AU2011201111A1 - Facilitating transactions between parties - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract A computer-implemented method for facilitating a transaction between a first party and a second party, the method comprising: receiving transaction criteria from the first party, the transaction criteria including a location; assigning an agent to the first party based on the location in the received transaction criteria; publishing the first party's transaction criteria and contact information of the assigned agent on a website accessible by the second party such that the assigned agent is contactable, via the published contact information, by the second party having a product matching the first party's transaction criteria. This disclosure also concerns software and computer system for facilitating a transaction between a first party and a second party. 110 User Base Station Equipment Seller 142 152 150 Server Processing Unit Internet User Equipment Buyer Buyer's Purchase Criteria User 124, 1 Equipment Agent Buyers' Information 172 170 128% Agents' Information Equiment Authority

Description

AUSTRALIA FB RICE & CO Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys Patents Act 1990 Red Hot International Pty Limited COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Invention Title. Facilitating Transactions between Parties The invention is described in the following statement: 2 Title Facilitating Transactions between Parties Technical Field 5 This description concerns a computer-implemented method for facilitating a transaction between a first party and a second party, such as in the field of real estate. In other aspects, a computer system and software to implement the method are disclosed. 10 Background There are websites that facilitate transactions between two parties, such as between a selling party and a buying party in the real estate market. One type of websites allows a 15 real estate agent to advertise properties for sale. Potential buyers who view these websites can contact the relevant agent if they find a property that satisfies their transaction criteria. Another type of websites specifically eliminates the use of real estate agents. Property owners who are selling a property can advertise on these websites such that interested buyers can contact them directly. 20 Summary According to a first aspect, there is provided a computer-implemented method for facilitating a transaction between a first party and a second party, the method 25 comprising: receiving transaction criteria from the first party, the transaction criteria including a location; assigning an agent to the first party based on the location in the received transaction criteria; 30 publishing the first party's transaction criteria and contact information of the assigned agent on a website accessible by the second party such that the assigned agent is contactable, via the published contact information, by the second party having a product matching-the first party's transaction criteria. 35 The method has application in a various business transactions. In the context of real estate, the first party may be a buyer who wishes to purchase a property and the second 3 party a seller who has a property for sale or intends to sell one. Advantageously, an inventory of buyers is available to the sellers to find matching buyers. When a matching buyer is found, the seller is automatically introduced to an agent who 5 is assigned to the buyer based on the buyer's the location criteria. The agent can then act as an intermediary between the buyer and the seller to facilitate a transaction between them. Provided there are matching buyers, the number of days the property is on the market will likely be reduced. 10 Of course, the first and second parties may be a renter and a property owner respectively. In other fields, the product may be a vehicle, travel product, artwork or a job opening. The step of publishing the first party's transaction criteria on the website may be 15 performed if an approval is received from the assigned agent. Approval by the agent before publishing the first party's transaction criteria on the website ensures that they are genuine. This also provides agents with an opportunity to reject a first party if the agents are suspicious of their authenticity, or have previously had a bad experience with them. The assigned agent may be exclusive to the location in the received 20 transaction criteria. The method may further comprise receiving and storing contact information of the first party in a data store. The first party's contact information may not be published on the website. 25 To further guarantee the validity of the first party, the method may comprise sending the first party's contact information to an authority personnel for verification when requested. The relevant authority may be the Office of Fair Trading in Australia. 30 The method may further comprise providing an interface for an agent to register, receiving contact information and an agent licence number from the agent and storing the received information and number in the data store. The method may further comprise automatically updating a payment account 35 associated with the agent at predetermined intervals. For example, the payment 4 account associated with the agent may be updated every time an activation request is sent to the agent. The method may further comprise removing the first party's transaction criteria from 5 the website after a predetermined period of time. The product may be a real estate property, the first party a property buyer, the second party a property seller and the agent a realtor. 10 According to a second aspect, there is provided software to implement the method according to the first aspect. According to a third aspect, there is provided a computer system for facilitating a transaction between a transaction between a first party and a second party, the system 15 comprising a processing unit operable to: receive transaction criteria from the first party, the transaction criteria including a location; assign an agent to the first party based on the location in the received transaction criteria; 20 publish the first party's transaction criteria and contact information of the assigned agent on a website accessible by the second party such that the assigned agent is contactable, via the published contact information, by the second party having a product matching the first party's transaction criteria. 25 Brief Description of the Drawings Non-limiting example(s) of the method and system will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of exemplary system for facilitating transactions 30 between first and second parties. Fig. 2 is a flowchart of steps performed by a processing unit when registering an agent and a buyer. Fig. 3 is an example of a buyer's published information. Fig. 4 is a flowchart of steps performed by the processing unit when matching a 35 seller with one or more buyers.

