ACADEMIA
iPhone, Web application helps homebuyers organize, share home search information
Homebuyers will soon be able to organize information about homes they visit, including photos, and share it with friends and their real estate agent through a new iPhone and Web application launched Tuesday (April 10).
iDreamAgent allows users to list information about homes they have visited, upload photos and rank the homes. The app was conceived by West Lafayette entrepreneur Dustin Washington and developed by Purdue Research Park-based DelMar Information Technologies LLC. It can be purchased from the Apple App Store for $4.99.
Washington said iDreamAgent was developed to shorten the time between home shopping and home buying.{hwdvs-player}id=417|height=340|width=420|tpl=playeronly{/hwdvs-player}
"We aren't replacing the agent with this application. It is meant to help manage the data around the home buying process," he said. "The agent will have better access to their clients' data, which can improve home searches and lead to better results for everyone involved in the process."
Washington formed the idea to create the app when he and his wife were looking for a new home. He said they took on the task of aggregating the information about the homes they visited.
"Our agent let us into the homes, but we did home searches online, made notes and took photos. We had stacks of paper including multiple listing service notes, sheets and photos," he said. "I knew there had to be a better way to rate what we did or didn't like about each home."
The iDreamAgent home screen shows a list of homes the user is considering.
"The user clicks the 'Add' button to go to a screen where he can track the asking price, list notes and provide a 'Like/Don't Like' review of the home," said Mikel Berger, software developer at DelMar Information Technologies. "The second screen allows the user to add photos and tag them. Tagging photos with names like 'living room' or 'backyard' lets the user compare these photos afterward."
When the information is uploaded to a server, the user receives a URL that can be shared so others can see photos and look at the homes' rankings.
"This may benefit a user who wants to ask a home improvement professional how much a repair might cost or to solicit other people's opinions about the homes," Berger said. "The information can also be shared with the real estate agent to provide a better idea of what the user is looking for in a home."
A video produced by DangerousTACTICS that shows how to share information and upload photos to iDreamAgent can be viewed at http://www.idreamagent.com/video
