Comro.com adds new RE service channels, news CHICAGO - Chicago-based Comro.com has launched its Real Estate Web Directory, a new register of links to real estate-related organizations and serviceproviders. The company's new listings cover more than 30 different categories, including industry associations, tenant-service companies, architects, general contractors, office furniture vendors and executive recruiters. Comro president Kevin Travers notes that the listings give the site value-added tools and hard-to-find resources for leasing and occupying commercial space.
The company also signed an agreement with Commercial Real Estate Direct (CREDirect) to feature a national news service covering the commercial real estate industry. Comro.com plans to supplement CREDirect's coverage through local-market reporting.
Winstar, Glenborough sign non-exclusive deal NEW YORK - New York-based Winstar Communications Inc. and San Mateo-based Glenborough Realty Trust Corp. have signed a non-exclusive deal that will offer broadband telecom services to Glenborough tenants in 20 states. Under terms of the agreement, Winstar is permitted to offer its fixed wireless broadband communications services - including high-speed Internet and data, Web-based information, and local and long distance services - to 102 of Glenborough's commercial and industrial properties.
Conshohocken, Pa.-based Apex Site Management Inc. represented Glenborough in the deal, which covers buildings in markets such as Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Boston.
Property tax gets new Web-based query tool HOUSTON - With the ability to provide online property tax data on a nationwide basis, Houston-based Burr Wolff LP has launched Burr Wolff WebView, an Internet-based query and property tax reporting tool.
The application provides secure Web-browser access to property tax account status for customers who partake in the firm's property tax recovery, rendition compliance and tax bill payment processing services. The firm's clients can view account status, values, hearing results and payment status, and also download reports and other data files.
The search is over for private-equity e-capital DENVER - The phrase "access to capital" has recently earned a new meaning. Instead of beating the pavement for funds, institutional and individual investors can burn up the wires on EquityCity.com to find the private-equity capital they seek. Mark Quam, founder and president of the Denver-based Internet service provider, saw a chance to "remove the geographic limitations" that can preclude timely access to funds.
In addition to seeking capital, the site gives accredited investors the opportunity to scan through a hearty listing of deals. EquityCity analysts prescreen all real estate opportunities listed on its site and real estate developers and principals pay to list their investment opportunities. The site also offers personalization features that track an individual's investment criteria, and will notify said investor by e-mail when a criteria matching opportunity is listed.
The site is free to all accredited investors and offers them personalized features. Deals listed on EquityCity are searchable by type of project or by region, and each listing includes data on project location, value and equity.
TheAskingPrice.com plays Trump card NEW YORK - When the site makes its debut this month, TheAskingPrice.com will have among its charter listings the commercial condominium units for sale at The General Motors Building at Trump International Plaza.
According to the New York-based firm's founder and CEO Richard Tola, Trump's participation marks the developer's first use of e-commerce services to market its commercial holdings. (The property includes 52 fully leased commercial condo units, and was placed on the market in late-1999.)
TheAskingPrice will provide a viable alternative to traditional transactions and access to a host of Internet-based, commission-free services for buyers and sellers in the investment-grade commercial real estate market. The site provides a direct communication link between buyers and sellers where owners can determine the asking price of their properties, preview prospective buyers and control information and access to their properties.
CC&F to build Internet city in Beantown BOSTON - In response to what developers see as an exploding need for Internet services in the area, Boston-based Cabot, Cabot & Forbes (CC&F) will build Boston Internet City, a high-tech facility in Brighton, Mass. A former steel warehouse building along the Massachusetts Turnpike, the new 450,000 sq. ft. facility will house tall racks of integrated circuits that feed the voice, data and Internet needs of specific telecom customers.
CC&F will redevelop the two-level building - currently used to store furnishings, equipment and vehicles - exclusively for telecom usage, adding a third level and conducting a complete reconstruction and reconditioning of the property. Boston Internet City was designed to be the region's "gateway to the telecom revolution," and a development model that CC&F plans to duplicate in other regions of the country.
First American, Fannie Mae, partner online WASHINGTON, D.C. - Fannie Mae and The First American Financial Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., have reached an agreement to provide lenders with electronic access to First American's products and services over Fannie Mae's MORNETPlus Network. Mortgage lenders across the nation will be able to connect to First American's products and services, and will be able to request and receive title insurance, flood certifications and appraisals from the company's family of firms.
The deal is another component of Fannie Mae's "Open Access" initiative, which provides lenders with broader access to more services and service providers in one location.
Going once... going twice... "Exchanged!" CHICAGO - With a national selection of municipal-asset inventory, The Asset Exchange has introduced a venue to collect buyers and sellers of non-performing municipal assets together in one location. Users who click on www.Ax.com are able to buy, sell and research assets through real-world, hybrid and online auctions. With its online effort, The Asset Exchange aims to reduce the geographic market restrictions previously inherent in the municipal assets industry.
Municipalities, retail and institutional firms, and real estate management companies are among the many individuals who can conduct searches of up to 2,400 jurisdictions across 29 states. The site also includes an AX.com Yellow Pages directory of attorneys, brokers, engineers and inspectors; frequently asked questions; news headlines; and a Power Search function, which allows for searches on liens, auctions or service providers.
PropertyFirst unveils new site functions ALHAMBRA, Calif. - Multiple listing service firm PropertyFirst.com Inc. has unveiled a new version of its Internet site - a move that is intended to upgrade existing functionality by allowing users to buy and sell commercial real estate on a more efficient basis. Brokers, buyers and sellers are given increased access to searching, marketing and other tools, to speed transactions and market properties.
The revamped site also offers investors and brokers increased customization where surfers can tailor features to their own liking. The Member Area includes BizCard, which is accessed through a searchable online directory where brokers can include designations, areas of specialization and customer references. The site offers an area where member firms can create tombstone ads promoting recently executed transactions - online or via e-mail.