Write a listing description for [property], read by buyers on a phone.
Use only this facts sheet, dated [date]: [paste].
Anything marked unverified may not be stated as fact. Put each one in an editor's note after the draft.
Voice: [paste voice file]. Length: [words].
Include these required disclosures: [from your broker].
Do not add amenities, views, school or neighborhood claims, or development potential.
Follow the Fair Housing guardrail in my FENCE file.
End with a table of each factual claim and the line it came from.
Check ·Compare every claim with the source before it posts.
Prompt 02
Land listing page
Use for acreage where utilities, access, and zoning status carry the most risk.
Prompt 02
Draft a land listing page for [parcel or address].
Sources: [survey, MLS sheet, seller disclosure], each dated. If sources conflict, show both values and stop.
Cover: acreage, frontage and access, utilities as documented, water source, restrictions, exemptions, and zoning or ETJ status.
For each utility or use, say which document supports it and what a buyer should verify.
Do not describe what the land could become unless a source says so.
Follow the Fair Housing guardrail in my FENCE file.
End with a claim-and-source table.
Check ·Utility and zoning statements match the documents, not the seller's summary.
Prompt 03
Listing appointment prep
Use the day before. Claude organizes the prep. You set the price.
Prompt 03
Prepare me for a listing appointment at [address] on [date].
Use only: [seller notes, tax record, comps I verified, my brand facts file].
Produce: questions to ask the seller, items to verify before I quote a price, facts I still need, and talking points about my process.
Do not suggest a list price. I will set it from verified comps.
Mark any figure not found in the materials as unknown.
Check ·Every number in the prep traces to a document you supplied.
Prompt 04
Weekly seller update
Use with your showing numbers and feedback notes. You review and send.
Prompt 04
Draft this week's update for the seller of [property].
Use only: [showing count, feedback notes, online activity numbers, market data I pasted].
Structure: what happened, what buyers said, what the market did, what I recommend next.
Quote feedback only as given. Do not guess at buyer reasons.
Leave out any feedback that refers to a protected class, and tell me you did.
Keep it under [words] and in my voice. This is a draft I will review and send.
Check ·Numbers match your showing system. Feedback says what the buyer said, nothing more.
Prompt 05
Contract timeline extractor
Use after a contract is executed, with the addenda attached.
Prompt 05
Extract every date and deadline from the executed contract and addenda below.
For each: item | date or rule | clause or page | what triggers it.
Compute relative dates only if the effective date is stated: [date]. Otherwise write "needs effective date".
List anything ambiguous or missing instead of guessing.
Contract text: [paste].
Check ·Verify against the executed contract and your transaction calendar.
Prompt 06
Document question and answer
Use for ordinances, covenants, surveys, and title commitments.
Prompt 06
Answer this question using only the documents below: [question].
First list the sections that bear on it.
Then answer, with the section number or page and the shortest supporting passage for each point.
If the documents are silent, write "not addressed". If they conflict, show both and do not choose.
Separate what the document says from your interpretation.
This is not legal advice. Flag anything I should confirm with the title company, the city, or an attorney.
Documents: [paste or attach].
Check ·Open each cited section yourself before you repeat the answer to a client.
Prompt 07
Market data brief
Use with an MLS export and the definitions you wrote down in Chapter 05.
Prompt 07
Use the attached [MLS export] to answer: [question].
Definitions: [closed sales only / date range / counties / acreage bands / price basis].
First report row count, missing values, duplicates, and odd values. Do not remove outliers or fill gaps.
Show the number of sales next to every figure and flag any group under [minimum].
Reconcile your totals to the file.
Separate what the data shows from possible causes.
Return [table or chart] and the limits that could change the conclusion.
Check ·Recompute two figures in a spreadsheet before you publish.
Prompt 08
Claim audit
Use on any blog, report, or market commentary before it goes out.
Prompt 08
Audit the draft below against these sources: [sources].
Return: claim | source line | status | smallest fix.
Status is supported, partial, unsupported, or unverified.
Focus on numbers, quotes, causes, and anything a reader could act on.
If you cannot access a source, mark the claim unverified.
Do not treat a claim repeated on several sites as independent proof.
Draft: [paste].
Check ·Resolve every unsupported claim before publishing.
Prompt 09
One source, five formats
Use to turn a closed deal, report, or ordinance into a set of posts.
Prompt 09
Repurpose this source into [five formats, for example carousel, Facebook post, email, Substack outline, short note].
Source: [paste]. Audience: [who]. Voice: [voice file].
First state the central claim, the evidence, and the limits.
Keep every number and caveat. Add no claim that is not in the source.
Return each asset with its purpose and its opening line.
Follow the Fair Housing guardrail in my FENCE file.
Check ·A short format must not drop a caveat that changes the meaning.
Prompt 10
Follow-up draft
Use after a showing, a call, or a closing. Draft only.
