Find Expired Listings & Reach Sellers First

Overview

An expired listing is the highest-intent seller lead there is — the owner already tried to sell and couldn't, which means they still want to and just need a better agent. The catch is speed and competition: the same expireds appear to every prospecting agent on the same morning, and the one who reaches the owner first, with a real plan, wins the re-listing.

This Hound watches for listings that expire or withdraw in your market, finds the property owner behind each one, and opens the conversation the morning the status changes — so you're first, not fifth.

How to set it up

Four things to brief your Hound. This is the exact configuration behind this play.

A · Describe the opportunity

This is the brief every source is filtered against. You describe what you're looking for in plain language, add keywords to sharpen it, then set the structured criteria.

Tell Forest what you're looking for:

"I'm looking for residential listings in my farm area that just expired or were withdrawn without selling — these owners still want to sell and need a new agent. I want them the day the status changes so I can be first to reach out. Focus on my price range and neighborhoods. Skip listings that sold, listings that simply re-listed with the same agent, and anything outside my service area."

Keywords to watch for: expired · withdrawn · off market · did not sell · back on market · price reduced then removed · [your neighborhoods] · [your price band]

Fields to extract: property_address · list_price · days_on_market · expiration_date · previous_agent · owner_name · property_type · last_status

Match criteria:

• ✓ Status is expired or withdrawn (not sold, not pending)

• ✓ Property in your farm area / price range

• ✓ Owner reachable (not an estate or bank-owned)

• ✗ Exclude listings that re-listed with the same agent within 48h

B · Choose the sources to monitor

Expired-listing status lives in the MLS, which is licensed — so this is a bring-your-own-access source. Forest reads the listing data you have rights to and enriches the owner behind it.

MLS listing status (bring your own access) 🔵 your licensed MLS feed

How to set it up: As a licensed agent, you already have MLS access. Connect your MLS's listing-status feed or export, and Forest watches for status changes to expired and withdrawn in your defined area. If your MLS offers a saved-search or hotsheet that lists daily expireds, point Forest at that — it's the cleanest source.

Note: Forest does not resell MLS data or replace a licensed platform like REDX or Landvoice for the raw list — instead, it takes the expireds you're entitled to see, finds the owner's contact info, and runs the outreach automatically. The value is the enrichment + sequence, not the list itself.

Public FSBO & re-listing signals 🟡 — Forest can also watch public sites (Zillow, Craigslist) for expired properties that reappear as for-sale-by-owner, a strong signal the seller gave up on their agent.

News & Press 🟡 default source, always on — reads local real estate press against your brief for market signals, though most expired data comes from your MLS feed.

C · Define the ICP to reach

Who to reach for each expired listing.

1. Property Owner — Primary — the seller who still wants to sell — PRIMARY

2. Listing Household (co-owner) — Secondary contact on the deed

3. (No corporate fallback — this is a direct-to-owner play)

D · Email & LinkedIn sequence

The play the Hound runs for each match. Because this is direct-to-owner, tone stays warm and low-pressure. Fields drop in as variables.

Email · Day 0 Hi {{owner_name}} — I noticed your home at {{property_address}} recently came off the market. Homes like yours are selling in this area; sometimes it just comes down to the strategy. I put together a quick, no-obligation take on what I'd do differently — would you be open to seeing it?

↓ Wait 2 days · no reply

LinkedIn / follow-up · Day 2 Following up in case the note got buried — happy to send that plan for {{property_address}} with no strings. Even if you're pausing, it might be useful when you're ready.

↓ Wait 4 days · no reply

Email · Day 6 · follow-up Last note from me — if you decide to give {{property_address}} another go, I'd love the chance to earn it. Here whenever the timing's right.

⏸ Any reply pauses the whole sequence — the conversation is yours. (And Forest checks the Do Not Contact list before any outreach.)