Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
SYSTEMS AND METHOD FOR MANAGING, SCHEDULING AND ORGANIZING DATA
IN THE REAL ESTATE FIELD
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] Example embodiments relate to data management in the real estate
field, in
particular to systems and methods for collecting, managing, scheduling and
organizing real estate
property data.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Real estate agents and brokers have increasingly been moving
their businesses
online. A real estate business can involve several steps which are relatively
easy to manage
offline, such as setting-up a website, capturing leads on home buyers,
managing communications
with clients, scheduling viewings, facilitating open houses or individual
viewings and managing
customer information.
[0003] However, in the virtual setting, there is no one application
or tool which can assist
.. the real estate agent or broker with all of these steps. Accordingly, in
order to convert a real
estate business to an online format, the real estate agent or broker must
purchase or subscribe to
several different online applications or tools to adequately perform all the
necessary tasks which
incurs increased, and often substantial, costs to the real estate agent or
broker. In the case of the
over 20% of North American real estate agents who are self-employed, this cost
can be
prohibitive. Such prohibitive costs can deter individuals or small businesses
in the real estate
field from transitioning to the virtual world.
[0004] There is a need in the real estate market for an application
which can allow real
estate agents or brokers to perform all the necessary tasks in the process of
selling a real estate
property. There is also a need for consolidating all of the available
information about a real estate
property so that the information is more manageable and organized in an
informative way for
potential home buyers. Moreover, with the increased desire for virtual open
houses and property
viewings, there is a need for consolidating information related to such
virtual open houses or
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home viewings, as well as information about the real estate property so that
the information is
more manageable and organized in an informative way for potential home buyers.
SUMMARY
[0005] Example embodiments relate to a system and method for
managing, storing and
organizing real estate property data. Example embodiments of the system and
method can
include the following aspects:
= A calendar invitation for an event related to a real estate property,
such as a virtual open
house, automatically populated with relevant information related to the real
estate
property.
= Voice assistant devices or other electronic devices that can receive inputs
from a user at
one location, requesting information about the real estate property located at
a second
location and for outputting such information.
[0006] An example embodiment is a method for scheduling related to a
real estate
property, the method comprising receiving, by a processor, an input from a
user in relation to the
real estate property; receiving, by the processor, a set of data related to
the real estate property
from a customer relationship management database; generating, using a customer
messaging
model, a set of attributes of the real estate property related to the input;
generating, by the
customer messaging model, an event related to the real estate property and the
user; generating,
by the customer messaging model, a calendar invitation for the event;
automatically populating,
by the processor, the calendar invitation with the set of attributes; and
outputting, by the
processor, the calendar invitation.
[0007] Another example embodiment is a method comprising receiving,
by a processor,
an input from an electronic device at a first location in relation to a real
estate property at a
second location; receiving, by the processor, a set of data related to the
real estate property from
a customer relationship management database; generating, using a customer
messaging model, at
least one first attribute of the real estate property and the second location
related to the input; and
outputting, the at least one first attribute to the electronic device.
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[0008] Another example embodiment is a method comprising receiving,
by a processor,
an input from an electronic device at a first location in relation to a real
estate property at a
second location; receiving, by the processor, a set of data related to the
real estate property from
a customer relationship management database; generating, using a customer
messaging model, at
least one first attribute of the real estate property and the second location
related to the input;
outputting, the at least one first attribute to the electronic device;
generating, by the customer
messaging model, a set of questions related to the real estate property;
outputting, the set of
questions to the electronic device; receiving, by the processor, a response to
the set of questions
from the electronic device; generating, by the customer messaging model, at
least one second
attribute related to the response; and outputting, the at least one second
attribute to the electronic
device.
[0009] Another example embodiment is a method comprising receiving,
by a processor,
an input from an electronic device at a first location in relation to a real
estate property at a
second location; receiving, by the processor, a set of data related to the
real estate property from
a customer relationship management database; generating, using a customer
messaging model, at
least one first attribute of the real estate property and the second location
related to the input;
outputting, the at least one first attribute to the electronic device;
generating, by the customer
messaging model, a set of questions related to the real estate property;
outputting, the set of
questions to the electronic device; receiving, by the processor, a response to
the set of questions
from the electronic device; generating, by the customer messaging model, at
least one second
attribute related to the response; outputting, the at least one second
attribute to the electronic
device; generating, using the customer messaging model, an event question
related to the real
estate property; outputting the event question to the electronic device;
receiving, by the
processor, a response to the event question; generating, by the customer
messaging model, an
event related to the event question and the response to the event question;
generating, by the
customer messaging model, a calendar invitation for the event; and outputting,
by the processor,
the calendar invitation.
[0010] Another example embodiment is a system comprising a customer
relationship
management database comprising a set of data related to a real estate
property; a sever for
receiving the set of data from the customer relationship management database,
the server
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configured to: receive an input from a user; receive, using a customer
messaging model, a set of
attributes of the real estate property related to the input; generate, by the
customer messaging
model, an event related to the real estate property; generate, by the customer
messaging model, a
calendar invitation for the event; automatically populate the calendar
invitation with the set of
attributes; and output, by the customer messaging model, the calendar
invitation.
