System and method for acquiring, comparing and evaluating property condition

• US 9,842,373 B2
• Filed: 10/19/2010
• Issued: 12/12/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mousiki Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Mousiki Incorporated
• Inventors: Ahroon, Erik
• Primary Examiner(s): Ebersman, Bruce I.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Poe, Kevin
• Application Number:
  US12/907,374
• Publication Number:
  US 20110040692A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,611 Days
• Field of Search: 705 39
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0645 Rental transactions; Leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/163 Real estate management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass

Abstract

A system and method is provided for acquiring, collecting, comparing and evaluating the condition of rental property at several time periods during a lease or rental agreement. A deposit amount that is returned to a rentee or owed by the rentee is determined by a computer or individual based on a comparison of the documentation provided by the rentee and/or renter at the start of the rental period to the documentation that is provided the end of the rental period. The documentation provided by the rentee and renter is time-stamped and imprinted with geo-location information if it is available.

Claims

1. A method implemented by a server connected to the Internet for determining an amount of a deposit associated with rental property that will be returned to a rentee or owed by the rentee, the method comprising:

guiding, through a Computer and Camera Unit (CCU), a rentee to capture a first documentation during commencement of a rental period, wherein the first documentation comprise images of a rental property and each image of the first documentation includes geotag, time and date information, and wherein the images of the first documentation are captured in pre-determined directions and orientations at multiple geographical locations of the rental property, and wherein the multiple geographical locations are shown to the rentee by a Global Positioning System (GPS) of the CCU;

receiving, by the server, the first documentation showing a condition of the rental property during commencement of a rental period;

guiding, through the CCU, the rentee to capture a second documentation during termination of the rental period, wherein the second documentation comprise images of the rental property and each image of the second documentation includes geotag, time and date information, and wherein the images of the second documentation are captured in pre-determined directions and orientations at multiple geographical locations of the rental property, and wherein the multiple geographical locations are shown to the rentee by the GPS of the CCU;

receiving, by the server, the second documentation showing a condition of the rental property during termination of the rental period;

the server finding a match between corresponding images of the first documentation and the second documentation, based on the geotag, time and date information embedded in the images of the first documentation and the images of the second documentation;

the server comparing the matching corresponding images, from the first documentation and the second documentation for identifying one or more rental property problems related to the condition of the rental property after the termination of the rental period, wherein the matching corresponding images of the first documentation and the second documentation relates to same views of the rental property;

the server assigning a monetary value associated with each of one or more deductions based on the identified one or more rental property problems related to the condition of the rental property; and

the server calculating an amount of the deposit that will be returned to the rentee or owed by the rentee based on the one or more deductions.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said calculating is based on flat rate deductions for each occurrence of damage.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first documentation includes a first video of the rental property and the second documentation includes a second video of the rental property.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising comparing the first video to the second video to identify the one or more problems related to the condition of the rental property.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first documentation includes a first checklist including questions about the condition of the rental property and answers received from said rentee, and the second documentation includes a second checklist about the condition of the rental property.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising comparing the first checklist to the second checklist to identify the one or more problems related to the condition of the rental property.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the first documentation from a renter at or before the start of the rental period;

receiving the first documentation from the rentee at or on the start of the rental period;

receiving the second documentation from the renter on or after termination of the rental period;

receiving the second documentation from the rentee on or after termination of the rental period; and

comparing the first documentation from the renter and from the rentee to the second documentation from the renter and the rentee to identify the one or more problems related to the condition of the rental property after the termination of the rental period.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the deductions are flat rate deductions or based on a percentage deduction of a total amount of the deposit.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising calculating the amount of the deposit that will be returned to the rentee by subtracting one or more of the deductions from the deposit and wherein the calculating provides details about damages occurred to the rental property.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, by the server, a third documentation from the rentee about the condition of the rental property at some time after the start of the rental period and before the termination of the rental period.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising comparing the first documentation, the second documentation and the third documentation to identify the one or more problems related to the condition of the rental property.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first documentation and the second documentation are time-stamped with a date and a time of when the first documentation and the second documentation are received by the server.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the server is connected to one or more communication networks.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the comparing step is performed by a person using the server.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the first documentation includes at least one electronic document and at least one image, and the second documentation includes at least one electronic document and at least one image.

16. A method implemented by a server for determining whether a deposit associated with rental property will be returned to a rentee or owed by the rentee, the method comprising:

the server registering an account to be associated with the rentee and identifying an amount of the deposit;

at the commencement of a rental period, the server receiving from a Computer and Camera Unit (CCU), one or more first images comprising geotag, time and date information, wherein the one or more first images are captured in pre-determined directions and orientations at multiple geographical locations of a rental property, and wherein the multiple geographical locations are shown by a Global Positioning System (GPS) of the CCU;

the server associating the one or more first images with the account;

the server receiving from the CCU, one or more second images comprising geotag, time and date information, wherein the one or more second images are captured in pre-determined directions and orientations at multiple geographical locations of the rental property, and wherein the multiple geographical locations are shown by the GPS of the CCU;

the server associating the one or more second images with the account;

the server finding matches between corresponding images from the one or more first images and the one or more second images associated with the account, based on the geotag, time and date information embedded in the one or more first images and the one or more second images;

the server determining differences between the matching corresponding images;

the server determining whether the differences between the matching corresponding images correspond to one or more problems related to the condition of the rental property;

the server assigning values to the differences found between the matching corresponding images;

the server calculating an amount of the remaining deposit amount by subtracting the values from the deposit; and

the server storing the amount of the remaining deposit associated with the account.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of determining whether the differences between the first images and the second images correspond to one or more problems related to the condition of the rental property is performed by a person.