With dotcoms like AOL, i-Solutions, and e-Medsoft moving to Jacksonville, Florida, local broker Prudential Network Realty is looking to target the dotcom transferee as well as get a technological leg up on the competition.

Positioning itself as the tech-savvy relocation brokerage in the area, Prunet, as it is known by its URL identity, was the first franchiser to Internet train or "e-Certify" (a Prudential certification demonstrating Internet skills) its entire relocation team, 50 out of 200 agents. More than 50 percent of the company's agents boast personal ownership of technological tools such as personal laptops or PCs without relying on the access that the company provides, a high number for the market, according to the company.

Now, Prunet has just debuted its newest desktop toy for consumers and agents, an offer management system powered by Homebid. According to Homebid.com, the Offer Manager platform mirrors the traditional process of buying and selling a home, putting the steps in a digital format.  Agents and their clients can browse online listings, view virtual tours and detailed neighborhood information, make online offers with contingencies, respond to counteroffers and complete all negotiation online. Listing agents can elect to make offers and contingencies visible, allowing buyers to position their offers in relation to the competition. When a seller accepts an offer, all previously registered and interested potential buyers are immediately notified by phone, e-mail and pager.  

Prunet boasts the first private-labeled version of Offer Manager in the country, a fact it hopes will impress HR directors and third-party relocation company representatives. Why would being the first matter so much? In the competitive world of relocation, time is of the essence. Every minute, day or week that can be shaved off the relocation process is something to "write home about." The broker who can consistently prove that his or her organization can save time and money for companies and their employees who must relocate is much more likely to get repeat business. Being the first to adopt a new technology brings bragging rights.

Nancy Massengill, director or relocation for Prudential Network Realty says, "We were looking for something new to assist us in selling homes in a different format."

Software that assists her brokers and agents to manage inventory online, qualifies the buyer for a loan (through Mortgage.com,) and allows principals to negotiate contracts in real time is just the kind of edge Massengill was looking for. What peaked her interest most was Offer Manager's potential to sell a transferee's home more quickly because of real-time offers. A transfering buyer can also buy more quickly by posting offers online. With comparables and competitive offers as encouragement, the buyer is more likely to post a best offer first, saving contract ferrying back and forth. Getting the deal done quicker is a big deal in competitive, growing markets.

The 200-agent company started with training sessions for the 93 agents who volunteered to participate, including some buyer agents who want to work with assigned buyers online. Trained buyer's agents becomes significant as only represented buyers can participate in Prunet's Offer Manager. (Editor's note: In Florida, agency law requires that agents can either be single agents or transactional agents. If a brokerage is the listing agent for the seller, the buyer's agent within the same brokerage can only operate as a disclosed transactional salesperson, not as an agent of the buyer.)

The company started July 17th with 75 homes in three Northeast Florida counties, priced from $150,000 to just under two million. Within two days, Massengill heard that two offers had been posted, and she received enthusiastic emails from agents. One agent Sheron Dorsey Willson wrote, "WOW! I just went on to our e-sale and edited the photos for my listing on College Street. The seller had been unhappy with the choices since the (virtual) tour was not up yet. Any way I found it just as easy to do as it was in the classroom. I was able to move pictures, add pictures, and delete the ones that the seller did not like."

Massengill knew she had a winner with this email comment: "This is a great customer service tool."

As much as she would like it to, Offer Manager is only one piece of the technological pie and other problems have to be solved to make it work even more efficiently. The biggest roadblock is digital signatures.

Will the contract be virtual? Not until the state and federal governments work out the standards, says Massengill. "We're asking our agents to put the offer (when it is ready for signature) in the traditional contract form and fax the listing agent and fax to the seller so that everyone has the terms and conditions. All negotiation can take place online and changes can be made on the hard copy for people to sign off."

Despite having to incorporate faxes and a paper trail, Offer Manager "still eliminates a lot of time spent finding each other," says Massengill. "They can just go oline without having to talk to each other and voice-mailing back and forth.

Where is the company going from here? "Wireless," says Massengill.

Published: July 21, 2000

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