5 Detailed Description The computer system and computer-implemented method for facilitating a transaction between a first party and a second party will now be illustrated with a non-limiting, real 5 estate example. In this case, the first party is a property buyer, the second party is a property seller, the agent is a realtor and the product is a real estate property. Referring first to Fig. 1, the system 100 comprises a data store 120 and a server 110 having a processing unit 112 that operates a website accessible over the Internet 140, 10 and where applicable, a wireless communications network 142. A plurality of sellers 150, buyers 160 and agents 170 (one shown for simplicity) can access the website using their respective user equipment 152, 162 and 172. Third parties such as an authority personnel 180 may similarly access the website using a user 15 equipment 182. Examples of user equipment 152, 162, 172 and 182 include mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), smart phones and computers. Steps performed by the processing unit 112 in the context of real estate transactions will now be described with reference to Fig. 2. 20 Registration of Agents The website operated by the processing unit 112 provides a user interface for agents 170 to sign up; see step 210. 25 Each agent 170 is associated with a location, which can be represented by one or more suburb names or postcodes. To be an exclusive agent for a particular location, the agent 170 is required to pay a monthly, bi-annual or annual fee. The processing unit 112 first verifies that the location is available before allowing the agent 170 to sign up. 30 The agent 170 is also required to provide the following: contact information such as name, agency name, location, phone number and email address; a valid agent license number; and 35 payment account details such as credit card number, debit card number or bank account number.

6 The agent 170 is also required to approve terms and conditions associated with using the website. Once the processing unit 112 receives the information entered by the agent 170, the received agent's information 128 is stored in the data store 120; see also 5 Fig. 1. The agent 170 will be assigned to a buyer 160 if the agent's 170 location matches with the location in the buyer's 160 transaction criteria. The mapping between the agent 170 and the buyer 160 in recorded in the data store 120 for future access. Similarly, if a 10 seller 150 has a property for sale in the agent's 170 location, the seller 150 will also be referred to the agent 170 who will put the seller 150 in contact with an appropriate buyer 160. Registration of Buyers 15 The website operated by the processing unit 112 also provides a user interface for buyers 160 to sign up; see step 210. To do so, buyers 160 are required to enter information such as their personal information, which include their full name, address, phone number, email address. 20 The buyers 160 are also required to enter transaction criteria, which include: location (suburb or postcode) of the property; type of property (house, townhouse, unit, land); number of bedrooms; 25 number of-bathrooms; number of car spaces; price range (maximum and minimum); property features, such as air conditioning, built-in wardrobes, cable or satellite, ensuite, floorboards, swimming pool, internal laundry and gas stove; 30 proximity to, for example, transport, shopping centres, restaurants, emergency services, parks, schools and recreation centres; and any other comments, for example, on whether the buyer is finance-approved. The processing unit 112 receives and stores the buyer's information 124 in the data 35 store 120 and assigns the buyer a unique ID; see step 220.