[0011] Another example embodiment is a system comprising a customer
relationship
management database comprising a set of data related to a real estate
property; an electronic
device for receiving inputs from a user and producing outputs; a sever for
receiving the set of
data from the customer relationship management database, the server configured
to: receive an
input from the electronic device; generate, using a customer messaging model,
at least one first
attribute of the real estate property related to the input; and output, by the
customer messaging
model, the at least one first attribute to the electronic device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] Reference will now be made, by way of example, to the
accompanying drawings
which show example embodiments of the present application, and in which:
[0013] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a system for managing,
scheduling and
organizing data in the real estate field, according to an example embodiment;
[0014] Figure 2 is a flow chart illustrating a method for using a
customer relationship
management system to produce a calendar invitation, automatically populated
with real estate
data, according to an example embodiment;
[0015] Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method for using an
electronic device to
obtain information from the customer relationship management system, according
to an example
embodiment;
[0016] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary customer
relationship
management system which can perform the systems and methods described herein.
[0017] Similar reference numerals may have been used in different
figures to denote
similar components.
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DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS
[0018] Figure 1 illustrates a system 10 for managing, organizing and
scheduling real
estate data, according to an example embodiment. The system 10 may be for use
by real estate
agents and brokers. The system 10 can include a server 100, a customer
relationship management
database 102, and one or more electronic devices 108.
[0019] The server 100 is configured to output specific relevant
information related to a
certain real estate property listing. For example, as will be discussed in
greater detail in Figures 2
and 3, the server 100 is configured to generate a calendar invitation for an
event related to a
certain real estate property, and automatically populate the calendar
invitation with relevant
details of the real estate property and the event that are stored in the
customer relationship
management database 102, using a customer messaging model 424 (Figure 4). In
some
examples, the server 100 is configured to generate interactive hyperlinks
related to the event,
such as a video conference hyperlink for a virtual open house. The server 100
is also configured
to receive input from users through the electronic devices 108, such as a
question related to the
real estate property and to identify, from the data stored in the customer
relationship
management database 102, the answer to the question. In some examples, the
server 100 is
configured to output specific relevant information related to a plurality of
real estate property
listings which is customized to a particular user (potential buyer) of real
estate properties.
[0020] In some examples, the sever 100 can be a cloud server. The
system 10 illustrated
in this example is a cloud platform, which allows both the data stored in the
customer
relationship management database 102 and the outputs of the server 100 to be
accessed and
stored in various locations globally.
[0021] The customer relationship management database 102 is
configured to receive data
related to a real estate property. The customer relationship management
database 102 can receive
the data from inputs from the real estate agent or broker, or the seller of
the real estate property.
The customer relationship management database 102 can also receive the data
directly from a
remote server 112, for example, from a real estate property listing on the
internet. The customer
relationship management database 102 can communicate with a remote server 112,
such as via
communication link 116, to receive information related to a real estate
property.
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[0022] The information stored on the customer relationship management
database 102
can include accurate address information for the real estate property, such as
street address, city,
province or state, zip code or postal code, or landmarks near the real estate
property. The
information stored on the customer relationship management database 102 can
also include real
estate agent or broker details such as name and contact information for the
agent/broker, and
hyperlinks to the actual real estate property listing. The information stored
on the customer
relationship management database 102 can also include details of the real
estate property listing
including, the number of bedrooms, the number of bathrooms, the size of the
property, the size of
specific rooms in the property. The information stored on the customer
relationship management
database 102 can also include information regarding the neighborhood of the
property, such as
crime rates or information on amenities in the neighborhood, for example,
schools, hospitals,
dentists, supermarkets or other local amenities.
[0023] In some examples, the customer relationship management
database 102 can
include any other information relevant to the real estate property. In some
examples, the
.. information may be received from various sources, such as inputs from users
of the system 10,
inputs generated automatically from the electronic devices 108 or information
derived directly
from the internet. In some examples, although the system and methods disclosed
herein are
directed to data related to a single real estate property, the customer
relationship management
database 102 will be able to store data for any number of different real
estate properties.
[0024] By consolidating all of the data from different sources into the
customer
relationship management database 102, the server 100 can conveniently access
relevant
information in relation to the users and the real estate properties.
[0025] The electronic devices 108 can include a microphone for
receiving voice inputs
from a user and a speaker for communicating the outputs of the server 100. The
electronic device
108 can be a desktop, a laptop, or a mobile communication device, such as a
smart phone or a
tablet. The electronic device 108 can be a stationary IoT device having a
microphone and a
speaker, such as a smart speaker. In some examples, the electronic device 108
receives non-voice
inputs. The electronic devices 108 can be connected to the server 100 via a
communication link
114. With the electronic device 108, the system 10 is suitable for use by
potential home buyers.
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[0026] With the inputs from the electronic devices 108 and the
information stored on the
customer relationship management database 102, the server 100 can use a
customer messaging
model 424 to identify the relevant attributes of the real estate property to
output. Generally, the
customer messaging model 424 generates a customer message that includes a
property narrative
.. (can be called narrative). In an example, the narrative is in full
sentences, and is customized to
the particular customer and the real estate property, based on the information
stored on the
customer relationship management database 102.
