Prepare a property catalog from a website, API or Excel file

Choose the maintained source, not just the easiest file

The best starting source is where your team reliably maintains property facts. It may be a public website, an existing API, a spreadsheet export or JSON. Before connecting it, confirm that you may supply the catalog and use its descriptions and photographs. Technical access does not itself establish publication rights.

Decide whether you are transferring the whole catalog, a development or a selected group of properties. Record the expected number of entries. Receiving ten valid records does not establish that a hundred-property catalog was fully collected. The first test should establish structure and accuracy rather than chase the largest possible import count.

Distinguish a website preview from catalog data

For a website, select a page showing the relevant development or catalog. A company homepage can establish brand identity without exposing every property. FindEstate’s name, photograph or screenshot preview is separate from acquiring the full catalog. A successful preview does not confirm how many property records were imported.

For an existing API, check pagination, price representation and the way inactive records are distinguished. A signed-in FindEstate owner can supply supported Bearer, Basic or API-key-header authentication. Never put secret values into the URL, description or a public spreadsheet. Give the integration only the source access it needs rather than an administrator account for your entire system.

A simple table beats a spreadsheet layout

Use one row per property and unambiguous headers in the first row. Remove merged cells, intermediate headings and comments between records. Store identifiers as text so leading zeros survive. Keep prices and areas numeric rather than mixing values with currency symbols or explanations. State units separately and check decimal formatting before export.

If the workbook uses formulas, prepare a checked values-only copy. FindEstate’s simple import can reject workbooks needing multi-sheet or formula review. The current local file or pasted JSON limit is 2 MiB and 100 records per submission. Agree larger transfers in advance; do not assume repeatedly uploading files is a supported update mechanism for an existing catalog.

• Check duplicate IDs and empty rows.
• Separate price, currency, area and transaction type.
• Do not replace an unknown fact with zero or another property’s value.
• Image and source links must point to the appropriate public resources.

Separate reading an API from submitting data

There are two API directions. In one, FindEstate reads a source you already operate. In the other, you want to send structured records to a FindEstate receiving service. A source authentication secret and a catalog-scoped submission key are not interchangeable. State the direction explicitly in your documentation and team handover.

At this publication date, FindEstate can prepare a structured submission key and contract, but the external customer submission endpoint is not connected. If the interface shows a pending address, do not send data to an endpoint you have guessed. Issuing a key is not a completed import. Obtain the confirmed address, contract and test acceptance before scheduling transfers.

Accept the result using representative examples

Choose a small sample: an ordinary property, a different property type and a record with an intentionally unknown field. After importing, compare IDs, transaction types, prices, currencies, areas and links against the original. Confirm that an unknown value stayed unknown and that photographs were not assigned to the wrong property.

Check the total received count and review incomplete and hidden entries separately. Correct missing facts only when you have evidence for them. Import creates working material; public use still requires separate rights, review and distribution decisions. Finishing these checks gives you a catalog foundation that can be maintained consistently, rather than merely a file that uploaded without an error.