Method and system for registering potential acquirers of assets that are not currently on the market
A register interest system receives from a potential acquirer of assets an indication that the potential acquirer is interested in acquiring rights in a specific asset that is not currently on the market. The register interest system stores indications that the potential acquirers are interested in specific assets. When a notification criterion has been satisfied, then the register interest system notifies the owner of the specific asset that one or more potential acquirers are interested in acquiring rights to that asset. The owner and a potential acquirer can then negotiate the purchase of the rights.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/647,353 filed on Jan. 25, 2005, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PREMARKETING HIGH VALUE ASSETS,” which is hereby incorporated by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELDThe described technology relates generally to computer systems for facilitating the sale of assets.
BACKGROUNDCurrently, assets such as residential real estate properties are typically sold from a seller to a buyer who are each represented by their own real estate agents. When a seller wants to sell their house, the seller elicits the services of a sellers' agent who markets the house and assists in the pricing of the house and in the negotiating of final purchase price. To market a house, the sellers' agent may list the house using a multiple listing service (“MLS”) that advertises the house to other real estate agents. A buyer who is interested in buying a house elicits the services of a buyers' agent who helps the buyer locate a house of interest and assists in the negotiating of the final purchase price. The buyers' agent shows the buyer the current inventory of houses that are for sale that may be of interest to the buyer. Assuming that a house of interest is currently for sale, then the buyer and the seller of the house negotiate a purchase price with the help of their agents. Upon completion of the sale, the seller may pay the sellers' agent a percentage of the purchase price as a commission. The sellers' agent may then share the commission with the buyers' agent.
Assets other than residential real estate may be sold using different marketing models. For example, fine art (e.g., a master's painting) may be sold at an auction conducted by an auction house. When the owner of the art wants to sell, the owner elicits the services of an auction house to advertise and conduct the auction for the art. The auction house may provide an appraisal for the art, contact potential buyers of the art, advertise the auction, conduct the auction, and coordinate the transfer of ownership from the seller to the winning bidder at the auction. The auction house may take as its fee a percentage of the winning bid price.
When a potential buyer is unable to locate an asset in which the potential buyer is interested, the potential buyer may advertise their interest in an asset with certain characteristics. For example, when a potential buyer wants to buy a certain type of antique automobile, that buyer may place a “want advertisement” in an antique automobile magazine. The advertisement may include a description of the automobile that is wanted, and the price that the potential buyer is willing to pay. An owner of an automobile that matches the description who is interested in selling can contact the potential buyer and negotiate the sale of the automobile. Although want advertisements can be effective for assets that can be described in a fairly objective way (e.g., a 1965 Mustang convertible like new), they are not as effective for assets that may have a fairly subjective component to their description (e.g., three-bedroom house with a nice view in a nice neighborhood).
The current models such as those described above for selling assets have various limitations. For example, a potential buyer of a house is typically limited to those houses that are currently being offered for sale. If none of the houses satisfy what the potential buyer is looking for in a house, then the potential buyer may buy a house that does not satisfy their needs or may become frustrated and simply not buy a house. It is very common, however, for people to notice and make mental note of houses they see which they would be interested in buying if available for sale. The knowledge that a person is interested in buying a house has economic value to the person and to the owner, which is currently not being captured. As another example, a potential buyer of fine art may not be able to buy art of interest that is currently on the market, even though the owner would sell the art if the owner knew there was significant interest by potential buyers. It would be desirable to have a model for selling assets that would overcome these and other limitations and capture the economic value for the knowledge that people are interested in buying an asset that is not currently for sale.
