Patent Application
20140316908
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to real estate properties. More particularly, embodiments of the invention relate to providing real estate property information with property improvement/maintenance history.
The Internet has changed the expectations of real estate buyers and sellers. Real estate buyers and sellers now demand more information and any information provided to be provided more quickly. In addition to changing the expectations of buyers and sellers of real estate in relation to speed and knowledge, the Internet has given buyers and sellers access to information that previously was available only through a real estate agent. For example, Internet services now allow real estate buyers and sellers to search MLS information by specifying property profiles.
Today, more and more buyers and sellers want very specific information concerning the properties they are interested in. Most of the Internet-based services provide general information about the properties that are typically available via public records, such as, for example, an address of the property, the year in which the property was built, a number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and school information of the property. However, some people, such as buyers, may also want to know, in addition to the purchase price, the property improvement records. For example, a potential buyer may want to know when the roof was replaced last time, such that the potential buyer has a rough idea when the current roof needs to be replaced. A potential buyer may also want to know whether there was termite or flood damage previously. These may factor in negotiating the purchasing price of the property, etc. The conventional MLS services are not capable of providing such information.
Embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements.
Various embodiments and aspects of the inventions will be described with reference to details discussed below, and the accompanying drawings will illustrate the various embodiments. The following description and drawings are illustrative of the invention and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. However, in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order to provide a concise discussion of embodiments of the present inventions.
Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment.
Techniques for providing property information including property improvement records are described herein. According to some embodiments, a platform is provided to allow various users (e.g., property owners, service providers) to access property improvement records of various properties in different neighborhoods. In addition to maintain the general property related information, such as those provided by MLS services, the property improvement history of each of the properties hosted by the platform is maintained.
According to one embodiment, through a user interface (e.g., Web interface or application programming interface (API)), dependent upon their roles (e.g., property owners, service providers, general public members), users can search and browse the property improvement history of a property to some degrees, as well as other information that has been collected from various information sources (e.g., MLS sources). An analysis may be performed on at least some of the collected data. A report may be generated including general MLS information and the property improvement history. Furthermore, the platform also provides a market place to allow the property service providers and the property owners to engage to negotiate service contracts to perform further property improvement projects, which may also be recorded as part of the property improvement history. A property owner can post a property improvement project and multiple service providers can compete by submitting quotes or bids on the project. The service providers can also post advertisement or promotions of their services to solicit further business from the property owners.
Using the platform, property owners can maintain all their property-related data on the platform. They can store their property related equipments, information related to purchase, warranty, extended warranty (if applicable), create calendar events, review feedbacks of service providers, post property improvement projects, obtain bids from different service providers, provide feedbacks for service providers, receive answers to their questions related to property improvements, and post and browse neighborhood events, etc. Similarly, the contractors and other service providers can register themselves as service providers to showcase their work, seek reviews, provide quotes, bid on property improvement projects, post advertisements, and reach out to their neighborhood.
According to one embodiment, server 105 may be any kind of servers or a cluster of servers. For example, server 105 may be a cloud server providing real estate information over the Internet. Server 105 provides a platform, such as a Web-based platform, to allow various users (e.g., property owners, service providers represented by client systems 101-103) to access resources, such as information from databases 130, via user interface 110 of server 105. User interface 110 may be a Web interface to allow users with various roles to access the resources using a browser application. Alternatively, user interface 110 may an API that allows a client application, which may be running at any of client devices 101-103 to communicate with server 105.
The users who access server 105 may authenticated by security module 121 using a role-based authentication method. Users with different roles may be able to access different resources provided by server 105. For example, a property owner (e.g., a user represented by client device 101) can create a user account and register one or more properties with server 105. The information concerning the property owner, such as, for example, a username, password, and account settings, may be stored, for example, as a user profile, in property owner database 134. General MLS information concerning a registered property may be collected from the property owner or alternatively, retrieved from external MLS source 141. The MLS information may be cached or stored in MLS database 132. The MLS information may include, but is not limited, an address, city or county, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, year of build, and neighborhood information (e.g., schools), etc. When a property owner logs into its account, the property owner can retrieve the registered properties.
In addition, according to one embodiment, property improvement history and/or transaction history of a registered property may be stored in property history database 131. The property improvement history of a property refers to information or records describing or recording any jobs or tasks that have been performed on that particular property since the property has been built and/or occupied by a resident or tenant The recorded jobs performed on a property may include repairs, renovations, and/or additions. A property refers to a residential home, a commercial building, a piece of land, or a combination thereof.
