Putting Real Estate Data and Maps in One Place—On-line
By Laura Lang

The virtual world of real estate is getting larger... and smaller. VISTAinfo, the largest property-risk information company in the US, is busily remaking itself into a virtual kiosk of sorts, where all parties in commercial and residential real estate transactions connect to find information, including GIS data and maps, and order products that help close property deals more quickly. In some cases, these products are required under state or federal disclosure or natural hazard laws; in others cases, they're just a darn good idea: like a homeowner asking how close the home he is buying is to an earthquake fault or landslide zone.
    Using the Web, VISTAinfo's clients simply need to enter any property address into a market specific, easy-to-use, secure Internet order form and they quickly receive reports customized for their markets.
    Currently, the company's multiple property information databases serve more than 350,000 customers-real estate agents, brokers, lenders, investment bankers, appraisers, engineers, insurance companies, REIT's, corporate real estate, compliance and environmental executives, and others. VISTAinfo estimates that more than 40% of its business is now derived from its Web commerce offerings and that this will expand during 1999 to over 50% by year end. Bev Day is typical. As the resource and training manager with AMRESCO Commercial Finance, Inc., in Boise, Idaho, Day orders Site Assessment Reports (SARs) directly and instructs her associates on "red flags" in lending documents that would indicate the need for a SAR.
      "Anytime we note a business adjacent to a proposed loan site that may have offensive by-products, like a dry cleaners or tire store, we'll order a VISTAinfo SAR to investigate the property," she explains. Using the Web-site, she can have a report in minutes that details the proximity of nearby hazards, shows them on a map, and indicates any past compliance or reporting problems. "The reports provide environmental information about the site and its surrounding businesses, some of which the borrower may not be aware of." In particular, she notes, the GIS-based maps contained in VISTAinfo's SARs are extremely helpful, and not just for the environmental data they display. "We may look at the SARs for other facets of our research, such as for title insurance. If a title company has taken an exception for rivers and streams and we can determine by reviewing the SAR that there are no rivers or streams, we can require the exception be deleted," she explains.