[0027] In one example, when the input relates to a date and time for
an event related to
the real estate property, such as a virtual open house, the server 100 can
identify the information
that would be relevant to a specific potential buyer that should be included
in the calendar
invitation to be sent to the potential buyer. In another example, when the
input is a question
related to the real estate property (e.g. "how many schools are in the
neighborhood?"), the server
100 can identify the answer to that question.
[0028] The system 10 allows the real estate agent or broker to
compile all relevant data
about the real estate property in one location and perform various tasks
associated with selling a
real estate property, such as scheduling virtual or offline open houses,
contacting potential home
buyers about such open houses and generate hyperlinks to a scheduled
videoconference for the
open house, among other tasks, without losing information related to the real
estate property or
potential home buyers.
[0029] Figure 2 is a flow chart illustrating a method 200 for using a
customer relationship
management system to produce a calendar invitation, automatically populated
with the
information about the real estate property that is relevant to the potential
buyer, according to an
example embodiment.
[0030] In method 200, at step 202 the server 100 receives a set of
data related to a real
estate property. The data may be obtained from the customer relationship
management database
102 and can include any of the information stored on the customer relationship
management
database 102.
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[0031] At step 204 the server 100 receives an input from a user. The
user can provide this
input via the electronic devices 108. In some examples, this input will
include a date and time for
an event related to the real estate property. In some examples, the date and
time input may be for
a single date and time or a range of dates and times for the event. The input
may be related to a
specific potential home buyer or a group of potential home buyers.
[0032] In some examples, the date and time of the event may be
determined by the
customer messaging model 424. The customer messaging model 424 can have a
predetermined
date and time for the event based on an industry standard or an input from the
real estate agent or
broker. The customer messaging model 424 can also use the information
contained within the
customer relationship management database 102 to alter the date and time. For
example, if the
industry standard or preference of the real estate agent is to hold open
houses on Sunday
mornings, the customer messaging model 424 can suggest a date and time that is
different from
this predetermined date and time if the information in the customer
relationship management
database 102 indicates that the potential home buyer attends a local church on
Sunday mornings.
[0033] At step 206 the server 100 identifies a set of attributes related to
the real estate
property. The sever 100 uses the data stored in the customer relationship
management database
102 and the input from the user to determine the relevant set of attributes
via the customer
messaging model 424. The set of attributes can include any of the data stored
in the customer
relationship management database 102. In some examples, the server 100 is
configured to format
these attributes into organized, readable information. The server 100 can
organize the
information such that the server 100 lists the attributes, or the server 100
can organize the
information into a narrative or story about the real estate property.
[0034] The set of attributes may be predetermined such that the same
set of attributes will
be generated for all of the potential buyers for a real estate property. The
set of attributes may
also be customizable for each specific potential home buyer. For example, a
buyer may be
known to have children in which case the set of attributes may specifically
include more detailed
information that would be relevant to a family with children, such as
locations of nearby schools
or recreation facilities. In another example, if a buyer works in a certain
location, the set of
attributes may include commute times to that location or information regarding
public transit to
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that location. In another example, if a buyer does not own a car, the set of
attributes may provide
information on nearby amenities within a walking distance and a Walk Score
(TM) to those
amenities. In some examples, the customer messaging model 424 can receive a
variety of
information about the potential home buyer such that the customer messaging
model 424 can
alter the set of attributes to ensure the attributes relevant to the potential
home buyer are
included.
[0035] Having determined a date and time for an event related to the
real estate property,
at step 208, the sever 100 generates an event related to the real estate
property, such as an open
house or a virtual viewing of the real estate property corresponding with the
date and time. The
event can be a virtual open house or virtual tour of the real estate property.
The event can also be
an offline or physical open house or tour of the real estate property. The
event can also include
information for both an online and offline open house or tour of the real
estate property. In some
examples, the event can be other types of event for the users of the system
10.
[0036] After the event has been generated, the server 100 is
configured to generate a
calendar invitation for the event at step 210. The calendar invitation can be
a calendar file, such
as an .ICS file, which can be sent to potential buyers of the real estate
property and added to
conventional calendar applications, such as Microsoft Outlook (TM), Google
(TM) Calendar or
Apple (TM) Calendar. The calendar invitation can also be other formats, such
as text to be
included in an email or other means of communication.
[0037] In some examples, the event can require a hyperlink for a video
conference for the
event, for example for a virtual home tour. At step 212, the server 100
generates a hyperlink to
the videoconference for the event. The videoconference hyperlink can be a
hyperlink which can
direct the user to a commercial videoconferencing application such as Zoom
(TM) or WebEx
(TM). The videoconference hyperlink can also direct the user to a
videoconferencing application
located on the server.
[0038] After the calendar invitation has been generated, the server
100 can be configured
to generate location data for the real estate property at step 214. The
location data can include the
street address of the real estate property. The location data can also include
the
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videoconferencing hyperlink (i.e. the virtual location). The location data can
be obtained from
the customer relationship management database 102.
[0039] The server 100 can also generate a mapping application
hyperlink. The mapping
application hyperlink will direct the user to a mapping application, such as
Google (TM) Maps,
.. and in particular will direct the user to the address of the real estate
property in the mapping
application.
