Between closing and moving in, there may be only days or weeks. By the time a painter's mailer arrives, the furniture is in.
Painting play · New homeowners
New homeowner painting leads, reached before the furniture arrives.
The easiest time to paint a house is before anyone lives in it. Spur finds every home that just sold in your service area, writes a welcome card that offers a color consult and a move-in schedule, and mails it automatically each month, so new owners hear from you while the rooms are still empty.
Free forever plan · No card · 20 property searches a month
USPSFirst-Class
Laura Benedetti512 Whitney AveNew Haven, CT 06511Scan to book a color consult
Laura B. scanned your welcome card · 2 min ago
AI-written for this owner · Mailed in 2 days
Monthlynew sales pulled and mailed automatically
Empty roomsthe fastest, cleanest paint jobs you'll do
Owner nameon every card, not "Current Resident"
The problem
New owners want to paint before they move in. Most never hear from a painter in time.
Coupon envelopes bundle you with pizza and carpet cleaning. New owners toss them unopened.
Sale lists include flippers and landlords who already have painters. Mailing them wastes postage.
How it works
From list to mailbox in one workflow.
Five steps to a monthly new homeowner painting campaign.
app.usespur.com
See it in Spur
This month's new homeowner list in Spur
Sample New Haven-area homes sold in the last 45 days. Names are partly masked.
New Haven CountySold last 45 daysOwner-occupied buyerSingle-family + condoExclude investor LLCs
- Laura B.512 Whitney AveSold 18 days ago · built 1912Pre-1978: lead-safeInterior card
- Michael & Ana S.88 Ridge Rd, HamdenSold 26 days ago · built 1958Pre-1978: lead-safeInterior card
- Jordan T.41 Mill Pond Rd, BranfordSold 9 days ago · built 1999Interior card
- Priya K.1150 Chapel St #4Sold 33 days ago · condoCondo: interior only
- Chris & Dana W.27 Forest Rd, WoodbridgeSold 40 days ago · built 1984Interior + exterior3,100 sq ft
AI draft for Laura B. · 512 Whitney Ave
WELCOME TO WHITNEY AVE, LAURA. PAINT BEFORE YOU UNPACK?
Congratulations on your new home. If you're planning to change the colors, the easiest and least expensive time to do it is before the furniture arrives.
We can paint main rooms, hallways, and trim in three to four working days around your move-in date, with a free color consult and a fixed price. Your home was built in 1912, so we test for lead and use EPA lead-safe practices on all prep work.
Scan the code to book a consult. If you've already moved in, we work around furniture too.
New Haven Painting Co. · CT HIC #0661845 · (203) 555-0129
Sample data for illustration. Your results depend on your market and filters.
Playbook
How to market painting to new homeowners
New homeowners are one of the best audiences a painter can mail. Most buyers want to change at least a few colors, and the best time to do it is before they move in: no furniture to move, no people to work around, and the job goes faster. Even after move-in, the first few months are when owners make most of their changes.
Speed is what matters most. Pull new sales every month, not every quarter, and mail within days of the recorded sale. The goal is to land before the moving truck. Recorded sales lag the closing by a little, so a monthly automated send is as close to real time as most painters can get.
Filter the list. Investor LLCs and flips usually have their own crews, and landlords buying rentals need different messaging. Keep owner-occupied buyers, and split condos (interior only) from single-family homes, which may also need exterior or trim work.
Make the offer about the move. A color consult plus a fixed move-in schedule is more useful than a discount. Say how many days the main rooms take and that you'll work around their move-in date. If the home was built before 1978, mention that you're EPA Lead-Safe Certified. New owners with young kids care about that.
Follow up once. A second card three to four weeks later catches owners who moved in first and decided later. After that, move them into your regular interior and exterior lists.
Coordinate with the trades new owners hire at the same time. Buyers often book flooring, cleaning, and handyman work in the same weeks. A note that you can schedule around their flooring installer, or paint before the floors go in, shows that you understand the move-in sequence and makes your quote easier to accept.
Condos need their own message. Condo associations usually control exterior colors and may set rules for contractor access, insurance certificates, and work hours. A condo card that offers interior-only work and mentions that you'll handle the building's paperwork removes a hassle most new owners don't expect.
6×return on a year of Spur Team from one $3,600 interior job
A few move-in jobs pay for the year.
- Spur Team: $49/mo billed annually = $588/yr
- 60 new owners/month × 12 × $0.94 = about $680 in postcards
- One $3,600 move-in interior = 6× your subscription, and about 3× software and postage combined
Example math. Your number of monthly sales and close rate will vary. Run your own numbers →
One tool, not four
Spur vs. the usual new-mover marketing
What you needThe usual waySpur
Monthly new-sale list, automatedQuarterly list purchases✓ Built in
Owner-occupied buyers onlyFlips and landlords mixed in✓ Built in
Welcome card with the owner's nameCoupon pack with 20 other businesses✓ Built in
Color consult + move-in scheduleGeneric discount✓ Built in
Scan alerts with name and addressNo idea who read it✓ Built in
New Homeowners by the numbers
Why new owners are worth mailing
~1 in 12
Americans move in a given year, so every service area has new owners each month
Pre-1978
homes need EPA lead-safe work when paint is disturbed, a priority for buyers with young children
6×
return on a year of Spur Team from one $3,600 interior job
FAQ
New homeowner painting questions
Should you paint before moving into a new house?
If you plan to change colors, yes. It's faster and less disruptive to paint empty rooms, and there's no furniture to move or cover.
How do painters find new homeowners?
Pull recorded home sales in your service area every month, filter to owner-occupied buyers, and mail a welcome card within days. Spur automates the monthly pull and send.
What should a new homeowner painting card offer?
A free color consult and a fixed schedule built around their move-in date. That's more useful to a new owner than a discount.
Should I mail investor purchases?
Usually not with a welcome card. Investors and flippers often have their own crews. Landlords are better reached with a separate rental turnover offer.
Keep exploring
Related plays and guides
Start in minutes. No card required.
Be the painter new owners call first.
Pull this month's new sales, write the welcome cards, and set it to run every month. Free to start.
Find new homeowners who need painting — freeFree forever plan · No card · 20 property searches a month
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