Real property information management, retention and transferal system and methods for using same

Abstract

The present invention is in the field of computer systems and processes for managing real and personal property. One aspect of the invention is directed to capturing history of a (real) property, which may include a description of the property, the personal property located on the real property, the projects and maintenance performed or to be performed on the property and their impact on the owner's tax basis in the property. Another aspect of invention allows for sharing of this history with an online community and for transferring the history (or portions thereof) on sale to a buyer.

1 . A method for maintaining property information, comprising:
 a. operating a computer system to create a first data structure in a data store, containing information comprising an identifier of a physical location of a real property component of said property and a description of said real property;   b. operating a computer system to create a second data structure in a data store which contains information comprising an identifier of a structure and a layout of the structure at said physical location; and   c. operating a computer system to create a third data structure containing information comprising an identification of one or more items of personal property located at the real property.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further including operating a computer system to create a fourth data structure containing a collection of information pertaining to one or more projects executed on said property. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said data structures are stored on one or more computer-accessible storage devices and are configured to form a history of said real property. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 d. in a computer system, identifying a first user and creating an association between said information in said first, second and third data structures with the first user, said association establishing the first user as the owner and controller of access to said information; and   e. in a computer system, identifying a second user and changing said association from said first user to said second user to change the identity of the owner and controller of said information.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 f. operating a computer to create a further data structure accessible to said first user and to store therein a copy of said information in at least one of said first, second and third data structures prior to changing said association.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 d. in a computer system, identifying a first user and creating an association between said information in said first, second and third data structures with the first user, said association establishing the first user as the owner and controller of access to said information; and   e. in a computer system, enabling the first user to create a trusted community of users who are granted access to at least portions of the information in at least one of the first, second and third data structures, according to access authorizations defined and administered by the first user.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: providing a web site at which a user may interact with said data structures, and via which a user may enter a project specification accessible by service providers, to solicit bids from service providers. 
     
     
         8 . A computer-implemented system for property owners and property-related service providers to interact, comprising:
 a. a first computer-interactable data structure configured and arranged for receiving from one or more service providers indications of their capabilities or types of projects for which the provider is interested in being hired; and   b. a second computer-interactable data structure configured and arranged for receiving from a said service provider identifications of one or more associated service providers proposed to operate on behalf of said service provider.   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8  further including means for serving up to a user a web page containing at least some of the service provider information and a link to a home page for the service provider. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9  further including means for serving up to a service provider user an interface for entering into the first data structure indicia of the types of projects for which the provider is interested in being hired and means for inserting corresponding text on the home page of the provider. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 8  further including a project generation module which receives from a user, via a computer-implemented user interface on a web page, a project identifier and project-related information of the user, and stores the project identifier and project-related information of the user in a data store. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the project-related information may include data of various types including text, audio and video data and links to other data. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12  wherein the data is contained in one or more computer-to readable files. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11  wherein the project-related information may be input by the user at various times, thereby allowing the history of a project to be recorded. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , further including means for receiving project information from a service provider in electronic form, to facilitate archiving same. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 8 , further including a file import module which is usable to import computer files and associate them with a project identifier as project-related information. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising a user supplying information to a data structure via email. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising a user supplying information to said file import module via email and said file import module associating emailed files with a project identifier as project-related information. 
     
     
         19 . A method for managing property information comprising operating a computer system to create a data structure in a data store containing information comprising a supply inventory. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19  further comprising operating a computer system to create an additional data structure in a data store containing information comprising a marketplace inventory of a third party marketplace. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20  wherein said additional data structure is provided by a computer-interactable data structure configured and arranged for receiving from a third party marketplace said marketplace inventory. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising a user accessing said supply inventory via a portable internet-capable device. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 20 , further comprising a user accessing said marketplace inventory via a portable internet-capable device. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising said user accessing said supply inventory and said marketplace inventories simultaneously via said portable interne-capable device. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising said user revising said supply inventory via said portable internet-capable device. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising a user supplying information to a data structure via email. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising said third party marketplace sending via email product information to a data structure, wherein said product information is selected from the group consisting of a receipt, a quotation for a product or service, product specifications, and combinations thereof.