System for retrieving and serving the regulatory history of a property including mobile wireless communications device based searching and retrieval and related methods

• US 10,068,026 B1
• Filed: 12/19/2016
• Issued: 09/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Unearthed Land Technologies LLC
• Original Assignee: Unearthed Land Technologies LLC
• Inventors: Carrington, Charles C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Uddin, Md I
• Application Number:
  US15/383,244
• Time in Patent Office: 624 Days
• Field of Search: 707693, 707706, 707736, 707603, 707610, 707741, 707770
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/163 Real estate management

Abstract

A mobile wireless device controller may, based upon an input device, communicate with first remote computers to store the land use based regulatory history data, and search for a real property to determine which of the first remote computers has land use based regulatory history data available for the real property. The controller may also retrieve land use based regulatory history data from a second remote computer different than the first remote computers, when the land use based regulatory history data available for the given real property does not exceed a threshold amount or when one of the first remote computers is not from a predetermined one thereof. The land use based regulatory history data for the real property may be provided to a user interface when the threshold amount is exceeded or when the first remote computers includes the predetermined one.

Claims

1. A system for retrieving and serving the regulatory history of a property comprising:

a plurality of first remote computers each of which is respectively associated with at least one governmental authority each having land use based regulatory history data associated therewith;

at least one second remote computer different from each of the plurality of first remote computers and having land use based regulatory history data associated therewith;

a communications network; and

a mobile wireless communications device comprising

a device housing,

an input device carried by said device housing,

a display carried by said device housing and defining a user interface,

wireless communications circuitry carried by said device housing, and

a controller coupled to said input device, said display, and said wireless communications circuitry, said controller configured to, based upon input from said input device,

cooperate with said wireless communications circuitry to communicate with said plurality of first remote computers over said communications network to build a local database including an index of where each data type can be found on said plurality of first computers,

store, in the local database, land use based regulatory history data including at least one of permit history data and approval history data,

automatically search the local database for a given real property based upon a given real property identifier associated therewith to determine which of said plurality of first remote computers has land use based regulatory history data available for the given real property,

automatically determine a potential match for the given real property based on a predetermined threshold and prompt the user to confirm the match,

automatically make a determination as to the sufficiency of retrieved land use based regulatory history data from the plurality of first remote computers by determining whether the land use based regulatory history data comes from a trusted source or a particular governmental authority at a predetermined one of the plurality of first remote computers,

automatically determine whether a complete regulatory history, which is sufficient to rely upon for purposes of due diligence, is available to the system for the given real property and flag a record corresponding to the given real property if the regulatory history for the record is incomplete,

automatically retrieve land use based regulatory history data from said at least one second remote computer over said communications network based upon the given real property identifier when at least one of the land use based regulatory history data available for the given real property does not exceed a threshold amount and at least one of the plurality of first remote computers is not the predetermined one thereof,

automatically provide the land use based regulatory history data for the given real property to the user interface for display thereon when at least one of the land use based regulatory history data available for the given real property exceeds the threshold amount and at least one of the plurality of first remote computers is from the predetermined one thereof, and

automatically layer, on said display, geographic information system (GIS) data from at least one of said plurality of first remote computers,

wherein said controller is configured to overlay, on said display, at least one of data layers of building data and data layers of permit data for the given real property from each of said plurality of first remote computers and display the layering of the GIS data on the display based upon input from said input device.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said controller is configured to display the land use based regulatory history data for the given real property as a webpage on said display.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the input from said input device comprises input of the given real property identifier from said input device.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein said plurality of first remote computers comprises a plurality of first web servers each comprising a processor and memory coupled thereto.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein said communications network comprises the Internet.

