These are custom homes about a mile or so from the ocean.

I had a ton of reserve money, no kidding a ton, I was a custom home builder that had been doing it 15 years and was pretty low risk but wham the dip outlasted my reserve.  

@David M.I should know better than to call them clients (since I am in class lol) - potential customers.

That's when states shut down short term rentals, and Airbnb refunded every customer's money, many arbitragers were in deep financial trouble. 

You could get the customers info, instead of giving them yours. 

They continue to farm out their products and their customer service keeps going downhill.

Spec homes are much easier, quicker and more profitable as what you are contemplating is basically a custom build process.All that being said there are some really successful strategies you can employ to ramp up the process and accomplish your goals. 

You can get customized search results emailed to you when you go on most brokerage’s sites, they’ll give you the option to save your search and get emails when there are properties that fit your parameters.  

I have found an overwhelmingly more active response when I text new deals to my customers vs just emailing them.

., You probably need some kind of Help Desk Software:"Help desk software is designed to provide a customer with information and support regarding a company’s products or services.