Oregon Housing Organizations Get New Search Tool.

Please DO send this along to others....

Have you ever wanted to restrict a housing related search in Google just to key housing related organizations in Oregon?

Well, now you can with a newly constructed search tool I have put together called ORHOUSE. (ORHOUSE is an acronym for Oregon Housing Organizations User Search Engine).

With ORHOUSE I believe Oregon will be the FIRST state nationwide to have an information tool that searches multiple websites of key housing organizations within a state.

ORHOUSE was developed using Google’s custom search capability. ORHOUSE search results will be restricted to just those returned from the websites of the nearly 40 housing related organizations in Oregon I have initially chosen for the search. (I will provide a complete listing of those websites once the software moves out of its current BETA stage and I finalize the list. For now suffice it to say that includes most local HUD entitlement community development agencies, several larger housing authorities, HUD, three agencies of the State of Oregon, and non profits from around the state).

HOW TO USE ORHOUSE: The tool can be accessed by going to my Oregon Housing Blog at www.oregonhousing.blogspot.com and search using the ORHOUSE box provided near the top right hand corner of the blog. (PLEASE subscribe to the blog via email [it’s free] to get this and other updates automatically delivered to your email).

Important search tip: Unlike the regular Google search function we are familiar with, if you are searching for a PHRASE, put quote marks around it. I.E. “Affordable Housing” NOT Affordable Housing.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT: ORHOUSE is in a BETA stage of development.

I will be working with others who may be interested in being listed as a ORHOUSE affiliate AND then if they choose, permission from me to add this search tool to their own home pages. I will also be soliciting user feedback on ways to improve the scope and precisions of searches and wil also be providing FAQ’s at a later date.

ORHOUSE isn't intended to replace typical global Google type searches. It is a supplement to those searches when you want to focus more on what is going on within Oregon.While ORHOUSE is in a BETA stage of development it is already a powerful way of finding out what others in Oregon are doing and saying about a wide variety of housing news, issues, and policies of importance throughout the state.

Give ORHOUSE a try and let me know what you think by adding a comment at the bottom of this post.(If you want to send a non public comment to me, please email me at housepdx@gmail.com).

Thanks, Tom Cusack
http://www.oregonhousing.blogspot.com