Method and apparatus for negotiating a real estate lease using a computer network

• US 7,024,397 B1
• Filed: 07/05/2000
• Issued: 04/04/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/05/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: J J Donahue & Company
• Original Assignee: J J Donahue & Company
• Inventors: Donahue, John J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Trammell, James P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Greene, Daniel L.
• Application Number:
  US09/610,005
• Time in Patent Office: 2,099 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 705/10, 705/80, 705/37, 713/176
• US Class Current: 705/80
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0645 Rental transactions; Leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/16 Real estate
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation

Abstract

The invention provides a system and method that facilitates a structured lease negotiation between two parties to a real estate transaction, and subsequent steps to occupy the leased premises and evaluate the transaction process. A series of predefined milestone negotiation steps are executed on a computer that couples two parties through a network, such as the Internet. The negotiators use a web browser to answer predefined questions regarding a proposed transaction in such a manner that certain aspects of the transaction can be agreed upon early during the negotiation process while others are deferred to later phases. In each phase, each party must select from a predefined list of actions (e.g., agree, defer, identify, mediate, etc.) associated with a particular aspect of the negotiation (e.g., rent to be charged, term of the lease, etc.). Tools are provided to facilitate transnational aspects of the negotiation (e.g., conversion between currencies, metrics, or languages). Third-party service providers such as brokers and architects can be automatically pulled into the negotiations using computer-issued requests for services. Feedback from the parties in the form of problems encountered and solutions achieved during the negotiation process are collected and stored in a database for review and use by other future negotiation parties.

Claims

1. A computer-assisted method of negotiating a real estate lease transaction, comprising the steps of:

(1) displaying on a computer screen a plurality of lease provisions and a plurality of predefined actions associated with each lease provision, wherein the plurality of lease provisions are associated with a first phase of a lease negotiation;

(2) for each of a plurality of negotiators to the lease transaction, selecting one of the plurality of predefined actions associated with each lease provision; and

(3) for each lease provision, determining whether each of the plurality of negotiators has selected the same associated predefined action and, if so, storing in the computer an indication of the associated lease provision as an agreed provision and, if not, deferring non-agreed lease provisions to a later phase of the lease negotiation.

2. The computer-assisted method of claim 1, wherein step (2) comprises the step of selecting either an AGREE choice or a DEFER choice for each lease provision.

3. The computer-assisted method of claim 1, wherein steps (1) and (2) are performed at a prospective tenant'"'"'s computer during a first time period, and wherein steps (1) and (2) are performed at a prospective landlord'"'"'s computer during a second time period.

4. The computer-assisted method of claim 1, wherein step (2) further comprises the step of receiving from at least one of the negotiators a numerical value pertaining to at least one of the lease provisions.

5. The computer-assisted method of claim 4, further comprising the step of converting in the computer the numerical value from a first unit of measure to a second unit of measure and displaying the second unit of measure.

6. The computer-assisted method of claim 4, further comprising the step of converting in the computer the numerical value from a first unit of currency to a second unit of currency and displaying the second unit of currency.

7. The computer-assisted method of claim 1, further comprising the step of selecting a third-party service provider from a computer database, wherein the third-party service provider is selected from a geographic area to which the lease pertains.

8. The computer-assisted method of claim 7, further comprising the step of electronically transmitting to the third-party service provider a request for services pre-populated with information pertaining to the lease negotiation.

9. The computer-assisted method of claim 8, wherein the third-party service provider is an architect, and wherein the electronically transmitted request pertains to a floor plan for the lease.

10. The computer-assisted method of claim 1, further comprising the step of completing an evaluation form for the negotiation and generating a report based on the evaluation form.

11. The computer-assisted method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

(4) in the later negotiation phase, resolving lease provisions that were deferred from the first negotiation phase.

12. The computer-assisted method of claim 1, further comprising a step of automatically generating an intermediate document that summarizes points of agreement in the negotiation.

13. The computer-assisted method of claim 1, wherein steps (1) and (2) are performed over the Internet using web browsers by negotiators located at two different locations.

