I am building a real estate website which needs to email property inquires to agents.
Requirements:
-Users want to inquire about several properties at once, so a cart or flagged list is needed.
-Only one of the agents on the list of inquired properties should be emailed (A property has only one agent).
Workflow:
-User adds several listings to their list.
-User provides contact details and submits the list
-An agent from one of the properties is emailed (to save a customer from dealing with multiple agents).
Since this workflow is very much like a shopping cart I thought of using ubercart (6.x) for this. Users would add listings to the "cart", go through the checkout entering some contact details then conditional actions (an ubercart feature) would email the "order" to the agent belonging to the first listing in the cart. All the keywords would renamed to suit the audience, e.g. inquiry instead of order.
A friend suggested I go with Views, CCK, Flag, Token, Actions and Triggers modules to make a mash up, this would supposedly be more flexible and future proof.
Ubercart has the most functionality out of the box but may be overkill for a this.
I would like to know the advantages and possible pitfalls of both options.
Thanks.
Comments
As soon as I read this, I
As soon as I read this, I thought of Flag and views_mail. You can probably do it with Ubercart, but you will inevitably get to a point where something essential to the project becomes impossible in that framework, and you'll regret that decision.
Go with the mashup - it'll take more time and effort, but will be proportionately more rewarding.
Hope that helps.
Web Development in Nottingham, UK by Kineta Systems / Follow me on Twitter! @NikLP
Web Development in Nottingham, UK by Kineta Systems / Follow me on Twitter! @NikLP
I agree - starting with the
I agree - starting with the tools your friend or Nik suggested would probably be less work than trying to finangle Ubercart to do this. It's often easier to build your own solution than to tear someone else's halfway apart and then rebuild it how you'd like it.
The Boise Drupal Guy!
Try this solution
Great info. If you need free IDX search added to your website visit http://www.FreeIDXsite.com
Refer example sites for some ideas
Refer below example sites for some ideas on this:
http://www.realestatetimes.in/builder/projects
http://2letservice.in
Having finished the website
Having finished the website now I think the mashup was definitly the way to go.
There were some extra requirements along the way and flag and rules modules were much more flexible than ubercart would have been.
Feel free to have a look at http://mainlandrealestate.co.nz
My Drupal real estate site
Hi Keyo,
Nice job on your site!
I had a custom MLS module built for my site 3.5 years ago. I describe the site in detail below. The site is Drupal 4.7 and I'm looking to upgrade it to 6 and collaborate on the effort with other realtors. I had this site built so I could do more for my clients as well as use it as a tool for better search engine rankings. I have studied search engine optimization and hired a number of consultants to ensure I know it well. The site ranks #1 on Google for "Lake Tahoe Real Estate".
The site downloads the MLS data each day from two different MLS boards (North Tahoe and South Tahoe) via a Python script and converts the data into nodes(pages). It then notifies clients who have subscribed for updates. Notifications include; new listings that match their criteria, price changes, and when photos have been added/changed. It also has a weekly statistical email subscription that crunches some basic stats and includes link to new listings, price changes, and new/updated photos. On the property pages we display the following; listing date, property details (including HOA fees), listing agent's comments, a history of original price and dates of each price reduction, a slide show (via Google's Picasa) of additional photos we've taken, comments from us after we've previewed, Google Street view that has the ability to see the neighboring properties, Google map, a slide show (via Google's Picasa) of the HOA amenities, a table of recent sales in the community (uploaded via node import module), a table of recent price reductions in the community (automatically done via the MLS module), a table of properties in the community that we've recently previewed and added photos. In the side bar of each property page we include an area called Quick Links that includes; Search the MLS, Weekly market report, Lake Tahoe lakefront homes, Recent sales by area, Recent price reductions by area, Bank owned properties, Short sales, and another link to contact us. Below this the MLS module automatically crunches the following stats;
All Active Listings
As of Jan 20 2010 there are 54 properties for sale in Tahoe Donner.
Price range: $110,000 - $2,000,000
Price (avg): $695,143
Price per sq. foot (avg): $289
Days on Market (avg): 270
Bank owned properties: 2
Properties with price reductions: 51
Average price reduction percent: 11.29%
Year built 2000 or newer
As of Jan 20 2010 there are 25 properties for sale in Tahoe Donner built in year 2000 or later.
Price range: $224,500 - $2,000,000
Price (avg): $857,012
Price per sq. foot (avg): $299
Days on Market (avg): 313
Bank owned properties: 1
Properties with price reductions: 22
Average price reduction percent: 12.56%
Sales year-to-date (YTD) vs. last year
In Tahoe Donner
0 properties sold YTD 2010
4 properties sold YTD 2009
N/A in sales.
Under $500,000
0 properties sold YTD 2010
4 properties sold YTD 2009
N/A in sales.
$500,000 - $1,000,000
0 properties sold YTD 2010
0 properties sold YTD 2009
N/A in sales.
Over $1,000,000
0 properties sold YTD 2010
0 properties sold YTD 2009
N/A in sales.
Sales Volume
2010 - $0
2009 - $1,618,000
N/A in volume.
Sales vs. Asking Prices
2010 - 0.00%
2009 - 99.03%
N/A in difference.
Avg. Price per Sq. Foot
2010 - $0
2009 - $302
N/A in price.
Average Days on Market
2010 -
2009 - 185
N/A in duration.
Below this we display featured properties. We currently have this configured to display properties within the same community that are priced similar to the property the client is viewing. This can also be set to display any properties....those we see as exceptional, those we've previewed, or our listings.
I get comments from new clients often saying they are contacting me because my site provides more information than any other site in my market. 99% of the sites are a framed IDX solution from a local developer. But there's more I want to do with the site. More stats, mapping search and results displays, better search engine optimization of the properties, multiple community sites that feed from the main site, integration with a CRM like salesforce.com, automation of the addition of the sold stats... I'm reaching out to other realtors in an attempt to see if we can get a few of us to collaborate on the details of the build as well as the cost of the build.
Take a look at the site and let me know what you think.
http://www.cblaketahoe.com/realestate/listing/2704096
Tristan Roberts
800.356.6152