Virtual Real Estate

Point, click, buy, build

Chris Richards / Staff
Laptop in hand: T. L. Roof superintendent Phil Miller with a high-tech tool of the trade in front of a building under construction at La Paloma Corporate Center.

Computer technology is revolutionizing the way Tucsonans buy and sell homes, plan for new construction and seek permits to renovate existing buildings.

Homebuyers are spending less time on the road and more time on the Internet searching for properties.

Construction companies use video
Webcams to monitor construction progress.

New software lets project owners, developers, architects and contractors review and change construction plans online.

The types of technology vary widely, but their impact is similar: they increase options for consumers and professionals, save time and money and make buying and building easier.

"It has enhanced communication so much, said Wade Nafzger, vice president of business development for T.L. Roof & Associates Construction Co.

E-marketing ease

The real estate business in Tucson started using evolving technology in the early 1980s, when the databank of homes listed for sale with the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) was computerized.

That made it easier for Realtors to search for what clients wanted, said Jim Adams, information technology director for Long Realty Co.

He worked on the MLS - a function of the Tucson Association of Realtors - for 13 years, before moving to Long Realty two years ago.

By the mid-1990s, the Internet had gained momentum and individual sellers started listing homes on their own Web sites.

Today, Realtors and brokerages have sites that are infinitely more advanced than their early photo-and-address predecessors.

Virtual video tours give 360-degree views of properties. Depth of the images can be adjusted by zooming in and out. Aerial digital photos put homes into perspective with the surrounding neighborhood.

Buyers can type in the size, price range and geographical area of a home they want. With Long's Virtual Home Find they are automatically e-mailed anytime a listing that meets their criteria comes on the market.

The same search method now is being used for commercial properties in Tucson.

E-searching expands

In March, the city of Tucson's Office of Economic Development launched an online database of available land, retail, office and industrial properties.

More than 60 brokers have signed up for user names and passwords, which allow them to list properties. About 160 properties are profiled on the site, which features the size and location of the property, sale prices and lease rates, amenities and detailed reports of the surrounding area. The reports, which can be generated in mile radiuses, can include zoning statuses, traffic counts, location of utility lines and area business licenses.

"We have brought all the data to the table," said Russell Riblett, a business development specialist with the city's Economic Development Office, who created the site.

E-layering

Real estate brokers who specialize in land sales also are realizing the benefit of providing layers of information.

Again, the idea is to provide as much information as possible in one place, whether it be on a Web site in the comfort of one's office or projected on a big screen in a broker's "war room."

"We are expediting the information process for the clients," said Will C. White, a senior associate at Arizona Land Advisors, a Scottsdale-based land brokerage that opened a Tucson office in April.

It takes ALA just 30 minutes to produce a customized report for a property owner or buyer that otherwise would take days to get from individual government agencies and private firms, White said.

The report, projected on a big screen for clients, can include demographics, infrastructure, political and municipal boundaries and photo and graphic mapping.

"We are able to get them up to date on market trends and what they can expect to get on their property," White said.

E-planning in the works

Tucson and Pima County officials are beginning to rely more on the Internet and less on the telephone to provide project updates and building-related services.

Some applications for residential permits, including those for electrical upgrades and reconnecting utilities, can be submitted online through the county's PimaXpress service.

Launched in February, the service provides information on permits, inspections, building codes, zoning and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping.

It already is proving to be popular.

"We average 300,000 hits a month," said Chuck Puchon, information technologies administrator for the county's Development Services Department.

Early next year, the county plans to start testing a system that would allow builders to electronically submit development plans.

"We are still in the embryonic stage, trying to set standards," Puchon said.

The city also is considering electronic plan submittal.

"While it's a viable technology, we need to explore it further before we jump full bore," said Ernie Duarte, assistant director of the city's Development Services Department.

The city has yet to offer online permit applications. But people can track the building activity of a project, if they have an address or activity number. Contractors and construction companies check the site to monitor for fraud.

"I check it every couple of months to make sure our (contractor) licenses are only being used by us," said Jacci Barreras, secretary and treasurer for Chestnut Construction.

Barreras also uses the site to search for inspection results.

"If we failed on Monday, corrections can be made, and we can still call back on Monday afternoon for a Tuesday reinspection," she said. "It saves us at least four or five days."

Time isn't the only thing saved.

Contractors, developers, architects and property owners spend more than $500 million a year to ship building plans and documents back and forth to each other, said Brian Wasserman, president of Leading Change Inc., an information-technology firm in Minnesota.

Rarely are the reams of detailed blueprints needed in their entirety. The bulk of these expensive plans take up space in work trucks or construction sites, because a subcontractor may only need a few sheets that are specific to the job at hand.

"And then the owner talks to the engineer or developer and changes one detail, and they have to reproduce the whole set of plans," Wasserman said.

Firms like Tucson's Integrated Digital Technologies are trying to improve the process by computerizing plans, which are then available online at www.
ContractorsPlanRoom.com.

"Our core business is selling construction information," said Steve Kirkpatrick, sales and marketing manager for Integrated Digital Technologies.

Developers can post their project plans and related documentation on the Web site for free. Right now, there are plans for about 270 public and private projects in the Tucson area

For $99.95 per month, contractors can peruse the plans online, decide if they want to bid on the project and contact the principals by e-mail or telephone.

Notes with questions or suggestions can be made on the drawings and e-mailed to the architect or builder.

Jim Kuliesh, executive director of the Alliance of Construction Trades, said he's impressed with such time-saving technology.

"I came from the school where we got in our car, drove to a plan room and sat there for hours going through drawings," Kuliesh said.

Integrated Digital Technologies also provides printing services and plotter equipment, which has a patent pending, to copy computer blueprints onto paper - the entire plan or just parts.

E-management

Management - whether it be of individual projects or employees - has changed dramatically with new technology.

Video Webcams mounted at jobs sites can show "real time" construction progress, a plus for out-of-state developers with projects in Tucson. Memos and other building correspondence also can be scanned in and transferred electronically.

"It's making our lives easier and our customers happier, because we are reporting to them constantly," said Dean Cotlow, a local commercial developer.

Such advancements, he said, have helped to level the playing field for smaller developers and construction firms.

"We have five build-to-suit projects going on. In the past we couldn't handle that many," Cotlow said.

Construction consultant Wasserman said there is an increasing reliance on wireless technology to transmit and receive documents from job sites.

"There are substantial cost savings with the ability to go mobile with time cards, purchase orders and schedules," he said.

E-future

It likely will be a few more years before homes are bought and paid for electronically and computers become as common as hard hats at construction sites.

Those leading the electronic wave admit a challenge lies ahead: Consumers, professionals and workers in real estate and construction still have to embrace the technology and new way of business on a wide scale.

Completing a home sale over the Internet, for example, requires lenders and title companies to participate and use compatible software.

"You have a culture that is uncomfortable with throwing it all on the Internet and leaving it there all the time," Wasserman said.

But he and others believe it's just a matter of time before such e-transactions are commonplace.

"All of it is here to stay," said Lisa Romero, marketing director for Realty Executives of Tucson. "It's the future."

* Contact Star Business reporter Macario Juarez Jr., at 573-4663 or at mjuarez@azstarnet.com.

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