14. A system that facilitates the negotiation of a real estate lease between a tenant and a landlord, comprising a computer system programmed with software that generates a display of a plurality of lease provisions and a plurality of predefined actions associated with each lease provision, wherein the plurality of lease provisions are associated with a first phase of a lease negotiation;

wherein the software receives choices from the tenant and the landlord for each lease provision pertaining to one of the predefined actions and, for each lease provision, determines whether the tenant and landlord have indicated agreement and, if so, stores in the computer an indication of the agreed lease provisions and, if not, defers non-agreed lease provisions to a later phase of the lease negotiation.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the software receives choices from the tenant located at a first computer during a first time period and receives choices from the landlord located at a second computer during a second time period.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the software converts a numerical value relating to one of the lease provisions from a first unit of measure to a second unit of measure.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the software converts a numerical value relating to one of the lease provisions from a first unit of currency to a second unit of currency.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the software suggests a third-party service provider from a computer database based on the geographic area of the lease.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the software electronically transmits to the third-party service provider a request for services pre-populated with information pertaining to the lease negotiation.

20. The system of claim 14, wherein the software receives evaluation information from the tenant and the landlord and generates a report based on the evaluation information.

21. The system of claim 14, wherein the software prompts the tenant and landlord to resolve in a later negotiation phase lease provisions that were deferred from an earlier phase.

22. The system of claim 14, wherein the software automatically generates an intermediate document that summarizes points of agreement in the negotiation.

23. A computer-assisted method of negotiating a real estate lease, comprising the steps of:

(1) displaying on a first computer display device a plurality of lease provisions and a plurality of predefined actions associated with each lease provision, and receiving from a first party information selecting one of the predefined actions for each lease provision;

(2) displaying on a second computer display device the plurality of lease provisions and the plurality of predefined actions associated with each lease provision, and receiving from a second party information selecting one of the predefined actions for each lease provision;

(3) determining those lease provisions for which the first and second parties have selected the same predefined action; and

(4) for those lease provisions for which the first and second parties have not selected the same predefined action, assisting the first and second parties in reaching agreement.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein step (4) comprises the step of generating a request for services from a local service provider.

25. The method of claim 23, further comprising the step of converting a value associated with one of the lease provisions from a first unit of measure to a second unit of measure and displaying the second unit of measure.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein step (4) comprises the step of suggesting a value for a lease provision that is a compromise between a value offered by the first party and a value offered by the second party.

27. The method of claim 23, further comprising the step of preventing the first party and the second party from modifying any lease provision for which the parties have selected the same predefined action.

28. A computer-implemented method of generating a report reflecting difficulties encountered during a computer-assisted lease negotiation, comprising the steps of:

(1) displaying on a first computer display device a plurality of lease provisions and a plurality of predefined actions associated with each lease provision, and receiving from a first party information selecting one of the predefined actions for each lease provision;

(2) displaying on a second computer display device the plurality of lease provisions and the plurality of predefined actions associated with each lease provision, and receiving from a second party information selecting one of the predefined actions for each lease provision;

(3) negotiating between the first and second parties to reach agreement on at least one of the lease provisions for which the first and second party did not reach agreement;

(4) receiving from each party an evaluation form including information relating to the lease negotiation process; and

(5) generating a report including information received from the evaluation form.

29. A computer-assisted method of negotiating a real estate agreement, comprising the steps of:

(1) displaying on a computer screen a plurality of predefined real estate agreement provisions each relating to one aspect of a potential real estate agreement, each provision having an associated displayed choice including at least an agreement choice and a deferral choice;

(2) for each of a plurality of negotiators to the real estate agreement, detecting each negotiator'"'"'s computer selection of one of the plurality of displayed choices for each of the predefined real estate agreement provisions;

(3) for each predefined real estate agreement provision, determining whether each of the plurality of negotiators has selected the same displayed choice and, for each such same choice, storing in a computer an indication of agreement regarding the associated agreement provision.

30. The computer-assisted method of claim 29, wherein each of the predefined real estate agreement provisions relates to a real estate lease provision.

31. The computer-assisted method of claim 29, wherein step (1) comprises the step of displaying the predefined real estate agreement provisions grouped into distinct negotiation phases.

32. The computer-assisted method of claim 29, wherein step (1) is performed on two computers each located at a different geographic location, wherein each negotiator selects choices during different time periods.

33. The computer-assisted method of claim 29, wherein steps (1) to (3) are performed during a first negotiation period, and further comprising the steps of:

(4) during a later negotiation period, re-displaying real estate agreement provisions for which agreement was not reached during the first negotiation period, and repeating steps (2) and (3) for all such provisions.

34. The computer-assisted method of claim 29, wherein step (1) comprises the step of displaying each of the plurality of real estate agreement provisions simultaneously on a single computer screen.

35. The computer-assisted method of claim 29, wherein step (1) comprises the step of displaying each of the plurality of real estate agreement provisions successively on separate computer screens.

