All Forum Posts by: Tony Rumans

That looks great! Of all of the points listed there, one of them stood out the most to me: May be required to pay third party data access fee. 

On one project I worked on a while back I quickly learned that there is not really one single source for MLS data. Some sites have tried to combine data from all of the MLS sources but there are some limitations and the API access is not cheap. www.ihouseweb.com has 531 MLS sources and they still don't have them all. Plus, even though they may have access to a single MLS source, you may still have to pay that MLS source directly in order to get the data. 

I have worked with Heartland MLS (Kansas City area) in the past and one way I've found to help get me closer to what I want is to create data exports within MLS (to csv format) and import them into a database. Once they are there I identify each field (Address Line 1, Zip, HOA fees, etc.). Below is what I've created in the past:

And once selected:

Everything you see there is a link to some external source which passes either the MLS# or the address to a Google search. Basically all of the data that was exported is imported back to my site and is searchable and calculations can be done. Development didn't get much further than what you see but it was a start. I was thinking that I could plug in some numbers that I found from those external sites and it would do the calculations right there on the page, instead of trying to automate it all. The level of effort to get something like that going for an unlimited # of sites is just too high. Again, this was being built for my own use.

It is also capable of pulling in data from the Zillow API but per Zillow's API terms & conditions, none of the data can be stored in the database. An API call has to be made for every request and those requests are limited to a certain number per day and anything over that you have to pay for. And since you can not store their data you can't really get historical data (archiving/data warehousing) to see what has happenned with a property over time.

Having said all of that... I think we should start small... Baby Steps (any What About Bob? fans?) Maybe a simple calculator that can address one piece of this puzzle and then build up from there.

Please let me know your thoughts!

 - Tony

I was going to go off of community requirements. If someone wants to put together a detailed requirement I can get started on something. I'll start with 1 piece of functionality and keep going from there. Whether it's working with data from an API or building some sort of form for doing calculations I'll get something started at least.

Hey everyone! I've developed using the Zillow API (I have even had a call with the CEO!). If this is a tool I could use for myself then I don't mind putting in the development time and sharing it with everyone. That's a win win for everyone: Everyone gets a free tool and I get to make some friends in the process. Please let me know if this is an option you all would consider

- Tony 

Here is the link to the meetup: http://www.meetup.com/Kansas-City-Northland-Real-Estate-Networking-Meetup/

@Andrew R. - This may help you some. I live in Liberty, MO, a suburb of Kansas City. I bought my personal residence about a year ago. Built in 1962, recently rehabbed (by previous owner), bought for $106k / ~4% down. Only a 2 bed/1 bath. Financed with a 30 yr-fixed 3.875%. I pay ~$780/mo. Taxes last year were $1125. Annual insurance premium (this will be higher for me) $1600.

My best friends wife is a realtor and she estimated that I could easily rent my place for $1100 /mo, maybe more. $1400 sounds high for my place but it is also only 2 bed/1 bath

I'm interested in joining as well