The property jobs or projects of a registered property may be performed by one or more service providers who may also be clients of the system 105. Alternatively, a property owner may provide such information via user interface 110 to be stored in property history database 131. That is, a property owner may utilize the resources provided by server 105 record any property related activities or assets in property history database 131 (e.g., bookkeeping purposes). For example, a property owner may register property related equipment he/she purchased from a home improvement store and store the purchase receipt and/or warranty information in property history database 131 and/or property owner database 134.
According to one embodiment, a service provider (e.g., a user represented by client device 102), such as a home improvement contractor or handyman, can also create an account in server 105 to maintain service provider information in service provider database 133. The service provider information stored in service provider database 133 may include, but is not limited to, a username, password, expertise of the property improvement (e.g., roofs, floors, windows, termites), a working license, as well as user ratings and comments concerning the corresponding service provider, etc. A service provider may also be a real estate agent or broker that can provide property transaction services. For example, a real estate agent can create an account listing one or more properties that the real estate agent is current handling, which can include purchasing and selling of properties.
In one embodiment, the system has the ability for the contractor to store his work in the same system so they can manage projects that are not given to them via the system and that they received outside of the system from other sources, such as word-of-mouth and other promotions that they may have done. Making the system free to use incentivizes individuals to use the system, which provides the history of the property they are working on even though the original request was not generated by the property owner.
Furthermore, a general public member (e.g., a user represented by client device 103) can also browse via user interface 110 at least some publicly available information, dependent upon the specific settings of information providers (e.g., property owners, service providers). For example, a general public user can search a property or a category of properties using search engine 124. Similarly, a user can also search and obtain information concerning a particular service provider or a category of service providers. A search result may be sorted based on a variety of categories. The search result of service providers may be sorted based on the types of the memberships of the service providers. For example, a service provider may pay a specific fee to have its name to appear on the top of the search result. A user can also generate a report using reporting module 123 concerning a property or a service provider.
Furthermore, system 105 also provides a market place (not shown) to allow the property service providers and the property owners to engage to negotiate service contracts to perform further property improvement projects managed by project manager 122, which may also be recorded as part of property improvement history. A property owner can post a property improvement project and multiple service providers can provide quotes or bids on the project. The service providers can also post advertisement or promotions of their services, via advertisement module 125, to solicit further business from the property owners.
Using the platform provided by server 105, property owners can maintain all their property-related data on the platform. They can store their property related equipments or home appliances, information related to purchase, warranty, extended warranty (if applicable), create calendar events, review feedbacks of service providers, post property improvement projects, obtain bids from different service providers, provide feedbacks for service providers, receive answers to their questions related to property improvements, and post and browse neighborhood events, etc. Similarly, the contractors and other service providers can register themselves as service providers to showcase their work, seek reviews, provide quotes, bid on property improvement projects, post advertisements, and reach out to their neighborhood via community module 126.
In a further embodiment, server 105 may provide a self-learning platform to allow a user to browse self-learning knowledgebase (KB) 135 to obtain certain do-it-yourself (DIY) property improvement information. The information maintained by self-learning KB 135 may be provided by the service providers and/or property owners.
Note that service components or logic 120 may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of both. Databases 130 may be implemented as a single database or multiple databases maintained locally, remotely, or a combination of both. Information can be retrieved from a variety of information sources such as MLS sources 141, government agencies (e.g., city/county record department) 142, and/or local communities 143, etc.
In one embodiment, all (or some predetermined set or number of) the click-thru is recorded in the system. This is to record the “not-confirmed yet possible fixes” related to the primary property address. In one embodiment, the system records all (or some predetermined set or number of) the clicks within the portal for data analysis and also to provide individuals the “non-confirmed yet possible” fixes.
In one embodiment, a property owner can list a specification of a property improvement project in market place 250. The specification may describe the type of project (e.g., roof, floor, kitchen, bathroom), the date to be completed, or other specific details, such as materials, etc. The posted projects can be viewed by the registered service providers 102A-102B. Market place 250 includes a quotation platform to allow any one of service providers 102A-102B to submit a quote or bid to the list projects, which may be handled by quote engine 210 of project manager 122. Prior to bidding or accepting an offer, a property owner and a service provider can also discuss or exchange further details via discussion forum 202 concerning a posted project. For example, a service provider may ask a question related to certain details of the specification and the property owner can provide additional information in response.