[0040] At step 216, the server 100 automatically populates the
calendar invitation with
the set of attributes. When automatically populating the calendar invitation
with the set of
attributes, the server 100 is able to generate information that is directly
relevant to the particular
home buyer to whom the calendar invitation will be sent. The automatically-
populated calendar
invitation allows the potential home buyer to review the information about the
property that is
relevant to them without being overwhelmed with information that is
unnecessary or irrelevant.
By way of example, the calendar invitation sent to a buyer who does not own a
car would
include information such as the distances to nearby amenities and locations of
nearby public
transit, but would not include the driving times to those locations. The
calendar invitation can
include walk times or bike times to nearby amenities. In some examples, the
information
contained in the calendar invitation is customized for any number of different
potential home
buyers.
[0041] The set of attributes may be formatted such that the
information is recited in the
calendar invitation in a readable format. Alternatively, the set of attributes
may be generated by
the customer messaging model 424 such that the information is communicated in
a story or
narrative about the real estate property and surrounding neighborhood. By
automatically
populating the calendar invitation with the set of attributes, a potential
home buyer who receives
the calendar invitation will have all of information about the real estate
property that is relevant
to that home buyer available to that home buyer in one place.
[0042] When a videoconference hyperlink has been generated, at step
218, the server 100
automatically populates the calendar invitation with the videoconference
hyperlink. In this
embodiment, the potential homebuyer will have both the hyperlink to access the
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house or tour of the real estate property as well as the information about the
real estate property
relevant to that home buyer in one place.
[0043] When viewing a calendar invitation, there can be a summary
view and a detailed
view. The summary view is generally seen when looking at a user's calendar in
a calendar
application, such as Google TM Calendar, or can be viewable in a reminder or
notification screen
on a mobile device. Although the calendar invitation may include a large
amount of information,
the summary view provides only the most important details, such as date, time
and location of
the event. In this regard, calendar files (such as .ICS files) have a location
field where the
location of the event is listed. When location data has been generated, the
location data may be
.. populated into the location field of the calendar invitation at step 220.
By populating the location
field with the address of the real estate property, the videoconferencing link
and the mapping
application link, the user is able to quickly and easily access the available
locations for the event
from the summary view.
[0044] The location field of a calendar invitation typically only
includes one location,
such as the address or name of a building. By including the address of the
location as well as the
videoconference hyperlink and the mapping application link, the potential home
buyer can
readily access the desired location for the event without having to review all
of the information
contained in the text of the calendar invitation. For example, if an open
house is being conducted
both online and offline, the potential home buyer can easily access either the
videoconferencing
link if they would prefer to attend the online open house, or the mapping
application link if they
would prefer to attend the offline open house. An alternative to providing
both the online and
offline locations of the event would be to provide two separate location
fields, one for the online
location and one for the offline location. However, this is not compatible
with conventional
calendar files, such as .ICS, and would not be readily accessible from the
summary view of the
event.
[0045] In some examples, the server 100 concatenates the
videoconference hyperlink
with the physical address of the real estate property, and populates the
address field of the
calendar invitation with the concatenated videoconference hyperlink and the
physical address.
Accordingly, at the time of the event, the user can select, from the address
field, either the
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videoconference hyperlink or the physical address, from the calendar
invitation. Some mobile
device operating systems will automatically launch the appropriate application
depending on the
selected videoconference hyperlink or the physical address from the address
field, for example a
videoconferencing application or a map application (which can include
directions to the physical
address) of the mobile device.
[0046] At step 222, the server 100 outputs the calendar invitation,
which has been
populated with the information about the real estate property and the event
that is relevant to the
particular potential home buyer, and optionally with the videoconference
hyperlink and location
data. In some examples, after the calendar invitation has been output, the
server 100 is
configured to automatically distribute the calendar invitation to potential
home buyers, the real
estate agent and the property owner via various communication means, for
example, email.
[0047] In some examples, the server 100 can generate a follow-up
event after the
scheduled event. In one example, if a potential home buyer has attended an
open house, either
online or offline, the server 100 can generate a private home tour for the
buyer. In another
example, the server 100 can identify that a potential home buyer did not
attend an open house
that they were invited to, either through not accepting the invitation, not
attending the
videoconference or by detecting the GPS location of a buyer's electronic
device 108. In this case,
when the buyers don't attend an event, the follow-up event may be a
rescheduling of the event
that the buyer did not attend.
[0048] The server 100 can receive a date and time input from the user for
the follow-up
event, or the server 100 can generate a date and time for the follow-up event
based on the
information contained within the customer relationship management database
102. For example,
there can be a predetermined follow-up time of one week after the first event.
Alternatively, the
date and time can be determined based on information known about the potential
home buyer,
for example the buyer may work during the week, in which case the time chosen
would be
outside of the buyers work hours during the week.