7 If the buyer's information 124 is not provided by an agent 170, the buyer 160 must first be verified by an agent 170. In this case, the processing unit 112 determines an agent 170 associated with the location in the buyer's 160 transaction criteria and sends an activation request to the agent 170 for approval; see steps 230, 240 and 250. 5 The activation request, which may be in the form of an email, includes contact information of the buyer 160 such as email address and phone number. As such, the agent 170 may contact the buyer using the information to assess the authenticity of the buyer 160. 10 The agent 170 can approve the activation request by sending a reply email with a predefined subject line or clicking a link provided in the activation request. If the activation request is approved, the processing unit 112 assigns the agent 170 to the buyer 160 such that the agent 170 can act as an intermediary between the buyer 160 15 and sellers 150 with a property matching the buyer's transaction criteria; see step 270. The step of assigning involves recording the mapping between the agent 170 and the buyer 160 in the data store 120. The processing unit 112 then activates the buyer 160, which involves publishing the 20 buyer's 160 ID and transaction criteria on the website accessible by sellers 150; see steps 280. A section of the website is dedicated to recently-added buyers 160. Information of the buyer 160 will not be published if the activation request is not approved; see step 265. 25 Alternatively, an agent 170 can sign up on behalf of a buyer 160 by logging onto the website. In this case, activation request is not sent to the agent 170 and the buyer 160 is automatically assigned to the agent 170. . The buyer's 160 information will then be published on the website; see step 270. 30 An exemplary listing of an activated buyer on the website is shown in Fig. 3, with the buyer's 160 full name and contact information concealed 310. Only the buyer's unique ID 320 and transaction criteria 330 will be published along with contact information 340 of the agent 170 assigned to the buyer 160.

8 A buyer 160 may have multiple agents each associated with a different location assigned to him or her if the buyer 160 is looking to buy in a plurality areas with different postcode or suburb name. 5 The processing unit 112 records the number of days a buyer has been listed on the website and automatically deactivates buyers 160 at predetermined intervals, such as every 30 days. A deactivated buyer 160 will have his or her published purchase criteria removed from the website. In this case, the processing unit 112 sends an re-activation request to the respective assigned agents 170 for approval such that only buyers 160 10 who have maintained an interest to buy are listed on the website. Queries from Sellers Sellers 150 with a property for sale can visit the website to view published buyer's 160 15 transaction criteria and to search for buyers 160 whose transaction criteria match with their property. Referring now to Fig. 4, a seller 150 can submit a query to the processing unit 112 at the server 110 by entering product information on a product they are selling, or intend 20 to sell to create a query; see step 410. The required product information for a real estate property includes: the property's location (suburb or postcode); type of property (house, townhouse, unit, land); number of bedrooms; 25 number of bathrooms; number of car spaces; price range (maximum and minimum); property features, such as air conditioning, built-in wardrobes, cable or satellite, ensuite, floorboards, swimming pool, internal laundry and gas stove; and 30 proximity to, for example, transport, shopping centres, restaurants, emergency services, parks, schools and recreation centres. The processing unit 112 then matches the seller 150 with one or more buyers 160 based on the received product information and the buyers' 160 transaction criteria; see step 35 420.