Prompt 10
Draft a follow-up to [contact] after [event].
Use only: [my notes, the last message]. Voice: [voice file].
One purpose, one next step, under [words].
Do not mention anything I did not tell you. Do not imply any action has already been taken.
Draft only. I will review and send.
Check ·Names, dates, and promises match your notes. Leave financing and personal details out.
Prompt 11
Fair Housing review
Use on every piece of public copy, including copy you wrote yourself.
Prompt 11
Review the draft below for language that could violate fair housing rules.
Flag: references to protected classes, proxies for them, steering, characterizations of schools or neighborhoods, and phrases about who a property is for.
For each, return: phrase | why it is a risk | a neutral replacement that stays factual.
Do not rewrite the whole draft. Do not clear a phrase you are unsure about. Mark it for my review.
Draft: [paste].
Check ·You make the final call. Silence from Claude is not clearance.
Prompt 12
Premortem for a listing launch
Use before you commit to a launch plan or an offer strategy.
Prompt 12
Assume this listing launch failed after [30 days]. Plan: [paste].
List five causes specific to this property and market. For each, give an early warning sign, a cheap preventive step, and an owner.
Label anything hypothetical. Rank by practical exposure, not drama.
Check ·Turn the top two risks into actual checks on your calendar.
6
Part 6
Test and Ship
A prompt is not finished when it sounds good. It is finished when it saves you minutes after you check it.
Chapter 09 · Test it
Measure what you accept
Judge Claude by how much work remains after the draft, not by how good the draft sounds.
Run a 12-task test. Pick twelve real tasks from your own files: four easy, four routine, four hard. An easy one is a showing reminder. A routine one is a listing description from a facts sheet. A hard one is a timeline from a contract with several addenda.
Keep the inputs and the pass-or-fail rules fixed. Run two setups side by side, for example your old prompt against a field brief. Repeat any close call before you change your default.
The number that matters
The number that matters is minutes of review per accepted result. A cheap draft that takes thirty minutes to repair costs more than a careful one you can send in five.
The scorecard, one per task
Prompt
TASK:
SETUP A / SETUP B:
PASS OR FAIL:
MISTAKES THAT MATTERED:
MINUTES TO FIX:
WOULD I SEND IT? (YES / NO)
Score each result 0 to 2
Accuracy
Completeness
Compliance
Usability
Traceability
Traceability asks whether you can trace each claim to a source. Zero means it fails or cannot be checked. One means usable after real repair. Two means it meets the requirement. A zero on accuracy or compliance fails the task, whatever the other scores say.
Chapter 10 · Troubleshooting
When it goes wrong
Fix the cause before you add more instructions. Change one thing, rerun, and see whether the failure changes.
Symptom
Likely cause
First fix
Invents amenities or features
Thin facts sheet, or a prompt that rewards filling gaps
Add the unverified list. Tell Claude to leave gaps visible.
Wrong numbers
No named source, or two versions in play
Name the current source and date. Mark old files as archive.
Sounds like every other agent
No voice file
Add two real samples and a list of phrases you never use.
Steering language appears
The prompt names an audience
Remove the audience. Describe the property. Run Library 11.
Brand voices bleed together
One shared context for several brands
Build a separate pack per brand.
Stale market claims
Claude is using its memory, not your file
Require every statistic to come from your export.
Wrong date in a timeline
Effective date missing
Supply it, or require "needs effective date."
Long answer, little use
No shape given
Specify the sections and a word limit.
Stops partway through a long job
Completion never defined
Give a checklist. Check the checklist, not the last message, and tell Claude which items remain.
The repair prompt
Use this when a result fails one requirement.
Prompt
The result fails this requirement: [requirement].
Observed problem: [specific example].
Expected: [what success looks like].
Keep these parts unchanged: [parts that work].
Tell me whether the cause is missing context, a conflicting instruction, an unsupported assumption, or an execution problem.
Make the smallest useful correction, then check it against the failed requirement.
Chapter 11 · Your first seven days
One small win a day
By day seven you have a method, three files, and numbers to show for it.
Day 1
Pick one task you do every week. Write its field brief: job, facts, fence, shape, proof.
Day 2
Build a facts sheet for one active listing. Fill the unverified line honestly.
Day 3
Write your voice file: two real samples and a list of phrases you never use.
Day 4
Write your FENCE file: the Fair Housing guardrail and your broker's disclosure requirements.
Day 5
Run the listing prompt, the claim audit, and the Fair Housing review on one draft, in that order.
Day 6
Run a document prompt on a contract you already closed. Compare the answer to what you know.
Day 7
Run the 12-task test on two tasks. Record your minutes. Save the winner as a template.
Save what works. Keep the task, the winning prompt, the sources, and one lesson from the revision. Your library should get more specific every week.
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