[0049] The server 100 can also generate a second set of attributes,
similar to the first set
of attributes. The second set of attributes may include some or all of the
same information that
was included in the first set of attributes. Alternatively, the second set of
attributes can contain
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different information than the first set of attributes. The second set of
attributes can be
determined based on the information stored in the customer relationship
management database
102, information previously provided to the potential home buyer, and
information obtained
during the first event. For example, a home buyer may have been provided with
the number of
bedrooms prior to attending a virtual open house and after attending the
virtual open house, the
home buyer may have expressed an interest in the sizes of the bedrooms. In
this situation, the
second set of attributes need not include the number of bedrooms, but may
include the sizes of
the bedrooms. In some examples, the second set of attributes can include any
information that is
relevant to the potential home buyer and that may assist the home buyer in
making the decision
to purchase the real estate property.
[0050] Having generated the second set of attributes, the server 100
can also generate
another calendar invitation, similar to the calendar invitation for the first
event. This calendar
invitation will be populated with the second set of attributes and may include
similar location
data populated into the location field of the calendar invitation. The server
100 can also be
configured to automatically distribute the second calendar invitation to the
potential home buyer,
the real estate agent or the home owner through a communication means such as
email or SMS.
[0051] By automatically populating the calendar invitation with the
relevant information,
and outputting and distributing the calendar invitation, the server 100
provides a more efficient
and cost-effective method of managing the event. Without such a system 10, the
real estate agent
or broker would have to manually create the calendar invitation, populate the
calendar invitation
with the relevant information (which may be obtained from several sources) and
distribute to the
relevant people.
[0052] Another exemplary embodiment allows a user to interact with an
electronic
device 108 at one location, such as a smart speaker, to receive information
about a real estate
property and attractions and amenities in the neighborhood in another
location. When seeking to
purchase a real estate property, potential home buyers will have questions
about the property and
its neighborhood. But conventional electronic devices 108, such as smart
speakers or cell phones,
generally provide information about the location of the electronic device 108.
For example, if a
user asked "where is the nearest dentist?", the default response would be the
nearest dentist to
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the location of the user and, by extension, the location of the electronic
device 108, not the
nearest dentist to the real estate property. In this regard, there is a need
for a method and system
that can receive the question or request for information at a first location,
such as the buyer's
current home, and output information related to the real estate property at a
second location.
[0053] Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method 300 for using an
electronic device at
a first location to obtain information about a real estate property at a
second location from the
customer relationship management system, according to an example embodiment.
[0054] Similar to the method 200 outlined in Figure 2, method 300
begins at step 302
where the server 100 receives a set of data related to a real estate property.
The data can be
obtained from the customer relationship management database 102 and can
include any of the
information stored on the customer relationship management database 102.
[0055] At step 304, the server 100 receives an input in relation to
the real estate property
from a user at a first location, where the real estate property is located at
a second location that is
different from the first location. The user can provide this input via the
electronic devices 108
which are also located at the first location. In some examples, this input may
be in the form of a
question related to the real estate property (e.g. "how many schools are in
the neighborhood?")
or a request for specific information about the real estate property (e.g.
"tell me about the size of
the property"). In some examples, the input is a voice command given by a user
through the
electronic device 108. The first location may be the current home of the
potential home buyer,
for example, when the electronic device 108 is a smart speaker located in the
potential home
buyer's current home. The second location may be the address of the real
estate property or the
neighborhood of the real estate property.
[0056] At step 306, the server 100 identifies at least one first
attribute of the real estate
property which is related to the input from step 304 via the customer
messaging model 424.
Where the input is a question related to the real estate property, the first
attribute(s) may be the
answer to the question. For example, the user may ask questions such as "how
many playgrounds
are in the neighborhood?" or "how far away is the hospital from the real
estate property?", in
which case the at least one first attributes will include a response to these
questions. Where the
input is a request for specific information about the real estate property,
the first attribute(s) may
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be the requested information. For example, the user may request for all the
information on
nearby dentists or information on the traffic in the neighborhood, in which
case the at least one
first attribute would include the information requested. In some examples, the
at least one first
attribute may also relate to the availability of information for the real
estate property, for
example the at least one first attribute may be that there is insufficient
data available on the real
estate property in the customer relationship management database 102 to answer
the question or
request for information.
[0057] At step 308, the server 100 is configured to output the at
least one first attribute.
In some examples, the first attributes are output via the electronic device
108. The first
attribute(s) can be output via the speaker of the electronic device 108.
[0058] In some examples, after outputting the first attribute(s), the
server 100 is further
configured to generate a set of questions related to the real estate property
by using the customer
messaging model 424 at step 310. The set of questions may be a predetermined
set of questions
that could relate to any real estate property. The set of questions may also
be more specific
questions related to the specific real estate property and the input of the
user received at step 304.
The set of questions may generally be related to information that has been
stored in the customer
relationship management database 102. By way of example, the set of questions
may include
questions such as: do you want to hear about the number of bedrooms in the
real estate property;
do you want to hear about the crime rates in the neighborhood; or other
questions related to
information about the real estate property that is stored on the customer
relationship management
database 102.
[0059] When the server 100 has generated the set of questions, at
step 312, the server 100
is configured to output the set of questions. In some examples, the set of
questions will be output
via the electronic device 108. In further examples the set of questions can be
output via the
speaker of the electronic device 108.
