1. Finance Is Coming Online! ... This week I visited three sites that provide an insight into how the web will impact the marketing and delivery of financial products. GE Capital Real Estate has re-launched its ambitious site. You'll find lots of information on their multiple products and services, but what is most interesting is the linkage between this information and a real person. Frequently, you'll see a "Click Here and We'll Call You" button. Clicking this will launch a short form that is sent to a 24-hour GE call center where a coordinator will read the message, call you back and put you in contact with the right person. According to Gunnar Branson, Director of Communications at GE Capital, you should receive a call back from the call center within minutes. Neat.

Perhaps not coincidentally, the GE site was built by dataStructures, whose president, Michael Minik, wrote in the March 1998 issue of Real Estate Forum, "Capital providers right now are building the ability to submit streamlined loan-submission packages, review legal documents and acquire third-party reports online. Loan servicers are using databases to give their clients an instant understanding of their portfolios. … When smart commercial real estate players begin to use the Internet to its full advantage, they will revolutionize the industry."

That's a great segue to RoboDocs.com, which uses its web site to produce highly automated loan documentation. This site is the creation of Gary J. Highland, an attorney in Newport Beach, CA, with extensive experience drafting legal agreements for commercial lenders. The idea of RoboDocs.com is to streamline the lending process and reduce legal costs substantially. For example, a typical package for commercial and multifamily mortgage loan documents at RoboDocs.com costs $550 for loans up to $1.5m, $650 for loans up to $3m and $750 for larger loans.

RealWebFunds has developed a somewhat similar process for circulating loan packages. Developed by mortgage banker Tom Dewar of Vanguard Realty Capital in Walnut Creek, CA, RealWebFunds is still in the beginning phase of marketing. But I was impressed with the demo that he walked me through. Basically you fill out forms online with complete loan information, including pictures and spreadsheets (which can be uploaded). Then you can circulate these forms to a pre-approved list of lenders, a much more efficient way of distributing this type of information. You will not find examples online, so you'll have to contact Tom by e-mail.

2. Lease Tracking Software? ... Kevin Rogers, who's in the Memphis real estate department of Cincinnati-based Kroger, raised an interesting question recently. ... "It gets to be a real headache digging out a lease every time we need to look at one small paragraph. Do you know of any good software for cataloging this type of stuff or would I be better off creating a big database in Microsoft Access? Ultimately I’d like to be able to search from my computer for any document related to a store as opposed to thumbing through a paper file for 20 minutes." If you have ideas on possible solutions, post your comments on the Lease Management Software Message Board at the following URL:

http://www.pikenet.com/cgi-bin/WebX?13@@.ee6b606/8

3. Knowledge Base--Finding Market Caps at Wired News. ... Need to quickly find the market capitalization of a publicly traded company? Try Wired News. ... For step-by-step instructions, visit the PikeNet Knowledge Base (top of home page) under the Financial Information section or use the URL below:

http://www.pikenet.com/pike?func=showPublicPage&page=
questions/questions/question090

4. Web Success--Office Building Magazine's Site. ... With over 6,000 color pictures of buildings in major Eastern and Midwestern markets, Office Buildings Magazine provides complete online access to its print publications. According to Henry Robbins, agents seeking space for clients frequently consult his web site. "I was in Kossman Development's office (located in Pittsburgh) when the Director of Leasing, Tony Dunn, told me how some LaSalle brokers located in Chicago had found buildings from our web site. ... In Cleveland, Rob Kaye, Director of Leasing, told me the same story of an inquiry on his 14701, 14705, 14805 Detroit Ave (Lakewood) buildings from a telecommunications looking for 10,000 square feet. ... Robert Leslie from Deloitte Touche, who was outsourcing space for a client (about 50,000 feet), used my site to help identify potential sites for his client in New Jersey." ... Do you have a Web Success story? Send e-mail to . For past Web Success stories use the following URL:

http://www.pikenet.com/pike?func=WebSuccess09

5. PikeNet--Adam's Report. ... I asked Adam Feuerstein, a reporter for the San Francisco Business Times covering commercial real estate and the Internet, to write a summary of PikeNet 98, "Commercial Real Estate Internet Strategies," held September 10-12 in San Francisco. Wow, he delivered a write-up with a lot of attitude! ... Sample: "But Hipschman is the kind of guy commercial real estate desperately needs. After years spent dealing with Masters of the Universe types at Salomon Brothers, he joined Studley determined to drag brokers kicking and screaming into the Internet age." ... You'll find a link to Adam's Report off the home page. Check it out and print it (5 pages):

http://www.pikenet.com/pikenet98/adam.html

6. New--Edit Your User Profile. ... Need to change your e-mail address? Your location? Your company? ... This week I added a new feature to PikeNet. Now you can edit your User Profile. Just click the Edit User Profile link under the logo on the PikeNet home page. Enter your e-mail address and password, which I e-mailed you on Wednesday. Don't worry if you forget your password; just click the E-mail My Password button, and yours will be sent immediately to your e-mail address. After you login, you can change your e-mail address, Dispatch format (HTML or Plain Text) and even your password.

http://www.pikenet.com/pike?func=emailRequest

7. Sponsor. ... "Whether you are contemplating a move across town or across the country, or you need professional, unbiased counseling about whether to buy, build or lease a new facility, or how to dispose of non-productive real estate assets, you can count on the expertise of the Coldwell Banker Commercial Corporate Services Group. Think of the Corporate Services Group as your primary real estate counselor who will design forward-thinking real estate strategies and solutions to fit your needs. Please call 800-222-2162 or visit our website."

--Peter Pike