9 If a match is found, the processing unit 112 retrieves, from the data store 120, the information of each matching buyer 160 and contact information of the agent 170 assigned to the buyer 160 and provides the information to the seller 150 via the website; see steps 430 and 440. This way, the assigned agent 170 is contactable, via 5 the published contact information, by the seller 150. When contacted, the agent 170 can sign the seller 150 up using a selling agency agreement, the terms and conditions of which must be abide by the agent 170 and the seller 150. Otherwise, if a match is not found, the processing unit 112 notifies the seller 150 that a 10 matching buyer 160 cannot be found and that the seller 150 may try again. In this case, the seller 150 may be asked to register with the website such that the seller 150 is automatically notified if a buyer 160 with matching transaction criteria is published on the website. 15 Further, the website provides an interface for an authority personnel 180, such as a personnel from the Office of Fair Trading in Australia, for auditing purposes. Specifically, name and address of the buyers 160 will be provided to the authority personnel 180 to verify the identity of the buyers 160. This is to assure all users that only genuine buyers and agents are listed on the website. 20 An agent 170 may be charged at predetermined intervals such as monthly, biannually or annually. In this case, the processing unit 112 increases the balance of a payment account associated with the agent 170 at those predetermined intervals. 25 Otherwise, the agent 170 may be charged every time an activation request is approved by the agent 170. In this case, the processing unit 112 updates a payment account associated with the agent 170 by increasing the amount owed at the predetermined intervals. 30 The website is also designed to allow third party advertising. Videos can also be published on the website to explain the transaction processing using the website or to provide any training purposes. The website also has a section where related news and articles are published. 35 It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the method and system as shown in the specific 10 embodiments without departing from the scope of the method and system as broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. 5 Although the system 100 has been exemplified in the context of a real estate selling market, it will be appreciated that the system 100 can be used in other fields. In the property rental market, the first and second parties may be a renter and a property owner respectively. The product may also be a vehicle, travel product, artwork or even a job opening. 10 In another example, more than one agent 170 may be associated with a particular location. In this case, the processing unit 112 is further operable to select and assign an agent 170 to a buyer 160 based on some predetermined criteria when the buyer 160 signs up. Otherwise, agents 170 may bid for the right to represent a buyer 160, or the 15 buyer 160 is presented with a plurality of agents 170 to choose from. It should also be understood that, unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as "receiving", "processing", "selecting", "calculating", "sending", 20 "assigning", "publishing", "determining", "assigning", "displaying" or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that processes and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such 25 information storage, transmission or display devices. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, words using singular or plural number also include the plural or singular number respectively. It should also be understood that the techniques described might be implemented using 30 a variety of technologies. For example, the methods described herein may be implemented by a series of computer executable instructions residing on a suitable computer readable medium. Suitable computer readable media may include volatile (e.g. RAM) and/or non-volatile (e.g. ROM, disk) memory, carrier waves and transmission media (e.g. copper wire, coaxial cable, fibre optic media).

11 Exemplary carrier waves may take the form of electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals conveying digital data steams along a local network or a publically accessible network such as the Internet.

Claims (16)

1. A computer-implemented method for facilitating a transaction between a first party and a second party, the method comprising: 5 receiving transaction criteria from the first party, the transaction criteria including a location; assigning an agent to the first party based on the location in the received transaction criteria; publishing the first party's transaction criteria and contact information of the 10 assigned agent on a website accessible by the second party such that the assigned agent is contactable, via the published contact information, by the second party having a product matching the first party's transaction criteria.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of publishing the first party's transaction 15 criteria on the website is performed if an approval is received from the assigned agent.

3. The method of claim I or 2, wherein the assigned agent is exclusive to the location in the received transaction criteria. 20

4. The method of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising receiving and storing contact information of the first party in a data store.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the first party's contact information is not published on the website. 25

6. The method of claim 4 or 5, further comprising sending the first party's contact information to an authority personnel for verification when requested.

7. The method of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising providing an 30 interface for an agent to register, receiving contact information and an agent licence number from the agent and storing the received information and number in the data store.

8. The method of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising automatically 35 updating a payment account associated with the agent at predetermined intervals. 13

9. The method of claims 2 to 8, further comprising automatically updating a payment account associated with the agent every time an activation request is sent to the agent. 5

10. The method of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising removing the first party's transaction criteria from the website after a predetermined period of time.

11. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the product is a real estate property, the first party is a property buyer, the second party is a property seller 10 and the agent is a realtor.

12. Software to perform the method of any one of the preceding claims.

13. A computer system for facilitating a transaction between a transaction between a 15 first party and a second party, the system comprising a processing unit operable to: receive transaction criteria from the first party, the transaction criteria including a location; assign an agent to the first party based on the location in the received transaction criteria; 20 publish the first party's transaction criteria and contact information of the assigned agent on a website accessible by the second party such that the assigned agent is contactable, via the published contact information, by the second party having a product matching the first party's transaction criteria. 25

14. A computer-implemented method for facilitating a transaction between a first party and a second party substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

15. Software to perform the method for facilitating a transaction between a first 30 party and a second party substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

16. A computer system for facilitating a transaction between a transaction between a first party and a second party substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to 35 the accompanying drawings.