Growing a market
The road to VISTAinfo's rapid growth is being paved with former competitors, a management strategy that helps it expand quickly into new markets. In January 1999, it acquired Environmental Risk Information and Imaging Services (ERIIS), making itself the world's largest resource for environmental, real estate disclosure, and property risk information. This also meant merging with GeoSure L.P., including GeoSure's master environmental database, as well as hazardous sites and its collection of national historic fire insurance maps.
    GeoSure also allowed the company to add flood risk database information, flood insurance services, soils and topographic map information, radon exposure, wetlands, and other information to its product suite. National Research Center (NRC/NIS), a national provider of flood determination services and flood insurance to mortgage bankers and insurance companies was part of this acquisition. In March 1999, VISTAinfo acquired EcoSearch Environmental Resources, Inc., of Indianapolis, Indiana.
    In August 1999, VISTAinfo entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Moore's Data Management Services & CyberHomes.com businesses to create a powerful Internet portal for the Real Estate industry. Since its debut in 1995, CyberHomes has blossomed into a CyberCity, becoming one of North America's top real estate Internet services. Users have the flexibility to search CyberHomes' listings by criteria, address, property number, or within a specific geographic radius. If home buyers cannot find a home that meets their needs, CyberHomes' "Homes by E-mail" service can automatically alert home buyers when their dream home hits the market. Home buyers and sellers can also meet their real estate professional, print local school reports, and access other real estate-related services.
    Upon completion of the proposed acquisition, the combined VISTAinfo entity would have over 800 employees throughout North America, in excess of $100 million in revenue in 1999, and daily access to more than 300,000 agents and key real estate franchise and related industry relationships, and will be dedicated to enabling real estate transactions over the Internet.
   VISTAinfo President and CEO Tom Gay says the proposed acquisition brings three key elements of every real estate transaction together in one company. MDMS offers its proven Internet-enabled real estate agent and broker support and development organization, which recently launched the most successful Internet-based real estate MLS (multiple listing service) system in North America and directly supports over half of the largest MLSs in the country. CyberHomes brings the most sophisticated and accurate consumer-oriented MLS residential listing site available on the Web today. And VISTAinfo provides the largest database of essential property due diligence and disclosure information available in the real estate world to consumers and many of the largest financial, insurance, and engineering companies in the US.
    The partnership plans to use the Web to connect consumers, real estate professionals, and companies in the financial, insurance, legal, environmental, and related home services industries in innovative new ways that help each group more effectively participate in the real estate transaction. According to Gay, a recent study by the Yankee Group showed that consumers' willingness to shop for homes and related services via the Internet is growing rapidly: 60% of those planning to buy a home in the next year expect to use an on-line information listing service to research properties and 40% expect to apply for a mortgage on-line.
    "These trends underscore the importance of our joint goal to ensure that the real estate agent and broker plays an increasingly vital part in every transaction," Gay says.
    Gay noted that in addition to millions of home buyers and sellers, the combined customer base will comprise large MLS boards throughout North America, premier real estate franchises including Century 21, Coldwell Banker, and RE/MAX, such leading insurance underwriters and financial institutions as State Farm, AON, and Bank of America, as well as leading engineering, real estate appraisal, and banking industry trade groups.
    Realtors like Bob Bolen, broker/owner of Huntington Beach Realty in California, who already rely on VISTAinfo for disclosure information and maps, are expected to utilize the new service, as well. Bolen already uses VISTAinfo's maps and reports (available through its Property Disclosure Division) to meet the needs of California's residential disclosure law, which mandates that both the seller and/or seller's agent disclose whether or not a property is in any of six mapped natural hazard zones-California Fire Protection Areas, High-Fire Areas, Federal Emergency Management Agency Flood Zones, Dam Inundation Areas, Seismic Risk Areas (landslide and liquefaction), and Earthquake Fault Zones.
    Bolen explains, "We can tell buyers generally about the areas where they want to buy a home, but the maps from VISTAinfo communicate just how close a hazard, like an earthquake fault, is to that home," Bolen says.This reduces the chance of a misunderstanding between Realtor, seller, and buyer.
    "There's no better way to convey this information than with maps-especially since ordering them is so easy and cost-effective," he adds. With 24 years' experience, Bolen uses VISTAinfo's professionally prepared hazard disclosure maps on every transaction at his five-Realtor office and he urges other Realtors to do the same. "Ordering disclosure products from VISTAinfo makes our job a whole lot easier," he adds.
    A final purchase by VISTAinfo in August, has increased the company's holdings and industry presence even more as the company moved to acquire ACE USA Flood Services, a leading national provider of flood determination and related information services to financial institutions. "The acquisition of ACE USA Flood Services, with its national digital database of flood information and automated Web-delivery platform, allows VISTAinfo to accelerate its effort to become the dominant Internet provider of an integrated suite of real property information to the mortgage, insurance, appraisal, and real estate industries," says Gay.
    ACE Flood Services, to be rebranded VISTAinfo FloodSure, is strategic to VISTAinfo because of its completely digital property information databases, integrated E-commerce systems, and strong financial services customer base. Gay adds, "We will immediately begin integrating the distribution of flood information products across our existing banking, environmental, and real estate customer platforms for automated E-commerce delivery of flood information."
    VISTAinfo's Geographic Underwriting System (GUS), already in use by the nation's largest insurers, will also be connected to new Web-based flood services products. In addition, new flood products will be added to their residential home disclosure offerings in California and to products planned for release in connection with support of their previously-announced acquisition of Moore Data Management Services.
    Floodsure.com, currently under development, will be based on existing ACE Flood Services Web systems and integrated with VISTAinfo's E-Commerce and customer service systems.

Still more ahead?
In 1999, VISTAinfo was #59 in San Diego's list of hottest publicly traded companies by the San Diego Union-Tribune and in 1998 it was selected by Individual Investor magazine for the "Magic 25" Growth Portfolio. The company currently has offices throughout the US and is publicly traded on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange (VINF). So, its customers probably wonder, will the company keep gobbling competitors and growing to meet the needs of property buyers, sellers, and investors?
    "You bet," says Gay. He envisions the day when VISTAinfo is the only connection needed for a variety of real estate products and services, and for business-to-business referrals. "We are positioning ourselves as a hub, able to serve all parties in real estate transactions and 'introduce' them to one another," Gay says.
    VISTAinfo, under Gay's tutelage, will continue its course of targeting products and services to real estate transactions, utilizing GIS for precise searches and easy-to-understand maps, and making product searches and order placement all Web-easy. It's a small world, and a very large one, when you have everything your customers need, from historic fire maps to SARs, and give them one place to find it.

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