SUMMARYA register interest system receives from a potential acquirer of assets an indication that the potential acquirer is interested in acquiring rights in a specific asset that is not currently on the market. The register interest system stores indications that the potential acquirers are interested in specific assets. When a notification criterion has been satisfied, then the register interest system notifies the owner of the specific asset that one or more potential acquirers are interested in acquiring rights to that asset. The owner and a potential acquirer can then negotiate the purchase of the rights.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A method and system for registering potential acquirers who are interested in acquiring rights in assets that are not currently on the market is provided. In one embodiment, a register interest service provides a register interest system that receives from a potential acquirer of assets an indication that the potential acquirer is interested in acquiring rights in a specific asset that is not currently on the market. For example, if the asset is a house, then a potential buyer may register their interest in a specific house (e.g., at 123 Main St.) that is not currently being offered for sale. The register interest system stores indications that the potential acquirers are interested in specific assets. For example, the register interest system may store a mapping from a house address to the names of the potential buyers that are interested in the house at that address. When a notification criterion has been satisfied, then the register interest system notifies the owner of the specific asset that one or more potential acquirers are interested in buying rights to that asset. For example, when a certain number of potential buyers have registered an interest in a certain house, then the register interest system may send a notification to or direct that a notification be sent to the owner indicating that potential buyers have expressed an interest in buying the house. If the potential acquirers and the owners of assets agree to terms of the register interest service, then the register interest system directs that the owner and potential acquirers be put in contact. The terms may be that a potential acquirer, an actual acquirer, or the owner may pay a fee (e.g., a percentage of the acquisition price) to the register interest service. In this way, potential acquirers of a specific asset not need wait until the asset is put on the market to express their interest, and owners of assets that are not currently on the market can be notified of potential acquirers. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the register interest system can be used to register an interest in various types of assets such as fine art, antiques, yachts, cars, horses, show dogs, commercial and residential real estate, and so on.
In one embodiment, the register interest system is used to generate interest in a transaction between a potential buyer and the owner of real estate property that is not currently for sale. The register interest system provides a web site through which potential buyers of real estate property can register their interest in a specific real estate property (e.g., house) that is not currently for sale. The register interest system may provide a web page for registering an interest in real estate property. The register interest system may allow a potential buyer to identify a house by its street address, by selecting the lot on which the house resides from a map, and so on. The register interest system maintains a mapping of the houses to the potential buyers that have registered an interest in those houses. The register interest system may also collect information from the potential buyers so that it can assess whether a potential buyer has the financial capability to buy the house. This assessment may be similar to the prequalification of potential buyers performed by lending institutions when a potential buyer first starts to look for a house. The register interest system may require a potential buyer to agree to registration terms before their interest is registered. For example, the register interest service may require a potential buyer to pay a certain fee such as a fixed fee at the time of registration or a percentage of the purchase price of the house, which may be taken out of the buyers' agent's commission. The register interest system may periodically (or when the owner is about to be notified of the interest) prompt a potential buyer to confirm their continued interest in a house to ensure that their interest is current. Such confirmation may require the potential buyer to pay a continued interest fee to ensure their continued interest. When a sufficient interest in a house has been registered, then the register interest system notifies the owner of the house that potential buyers have registered an interest in the house. For example, the register interest system may notify the owner when a certain number of potential buyers have registered an interest, when a potential buyer has had an interest registered in the house for a certain period, when a comparable house in the same neighborhood is placed on the market or sold, and so on. The register interest system may notify the owner electronically (e.g., assuming that the electronic mail address of the owner is available), may direct that a telephone call be placed to the owner, may direct that a letter be sent to the owner, and so on. The notification may indicate the number of potential buyers that have registered an interest along with an indication of whether it is known that the potential buyers have the financial capability to buy the house. An owner who would not be interested in selling their house if approached by a single potential buyer might be willing to sell their house upon learning that there are many potential buyers. The register interest system may require that the owner agree to terms of the register interest service before the owner is provided any details concerning the registered interest in their house. For example, the registered interest service may require the owner to pay a fee at the time of notification of the number of or names and contact information of the potential buyers who have registered an interest in the owner's house. As another example, the register interest service may require the owner to pay a certain percentage of the actual purchase price of the house when it is sold to one of the potential buyers identified to the owner by the register interest system which may be taken out of the buyer's agent commission or which may be paid by the seller or buyer when no agent is involved in the sale (i.e., contingent fees). When the owner agrees to the terms, then the register interest system identifies one of more of the potential buyers to the owner. The owner and the potential buyer can then negotiate the sale of the house.
In one embodiment, an owner upon receiving notification that potential buyers are interested in buying the owner's house may register with the register interest service. During the registration process, the owner may indicate a price for which the owner would be willing to sell their house. The register interest system can then notify the potential buyers who have a registered interest in the house of the price. A potential buyer could then indicate that they are willing to start negotiating the sale of the house with knowledge of the owner's price.