6. A mobile wireless communications device for a system for retrieving and serving the regulatory history of a property, the system comprising a plurality of first remote computers each of which is respectively associated with at least one governmental authority each having land use based regulatory history data associated therewith, at least one second remote computer different from each of the plurality of first remote computers and having land use based regulatory history data associated therewith, and a communications network, the mobile wireless communications device comprising:

a device housing;

an input device carried by said device housing;

wireless communications circuitry carried by said device housing;

a display carried by said device housing; and

a controller coupled to said input device and said wireless communications circuitry, said controller configured to, based upon input of a given real property identifier from said input device,

cooperate with said wireless communications circuitry to communicate with said plurality of first remote computers over said communications network to build a local database including an index of where each data type can be found on the plurality of first computers,

store, in the local database, the land use based regulatory history data including at least one of permit history data and approval history data,

automatically search the local database for a given real property based upon the given real property identifier associated therewith to determine which of said plurality of first remote computers has land use based regulatory history data available for the given real property,

automatically determine a potential match for the given real property based on a predetermined threshold and prompt the user to confirm the match,

automatically make a determination as to the sufficiency of retrieved land use based regulatory history data from the plurality of first remote computers by determining whether the land use based regulatory history data comes from a trusted source or a particular governmental authority at a predetermined one of the plurality of first remote computers,

automatically determine whether a complete regulatory history, which is sufficient to rely upon for purposes of due diligence, is available to the system for the given real property and flag a record corresponding to the given real property if the regulatory history for the record is incomplete,

automatically retrieve land use based regulatory history data from the at least one second remote computer over the communications network based upon the given real property identifier when at least one of the land use based regulatory history data available for the given real property does not exceed a threshold amount and at least one of the plurality of first remote computers is not the predetermined one thereof,

automatically display the land use based regulatory history data for the given real property on said display when at least one of the land use based regulatory history data available for the given real property exceeds the threshold amount and at least one of the plurality of first remote computers is from the predetermined one thereof, and

automatically layer, on said display, geographic information system (GIS) data from at least one of said plurality of first remote computers,

wherein said controller is configured to overlay, on said display, at least one of data layers of building data and data layers of permit data for the given real property from each of the plurality of first remote computers and display the layering of the GIS data on the display based upon input from said input device.

7. The mobile wireless communications device of claim 6 wherein said controller is configured to display the land use based regulatory history data for the given real property as a webpage on said display.

8. A method of retrieving and serving the regulatory history of a property using a mobile wireless communications device comprising a device housing, an input device carried by the device housing, a display carried by the device housing and defining a user interface, wireless communications circuitry carried by the device housing, and a controller coupled to the input device, the display, and the wireless communications circuitry, the method comprising:

using the controller, based upon input from the input device to

cooperate with the wireless communications circuitry to communicate with a plurality of first remote computers over a communications network to build a local database including an index of where each data type can be found on the plurality of first computers,

store, in the local database, land use based regulatory history data associated with the plurality of first remote computers each of which is respectively associated with at least one governmental authority, the land use based regulatory history data including an index of where each data type can be found on the plurality of first computers,

automatically search the local database for a given real property based upon a given real property identifier associated therewith to determine which of the plurality of first remote computers has land use based regulatory history data available for the given real property,

automatically determine a potential match for the given real property based on a predetermined threshold and prompt the user to confirm the match,

automatically make a determination as to the sufficiency of retrieved land use based regulatory history data from the plurality of first remote computers by determining whether the land use based regulatory history data comes from a trusted source or a particular governmental authority at a predetermined one of the plurality of first remote computers,

automatically determine whether a complete regulatory history, which is sufficient to rely upon for purposes of due diligence, is available to the system for the given real property and flag a record corresponding to the given real property if the regulatory history for the record is incomplete,

automatically retrieve land use based regulatory history data from at least one second remote computer different from each of the plurality of first remote computers and having land use based regulator history data associated therewith over the communications network based upon the given real property identifier when at least one of the land use based regulatory history data available for the given real property does not exceed a threshold amount and at least one of the plurality of first remote computers is not the predetermined one thereof,

automatically provide the land use based regulatory history data for the given real property to the user interface for display thereon when at least one of the land use based regulatory history data available for the given real property exceeds the threshold amount and at least one of the plurality of first remote computers is from the predetermined one thereof, and

automatically layer, on the display, geographic information system (GIS) data from at least one of the plurality of first remote computers,

wherein the controller is used to overlay, on the display, at least one of data layers of building data and data layers of permit data for the given real property from each of the plurality of first remote computers and display the layering of the GIS data on the display based upon input from the input device.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the controller is used to display the land use based regulatory history data for the given real property as a webpage on the display.

