All Forum Posts by: Bryce DeCora

@Tzook Bar Noy

What do you do in tech?

I'm a software developer for a prototype group at Boeing. Currently my work involves working with Python-Neo4j-Jinja/HTML/Javascript. I started in Software Development a couple of years ago when my hobby of language learning took me down the rabbit hole of Natural Language Processing (NLP).

How do you mix tech and REI?

After adding tons of custom integration to my Podio I started to notice teriffying performance and reliability issues. I realized that what I had would not be scalable. I looked for other CRM solutions that did what I wanted but found nothing so I've decided to build my own. V1 will be ready for internal use February 2020 and will focus on SMS campaigns with a chatbot/human hybrid response system. It is built using Python, React.js and backed by Neo4j Graph database.

Which part is the side hustle Tech or REI?

REI is that side hustle for now that will allow me the time and capital to then transition into REI software as the new hustle.

@Billy Linn I was a SQL lover, but after making the jump I’ll never go back

@Billy Linn full stack developer here :) focus on React.js, Python, Neo4j stack. Currently building my own CRM.

I'll be there!

@Eddie Godshalk I’m building a county data API currently. I do know ATTOM has a pretty stable and extensive system but mine will scrape new data on demand instead of storing information in an updated database.

@Jan Wanot Podio has a great API available for integration with any programming language that handles HTTP requests.  PHP and Python have specific supported libraries for doing this.

Here is my current workflow:

1. I get a list of parcel numbers from the Title Company, PDS, Drive for Dollars, etc. (Absentee owners for example)
2. I use python to go through each parcel number and pull all data available from the county website
3. Python then creates an item in Podio for that property, recording its address, size, market status, last purchase date and price and much more.
4. Python creates an item entry for each contact listed as an owner and links them to the above property item, along with their address.
5. When I reach 500 new contacts, I export this list and send it to www.batchskiptracing.com
6. I then use a separate Python tool to systematically add all of the new phone numbers found back into the database.

Of course, there are further workflows within to set auto reminders for mailers and calls.  In the future, I will set up an automated task that is able to send mail to said client with the click of a button by utilizing mail APIs that exist.

Something you could do to eliminate recently sold and on-market listings would be to create a time-based webhook that pulls new county or zillow data every few days for each property in the database.  This could automatically label certain leads as dead if they meet your criteria.

@David Des I’ve built a scraper for my county site (Snohomish County in Washington). Here’s how I use this:

I get my lists from title, public disclosure survives, MLS, driving for dollars, etc. I keep all of the parcel numbers for those properties. I can then upload the CSV file. An API endpoint at AWS is set up with python to look at each parcel number, go to the county site for that parcel, scrape the HTML for all data, then push that data to my Podio database. This happens to work amazingly well for my area because the county site is as such:

www.countysite.sample/?=12345  (12345 would be the parcel number)

For more advanced sites you could still use a tool like Python’s Senium to actually click through and submit web forms to get to the data you need.

Doing this is extremely powerful. I’m able to get a list of a couple thousand properties and have them all imported into my CRM within an hour... including owner name, owner address, back taxes due, sales history, bedrooms, bathrooms, images, floor plans, etc.If you need guidance on how to spec this out to a developer just shoot me a message.

Of course @Princella Carr! Good luck out there!

1. Go to foreclosure auctions and network
2. Find an agent that will pull all homes on MLS purchased with cash within the last 6 months. Then find any duplicates, proving they are repeat investors in that area.
3. Call any bandit signs saying 'We Buy Houses' (etc.) and network
4. Go to your local REI group meetings and network with investors

Good Luck @Princella Carr!