EZ Pro Realty - The New Standard?

Posted on March 15, 2008
Filed Under Open Realty, Products in Review |

Professional PHP/ MySQL Real Estate Listings Manager

I was writing an article in my post manager (via my new plugin) for the new "Professionals In Review" section of my blog I got to thinking about standards in software related to the real estate industry.  Fitting I thought, I would write a post about the fork of Open Realty called EZ Pro Realty since my post in draft touched on this very idea briefly as I wrote about one of the most influential and in my personal opinion one of the most articulate leaders regarding real estate technology standards, Mark Lesswing.  Since I was in the "standards writing" mindset while writing about Mark, I quickly jotted down a handful of little notes in the planner section for later reference like;  Who sets these standards? Why do they matter? Should websites that don’t follow them include legends similar to those used on maps? And dozens of others as I kept that ever present hand drawn depiction of my target audience in mind as I wrote.

Mark Lesswing, the NAR’s Chief of Technology Officer is the brain behind many tools that were developed in support of  "industry standards " like the RETS compliance mandate for MLS providers.  vieleRETS, one of Mark’s best known tools, is an open source application used to connect real estate sites to the standards compliant MLS provider using an XML wrapper.  Such is easy to follow as we can see how these key words net us the acronym RETS (Real Estate Transaction Standard).  I’ve been supporting vieleRETS since the earliest version releases, and knowing the history of this application, the proprietary position it occupies, being an application defining a standard is easily understood.  Not unique per se, contrast and focus are evident when comparing to similar applications that may appear to be trend setting in a lead role, contributing or setting standards even though the opposite may actually be true.  All of this naturally assumes that the one setting the standard had an authoritative position and foundation of support that could be agreed upon. (well, thats the ideal anyway)

Software and website solution standards for real estate?

Real estate website applications by and large are custom solutions not following any particular pattern of implementation quite similar to the shopping cart standards in the early days of their development.  Today as many would agree, shopping carts follow a pattern that is standardized for what a shopping cart should have and be in regards to features. Anything falling short is just that, falling short. 

In the real estate industry one thing that rings true is how slow the industry reacts to change and implementation of technology.  Jokingly we know that the very last people to toss their pagers and brick like cell phones were Realtors as many are very slow to change and unfortunately prone fads more so than other industries I’ve followed. But when the real estate industry does implement change the vast majority of those who attempt to be pioneers do so running in the dark with a sharp object in hand.  Realtor site applications are just not quite to the level of bare minimum standards that an effective site should have. When someone does introduce an pseudo imposed standard its usually so proprietary that no incentive to follow it or even emulate it could possibly come to fruition, so where is the standard in that.

The Open Source influence on standards

Today, Open Source applications are positioned unlike any in the history of computer and software solutions being the defining guide post to standards.  Joomla and Drupal, the worlds premier content management systems set the standard for cms systems. Early on commercial application developers fought the notion of open source cms solutions like a rabid dog, yet today they must concede and keep up or risk an early grave.  phpBB a forum solution that fell into the very pits of hell climbed out recently, not only jump above standards in forum solutions similar in many regards to that of vBulletin and at least as high of quality as vBulletin.

Proprietary applications and developers of those apps can follow standards set by Open Source and survive just as effectively as mega popular open source solutions can.  Applications like SMF (simple machines forums) for example have historically tried to straddle the fence between what is or what should be a standard have been essentially defined by following the lead of others which likely prove successful for SMF’s survival even though they maintain their proprietary status. 

Before we move further in the software solution discussion for Real Estate its important to point out that for those interested in reading further on CMS solutions and how they impact the industry, one would be benefited by visiting the publications of Bryan Ruby.  Bryan Ruby is an authoritative and intelligent expert well versed in the myriad of CMS solutions available and writes extensively on the subject.

EZ Pro Realty - Standards from the REALTORS perspective

Early in this post I said that standards are something that are ideally agreed upon and widely accepted.  In an ideal world, standards should also be based on user needs in such a way that one would seek to eagerly employ or at least eagerly suggest without regret.  This is not always true in software or standards as we have seen Microsoft impose them in bold disregard and often dictated adversity with what actually works.

Open Realty among other similar applications like Hot Properties or EZRealty for example are open source per se yet maintain some level commercial or proprietary status.  Open Realty, the most open and free for use or modification, has been by far the most widely used application of its type by Realtors seeking to avoid other more restrictive proprietary solutions.  Proprietary is not a bad thing providing you are not a prisoner of the solution as many have experienced.  Since this post is about standards its important to point out that none of these applications have set or adhered to any in part because none exist. 