10. A system for retrieving and serving the regulatory history of a property comprising:

a plurality of first remote computers each having land use based regulatory history data associated therewith each of which is respectively associated with at least one governmental authority;

at least one second remote computer different from each of the plurality of first remote computers and having land use based regulatory history data associated therewith;

a communications network; and

a land use data processing computer in the cloud and comprising

a memory having a database, and

a controller coupled to said memory and configured to

communicate with said plurality of first remote computers over said communications network to build the database including an index of where each data type can be found on said plurality of first computers,

store, in the database, the land use based regulatory history data including at least one of permit history data and approval history data,

automatically search the database for a given real property based upon a given real property identifier associated therewith to determine which of said plurality of first remote computers has land use based regulatory history data available for the given real property,

automatically determine a potential match for the given real property based on a predetermined threshold and prompt the user to confirm the match,

automatically make a determination as to the sufficiency of retrieved land use based regulatory history data from said plurality of first remote computers by determining whether the land use based regulatory history data comes from a trusted source or a particular governmental authority at a predetermined one of said plurality of first remote computers,

automatically determine whether a complete regulatory history, which is sufficient to rely upon for purposes of due diligence, is available to the system for the given real property and flag a record corresponding to the given real property if the regulatory history for the record is incomplete,

automatically retrieve land use based regulatory history data from said at least one second remote computer over said communications network based upon the given real property identifier when at least one of the land use based regulatory history data available for the given real property does not exceed a threshold amount and at least one of the plurality of first remote computers is not the predetermined one thereof,

automatically communicate the land use based regulatory history data for the given real property to a local computer when at least one of the land use based regulatory history data available for the given real property exceeds the threshold amount and at least one of the plurality of first remote computers is from the predetermined one thereof, the local computer associated with a user and remote from the land use data processing computer, the local computer comprising a display and a local computer controller coupled thereto and configured to display the land use based regulatory history data for the given real property on the display and automatically layer, on the display, geographic information system (GIS) data from at least one of the plurality of first remote computers, the local computer controller further configured to overlay, on the display, at least one of data layers of building data and data layers of permit data for the given real property from each of said plurality of first remote computers and display the layering of the GIS data on the display based upon input from an input device coupled to the local computer controller.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein said controller is configured to communicate with said plurality of first remote computers, store, in the database, the land use based regulatory history data, search the database for the given real property, retrieve the land use based regulatory history data from said at least one second remote computer, and communicate the land use based regulatory history data for the given real property to the local computer based upon a request from the local computer.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein said plurality of first remote computers comprises a plurality of first web servers each comprising a processor and memory coupled thereto.

13. The system of claim 10 wherein said communications network comprises the Internet.

14. A land use data processing computer in the cloud for a system for retrieving and serving the regulatory history of a property comprising a plurality of first remote computers each of which is respectively associated with at least one governmental authority each having land use based regulatory history data associated therewith, at least one second remote computer different from each of the plurality of first remote computers and having land use based regulatory history data associated therewith, and a communications network, the land use data processing computer in the cloud and comprising:

a memory having a database; and

a controller coupled to said memory and configured to

communicate with the plurality of first remote computers over the communications network to build the database including an index of where each data type can be found on the plurality of first computers,

store, in the database, the land use based regulatory history data including at least one of permit history data and approval history data,

automatically search the database for a given real property based upon a given real property identifier associated therewith to determine which of the plurality of first remote computers has land use based regulatory history data available for the given real property,

automatically determine a potential match for the given real property based on a predetermined threshold and cause a local computer to prompt the user to confirm the match,

automatically make a determination as to the sufficiency of retrieved land use based regulatory history data from the plurality of first remote computers by determining whether the land use based regulatory history data comes from a trusted source or a particular governmental authority at a predetermined one of the plurality of first remote computers,