In one embodiment, the register interest system may provide the contact information of potential buyers to an owner based on a buyer preference criterion. For example, as an incentive for potential buyers to register their interest in houses, the register interest service may have a policy that the first potential buyer to register an interest in the house will be identified to the owner before any other potential buyers are identified. The register interest system may provide a window of opportunity (e.g., seven days) for the potential buyer and owner to agree to terms of the sale of the house. If the potential buyer and the owner do not agree to terms of the sale of the house within that window, then the register interest system can put the owner in contact with the other potential buyers. The register interest system may also base potential buyer preferences on a preference fee paid by a potential buyer. Only potential buyers who are truly interested in buying a house might be willing to pay the preference fee to receive the benefit of the preference. The register interest service may also provide additional information about the potential buyers to the owner with permission of the potential buyers. For example, the register interest system may identify the employer of the potential buyer, indicate whether an offer by the potential buyer would be contingent on the sale of the potential buyer's house, and so on.
In one embodiment, the register interest system may use the registered interest in houses to identify top houses in a neighborhood and to predict a purchase price for a house. Potential buyers may typically register an interest in houses that they find desirable (e.g., because of location, street appeal, number of rooms, and anticipated purchase price). Thus, houses in which a large number of potential buyers have registered an interest may be more likely desirable to potential buyers. The register interest system can use this registration information to identify the most desirable houses in a neighborhood, the most desirable neighborhoods in a city, and so on. In addition, the register interest system may use the registered interest in predicting an actual purchase price for house. The register interest system may assume that a house in which many potential buyers are interested may command a higher purchase price than if no potential buyers register an interest.
In one embodiment, the register interest system may use the registered interest information to help identify comparable houses. A potential buyer who has registered an interest in a house may also want to register an interest in comparable houses. A traditional technique for determining comparable houses might factor in lot size, number of rooms, age of house, location, view, and so on. Such factors are, however, generally objective. A potential buyer who registers interests in multiple houses may do so because the potential buyer believes that the houses are in some way comparable (e.g., similar street appeal or lowest-priced house in a neighborhood). Thus, when a potential buyer registers an interest in the house, the register interest system may identify the other potential buyers who registered an interest in that house and indicate that the other houses in which the potential buyers registered an interest may be comparable. For example, the register interest system may notify a potential buyer that “others who registered an interest in this house also registered an interest in the following houses:.” The register interest system may use a combination of traditional techniques and the registered interest information to determine comparable houses that may provide a more accurate assessment of truly comparable houses. For example, if a potential buyer has registered an interest in a six-bedroom house, but the registered interest information indicates that a seven-bedroom, a five-bedroom, and a two-bedroom house may be comparable, then the register interest system may disregard the two-bedroom house because it is outside the traditional technique for determining comparable houses. Similarly, the register interest system may indicate that the seven-bedroom house is more comparable than the five-bedroom house based on the registered interest information. The register interest system may provide a score indicating how comparable a house may be and rank the houses based on their scores.
In one embodiment, the register interest system might use the registered interest information to identify comparable houses that are currently for sale and notify the potential buyer of such houses for a fee. The register interest system may use a combination of traditional techniques and the registered interest information to determine comparable houses that may provide a more accurate assessment of truly comparable houses. For example, the registered interest system may look at historical registered interest information for the house that is for sale to identify the potential buyers who registered an interest in the house and then identify the other houses that those potential buyers also registered an interest.
In one embodiment, the register interest system may make some information on the registration of houses publicly available. The system could compile and publish information on the number of potential buyers who had registered interest in any particular house over time as an indication of the marketability of the house. This indirect information on marketability might influence the behavior of both potential buyers and the owners.
The computing device on which the register interest system is implemented may include a central processing unit, memory, input devices (e.g., keyboard and pointing devices), output devices (e.g., display devices), and storage devices (e.g., disk drives). The memory and storage devices are computer-readable media that may contain instructions that implement the register interest system. In addition, the data structures and message structures may be stored or transmitted via a data transmission medium, such as a signal on a communications link. Various communication links may be used, such as the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network, a point-to-point dial-up connection, a cell phone network, and so on.
The register interest system may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, executed by one or more computers or other devices. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, and so on that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Typically, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments.
Potential buyers, and others, may also communicate with the service provider system by mobile communication devices 1680. Mobile devices may access the service provider via a mobile communication network 1670 and the Internet 1630. In one alternative, the potential buyer can access the service provider system via the mobile communication network and the public switched telephone network (not shown for clarity). For example, the potential buyer may notice a house that the potential buyer would like to purchase. As discussed previously, the potential buyer places a call or sends a text message to the service provider system to register their interest in purchasing the house. The service provider system can use the location of mobile device as further information to confirm identification of the house in which the potential buyer wants to register an interest.