36. A computer programmed with computer software that carries out steps (1) to (3) of claim 35.

44. A computer readable medium storing computer readable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause a computer to perform steps (1) to (3) of claim 29.

37. A computer-assisted method of negotiating an agreement over a computer network, comprising the steps of:

(1) displaying on a first computer screen a plurality of predefined agreement provisions each relating to one aspect of a potential agreement, each provision having an associated displayed choice including at least an agreement choice and a deferral choice;

(2) detecting a first negotiator'"'"'s computer selection of one of the plurality of displayed choices for each of the predefined agreement provisions;

(3) displaying on a second computer screen the plurality of predefined agreement provisions displayed on the first computer screen and a second plurality of associated displayed choices including at least an agreement choice and a deferral choice;

(4) detecting a second negotiator'"'"'s computer selection of one of the plurality of displayed choices displayed on the second computer screen;

(5) determining whether the first and second negotiators have selected a same displayed choice for each predefined agreement provision and, for each such same choice, storing in a computer memory an indication of agreement regarding the associated agreement provision.

38. The computer-assisted method of claim 37, wherein step (1) comprises the step of displaying the predefined agreement provisions grouped into distinct negotiation phases.

39. The computer-assisted method of claim 37, wherein step (3) comprises the step of further displaying on the second computer screen one or more computer selections made by the first negotiator.

40. The computer-assisted method of claim 37, wherein step (1) is performed on two computers each located at a different geographic location, wherein each negotiator selects choices during different time periods.

41. The computer-assisted method of claim 37, wherein steps (1) to (4) are performed during a first negotiation period, and further comprising the steps of:

(6) during a later negotiation period, re-displaying agreement provisions for which agreement was not reached during the first negotiation period, and repeating steps (1) through (4) for all such provisions.

42. The computer-assisted method of claim 37, wherein step (2) comprises the step of receiving a first ancillary value from the first negotiator representing a first proposed contract value corresponding to one of the predefined agreement provisions;

wherein step (4) comprises the step of receiving a second ancillary value from the second negotiator representing a second proposed contract value corresponding to one of the predefined agreement provisions;

wherein the method further comprises the step of;

(6) if the first ancillary value and the second ancillary value are different, generating a message identifying a discrepancy.

43. The computer-assisted method of claim 37, wherein step (2) comprises the step of receiving a first ancillary value from the first negotiator representing a first proposed contract value corresponding to one of the predefined agreement provisions;

wherein step (4) comprises the step of receiving a second ancillary value from the second negotiator representing a second proposed contract value corresponding to one of the predefined agreement provisions;

wherein the method further comprises the step of;

(6) if the first ancillary value and the second ancillary value are different, proposing a third ancillary value representing a compromise between the first ancillary value and the second ancillary value.

45. A computer-readable medium comprising computer instructions that, when executed by a computer, perform the steps of:

(1) displaying on a first computer display device a plurality of lease provisions and a plurality of predefined actions associated with each lease provision, and receiving from a first party information selecting one of the predefined actions for each lease provision;

(2) displaying on a second computer display device the plurality of lease provisions and the plurality of predefined actions associated with each lease provision, and receiving from a second party information selecting one of the predefined actions for each lease provision;

(3) determining those lease provisions for which the first and second parties have selected the same predefined action; and

(4) for those lease provisions for which the first and second parties have not selected the same predefined action, assisting the first and second parties in reaching agreement.

46. A computer programmed with computer software that carries out steps of:

(1) displaying on a first computer screen a plurality of predefined agreement provisions each relating to one aspect of a potential agreement, each provision having an associated displayed choice including at least an agreement choice and a deferral choice;

(2) detecting a first negotiator'"'"'s computer selection of one of the plurality of displayed choices for each of the predefined agreement provisions;

(3) displaying on a second computer screen the plurality of predefined agreement provisions displayed on the first computer screen and a second plurality of associated displayed choices including at least an agreement choice and a deferral choice;

(4) detecting a second negotiator'"'"'s computer selection of one of the plurality of displayed choices displayed on the second computer screen;

(5) determining whether the first and second negotiators have selected a same displayed choice for each predefined agreement provision and, for each such same choice, storing in a computer memory an indication of agreement regarding the associated agreement provision.

