Real Estate Journal Online

SPRINGFIELD, Mass., July 28 — MassMutual Retirement Services Division’s continued strong sales growth in markets served by third-party administrators (TPAs) has set the stage for the appointment of two new TPA relationship managers. Diane DuFresne and Danielle Maynard, each of whom has been with MassMutual for several years, will report to Craig Haase, assistant vice president, TPA Alliance, MassMutual Retirement Services.

Diane DuFresne supports the Central region and was most recently a customer service manager with MassMutual’s U.S. Insurance Group. Prior to that role, she was with MassMutual’s defined contribution national accounts service team. Ms. DuFresne is based in Springfield, Mass. and can be reached at 413-744-3343 or [email protected].

Danielle Maynard‘s territory includes the Central and Mid-Atlantic regions. Prior to this role, Ms. Maynard was a TPA account manager. Danielle is based in Springfield, Mass. and can be reached at 413-744-5087 or [email protected].

“The addition of Diane and Danielle to MassMutual’s TPA relationship management team is driven by our expanding business in the TPA market,” says Mike McKenzie, corporate vice president and head of operations for MassMutual’s Retirement Services Division. “We’re looking forward to leveraging Diane’s and Danielle’s TPA experience and commitment to quality service in supporting our valued TPA business relationships.”

For more information about MassMutual Retirement Services, please contact your retirement plan representative or call MassMutual at 1-866-444-2601.

Promethean World Plc (LSE: PRW), a world leader in the rapidly growing global market for interactive learning technology, has announced that it has agreed to acquire SynapticMash Inc, a start-up US education formative assessment software company. The acquisition is expected to complete before the end of July 2010.

The initial consideration is $10 million in cash, of which $1 million is deferred for 18 months. A further performance related consideration of $3 million may be payable in 18 months, dependent on retention of key SynapticMash employees and sales targets.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Seattle, SynapticMash has developed a sophisticated and modular cloud-based formative assessment platform that is being marketed to US school districts through a subscription model. Its learning management system, LearningQube, transforms the way schools collect and manage classroom data, enabling teachers and administrators to better assess and track student performance.

Formative assessment is the evaluation of student performance instantaneously during the learning process rather than by formal exam typically at the end of a term or school year. It enables teachers to modify lessons during the progression of a course, based on their students’ levels of understanding, leading to differentiated instruction and improved academic achievement.

SynapticMash directly fits Promethean’s education strategy and significantly strengthens Promethean’s formative assessment and learner response systems (LRS) offering. LRS are handheld devices that allow students to contribute in real time during lessons, and enable teachers to instantly gauge student understanding.

SynapticMash’s LearningQube software will be fully integrated with Promethean’s LRS devices and specialised educational software, ActivInspire, to create a new and powerful formative assessment proposition for the education market, enabling teachers as well as school administrators to improve student assessment and performance.

Promethean will also continue to sell SynapticMash’s software on a stand-alone basis, providing Promethean with a recurring subscription revenue stream. This will give the Group opportunities to further leverage its existing sales distribution channel and increase sales to its installed customer base.

Jean-Yves Charlier, CEO, said: ”SynapticMash has developed compelling software, which is wholly complementary to Promethean’s ActivClassroom education offering and significantly strengthens our formative assessment capabilities. By integrating SynapticMash’s innovative software with our learner response systems we will create a powerful new proposition for the education market, in what we believe will be the most important way of measuring student achievement, helping to improve performance in the future.”

Ramona Pierson, founder of SynapticMash Inc, commented: “Promethean has an extremely exciting and innovative vision for educational technology in education and I am thrilled to be joining the team. Our software is an excellent fit with Promethean’s technology, and combined with their sales distribution channel and market presence, will enable us to maximise the potential of the LearningQube, taking it to the next level.”

Attend the 2010 Florida Realtors®’ Convention

ORLANDO, Fla., July 30 — The latest gadgets and gizmos, motivating advice from leading real estate trainers and a chance to network with other real estate professionals: That’s what the Florida Realtors’® 2010 Convention & Trade Expo has to offer – opportunities to learn new practices, gain fresh approaches and boost business.

