When prospective homebuyers find a property they are interested in, they typically want to find out everything they can about that home, but may not be sure where to look.
That’s where ShackShout comes in. ShackShout functions as a kind of link directory of 21 websites that serve up third-party property information by address.
“If you enter an address at ShackShout.com, you will get links to … results from the big search engines and Zillow and Trulia, but also links to city demographics, neighborhood and school data, local information, WalkScore, cell tower coverage. These are all the things you want to know if you are going to live in the house,” Rob Overman, founder of real estate startup nōshun software, told Inman News.
Nōshun launched in September 2012 when Overman was Listingbook’s chief innovation officer. He now daylights as chief technology officer for Lone Wolf Real Estate Technologies and is on the board of directors for the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO).
ShackShout.com, nōshun’s first product, rolled out as a public-facing website last year.
“The ShackShout name came out of a brainstorming session where we were trying different words for home or house and the action of conveying information,” Overman said.
Now, the company has snagged its first multiple listing service client, RMLS, which serves about 10,000 real estate professionals in the Portland, Ore., metro area.
“RMLS is working very hard to integrate with new products and services that can add value for their members without outrageous costs,” Overman said.
“RMLS CEO Kurt von Wasmuth had seen ShackShout earlier in 2013 and agreed that it would be a nice add-on to their MLS system,” he added.
RMLS has its own branded, public-facing ShackShout website, rmls.shackshout.com, and each property detail page in RMLS’ system contains a link to the relevant property page on that site. Agents can email the link to clients, display it on their website, or share it via social media.
“When a consumer [is] working with an agent to buy a home, the agent emails detailed property reports to the consumer. While this report is detailed, it is still focused on the physical characteristics of the property and details of the listing,” Overman said.
ShoutShack allows agents to supplement the information they are already providing to their clients and be the “source of the source,” he added.
“Agents assume a certain liability when providing information about a property to their client. By directing their client to a place where the client can find the information themselves, they insulate themselves from providing that information directly,” he said. “ShackShout makes it easy for the client to get links to various data sources without any effort by the agent.”
The integration costs the MLS $150 per month. Agents can create free ShackShout accounts, which are supported with advertising, or subscribe for $8.95 per month. Those with free accounts get their own custom, branded ShackShout URL, such as www.shackshout.com/RobOverman. Agents can display their picture, logo, and social media and contact links at that URL.
A premium account allows agents to set featured properties that will display below the agent’s branding on ShackShout property pages when using the agent’s URL. The agent may also upload up to six photos for the featured property that will display on that property’s ShackShout page. Premium subscribers can also see analytics that show them how many times their featured properties are viewed and which of the property page links get clicked.
“This can help them figure out where their clients like to go,” Overman said.