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that specific embodiments of the register interest system have been described herein for purposes of illustration, but that various modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the invention. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the register interest system may be used to acquire various rights in assets. For example, if the asset is a painting, then the potential acquirer may want limited copyrights in the painting. As another example, if the asset is an office building, the potential acquirer may want to lease space in the building. When an owner registers their house, the owner may be provided with a sign with an identification number. A potential buyer upon seeing the sign can use the identification number to register their interest in the house, for example, using a cellular telephone. The register interest service may also coordinate pre-marketing open houses for owners who have registered their house. The register interest service may invite potential buyers to the open house who have registered an interest in a comparable house. The register interest service may sell its registration information to mortgage companies to help them assess the risk associated with a house. If a house has traditionally had many registered potential buyers, then the mortgage company may be comfortable in lending to a somewhat risky buyer because of the many potential buyers should the risky buyer default. The register interest system may allow owners to correct the information about their house. For example, government records may not show the correct house size, number of bedrooms, and so on. Accordingly, the invention is not limited except as by the appended claims.
Claims
1. A method in a computer system for matching potential buyers of assets that are not currently for sale with the owners of the assets, the method comprising:
- receiving from a potential buyer an indication that the potential buyer is interested in buying an asset that is not currently for sale;
- notifying an owner of the asset that the potential buyer is interested in buying the asset; and
- providing to the owner of the asset the identity of the potential buyer of the asset.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the asset is real estate property.
3. The method of claim 2 including providing a web site through which a potential buyer can indicate their interest in buying the real estate property.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein the web site provides a map from which the potential buyer can identify the real estate property.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the indication further includes position information of the asset.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein the position information includes GPS coordinates.
7. The method of claim 5 wherein the position information is input by speaking the address.
8. The method of claim 5 wherein the position information is input via a cellular phone.
9. The method of claim 1 including determining whether the potential buyer has the financial capability to buy the asset in which the potential buyer has indicated an interest.
10. The method of claim 9 including notifying the owner that the potential buyer has the financial capability to buy the asset.
11. The method of claim 1 wherein the asset is selected from the group consisting of fine art, antiques, yachts, cars, horses, show dogs and similar assets that are unique and valuable.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein the providing of the identity of the potential buyer of the asset is performed after receiving an indication that the owner of the asset agrees to terms under which the identity of the potential buyer will be provided.
13. The method of claim 12 wherein the terms include that the owner will keep information about the buyer confidential.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein the terms include that the owner will provide compensation in exchange for information about the potential buyer.
15. The method of claim 1 including providing a list of assets that are comparable to the asset in which the potential buyer has indicated an interest.
16. The method of claim 15 wherein an asset is comparable based at least in part on another potential buyer indicating an interest in both the asset and the comparable asset.
17. The method of claim 1 wherein the owner is notified of potential buyers in an order based on a preference assigned to the potential buyers.
18. The method of claim 17 wherein the preferences are assigned based on fees paid by the potential buyers.
19. The method of claim 17 wherein the preferences are assigned based on order in which the potential buyers indicated an interest in the asset.
20. The method of claim 1 including providing a predicted sale price for the asset.
21. The method of claim 1 including providing information about the asset obtained from various data sources.
22. The method of claim 21 including when the asset is real estate property, a data source is selected from the group consisting of property tax records, maps, multiple listing service records, permits, and previous sales relating to the real estate property.
23. The method of claim 1 including providing a list of top assets based on potential buyers who have indicated an interest in the assets.
24. The method of claim 1 wherein when the assets are, real estate property, providing a list of top real estate properties based on potential buyers who have indicated an interest in the real estate properties.
25. The method of claim 1 wherein when the assets are real estate properties, providing a list of top areas based on potential buyers who have indicated an interest in the real estate properties in those areas.
26. A method in a computer system for generating interest in a transaction between a potential buyer of a real estate property that is not currently for sale and the owner of the real estate property, the method comprising:
- providing a web site through which potential buyers of real estate can register their interest in a specific real estate property that is not currently for sale;
- directing that a notification be sent to an owner of a real estate property in which a potential buyer has registered an interest, the notification indicating that a potential buyer has registered an interest in the owner's real estate property;
- providing a web site through which an owner who has been notified can register an interest in offering the owner's real estate property for sale; and
- after the owner registers an interest in offering the owner's real estate property for sale, directing that the potential buyer and the owner be put in contact.
