kvCORE IDX

This product has lots of issues with no support. These issues don’t include the weeks of work I’ve spent creating CSS and javascript hacks to fix layout errors, responsive issues, and substituting or hiding text that doesn’t meet my MLS requirements. Here are just a few of the issues you can expect (in the order I’ve found most problematic): 1. The plugin only allows you to create so many saved searches, which it calls hotsheets. It doesn’t disclose the limit, and if you delete hotsheets, it doesn’t credit that toward your limit. I know this because I’ve created and deleted several hotsheets as I’ve learned how they work. Now when I create a hotsheet, I can see it in the hotsheet manager, but if I create another, it gets replaced, and when I refresh the management screen, neither appears in the list. This sucks big time as my whole hyperlocal strategy is to create pages for each lake in my area that show active listings on that lake. 2. Website visitors cannot save polygon searches to receive email alerts even though kvCORE’s support website says their Wordpress Plugin does this. Again this sucks for anyone looking to create hyperlocal search result pages for neighborhoods, lakes, beaches, etc. 3. Most of the lakes/rivers in my area are missing in the plugin. So, even if I tried to work around the inability to save polygon searches, there is no way to filter by lake/river even though “water body name” appears as a filter option. 4. Many zip codes and postal cities are missing in the plugin, so whole sections of my service area cannot be used in searches. 5. Website visitors can only save two searches. This is a big problem for people interested in more than two neighborhoods, lakes, or beaches. 6. Once a website visitor saves a search, they cannot delete it. This wouldn’t be such a big deal, except visitors are only allowed two saved searches, and it’s bound to confuse and frustrate users. 7. Some of the search filters make no sense. For example, users can only select 0 or 1 in the dropdown waterfront selection box. That may make sense to programmers like me, but my mom or any other average visitor wouldn’t know what to do. Also, in addition to the waterfront dropdown, there is a “water front” checkbox option in the list of filters, and they produce a different number of search results. 8. There is no way to allow users to zoom by scrolling their mouse over the map. I’m told there is supposed to be a setting in the backend to allow that, but it’s not in my backend. I wish someone would have told me about all these issues before I invested over a hundred hours learning how this plugin works and developing hacks to fix layout issues. Even more, I wish that I knew that tech support on this product was non-existant. At least if I knew my concerns were taken seriously and being worked on, there would be some light a the end of this dark tunnel.

Excited to finally have another option for WordPress IDX plugins – I have it installed on several blogs, just waiting for authorization tokens from Inside Real Estate to incorporate dynamic property listings and search results into pages and posts. I have developed 50 real estate blogs for clients using either a Wolfnet plugin or IDXBroker plugin. There are strengths and weaknesses of Wolfnet and IDXBroker. The biggest challenge in both of their plugins and connected IDX solutions is they can never have a fully integrated user experience for online real estate shoppers. The blog display of IDX, the corresponding IDX website, the search mobile app with IDX and the CRM that the agent is actually using do not have synchronized communication. At best, Wolfnet and IDXBroker can do a 1-time push of lead data to a CRM (Top Producer, Follow Up Boss, Liondesk, Infusionsoft, KW Command, Brivity, proprietary big broker CRM’s and all other real estate CRM’s). With the kvCORE plugin, this will be the first time in history that a WordPress blog with IDX, the connected IDX website, the consumer mobile search app, and the CRM will all have a dynamic data sync of properties being viewed not to mention all logged phone calls, text messages, emails, in one system – that also includes a mobile app for agents to access leads and contacts from anywhere with the built in auto dialer and task management. In other words, as your leads change their buyer search behavior and preferences on your kvCORE website, or on the (Millions Mapped) mobile phone app, or from the IDX pages of your custom blog with the kvCORE plugin – the new search criteria are recorded in the one CRM and kvCORE will update search alerts on autopilot. Why does this matter to an agent? Look at the analytics of all of your internet leads from 6 months ago. How often did they return to the IDX site? Have they recently saved properties as reflected in your CRM? Top agents are spending too much time piecing together every technology from Agent Legend to Zapier and NAR reported in 2017 that “58% of all buyers found their home on a mobile device”. Artificial intelligence is best when 58% of ALL buyers are using the agent’s app that has dynamically connected all the pieces (like kvCORE). Zillow has this AI technology and the most popular search app. Boomtown and CINC have AI and the search app – but do not have a WordPress plugin for bloggers that are tired of using widgets and hyperlinks back to an unbranded IDX website. Your personal brand matters – your clients want you and it never hurts to show your internet leads (after they register on a less branded IDX website) that you are a real person and not just a Realtor with great (automated and custom) follow up but someone who lives and participates in the community with hyper-local blog posts and content. A customized WordPress blog directly integrated with a complete AI system like kvCORE is unstoppable. I do not expect the kvCORE 1.0 plugin to be perfect once Inside Real Estate unlocks the tokens for kvCORE clients. As developers we can work with a good IDX plugin and provide a great forum here on the WordPress.org directory to help our community of fellow real estate blog developers and real estate agent bloggers. Please unlock those tokens and Open, Open Open.