Solutions for real estate sites are among the most awkward in any genera or industry I’ve encountered.  For this reason Its been an unfortunate experience to witness the consequences the industry has suffered as a result.  The lack of a "base line standard for real estate web sites" leaves many Realtors exposed to an lofty level of wide abuse and lies as there is nothing to gauge what is and isn’t to be expected in a solution.  Is there help? Is there a defining solution that can save all the hassle? Yes, and its called EZ Pro Realty as in Easy Professional Real Estate solution. So EASY (EZ) a one armed monkey could use it yet so effective any real estate PROfessional would stand up and take notice regarding a new way to recognize true utility value. (Sorry for the play on words)

Utility value is a term Realtors should be most interested in as its an economics or financial term that is used in description of return on investment.  Since the above mentioned solutions are investments into your site they should help make a valuable return on your investment as opposed to hindering it by falling short of widely accepted standards in what makes a good web site work. Now I’ll show you some standards that you can expect with EZ Pro Realty without revealing to much regarding changes made.

Quick mention first; Open Realty, EZ Realty, and HotProperties although mentioned in this post for comparison are in no way sub quality products and are to this very day highly recommended tools for effective real estate site solutions.  In no way would I disparage these applications even though I will write about and compare solutions based on my experiences.  Each of the above mentioned are quality products.

Professional real estate website software solutions.

 Professional Documentation and Tutorials

EZ Pro Realty documentation is being assembled using RoboHelp from Adobe as opposed to a dictionary or encyclopedia solution used by some for documentation.  The tutorials will give designers and developers a jump start on implementation, use and deployment of the solution. The fork will feature a new modified version of my very own Dreamweaver Open Realty extension and will have ample documentation in a well articulated informative format.

Friendly Support (paid and non paid)

EZ Pro Realty forums will be used to provide support in a friendly environment that is not often seen in forums around the web.  People can’t set a standard and then treat those who seek to follow it with mis conduct, rude responses, and abuse and expect to do so with a straight face.  The support provided on the EZProRealty.com site is PAID support meaning that they are paid a monthly fee to provide technical assistance to users and support can be paid for regarding customization for users at a super affordable fee that is based entirely on a donation scale. Those who contribute and donate even if for paid support are given credit for contribution.

Credit given where credit is due

A pet peeve with some applications that are open source is the apparent harboring of all credit by the powers to be.  With the release of EZProRealty, developers, designers, and other contributors are not only given their own contributor blogs but are mentioned in the list of credits.  Lessons learned from products like Joomla and Drupal that boldly disclose who makes the product and project possible. 

The chief contributor will be on top naturally and that is Ryan Bonham the developer of Open Realty.  In keeping with Ryan’s license as of version 2.4.4 (see this post) Open Realty will be given full unrestricted credit for the application. Open Realty will also be mentioned throughout the documentation as I boldly requested that the developers of EZProRealty must not make any attempt to hide or attempt to disparage Open Realty nor depict it as as a rival.  That was my request in joining the effort of the fork by providing all of my add-ons and my three plug-ins which are also FREE.

Project request board for customization

Although many applications provide a way for users to hire professionals for design, customization and other aspects of development for their products, EZProRealty will provide this in a facilitated manor where projects are managed using an escrow system to set standard for quality.  Facilitated "subcontracting" or outsourcing will also help them establish network of qualified professionals with actual experience in Open Realty and this variant.

MORE TO COME SO BE PATIENT.

Mark my words with this prophesy because it will come true.

Open Realty and other applications will either follow the path that EZ Pro Realty is laying or be side stepped as a solution Realtors choose. I make these predictions not to harm the other applications but to simply provide a place I can easily send people back to when I get to say, I told you so. 

Here is what I predict will happen.  BTW I looked to see if any of these were either planned, bug fix posted, or pending in those applications above and none as of this date were.

  1. Open Realty will fix their URL issue and add in the features at bare minimum that allow users of the product to take better control over the URL, Title, and other aspects of good SEF features that are present in the fork. 
  2. I further predict that Open Realty will copy almost verbatim every feature that EZ Pro Realty added to the fork related to the way template management is handled and possibly the administrative interface features. 
  3. I further predict that Open Realty will implement similar features in the core templates that EZ Pro Realty provides and may also be copied by EZRealty and Hot Properties as none of them offer this feature.
  4. Developer blogs? I’m sure the other applications would likely add or at least copy the idea by providing blogs via our method which uses WordPressMU or something similar. The benefits to template designers, developers, Realtors and contributors would be so beneficial that not copying it or something close to it would be a surprise to me.
  5. I predict that the opposing applications that are proprietary with solution providers will either emulate structure of the template system and features or at bare minimum provide the same post and page editing features we have implemented into EZProRealty’s page editor. The editor has a few dynamic features that makes posting a blessing as opposed to a chore.
  6. Module management based on page is something that EZRealty and HotProperties offers and I’m guessing that since EZProRealty offers this, open realty will be sure to follow.  This feature allows for page specific code to be placed in page specific locations via the editor similar to the EZProRealty new {header_include} tag.  Super powerful especially considering its use in cross linking and marketing.
  7. I’d bet many features in EZProRealty will be copied, emulated and duplicated on every level regarding the integration and cross platform sharing ability that is currently under development and announced on the EZProRealty site.

EZProRealty, to expect anything less is lowering your standards!

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