automatically determine whether a complete regulatory history, which is sufficient to rely upon for purposes of due diligence, is available to the system for the given real property and flag a record corresponding to the given real property if the regulatory history for the record is incomplete,

automatically retrieve land use based regulatory history data from the at least one second remote computer different from the plurality of first remote computers over the communications network based upon the given real property identifier when at least one of the land use based regulatory history data available for the given real property does not exceed a threshold amount and at least one of the plurality of first remote computers is not the predetermined one thereof, and

automatically communicate the land use based regulatory history data for the given real property to the local computer when at least one of the land use based regulatory history data available for the given real property exceeds the threshold amount and at least one of the plurality of first remote computers is from the predetermined one thereof, the local computer associated with a user and remote from the land use data processing computer, the local computer comprising a display and a local computer controller coupled thereto and configured to display the land use based regulatory history data for the given real property on the display and automatically layer, on the display, geographic information system (GIS) data from at least one of the plurality of first remote computers, the local computer controller further configured to overlay, on the display, at least one of data layers of building data and data layers of permit data for the given real property from each of said plurality of first remote computers and display the layering of the GIS data on the display based upon input from an input device coupled to the local computer controller.

15. The land use data processing computer of claim 14 wherein said controller is configured to communicate with the plurality of first remote computers, store, in the database, the land use based regulatory history data, search the database for the given real property, retrieve the land use based regulatory history data from the at least one second remote computer, and communicate the land use based regulatory history data for the given real property to the local computer based upon a request from the local computer.

16. A method for retrieving and serving the regulatory history of a property using a land use data processing computer comprising a memory having a database and a controller coupled to the memory, the method comprising:

using the controller to

communicate with a plurality of first remote computers each of which is respectively associated with at least one governmental authority each having land use based regulatory history data associated therewith over a communications network to build the database including an index of where each data type can be found on the plurality of first computers,

store, in the database, the land use based regulatory history data including at least one of permit history data and approval history data,

automatically search the database for a given real property based upon a given real property identifier associated therewith to determine which of the plurality of first remote computers has land use based regulatory history data available for the given real property,

automatically determine a potential match for the given real property based on a predetermined threshold and prompt the user to confirm the match,

automatically make a determination as to the sufficiency of retrieved land use based regulatory history data from the plurality of first remote computers by determining whether the land use based regulatory history data comes from a trusted source or a particular governmental authority at a predetermined one of the plurality of first remote computers,

automatically determine whether a complete regulatory history, which is sufficient to rely upon for purposes of due diligence, is available to the system for the given real property and flag a record corresponding to the given real property if the regulatory history for the record is incomplete,

automatically retrieve land use based regulatory history data from at least one second remote computer different from each of the plurality of first remote computers over the communications network having land use based regulatory history data based upon the given real property identifier when at least one of the land use based regulatory history data available for the given real property does not exceed a threshold amount and at least one of the plurality of first remote computers is not the predetermined one thereof, and

automatically communicate the land use based regulatory history data for the given real property to a local computer when at least one of the land use based regulatory history data available for the given real property exceeds the threshold amount and at least one of the plurality of first remote computers is from the predetermined one thereof, the local computer associated with a user and remote from the land use data processing computer, the local computer comprising a display and a local computer controller coupled thereto and configured to display the land use based regulatory history data for the given real property on the display and automatically layer, on the display, geographic information system (GIS) data from at least one of the plurality of first remote computers, the local computer controller further configured to overlay, on the display, at least one of data layers of building data and data layers of permit data for the given real property from each of the plurality of first remote computers and display the layering of the GIS data on the display based upon input from an input device coupled to the local computer controller.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the controller is used to communicate with the plurality of first remote computers, store, in the database, the land use based regulatory history data, search the database for the given real property, retrieve the land use based regulatory history data from the at least one second remote computer, and communicate the land use based regulatory history data for the given real property to the local computer based upon a request from the local computer.