[0060] In a further example, the server 100 is configured to receive
a response to the set
of questions at step 314. The response can relate to a single question in the
set of questions. In
some examples, upon receiving the response, the server 100 is configured to
stop outputting the
set of questions. The user can provide this response via the electronic
devices 108.
Date Recue/Date Received 2021-11-23
[0061] At step 316, when the server 100 has received a response to
the set of questions,
the server 100 is further configured to identify at least one second attribute
of the real estate
property by using the customer messaging model 424. The second attribute(s)
may include
information related to the response to the set of questions. By way of
example, a user may
respond affirmatively to the question: "do you want to hear about the number
of bedrooms in the
real estate property?" In that case, the second attribute(s) may include a
number of bedrooms in
the real estate property and the second attribute(s) may include further
details of the bedrooms in
the real estate property.
[0062] In some examples, having identified the at least one second
attribute, the server
100 will be further configured to output the at least one second attribute at
step 318. In some
examples, the second attribute(s) will be output via the electronic device
108. The second
attribute(s) can be output via the speaker of the electronic device 108.
[0063] In some examples, the server 100 will generate an event
question at step 320. The
event question can relate to a whether the potential home buyer wants to
schedule a tour of the
real estate property, attend an open house for the real estate property, or
the event question can
relate to any other event related to the real estate property. The event
question may also relate to
whether the potential home buyer wants to attend an online event, such as a
virtual open house or
an offline event, such as an in-person tour of the real estate property. The
event question may
also relate to when the potential home buyer would like to schedule the online
or offline event.
The event question may be generated after outputting the first attribute(s) or
the second
attribute(s).
[0064] At step 322, the server 100 outputs the event question. In
some examples, the
event question will be output via the electronic device 108. In further
examples the event
question can be output via the speaker of the electronic device 108.
[0065] After outputting the event question, the server 100 is configured to
receive a
response to the event question at step 324. The user can provide this response
via the electronic
devices 108.
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[0066] When the response to the event question is affirmative, for
example the potential
home buyer has responded that they do want to schedule a home tour, the server
100 generates
an event related to the response to the event question at step 326. For
example, if the potential
home buyer indicated that they would like to schedule an online home tour, the
server 100 will
generate a virtual home tour event.
[0067] Having generated the event, at step 328 the server 100
generates a calendar
invitation similar to the calendar invitation generated in Figure 2. The
calendar invitation can be
a calendar file, such as .ICS, which the user can add to a conventional
calendar application. The
calendar invitation can be automatically populated with information from the
customer
relationship management database 102 and the information that is provided can
be customizable
to the potential home buyer.
[0068] The server 100 can generate a videoconference hyperlink, for
example if the event
is a virtual open house to be conducted over videoconference. The calendar
invitation can be
populated with the videoconference hyperlink. The sever 100 can also generate
location data for
the real estate property, including the address of the real estate property
and the videoconference
hyperlink (which acts as the virtual location). The location data can also
include a mapping
application hyperlink, generated by the server 100, which directs to a mapping
application, such
as GoogleTM Maps. The location data can be populated into a location field of
the calendar
invitation, to provide quick and easy access to the potential home buyer.
[0069] After generating the calendar invitation and populating the calendar
invitation
with information about the real estate property and the event, the server 100
outputs the calendar
invitation at step 330. The calendar invitation can be output to the
electronic devices 108. The
calendar invitation can be output as an audio output on the electronic device
108. The server 100
can also automatically distribute the calendar invitation to the potential
home buyer, the real
estate agent and the owner of the real estate property through email or other
online means of
communication.
[0070] The method 300 allows a potential home buyer to request and
receive information
about the real estate property and neighborhood in a different location than
the real estate
property. This allows the potential home buyer to receive any information
about the real estate
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property prior to visiting the property and can also allow the potential home
buyer to easily
schedule a home tour, either online or offline, from any location.
[0071] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary customer
relationship
management system 400 which can comprise the systems and methods described
herein for
organizing, scheduling and managing real estate data.
[0072] The customer relationship management system 400 has single-
view consolidated
customer profiles 402. The customer profiles 402 relate to each real estate
property and contain
all of the relevant information about each real estate property. In some
examples, the customer
profiles 402 can comprise the customer relationship management database 102
and can obtain
information about the real estate properties from a variety of sources, as
will be further described
herein. The customer profiles 402 may also include information about potential
home buyers
who may be interested in the real estate property, such as whether the
potential home buyer has
children or owns a vehicle, or the location of the potential home buyer's
workplace. The
customer profiles 402 may include any information about the potential home
buyer that may be
relevant to the purchase of a real estate property.
[0073] The customer profiles 402 include a customer messaging model
424. The
customer messaging model 424 can comprise a machine learning model. The
customer
messaging model 424 can use the information stored within the customer
profiles 402 to
determine the relevant information to communicate to a user.
[0074] The customer messaging model 424 can include a neural network. In
some
embodiments, the customer messaging model 424 selects one or more attributes
of the real estate
property that are particular to a potential buyer (a user in the customer
profiles 402).