This year’s event is set for Aug. 24-29 at the Rosen Shingle Creek resort in Orlando. The state association’s 94th annual convention offers real estate professionals the chance to enhance their real estate business through the best technology tools, sales and marketing techniques, business models and other industry-specific information. The event also gives participants the chance to glean advice from leading real estate trainers and to network with colleagues. Realtors from across the state are expected to attend the state convention.

Top industry speakers – such as Terri Morrison, Paul Chaney, Shannon King and Todd Carpenter, to name a few headliners – will offer insight into current trends in the real estate market. The convention features more than 40 educational sessions on topics such as: how to use social media to increase business; working with international clients; running a virtual office; tips for handling short sales; and developing targeted marketing strategies.

Other highlights of the event include: the Trade Expo, where more than 100 exhibitors demonstrate the latest real estate products and technology; and the Keynote Awards Luncheon, featuring motivational speaker Jon Gordon, author of the best seller, “The Energy Bus.” Gordon will offer a road map to overcome common life and work obstacles, with ways to circumvent negativity and focus on positive success.

To register for the Florida Realtors convention, call 1-800-669-4327; or members can register (login required) online at: http://convention.floridarealtors.org/. Register on or before Aug. 17; after that date, all registration will be handled at the convention site.

LONG ISLAND, N.Y., July 30 — The lawyers of 1-800-Cantaso and Ferro, Kuba, Mangano, Sklyar, P.C. have established a hospitality shuttle to distribute water and food to local day laborers. The shuttle will provide bottled water, fruits and veggies, towels and other necessities to thousands of workers who have endured record-breaking temperatures this summer. The firm plans to run this shuttle weekly, visiting Glen Cove, Huntington, Brentwood, Farmingville, South Hampton and other locations.

In addition, the Red Cross has assisted 1-800-Cantaso to educate day laborers on staying safe and hydrated in the heat. In Long Island, thousands of day laborers wait for hours on line for work to be issued each morning, and there are often more workers than there is work. Despite the adverse weather conditions, these men get up each day and arrive at various locations as early as 6:00 AM, often waiting until noon or later hoping to secure work for the day.

During the summer months, there is a heightened risk of injury or death from heatstroke, drowning and other causes, and day laborers are more susceptible to these risks than most. With this hospitality shuttle, 1-800-Cantaso hopes to prevent accidents that can easily be avoided by being aware of the risk. The objective is not to frighten the laborers – or to discourage them from pursuing the work they need to do in order to make a living – but to educate them.

Last winter, 1-800-Cantaso administered flu shots to day laborers. The law firm also set up a food drive to families of need and donated toys to children during the holiday season. According to William Ferro Esq., a partner at 1-800-Cantaso and Ferro, Kuba, Mangano, Sklyar, P.C., the firm plans to extend the hospitality shuttle’s weekly services into the winter months, providing flu shots, food and other necessities to workers.

1-800-Cantaso

The lawyers of 1-800-Cantaso provide legal services specializing in the areas of Personal injury. They promote music and concerts to the people of Long Island and New York City as a service to the community. They have also provided flu vaccines, donated toys for hundreds of children and have held turkey donation drives and provide other vital services for those in need throughout the year. Additionally the firm regularly provides scholarships and assists in charities. The website is www.1800cantaso.com.

MRISFax Enables Fast, Reliable Communication for MRIS Subscribers

ROCKVILLE, Md. — MRIS has launched its new service, MRISFax. Included in the MRIS subscription at no additional cost, MRISFax was developed to improve day-to-day communication efforts between MRIS subscribers and their clients. Through a completely secure online transaction, both parties can send and receive hard copy faxes as email attachments.

“A primary goal of our MRIS360 degree mission is to seek out ways to provide added value for our customers by implementing technology and services that help them run their business and serve their customers more effectively,” said John Heithaus, MRIS, CMO, “MRISFax will help agents not only increase the efficiency of their day-to-day transactions, but also provide modern customer service to their clients and help them to reduce operating costs.”

MRIS customers can obtain the MRISFax service and view the online tutorial, by visiting our website.

Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. (MRIS) is a leading provider of real estate information technology, and the largest multiple listing service in the nation. MRIS offers a portfolio of technology solutions, broker and agent software products and an industry-leading consumer portal, HomesDatabase.com. In addition, the CURE Solutions Group subsidiary of MRIS provides back-end technology to other MLS systems through CURE, a proprietary solution. MRIS serves more than 40,000 real estate professionals spanning the Mid-Atlantic region, including Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and parts of Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia. Visit www.mris.com.

VANCOUVER, July 29 - Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust (“PIRET” or the “REIT”) (TSXV: AAR.UN) today announced the successful closing of a single tenant, income-producing industrial property that was previously announced on July 23rd, 2010 for a total purchase price of $14,800,000.

The tenant, Top-Co LP (“Top-Co”), has entered into a 20 year net care-free lease with PIRET. Founded in 1963, Top-Co is a global leader focused on the design and manufacture of high quality float and mechanical oil and gas well cementing products. Situated on 7.78 acres, the property is a high quality 130,944 sq. ft. facility located in the southeast industrial area of Edmonton, Alberta.

PIRET funded the acquisitions with equity from the bought deal financing announced May 18, 2010 and a new first mortgage in the amount of $9,620,000 bearing interest at a rate of 5.35%, and maturing in 2020. The asset is being acquired at a favorable going-in cap rate of 7.87%.

After completing this acquisition, and as previously announced, PIRET has completed more than $100 million in acquisitions since January 2010.

PIRET’s units are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol AAR.UN. For more information on PIRET, visit our website at www.piret.ca.

ADA, Okla., July 22 — Real estate-related issues was the leading legal service request among members (customers) of Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. (NYSE: PPD) during the first half of 2010 followed by 2) consumer finance, 3) family law, 4) collections and 5) estate planning. The top five legal service requests for the first six-months of the year is based on the total volume of approximately 1.1 million member requests for legal services to the 40 independent provider law firms that assist Pre-Paid Legal members throughout the U.S. and four provinces of Canada.

“The top legal service requests from Pre-Paid Legal Services members for the first half of 2010 are the same as for the entire year in 2009,” said Pre-Paid Legal’s Founder and Chairman of the Board Harland C. Stonecipher. “Our members continue to access a variety of legal services in response to life issues brought on by a weak economy and high unemployment. Looking down the list, from houses (real estate) to credit cards (consumer finance) to kids (family law), the economy’s domino effect is all too apparent,” Stonecipher said.

Of the total requests for legal services, the top five list accounts for 47 percent, or approximately 533,000 of the total legal service requests since January 1 of this year. The remaining 597,000 requests were for a variety of other legal services, such as traffic-related matters, employment issues, criminal violations, bankruptcy and business issues.

By category, the top five legal service requests include:

Real Estate, Landlord/Tenant Issues, Foreclosure and Loan Modification – Approximately 174,400 requests, or 15 percent of the total requests, were for issues that include residential and commercial real estate transactions, landlord/tenant disputes and legal counsel related to foreclosure, short sales and loan modifications

Consumer Finance – Approximately 103,400 requests, or 9 percent of the total requests, were for issues related to retail transactions for warranties, guarantees and other contracts

Family Law – Approximately 97,700 requests, or 9 percent of the total requests, were for legal services related to divorce, child support, child custody and child visitation

Collections – Approximately 79,000 requests, or 7 percent of the total requests, were for debt issues, including member support against other parties and member defense against third-party debt collectors

Estate Planning – Approximately 78,000 requests, or 7 percent of the total requests, were for services that include preparation of wills and other counsel related to final estates

Robert W. LoPresti, a partner with Los Angeles-based Parker Stanbury, LLP (http://www.parkstan.com) says it is no surprise that real estate issues tops the list of legal services requests both nationally and for the State of California.

“When the real estate bubble burst, it created an outpouring of requests for legal services related to foreclosure, loan modification and landlord tenant issues,” LoPresti said. “In the first six months of this year, Parker Stanbury has responded to an estimated 240,000 requests for legal services from Pre-Paid Legal members, and more than 50,000 of these requests concerned real estate issues,” he said.

Parker Stanbury, LLP has provided legal services to PPD members in the California market for the past 14 years.

