For Sale By Owner (FSBO) Website

FOR SALE BY OWNER
Industry:
Real Estate
Location:
United States
Collaboration
2012-Ongoing

Customer

The client for this project is a seasoned broker and the owner of a US regional real estate agency. One of the services offered by this agency is consulting property owners on how to sell their homes independently, without agents and commissions, following the FSBO (For Sale By Owner) model.

They decided to take this initiative to the next level by creating a website where homeowners could independently access all the necessary information and tools to list their properties for sale. This is what they approached Cyfrania for.

Challenge

The targeted audience was ordinary, often elderly people, not technically savvy. So the tools had to be simple and easy to use. However, they had to give the user full control over the property's selling process.

The tools had to include:

  • Reports with indicative information about the real estate market in their local area
  • Property price evaluation
  • Professional marketing materials (website, photos, brochures, yard signs, etc.)
  • Step-by-step home selling guide and other educational articles

So, the technical challenges were:

  • Having up-to-date information about local properties
  • Performing data analysis and assessment
  • Creating an easy-to-use user interface
  • Integrating that in an eCommerce environment with a payment processor, multiple packages for everyone’s needs, several third parties, etc.

Solution

We built this web application from the ground up and have been improving, updating, and maintaining it for over 10 years.

The technologies we’ve chosen for the app were:

  • Ruby on Rails
  • PostgreSQL relational database
  • InfusionSoft now called Keap.com
  • State Machine for Wizard UI
  • Faye for web messaging
  • Custom PDFs generation - the PDFs were generated in a high resolution and format suitable for professional printing in a printing house
  • SASS / jQuery / Bootstrap for front-end The following description outlines the features that users can access within this web application.

Key App Features

Wizard for creating MLS listings

We developed a user-friendly wizard interface that guides users step-by-step in creating effective real estate listings, ready for posting across multiple platforms using a multiple listing service (MLS).

It includes:

  • Forms for inputting housing details, with each field including a hint on what should be provided
  • Templates and ready-made text examples for property descriptions showcasing its advantages in the best light
  • A tool for customizing visuals - uploading and editing photos, choosing a color scheme and fonts, as well as arranging all elements

Tools for designing additional marketing materials

With these tools, users can place an order for personalized marketing brochures and a yard sign, which will be printed professionally and delivered to their door.

Tools for reliable assessment of housing market value

The app offers users a variety of helpful reports to assess the current market value of homes in their area, including recent neighborhood sales, trends, and market valuations.

To implement this feature, we integrated the app with third-party software that serves as a source of raw data. We also developed an algorithm to process and summarize this information, generating reports tailored to individual users.

Collection of educational materials

The website contains an extensive section dedicated to articles, books, and resources that offer homeowners valuable tips and effective selling strategies in real estate.

To simplify the publication of these materials, we integrated this portal with the pre-existing customer CMS-based presentation site built on WordPress. The integration was so seamless that the customer wouldn't notice any difference when transitioning from the WordPress section to the FSBO portal.

Results

The platform got a lot of attention in the media and on social networks. After its release, it received many updates and added even more useful reports and features that help people in selling their homes.

Services Provided

Technologies Used

  • Ruby on Rails
  • RSpec / Capybara / Selenium
  • PostgreSQL
  • HTML/SASS
  • jQuery
  • Docker/Dokku
  • DigitalOcean
  • PDF report generation
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