[0075] A neural network consists of neurons. A neuron is a
computational unit that uses
xs and an intercept of 1 as inputs. An output from the computational unit may
be:
h,,,,b (x) = f (W T x) = f (1 sn=1WsXs +b)
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Date Recue/Date Received 2021-11-23
s=1, 2, ... n, n is a natural number greater than 1, Ws is a weight of xs, b
is an offset (i.e. bias) of
the neuron and f is an activation function (activation functions) of the
neuron and used to
introduce a nonlinear feature to the neural network, to convert an input of
the neuron to an
output. The output of the activation function may be used as an input to a
neuron of a following
convolutional layer in the neural network. The activation function may be a
sigmoid function.
The neural network is formed by joining a plurality of the foregoing single
neurons. In other
words, an output from one neuron may be an input to another neuron. An input
of each neuron
may be associated with a local receiving area of a previous layer, to extract
a feature of the local
receiving area. The local receiving area may be an area consisting of several
neurons.
[0076] A deep neural network (DNN) is also referred to as a multi-layer
neural network
and may be understood as a neural network that includes a first layer
(generally referred to as an
input layer), a plurality of hidden layers, and a final layer (generally
referred to as an output
layer). A layer is considered to be a fully connected layer when there is a
full connection
between two adjacent layers of the neural network. To be specific, all neurons
at an lth layer is
connected to any neuron at an (i+i)th layer. In the DNN, more hidden layers
enable the DNN to
depict a complex situation in the real world. Training of the deep neural
network is a weight
matrix learning process. A final purpose of the training is to obtain a
trained weight matrix (a
weight matrix consisting of learned weights W of a plurality of layers) of all
layers of the deep
neural network.
[0077] One aspect of managing and organizing real estate data relates to
capturing leads
on potential home buyers. In order to effectively capture leads, the customer
relationship
management system 400 can also have multi-purpose marketing lists 404. The
marketing lists
404 may obtain information regarding leads for home buyers through a
subscription to a lead
collection interface 406. In some examples, the lead collection interface 406
may be
automatically populated with information regarding leads on home buyers from
various sources,
such as Wordpress (TM) plugins, lead advertisements on websites, or forms
embedded in
websites. The information on potential home buyers may include any information
that may affect
the potential home buyer's decision to purchase a real estate property. Once
the information is
compiled in the multi-purpose marketing lists 404, the customer relationship
management system
400 will add or update the information within the customer profiles 402.
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Date Recue/Date Received 2021-11-23
[0078] The customer relationship management system 400 can also
include a customer
interface 422. The customer interface 422 is an interface that a potential
home buyer interacts
with in order to obtain information about a real estate property. The customer
interface 422 will
communicate with the potential home buyer through the electronic devices 108.
A potential
home buyer can interact with the customer interface 422 through a website.
Alternatively, the
customer interface 422 can communicate information to the potential home buyer
through the
electronic device 108 via audio outputs and voice inputs. The customer
interface may include the
same standard property listing for all potential home buyers interested in
purchasing a certain
real estate property. Alternatively, the customer interface 422 can be
customized to each
potential home buyer, based on the information stored in the customer profiles
402, and thus the
property listing viewed by the potential home buyer will present information
about the real estate
property that is relevant to the specific buyer. For example, if the potential
home buyer's
workplace is known, the customer interface 422 can include commute times to
the buyer's
particular workplace.
[0079] In some examples, the customer interface 422 is accessible to the
electronic
devices 108. For example, the customer interface 422 can include a web portal,
a dedicated
application or app, or an application program through voice assistant home
appliance.
[0080] The customer relationship management system 400 can also have
a sale
automation system 408 which is communicably linked to the marketing lists 404.
Upon receiving
a lead on a home buyer for a real estate property, the marketing lists 404 may
automatically
trigger the sale automation system 408. The sale automation system 408 may
then generate an
automated assignment of a sale agent to follow up with the potential home
buyers. This
automated assignment of the sale agent will be provided to the single-view
consolidated
customer profiles 402.
[0081] Another aspect of organizing and managing real estate data involves
creating a
marketing campaign 410. The marketing campaign 410 can generate messages to be
sent out to
potential home buyers through various communication methods, such as email,
SMS or online
chat. The marketing campaign 410 will communicate with the customer messaging
model 424 to
create segments which comprise information relevant to the marketing campaign
410, such as
Date Recue/Date Received 2021-11-23
leads for potential home buyers or desired frequency of communication with
potential home
buyers. The customer profiles 402 may also obtain and store information
regarding the marketing
campaign 410 and information obtained through the communications with
potential home buyers
so that all relevant information derived from the marketing campaign 410 is
consolidated in the
customer profiles 402.
[0082] In some examples, the marketing campaign 410 may be
customizable to the user.
For example, a real estate agent or broker may use the customer relationship
management system
400 to increase or decrease the frequency of communications, or to alter the
information
contained within the communications generated by the marketing campaign 410.
These aspects
may be customized based on the real estate property, such that communications
with each
potential home buyer for a real estate property are the same, or they may be
customized for each
particular potential home buyer.
[0083] The customer relationship management system 400 can also
comprise an event
management system 412 for creating, scheduling and managing events related to
a real estate
property, for example virtual open houses. Methods for generating the event
and related
communications may be found in Figures 2 and 3. The event management system
412 can
receive event scheduling inputs 414 from a user. These inputs may comprise
date and time
information for an event.