Richard A. Campbell, a partner with Atlanta-based Deming, Parker, Hoffman, Campbell & Daly, LLC (http://www.deminglaw.com/index.html), says that many of the legal issues found on the top five list are interconnected.

“Each of these legal issues begins and ends with money,” Campbell said. “Whether it’s foreclosure, bankruptcy, consumer debt or family law, it’s about money and often the amount is significant. Considering the high cost of traditional legal services, it’s not surprising that people often delay in dealing with these matters. By waiting to obtain quality legal advice, the problems don’t go away. They only grow larger,” he said.

Deming, Parker, Hoffman, Campbell & Daly, LLC, has been Pre-Paid Legal’s Georgia provider law firm since 1990.

The PPD top five list of legal service plan requests is based on statistical data collected from the provider law firms and shared with PPD. PPD maintains a rigorous monitoring system and conducts surveys which provide feedback on the customer service experience of PPD members with the provider law firms. This is one of the distinguishing characteristics of PPD’s “Provider Law Firm Network System.” The average tenure for provider law firms in the PPD network is more than 12 years.

Keller Williams Ranks Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Home Buyers for a Third Consecutive Year, While Prudential Ranks Highest among Home Sellers

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., July 28 — Reflective of the real estate buyers’ market conditions in many regions in the U.S., satisfaction with real estate companies among home buyers has improved from 2009, while satisfaction among home sellers has declined, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 Home Buyer/Seller Study(SM) released today.

The study, now in its third year, measures customer satisfaction of home buyers and sellers with the largest national real estate companies. Overall satisfaction is determined by examining three factors for the home-buying experience: agent/salesperson; office; and variety of additional services. Four factors are examined for the home-selling experience: agent/salesperson; marketing; office; and variety of additional services.

Overall satisfaction among home buyers averages 803 on a 1,000-point scale in 2010—increasing by 12 points from 2009. This improvement is primarily driven by increased satisfaction with agents and salespersons. In contrast, overall satisfaction among home sellers has declined by 40 points from 2009 and averages 742 in 2010. Among home sellers, satisfaction has decreased in all four factors, with the largest declines observed in marketing of the home and the variety of additional services offered.

“Among both home buyers and home sellers, the importance of agents and salespersons has increased substantially in 2010, compared with 2009,” said Jim Howland, senior director of the real estate and construction practice at J.D. Power and Associates. “Buyers are increasingly relying upon negotiating skills of agents and seem to be satisfied with the purchase prices they are obtaining. Despite the fact that selling agents appear to be doing a good job of negotiating and marketing on behalf of home sellers, the tough economic conditions are negatively impacting their overall satisfaction with real estate companies.”

In the home-buyer segment, Keller Williams ranks highest for a third consecutive year, with a score of 817 on a 1,000-point scale. Keller Williams performs particularly well in the agent and office factors. Following in the rankings are Prudential (811) and Coldwell Banker (805). Prudential performs well in the additional services category.

Among home sellers, Prudential ranks highest with a score of 760 and performs particularly well in the marketing and agent factors. Prudential is the only company to improve in home-seller satisfaction in 2010, compared with 2009. Following Prudential in the rankings are Keller Williams (751) and RE/MAX (744). Keller Williams performs particularly well in the office factor.

The study finds that fewer than one-half of home buyers and sellers indicate their agent asked them to provide a referral or recommendation to a friend or family member.

“Positive recommendations are a critically important driver of new business for agents, and there is ample opportunity for improvement in this area,” said Howland. “Particularly during tough times in the real estate market, asking for referrals and recommendations should be considered an essential part of doing business.”