27. The method of claim 26 wherein the potential buyer and the owner are put in contact only after they agree to terms of contact.
28. The method of claim 26 wherein the web site provides a map from which the potential buyer can identify real estate property.
29. The method of claim 26 wherein the potential buyer can identify the real estate property using GPS coordinates.
30. The method of claim 26 wherein the potential buyer can identify the real estate property using a cellular phone.
31. The method of claim 26 including determining whether the potential buyer has the financial capability to buy the real estate property.
32. The method of claim 31 including notifying the owner that the potential buyer has the financial capability to buy the real estate property.
33. The method of claim 26 including providing a list of real estate properties that are comparable to the real estate property in which the potential buyer has registered an interest.
34. The method of claim 33 wherein real estate property is comparable based at least in part on another potential buyer registering an interest in both the real estate property and the comparable real estate property.
35. The method of claim 26 wherein the owner is notified of potential buyers in an order based on a preference assigned to the potential buyers.
36. The method of claim 26 including providing a predicted sale price for the real estate property.
37. The method of claim 26 including collecting information from a data source that is selected from the group consisting of property tax records, maps, multiple listing service record, permits, and previous sales relating to the real estate property.
38. The method of claim 26 including providing a list of top real estate properties based on potential buyers who have indicated an interest in the real estate properties.
39. The method of claim 26 including providing a list of top areas based on potential buyers who have indicated an interest in the real estate properties in those areas.
40. A method for registering potential acquirers who have expressed an interest in acquiring rights in assets that are not currently on the market with the owners of the assets, the method comprising:
- receiving from potential acquirers of assets indications that the potential acquirers are interested in acquiring rights in specific assets that are not currently on the market;
- storing indications that the potential acquirers are interested in the specific assets; and
- upon a notification criterion being satisfied, notifying the owner of a specific asset that a potential acquirer is interested in acquiring rights in the specific asset.
41. The method of claim 40 wherein the notification criterion is satisfied when the owner places the rights in the specific asset on the market.
42. The method of claim 40 wherein the notification criterion is satisfied when a certain number of potential acquirers indicate an interest in acquiring rights in the specific asset.
43. The method of claim 42 wherein the rights in the specific asset are ownership rights.
44. The method of claim 42 wherein the rights in the specific asset are lease rights.
45. The method of claim 42 wherein the rights in the specific asset are breeding rights.
46. A method of facilitating a sale of real estate property, implemented in a computer system, comprising:
- receiving, from a potential buyer, an indication of interest in buying a real estate property;
- incrementing a counter associated with the real estate property; and
- providing information to an owner of the real estate property when the counter reaches a predetermined threshold;
- wherein the real estate property is not publicly offered for sale when the indication of interest is received.
47. The method of claim 45, further comprising making a determination of the potential buyer's financial capability to buy the real estate property.
48. The method of claim 46 when the determination indicates that the buyer has the financial capability to buy the real estate property, providing the potential buyer with preferred access to the owner of the real estate property.
49. The method of claim 45 wherein the information includes an identifier associated with the potential buyer.
50. The method of claim 48 wherein the identifier is selected from the group consisting of name, address, phone number, electronic mail address, login name, and user identifier.
51. The method of claim 45 wherein the indication of interest includes location information.
52. The method of claim 50 wherein the location information includes GPS coordinates.
53. The method of claim 45 wherein the real estate property is a residential property.
54. The method of claim 45 wherein the information comprises home mortgage loan prequalification status of the potential buyer.
55. The method of claim 45 including providing the potential buyer with a list of other real estate property in which other potential buyers, who have indicated an interest in buying the same real estate property, have indicated an interest in buying.
56. The method of claim 45 including providing the potential buyer with an estimated price of the real estate property, the estimated price based at least in part on sales of comparable real estate property and on indications of interest from other potential buyers.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 22, 2005
Publication Date: Jul 27, 2006
Inventors: Martin King (Vashon Island, WA), Henry Happel (Seattle, WA), Jerry Gnuschke (Woodinville, WA), James Stafford-Fraser (Cambridge)
Application Number: 11/113,364
International Classification: G06Q 99/00 (20060101);