Method for monitoring and reporting changes in the value of real estate

• US 8,660,919 B2
• Filed: 07/01/2005
• Issued: 02/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Consumerinfo.com Incorporated (Experian plc)
• Original Assignee: Consumerinfo.com Incorporated (Experian plc)
• Inventors: Kasower, Sheldon
• Primary Examiner(s): Abdi, Kambiz
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vyas, Abhishek
• Application Number:
  US11/173,440
• Publication Number:
  US 20070005383A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,161 Days
• Field of Search: 705 35- 45, 707/3
• US Class Current: 705/35
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0278 Product appraisal
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0627 using item specifications
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/16 Real estate

Abstract

This invention discloses a process involving automatic notification to interested individuals of current real estate values. The process consists of a monitoring service entity, external data source, and end-user. The disclosed embodiments include a process whereby parties can be directly notified of real estate values or alternatively may initiate contact with the monitoring entity to receive data.

Claims

1. A method to monitor real estate values comprising:

receiving an indication of a property of interest;

monitoring a local real estate market periodically near the property of interest for a recent completed local sale via an electronic monitoring service comprising a processor, a database and a server;

determining how the recent completed local sale affects the real estate value of the property of interest via the electronic monitoring service; and

notifying clients of the monitoring service electronically of said recent completed local sale.

2. The method to monitor real estate values of claim 1, wherein said monitoring comprises determining real estate properties within a predetermined radius of the property of interest and determining whether any of the real estate properties has been sold within a predetermined period of time.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein determining real estate properties within a predetermined radius of the property of interest and determining whether any of the real estate properties has been sold within a predetermined period of time are performed manually using a monitoring service computer.

4. The method to monitor real estate values of claim 1, wherein identities of a property used as the recent completed local sale and the property of interest are recorded in a monitoring service computer.

5. The method to monitor real estate values of claim 1, wherein said notifying comprises contacting individual consumers with electronic means.

6. The method to monitor real estate values of claim 1, wherein said notifying comprises contacting third parties with electronic means.

7. The method to monitor real estate values of claim 1, wherein notifying clients of said recent completed local sale comprises:

displaying a map of the neighborhood of the property of interest, an estimated property value of the property of interest, and the recent completed local sale information near the property of interest.

8. The method to monitor real estate values of claim 1, wherein notifying clients of said recent completed local sale comprises:

the step of displaying an equity history over time of the property of interest.

9. The method to monitor real estate values of claim 1 wherein determining whether the recent completed local sale affects the real estate value of the property of interest comprises:

evaluating an initial property valuation of the property of interest using data sets within a database of the electronic monitoring service, the data sets including one or more of real property information of the property of interest from tax rolls, deed information, and periodic data updates; and

determining an estimated property value of the property of interest.

17. The method to monitor real estate values of claim 9, wherein said evaluating comprises using information obtained from a third party.

18. The method to monitor real estate values of claim 9, wherein said determining the estimated property value of the property of interest comprises:

determining whether an estimated property value for said recent completed local sale is within a predetermined price range.

19. The method to monitor real estate values of claim 18, wherein said predetermined price range is the same for any property of interest being monitored.

20. The method to monitor real estate values of claim 18, wherein said predetermined price range is individually determined for each property of interest monitored at the time of the initial property valuation.

10. A tangible computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions configured for execution by a computing system in order to cause the computing system to:

receive an indication of a property of interest;

monitor a local real estate market periodically near a property of interest for a recent completed local sale;

determine how the recent completed local sale affects the real estate value of the property of interest; and

notify clients of said recent completed local sale.

11. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein determine whether the recent completed local sale affects the real estate value of the property of interest comprises:

evaluate an initial property valuation of the property of interest using data sets within a database, the data sets including one or more of real property information of the property of interest from tax rolls, deed information, and periodic data updates; and

determine an estimated property value of the property of interest.

12. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein said evaluate an initial property valuation of the property of interest using data sets within a database comprises using information obtained from a third party.

13. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein said monitor the local real estate market periodically near a property of interest for a recent completed local sale comprises determine real estate properties within a predetermined radius of the property of interest and determine whether any of the real estate properties has been sold within a predetermined period of time.

14. A real estate monitoring system, comprising:

a computing system comprising one or more hardware processors configured to execute a plurality of software modules, the software modules including at least;

a real estate monitoring module configured to monitor a local real estate market periodically near a property of interest for a recent completed local sale;

a valuation module configured to determine how the recent completed local sale affects the real estate value of the property of interest; and

a notification module configured to notify clients of the monitoring system of said recent completed local sale.

15. The real estate monitoring system of claim 14, wherein the valuation module is further configured to:

evaluate an initial property valuation of the property of interest using data sets within a database, the data sets including one or more of real property information of the property of interest from tax rolls, deed information, and periodic data updates; and

determine an estimated property value of the property of interest.

16. The real estate monitoring system of claim 14, wherein the real estate monitoring module is further configured to determine real estate properties within a predetermined radius of the property of interest and determine whether any of the real estate properties has been sold within a predetermined period of time.