Distressed properties marketing system and method

• US 8,566,172 B2
• Filed: 03/04/2011
• Issued: 10/22/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Homescout LLC
• Original Assignee: Preferred Home Buyers Network, Inc.
• Inventors: Polston, Stephen M., Vennie, Aaron Matthew, Colville, Jeffrey Matthew, Hiller, Michelle Patrice, Skallman, Joan Marie
• Primary Examiner(s): ZURITA, JAMES H
• Application Number:
  US13/040,314
• Publication Number:
  US 20120059737A1
• Time in Patent Office: 963 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26.1, 705/27.1
• US Class Current: 705/26.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0617 Representative agent
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/16 Real estate

Abstract

A computerized system and method is presented that allows selling agents to market a listing agent'"'"'s distressed property listings even though the selling agents work for a different broker than the listing agent. The owner of the property may restrict the selling agents that may market their property. In one embodiment, the owner selects a qualified lender, and the pool of selling agents who may market that property is limited to selling agents who are associated in the computerized system with the qualified lender. The system allows selling agents to schedule open houses for distressed properties listed by the listing agent, with the system preventing two selling agents from scheduling open houses that conflict with one another. The system tracks the marketing activity of agents, which can be used to suggest listing agents to owners, or to restrict the ability of selling agents to market properties.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of marketing properties comprising:

a) generating an owner interface at a server computer, the owner interface being displayed on a first computing device to an owner of a property, the owner interface providing;

i) a list of listing agents, wherein the owner can select a particular listing agent from the list of listing agents to list the property, and

ii) an indication of a qualified lender;

b) generating a listing agent interface at the server computer, the listing agent interface being displayed on a second computing device to the particular listing agent selected by the owner, the listing agent interface providing;

i) an input to indicate that the property is available to be marketed by selling agents; and

c) generating a selling agent interface at the server computer, the selling agent interface being displayed on a plurality of selling agent computing devices used by a plurality of selling agents, the selling agent interface displaying the property as available for marketing to a first subset of the plurality of selling agents and not displaying the property as available for marketing to a second subset of the plurality of selling agents, wherein the first subset of selling agents are associated with the qualified lender in a database operating on the server computer, and the second subset of selling agents are not associated with the qualified lender in the database.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

d) associating a sale of the property with both the particular listing agent and a successful selling agent that successfully sold the property, and further tracking a commission that is to be split between the particular listing agent and the successful selling agent.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 2, wherein the selling agent interface includes an input to indicate a selected time for a marketing activity to be undertaken by a particular selling agent relating to the property, wherein the selling agent and listing agent interfaces prevent any other agent from scheduling a marketing activity at the selected time.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 3, further comprising tracking by the server computer of marketing activities undertaken by the particular listing agent and the selling agents in the first subset of selling agents.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 4, further comprising a buyer interface that allows buyers to search for and obtain information about properties for sale.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 5, wherein the selling agent interface further includes a buyer record input to allow selling agents to input buyer records into the server computer, wherein buyers associated with the buyer records are granted access to the buyer interface.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 6, wherein at least one buyer record input into the server computer by the particular selling agent is associated with at least one marketing activity undertaken for the property.

8. The computer implemented method of claim 7, further comprising tracking by the server computer of statistics relating to the marketing activities of the selling agents including a number of buyer records input into the server computer associated with the marketing activities.

9. The computer implemented method of claim 8, wherein the statistics are presented on the listing agent interface and the owner interface.

10. The computer implemented method of claim 9, wherein additional statistics are tracked by the server computer relating to the listing agents including statistics relating to successful sales of properties listed with the listing agents.

11. The computer implemented method of claim 10, wherein the additional statistics are used to determine which listing agents are presented on the owner interface.

12. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the server computer comprises a plurality of physical computers operating as the server computer.

13. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

d) providing an open house scheduling input through the selling agent interface for scheduling an open house for the property, wherein the open house scheduling input ensures that there is no conflict between multiple open houses scheduled for the property by differing selling agents.

14. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

d) using the server computer to operate the database by maintaining database records on a non-transitory computer readable memory, the database further comprising;

i) a plurality of owner records each containing information that identifies a different property owner,

ii) a plurality of real estate property records each containing information that identifies a different real estate property,

iii) first linking information linking a first real estate property record with a first owner record,

iv) a plurality of lender records each containing information that identifies a different lender,

v) second linking information linking a first lender record with the first owner record,

vi) a plurality of listing agent records each containing information identifying a different listing real estate agent,

vii) third linking information linking a first listing agent record with the first real estate property record,

viii) a plurality of selling agent records each containing information that identifies a different selling agent willing to market the different real estate properties, and

ix) fourth linking information linking the first lender record with a first subset of selling agent records, wherein a second subset of selling agent records is not linked with the first lender record via the fourth linking information.

15. The computer implemented method of claim 14, wherein the database further comprised:

x) fifth linking information linking the second subset of selling agent records to lender records other than the first lending record.

16. The computer implemented method of claim 15, wherein all the selling agent records are linked via linking information to at least one lender record.

17. The computer implemented method of claim 14, wherein the database maintained by the server computer further comprises:

x) a plurality of brokerage records each containing information identifying a real estate brokerage that employs selling agents and listing agents,

xi) fifth linking information linking the first listing agent record with a first brokerage record, and

xii) sixth linking information linking a first selling agent record in the first subset of selling agent records with a second brokerage record, wherein the first and second brokerage records identify different real estate brokerages.