J.D. Power and Associates offers the following tips to consumers who are buying or selling a home:

• Finding the right agent to suit your specific needs is critical. J.D. Power research has consistently demonstrated that having the right agent is critical to a satisfying home-buying or -selling experience. Due to the unique nature of real estate transactions, clients often form bonds with their agents, as a single buying or selling transaction can take several months or more to complete. For customers who have previously bought or sold a home, the right agent might be someone they’ve worked with successfully in the past. For first-time buyers, seeking recommendations from friends, relatives, and colleagues is critical. Increasingly, agents and brokers are advertising their services on the Internet, so this can be a good starting point for research, particularly for someone moving far away from their current location.
• In addition to a buying or selling agent, consider the additional services you may require. Buying and selling a home is a complex undertaking with many “moving parts” to consider. In addition to the real estate agent you work with, you may also need to work with a loan officer, a financial institution, title/escrow company, inspectors, appraisers, home warranty agents, movers, storage services, contractors, etc. One of the advantages of using a full-service real estate company is that they can assist with finding and coordinating some of these necessary additional services.
• For sellers, marketing one’s home should be a primary focus. In addition to finding the right agent, home sellers should pay special attention to tools used to market the home. When selecting an agent, find out their approach to open houses and online marketing, in particular. J.D. Power research finds that home buyers often search for homes online long before they engage a buying agent, or even attend an open house. Ask about which websites will contain the home listing, the number of home photos that can be included and if any special features will accompany the listing, such as virtual tours or mortgage calculators. Tools that assist prospective home buyers may help attract attention to the listing.
• For buyers, it’s important to understand the full cost of the home prior to making a purchase. It’s prudent for home buyers to establish a housing budget and to expect agents to show homes in the appropriate price range. Particularly for first-time buyers, it’s important to understand all the associated fees and expenses that go along with purchasing a particular home. These can include one-time expenses, such as “points’ that lower mortgage rates, title fees and appraisals, as well as ongoing expenses such as homeowners association fees, property taxes, or other specialized local taxes that can impact your monthly payments.

The 2010 Home Buyer/Seller Study includes more than 3,000 evaluations from 2,817 respondents who bought or sold a home between March 2009 and April 2010. The study was fielded between April and May 2010.

The Carmel Putnam Plaza Shopping Center is under new ownership following the sale of the center by New York commercial broker, Vision Property Group LLC last quarter. Jonathan Clott and Thomas Kalensky of Vision Property Group LLC quoted the sale price of the property at $28 million.

The 193,000 square foot shopping center is located on the heavily traveled Route 6 corridor. Anchored by a 62,000 square foot Hannaford Brothers Supermarket and home to NY Sports Club, Rite-Aid, Radio Shack, Starbucks Coffee and Dress Barn, Putnam Plaza is dominant shopping center in Carmel, New York.

“Many savvy investors agree that grocery anchored shopping centers are a smart investment. Not only is Putnam Plaza anchored by a 62,000 square foot grocery store, the center has proven itself as a popular shopping location since its inception in 1970. This is fantastic investment for the new owners,” said Jonathan Clott, investment partner of Vision Property Group LLC (www.visionproperty.com).

Westchester County commercial broker Vision Property Group LLC was the sole broker in the Putnam Plaza sale transaction. Headed by Jonathan Clott and Thomas Kalensky, the real estate broker specializes in the leasing and buying of retail space, restaurant, office, and industrial property in New York.

DZEG.com, a leading real estate marketing provider has announced the availability of Mobile Homes and Land in addition to already listing for-sale-by-owner and rental properties. In an industry that continues to move toward utilizing the online community, DZEG.com has moved to the forefront in providing such services. Allowing Mobile Home and Land listings now gives buyers better opportunities to search online and for sellers to reach a larger audience.

In response to demand from buyers and sellers, DZEG.com recently announced it has begun offering mobile home and land listings. Already known for providing a vast amount of rental and for sale by owner listings, DZEG.com offers buyers the opportunity to search for mobile home and land listings using various search methods including location and price. You can find land available for sale in Arizona, Colorado, or even New York just to name a few states where sellers are looking for someone to buy real estate.

In a competitive real estate environment, sellers are looking for that extra advantage they need to sell properties, land or mobile homes. DZEG.com helps them do that by charging a small fee and marketing them in a big way. A seller would have to spend an enormous amount of time marketing all their listings themselves, but with the assistance of DZEG.com they spend a few dollars and leave the work to the experienced staff at DZEG.com to bring them buyers.

Making listings available for land and mobile homes shows DZEG.com is interested in continually enhancing the product offerings allowing sellers to manage all of their properties on one site instead of multiple sites. Sellers can stay more organized and spend more time showing their properties and networking than marketing their listings online.