[0084] In another example, the customer messaging model 424 can
generate a date and
time for an event based on the information contained in the customer profiles
402. In some cases,
the real estate agent or broker may provide a preferred date and time for an
event, for example
the industry standard for open houses may be weekend mornings. The customer
messaging
model 424 can also use the machine learning model to learn when the preferred
date and time for
an event may be based on inputs from a user as well as the information in the
customer profiles
402. For example, the customer messaging model 424 may generate a date and
time which is not
preferable to the real estate agent or the potential home buyer. The customer
messaging model
424 will learn from these interactions so that the customer messaging model
424 can more
accurately predict the preferred date and time for an event. The customer
messaging model 424
may also obtain information about when potential home buyers attended events
and ultimately
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Date Recue/Date Received 2021-11-23
purchased the real estate property they toured at the event. In this case, the
customer messaging
model 424 may use this information to learn the dates and times that will
maximize the
likelihood of a potential home buyer actually purchasing the property.
[0085] The customer messaging model 424 can automatically generate an
event after
receiving the event scheduling inputs 414 and the event can be stored in the
event management
system 412. Having received the event from the customer messaging model 424,
the event
management system 412 can also automatically generate an event landing page
416. The event
landing page 416 may comprise information about the real estate property, the
event or other
relevant information. The event landing page 416 can also use various
communication methods
in order to secure interest in the event, such as an email campaign, digital
advertisements or
offline distribution of information. Potential home buyers may interact with
the event landing
page 416 and can also register for the event on the event landing page 416.
Where a potential
home buyer registers for the event, the registration will be sent to the event
management system
412.
[0086] For certain events, the customer messaging model 424 is configured
to generate a
videoconference, for example to conduct a virtual open house or virtual home
viewing for certain
potential home buyers. In this regard, having generated the event, the event
management system
412 can be communicably linked to various third party applications 418 for
videoconferencing,
such as Zoom (TM). The event management system 412 can be configured to send
the necessary
details of the event, for example the date and time of the event, to the third
party applications
418. The event management system 412 can also be configured to receive a
videoconference
hyperlink from the third party videoconferencing applications which may be
communicated to
the relevant parties, for example the real estate agents and potential home
buyers, through the
event landing page 416.
[0087] The customer relationship management system 400 can also have a
marketing
automation system 420 which may be communicably linked to the event management
system
412 and the marketing lists 404. Either of the marketing lists 404 or the
event management
system 412 can be configured to trigger the marketing automation system 420 to
automatically
generate communications to be sent to the customer messaging model 424. These
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Date Recue/Date Received 2021-11-23
communications will ultimately be sent to potential home buyers and may
contain follow up
messages for before, during or after the event has occurred and may contain
various information
regarding the real estate property, the event or other information chosen by
the user.
[0088] All of the information obtained by the event management system
412, such as the
.. information received from the event landing page 416, the event scheduling
inputs 414, and any
third party applications 418 will be added or updated in the customer profiles
402.
[0089] In some examples, the customer relationship management system
400 and the
components thereof are intended to provide a comprehensive system for
organizing and
managing real estate data. The customer relationship management system 400
will consolidate
all information derived throughout the duration of the sale of the house and
the components of
the customer relationship management system 400 will be in communication with
each other
component in order to ensure that the data stored in the customer profiles 402
is accurate and up-
to-date. Furthermore, the customer relationship management system 400 is
configured to
seamlessly integrate each of the components such that each component has
access to the accurate
and up-to-date information.
[0090] The neural network can be trained using labelled data pairings
between one or
more inputs and one or more outputs. For example, the labelled data pairings
can include inputs
of one or more attributes of the real estate property and the customer
profiles 402 of the potential
buyer, and outputs of: 1) the one or more attributes of the real estate
property that are pertinent to
that potential buyer, 2) whether that potential buyer made an offer or
purchased that real estate
property.
[0091] In some examples, the customer messaging model 424 includes a
facts-to-
narrative model that generates a narrative or story from the one or more
attributes that are
pertinent to the potential buyer. For example, the labelled data pairings can
include a public
database of property attributes of a real estate property and the associated
general agent
description (which is typically in narrative form). In another example, the
labelled data pairings
can include of one or more attributes of the real estate property and the
customer profiles 402 of
the potential buyer and the output is a customized customer narrative.
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[0092] The various embodiments presented above are merely examples
and are in no way
meant to limit the scope of this disclosure. Variations of the innovations
described herein will be
apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art, such variations being within
the intended scope of
the present disclosure. In particular, features from one or more of the above-
described
embodiments may be selected to create alternative embodiments comprises of a
sub-combination
of features which may not be explicitly described above. In addition, features
from one or more
of the above-described embodiments may be selected and combined to create
alternative
embodiments comprised of a combination of features which may not be explicitly
described
above. Features suitable for such combinations and sub-combinations would be
readily apparent
to persons skilled in the art upon review of the present disclosure as a
whole. The subject matter
described herein intends to cover all suitable changes in technology.
[0093] Certain adaptations and modifications of the described
embodiments can be made.
Therefore, the above discussed embodiments are considered to be illustrative
and not restrictive.
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