47. A computer readable medium storing computer readable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause a computer to perform steps of:

(1) displaying on a first computer screen a plurality of predefined agreement provisions each relating to one aspect of a potential agreement, each provision having an associated displayed choice including at least an agreement choice and a deferral choice;

(2) detecting a first negotiator'"'"'s computer selection of one of the plurality of displayed choices for each of the predefined agreement provisions;

(3) displaying on a second computer screen the plurality of predefined agreement provisions displayed on the first computer screen and a second plurality of associated displayed choices including at least an agreement choice and a deferral choice;

(4) detecting a second negotiator'"'"'s computer selection of one of the plurality of displayed choices displayed on the second computer screen;

(5) determining whether the first and second negotiators have selected a same displayed choice for each predefined agreement provision and, for each such same choice, storing in a computer memory an indication of agreement regarding the associated agreement provision.

48. A computer-assisted method of negotiating a real estate lease transaction, comprising the steps of:

(1) displaying on a computer screen a plurality of lease provisions and a plurality of predefined actions associated with each lease provision, wherein the plurality of lease provisions are associated with a first phase of a lease negotiation and wherein the plurality of predefined actions comprise an AGREE choice and a DEFER choice for each lease provision;

(2) for each of a plurality of negotiators to the lease transaction, selecting either the AGREE choice or the DEFER choice for each lease provision; and

(3) for each lease provision, determining whether each of the plurality of negotiators has selected the same associated predefined action and, if so, storing in the computer an indication of the associated lease provision as an agreed provision and, if not, deferring non-agreed lease provisions to a later phase of the lease negotiation.

49. A computer-assisted method of negotiating a real estate agreement, comprising the steps of:

(1) in a first phase of a multiphase transaction wherein phases comprise predefined actions, displaying on a computer screen a plurality of predefined real estate agreement provisions each relating to one aspect of a potential real estate agreement, each provision having its own set of predefined actions associated and displayed therewith, each set of predefined actions including at least an agreement choice and a deferral choice;

(2) for each of a plurality of negotiators to the real estate agreement, detecting each negotiator'"'"'s computer input representative of its selection of one of the predefined actions for each of the predefined real estate agreement provisions;

(3) for each predefined real estate agreement provision, determining whether each of the plurality of negotiators has selected the agreement choice and, when each of the plurality of negotiators has selected the agreement choice, storing in a computer an indication of agreement regarding the associated agreement provision.

50. A computer-assisted method of negotiating a real estate agreement, comprising the steps of:

(1) in a first phase of a multiphase transaction wherein each phase prescribes a predefined structure and sequence of questions to be answered, displaying on a computer screen a plurality of predefined real estate agreement provisions each relating to one aspect of a potential real estate agreement, each provision having its own set of predefined actions associated and displayed therewith, each set of predefined actions including at least an agreement choice and a deferral choice;

(2) for each of a plurality of negotiators to the real estate agreement, detecting each negotiator'"'"'s computer input representative of its selection of one of the predefined actions for each of the predefined real estate agreement provisions;

(3) for each predefined real estate agreement provision, determining whether each of the plurality of negotiators has selected the agreement choice and, when each of the plurality of negotiators has selected the agreement choice, storing in a computer an indication of agreement regarding the associated agreement provision.

51. The computer assisted method of claim 50, wherein the predefined structure and sequence of questions for the first phase is different than the predefined structure and sequence of questions for a second phase.

52. The computer assisted method of claim 50, further comprising the step of automatically generating a legal document based on agreements reached by the negotiators.

53. A computer-assisted method of negotiating a real estate lease, comprising the steps of:

(1) outputting for display on a computer screen a plurality of lease criteria including;

a. an amount of currency to be paid per predefined period during the lease,

b. an amount of square footage to be leased,

c. a beginning date of the lease, and

d. a term of the lease; and

(2) displaying a plurality of predefined actions associated with a first phase of a lease negotiation including, for each lease criteria;

a. an AGREE choice and a DEFER choice to be selected by a landlord negotiator, and

b. an AGREE choice and a DEFER choice to be selected by a tenant negotiator;

(3) receiving input from the landlord negotiator and the tenant negotiator each selecting either the AGREE choice or the DEFER choice for each lease criteria;

(4) for each lease criteria, determining whether each of the plurality of negotiators has selected the AGREE choice and, if so, storing in the computer an indication of the associated lease criteria as an agreed provision and, if not, deferring non-agreed lease criteria to a later phase of the lease negotiation; and

(5) when requested by user input, generating for display a summary document comprising agreed provisions.

54. The computer-assisted method of claim 53, wherein step (1) further comprises displaying an input box corresponding to one of the lease provisions, wherein a negotiator enters comments corresponding to the lease provision in the input box.