The project may be open for bidding for a predetermined period of time and once the bidding period ends, quote engine 210 provides the submitted quotes from the service providers to the corresponding property owners for selection. A property owner can then accept one or more offers from one or more of service providers 102A-102B. The selected service provider(s) can then perform the project on the property. The posting, bidding, and project activities may be recorded by recording module 220 and stored in property history database 131, service provider database 133, and/or property owner database 134. Once the project has been completed, a property owner can provide a feedback or user rating concerning the service provider that performed the project via feedback interface 203, which is handled by user rating module 215. Similarly, the service provider can also provide a feedback concerning the property owner. The feedbacks associated with a property owner and a service provider may be stored as part of the property owner database 134 and service provider database 133, respectively. The user ratings and/or comments of service providers and property owners can be displayed as part of detailed information of the service providers and/or property owners, for example, in response to a search request. Some of the ratings and/or comments of a service provider and/or a property owner may be publicly available to general public members, dependent upon the privacy settings of the corresponding service provider and/or the property owner.
In one embodiment, certain detailed information of the projects completed by service providers can be captured and stored in property history database 131. The recorded information may include the date that project has been completed, a type of the project, and description of the project performed, etc. As described above, a report of a particular property may include the property improvement history, in addition to the general MLS information. The recorded property improvement history may further include information identifying a service provider that performed the job. However, dependent upon the specific situation, the report of the property may or may not include the service provider identity. For example, if the report is generated for the corresponding property owner, the report may identify the service provider that performed the job. However, if the report is generated for a general public member (e.g., a potential property buyer), the report may exclude the identity of the service provider. An example of a property report is shown in
In this example, the home page as shown in
In one embodiment, the property owner can browse reviews via control 810 for all of the jobs related to its properties or alternatively, individually browse reviews via controls 810A-910D, which may be the most popular or recent reviews. Home page may further include an advertisement display area 811 to display any advertisements from a sponsor. A sponsor may be a service provider registered with the system or a general public sponsor, which may or may not be related to properties in general. The property owner can set up a set of advertisement delivery rules to allow certain types of advertisements to be displayed in display area 811, which may be managed by advertisement module 125 of
The detailed information concerning any of the registered properties can be retrieved and displayed by activating the corresponding “details” link.
In one embodiment, the property page further includes display area 837 to allow the property owner to list and edit property items associated with the property, such as appliances or equipment, etc. It also allows the property owner to upload the purchase receipt of the items, for example, via buttons 838-839. As a result, the property owner does not have to individually store the receipt or warranty information of the items. The system serves as a centralized bookkeeping system for the property owner.
As described above, a property owner can post a property improvement project in a property improvement market place (e.g., market place 250 of
In one embodiment, in this example, the project page lists projects 841-842 associated with the property owner, which may be a current project, an active project, or a past project. A current project refers to a project that has been posted by a property owner. An active project refers to a project that has been posted by a property owner and open for bidding from service providers. For each of the listed projects 841-842, in addition to the pictures of the associated properties, project information of the projects is displayed in display areas 843-844. Project information includes an identity of a service provider who performs or performed the corresponding project, the cost of the project, the starting and ending dates of the project, and the user rating of the project (if it has been completed). From the project page, the property owner can post a new project via control 840. If the property owner is not familiar with how to pose a project, the property owner can access training material via control 845, where the training material may be maintained as part of self-learning KB 135 of
The project information can be edited via the GUI page as shown in
According to one embodiment, via the Web portal, a property owner can also browse or search service providers.
In this example, projects 921-922 are part of active projects presented in response to an activation of button 912. For each of the active projects, the GUI page displays brief information of the project in display areas 923-924 and pictures of the properties, respectively. The project information may include the starting and ending dates of the bidding period, as well as the budget, provided by a property owner. The project information further includes a bidding amount submitted by the corresponding service provider, as well as the status of the active project, in this example, waiting for acceptance of the property owner. The service provider can also provide further advertisement or promotion in field 925 for project 921.
