I am taking a break from freelance

Posted on January 27, 2010
Filed Under Announcements, Joomla CMS, Open Realty, WordPress Wisdom | Leave a Comment

I’ve decided that I need a break away from freelance work for a while.  Mounting distractions with my relocation and my parents retirement I’ll be spending a lot of time helping them close their sporting goods shop before spring.  Although my move will be much better for future business when I return, there are those little things that make me dread the move. Packing the U-Haul truck, dealing with mail forwarding and phone number changes as the list goes on.  During this period away I will be maintaining all the writing and service maintenance contracts I’m obligated to.  I will continue to accept writing project for the time being since most of the instruments of the trade will be with me most the time.

Recommended IDX RETS MLS providers for WordPress, OpenRealty, Drupal and Joomla

For anyone interested in having their MLS feed for either IDX or RETS installed in their sites you should contact the following people depending on your needs.

WordPress MLS Integration with IDX or RETS

If you need to have your real estate listings put into WordPress I would suggest contacting WPRealty.org which is fully capable of providing this as a service for an exceptionally affordable price.  Alternatively UltimateIDX has a solution that will marry into almost any solution known including WordPress and how UltimateIDX differs is predominantly in the area of CRM related features for contact and lead management. UltimateIDX is only in 8 primary markets at this point but they map and add new markets with greater frequency now that they have moved the company to Las Vegas Nevada. Currently they are mapping for most southern states and California in addition to their existing markets.

OpenRealty MLS Integration with IDX or RETS

To put MLS listings into OpenRealty 2.5.6 – 2.5.8 you should contact WPRealty.org because they have the widest collection of scripts designed for this purpose that I’m aware of. Since WPRealty frequently builds open source real estate websites they are better suited in my opinion to handle your custom IDX / RETS solution.

Drupal Integration with IDX or RETS

For integrating your Drupal site with the IDX or RETS feed again I’d suggest WPRealty.org if your desire is to have your own stand alone solution where you are not obligated to a proprietary solution.  UltimateIDX is ideal for this. You get integration and full CRM features for sales and lead management.

Joomla Integration with IDX or RETS

Joomla is a great solution for Real Estate Websites and a few people come to mind when it comes to components specifically designed for Joomla 1.5.12+  The first component is our own which is titled JRealty and you can acquire a free copy by contacting the WPRealty group.   If however you require the integrated sales and lead management then again, I suggest UltimateIDX.

Each company has their strong points, two of them I know of intimately because I’ve been on their development team for years.  One thing strange about this business is the underlying loyalties that most people are not even aware exist.  Its the kind of business where everyone knows something about the other guy. Well here is the contact details list of those recommended solution providers I know something about.

UltimateIDX IDX / RETS Solutions
The UltimateIDX literally works with any solution I’ve encountered ideally suited for open source applications including those above mentioned along with Drupal, B2 Evolution and even Type Pad. UltimateIDX has a pretty good position in a niche market that provides MLS empowered type back office integration with most open source solutions. I’ve personally built dozens of sites using UltimateIDX and have yet to find a single client that regretted it. UltimateIDX is a paid solution requiring you to host on either their servers or those they have tested to support real estate type websites. UIDX is a grade 1 option.
http://www.ultimateidx.com

WPRealty WordPress Joomla OpenRealty Solutions
WPRealty is branded and serviced under many different titles and company site headings.  The team has many different product variants and has been building OpenRealty, Joomla and WordPress sites since the birth of each of those applications.  The team members are strong supporters of open source applications and can provide professional grade solutions at a fraction of the cost for similar proprietary ones. WPRealty is a grade 1 option.
http://www.wprealty.org

I’ll be back in full swing sometime in June 2010.

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