Vertical real estate

Vertical: residential real estate — don't spec it naively

Real estate looks like generic CRUD (a listing is a record, a lead is a contact, a deal is a checklist). It isn't. The domain has hard-won structure — MLS quirks, status lifecycles, months-long sales cycles, agent-vs-brokerage data boundaries — that a naive build ignores and then rebuilds. This skill front-loads that structure so the spec is right the first time.

Incumbents to know (and what they own): Lone Wolf / Propertybase (brokerage CRM + back office), Follow Up Boss (lead-to-close CRM, the nurture gold standard), CINC (lead-gen

• CRM), Top Producer (legacy CRM), kvCORE / BoldTrail (all-in-one platform). They are expensive, broad, and switching-cost-heavy — which is why the wedge matters (see per-product).

1. Domain vocabulary (use these terms in the spec)

• MLS (Multiple Listing Service) — regional database of listings; there are ~500+ MLSs in the US, each its own system, login, and field set. There is no single national MLS.
• IDX (Internet Data Exchange) — the rules + feed that let a brokerage display other brokers' MLS listings on its own site. Governed by per-MLS display/redistribution rules.
• RESO — the standards body. RESO Web API (modern REST/OData feed) and RESO Data Dictionary (canonical field names) are the standard — but adoption and cleanliness vary per MLS. "RESO-compliant" still means per-MLS quirks.
• Listing status — lifecycle, not a flag: active → pending / contingent → closed (plus coming soon, active under contract, withdrawn, expired, sold). Status drives display rules and downstream automation.
• Buyer agent vs seller (listing) agent — opposite sides of a transaction; data and permissions differ. A contact can be a buyer lead and later a seller.
• Brokerage vs agent — the brokerage holds the license and (often) the data; the agent is the user. Commission split is how the deal's commission divides brokerage↔agent.
• Escrow / settlement / closing — the funded close; contingencies (inspection, financing, appraisal) are conditions that must clear first, each with a deadline.
• Transaction coordinator (TC) — the person who shepherds a deal from accepted-offer to close: chasing docs, signatures, and deadlines. Often done in Dotloop / Excel today.
• CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) — comp-based price estimate an agent gives a seller.
• Lead-to-close funnel — capture → nurture → active → under-contract → closed; months long.
• Syndication portals — Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin, Trulia, etc.; a listing is pushed (syndicated) to many; our copy is one of many downstream copies.

2. Non-obvious domain rules (the stuff that breaks naive specs)

• There is no one MLS schema. Each MLS has its own auth, field quirks, photo handling, and redistribution rules. RESO standardizes the intent but the data is messy per-MLS. Model an integration adapter per MLS, not one global importer.
• Transaction-coordination is the underserved, high-pain wedge. It's the part still done in Dotloop/Excel with manual deadline-chasing. Low switching cost (it's not the system of record for leads), high pain, clear ROI. Lead this if choosing where to land first.
• A listing has a canonical source and many syndicated copies. The MLS record (or our record) is the source of truth; portal copies derive from it. Don't model portal copies as independent listings — model source + syndication targets.
• Lead nurture is long-cycle. A real-estate lead can sit warm for 6–18 months. The CRM's job is not close-this-week; it's stay-top-of-mind for months with automated drip until the lead is ready. A short-funnel CRM design is simply wrong for this domain.

3. What a naive build gets wrong

• ❌ One MLS schema. Assuming a single import format. Reality: per-MLS adapter, per-MLS redistribution rules, RESO Data Dictionary as the target normalization, not the source.
• ❌ Listing without status lifecycle + syndication canonical. A flat "listing" row with no status state machine and no source/target model can't drive display rules or feed portals.
• ❌ TC checklist without deadline + contingency tracking. A plain task list misses the point: the value is enforced deadlines and contingency clearing, with alerts.
• ❌ Lead CRM without long-cycle nurture. Stage + next-touch + multi-month drip is the core; a pipeline-only CRM (close/lost in weeks) doesn't fit.
• ❌ Ignoring agent-vs-brokerage data boundaries. Who owns the lead and listing data — agent or brokerage — is a real permission/ownership boundary. Bake it into the model, not bolt it on later.

4. Must-model entities

Seed the domain model with these (exact fields negotiable; the shape is not):

• Listing — status (lifecycle state machine, §1), source_ref (MLS id / RESO key — the canonical source), syndication_targets[] (Zillow/Realtor.com/… with per-target state), price, address, beds/baths, floorSize, photos, listing_agent, brokerage.
• Lead — stage (capture→nurture→active→under-contract→closed), last_contact_at, owning agent, source, buyer/seller intent, and an attached long-cycle nurture (drip campaign, next-touch date). Tie to [[lifecycle-messaging]].
• Transaction — checklist[] (tasks), deadlines[] (each dated + owner + alert), contingencies[] (inspection/financing/appraisal, each with clear-by date + status), documents[] (e-signed), parties (buyer/seller/agents/TC), close date.
• Property / Unit + MaintenanceRequest (status, priority, tenant, assignee, photos), Lease/rent (amount, due date, tenant), tenant-comms thread. (property-mgmt.)

5. Per-product notes (wedge + the one domain thing to get right)

• listings (content) — the one thing: MLS/IDX correctness — per-MLS adapter, source_ref canonical, status lifecycle, redistribution-compliant display. Pairs with [[local-seo]] (listings must rank + syndicate; our page is the canonical, portal copies point back) and [[migration-ready-schema]] (source_ref = MLS/RESO key for re-import/dedupe).
• lead-crm (crm) — the one thing: long-cycle nurture — months-long automated drip, stage + last-contact, top-of-mind not close-now. Competes with Follow Up Boss; the bar is nurture quality. Pairs with [[lifecycle-messaging]].
• transaction-coordination (crud) — the one thing: this IS the wedge — low switching cost, high pain, replaces Dotloop/Excel. Get deadline + contingency tracking right (dated, owned, alerted); the checklist alone is table stakes. Recommend landing here first.
• property-mgmt (crud) — the one thing: maintenance-request + rent + tenant-comms as first-class flows; don't reduce it to a generic ticket list. Don't hold tenant/owner funds naively (see §6 escrow/trust).

6. Compliance (light — flag for the reviewer, don't solve here)

• MLS / IDX redistribution + display rules — per-MLS; controls what may be displayed, for how long, with what attribution. The integration adapter must honor them.
• Fair Housing Act — listing/ad copy and targeting must not discriminate (protected classes). Applies to listing descriptions and any lead-targeting automation.
• Escrow / trust-account basics — do not hold or move client/tenant funds naively. Earnest money and rent flow through trust/escrow with strict accounting; integrate a compliant provider rather than building a wallet.
• E-sign — transaction docs need legally-valid e-signature (ESIGN/UETA); use a real e-sign provider, capture audit trail.

Output

When applied, contribute a Domain model block to the architecture/design doc:

## Domain model (real estate)
- entities: Listing(status lifecycle + source_ref + syndication_targets) · Lead(stage + last_contact + nurture) · Transaction(checklist + deadlines + contingencies + docs) · Property/Unit + MaintenanceRequest
- wedge: <which product lands first + why> (default: transaction-coordination)
- MLS/IDX: per-MLS adapter · RESO Data Dictionary as normalization target · redistribution rules honored
- nurture: long-cycle (6–18mo) drip, not short funnel
- compliance flags: IDX display rules · Fair Housing (copy) · escrow/trust (no naive funds) · e-sign