Referring now to
Referring to
Peripheral interface 1102 may include memory control hub (MCH) and input output control hub (ICH). Peripheral interface 1102 may include a memory controller (not shown) that communicates with a memory 1103. Peripheral interface 1102 may also include a graphics interface that communicates with graphics subsystem 1104, which may include a display controller and/or a display device. Peripheral interface 1102 may communicate with graphics device 1104 via an accelerated graphics port (AGP), a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) express bus, or other types of interconnects.
An MCH is sometimes referred to as a Northbridge and an ICH is sometimes referred to as a Southbridge. As used herein, the terms MCH, ICH, Northbridge and Southbridge are intended to be interpreted broadly to cover various chips who functions include passing interrupt signals toward a processor. In some embodiments, the MCH may be integrated with processor 1101. In such a configuration, peripheral interface 1102 operates as an interface chip performing some functions of the MCH and ICH. Furthermore, a graphics accelerator may be integrated within the MCH or processor 1101.
Memory 1103 may include one or more volatile storage (or memory) devices such as random access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), static RAM (SRAM), or other types of storage devices. Memory 1103 may store information including sequences of instructions that are executed by processor 1101, or any other device. For example, executable code and/or data of a variety of operating systems, device drivers, firmware (e.g., input output basic system or BIOS), and/or applications can be loaded in memory 1103 and executed by processor 1101. An operating system can be any kind of operating systems, such as, for example, Windows® operating system from Microsoft®, Mac OS®/iOS® from Apple, Android® from Google®, Linux®, Unix®, or other real-time or embedded operating systems such as VxWorks.
Peripheral interface 1102 may provide an interface to IO devices such as devices 1105-1108, including wireless transceiver(s) 1105, input device(s) 1106, audio IO device(s) 1107, and other IO devices 1108. Wireless transceiver 1105 may be a WiFi transceiver, an infrared transceiver, a Bluetooth transceiver, a WiMax transceiver, a wireless cellular telephony transceiver, a satellite transceiver (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) transceiver) or a combination thereof. Input device(s) 1106 may include a mouse, a touch pad, a touch sensitive screen (which may be integrated with display device 1104), a pointer device such as a stylus, and/or a keyboard (e.g., physical keyboard or a virtual keyboard displayed as part of a touch sensitive screen). For example, input device 1106 may include a touch screen controller coupled to a touch screen. The touch screen and touch screen controller can, for example, detect contact and movement or break thereof using any of a plurality of touch sensitivity technologies, including but not limited to capacitive, resistive, infrared, and surface acoustic wave technologies, as well as other proximity sensor arrays or other elements for determining one or more points of contact with the touch screen.
Audio IO 1107 may include a speaker and/or a microphone to facilitate voice-enabled functions, such as voice recognition, voice replication, digital recording, and/or telephony functions. Other optional devices 1108 may include a storage device (e.g., a hard drive, a flash memory device), universal serial bus (USB) port(s), parallel port(s), serial port(s), a printer, a network interface, a bus bridge (e.g., a PCI-PCI bridge), sensor(s) (e.g., a motion sensor, a light sensor, a proximity sensor, etc.), or a combination thereof. Optional devices 1108 may further include an imaging processing subsystem (e.g., a camera), which may include an optical sensor, such as a charged coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) optical sensor, utilized to facilitate camera functions, such as recording photographs and video clips.
Note that while
Some portions of the preceding detailed descriptions have been presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the ways used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of operations leading to a desired result. The operations are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities.
It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the above discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as those set forth in the claims below, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.
The techniques shown in the figures can be implemented using code and data stored and executed on one or more electronic devices. Such electronic devices store and communicate (internally and/or with other electronic devices over a network) code and data using computer-readable media, such as non-transitory computer-readable storage media (e.g., magnetic disks; optical disks; random access memory; read only memory; flash memory devices; phase-change memory) and transitory computer-readable transmission media (e.g., electrical, optical, acoustical or other form of propagated signals—such as carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals).
The processes or methods depicted in the preceding figures may be performed by processing logic that comprises hardware (e.g. circuitry, dedicated logic, etc.), firmware, software (e.g., embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium), or a combination of both. Although the processes or methods are described above in terms of some sequential operations, it should be appreciated that some of the operations described may be performed in a different order. Moreover, some operations may be performed in parallel rather than sequentially.
In the foregoing specification, embodiments of the invention have been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will be evident that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/813,581, filed Apr. 18, 2013, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61813581 | Apr 2013 | US |
