Sarasota Herald-Tribune (FL){PUBLICATION2}
RealtyRates.com is succeeding in dismal dot-com market
November 5, 2002
Section: BUSINESS
Page: D1
Rich Shopes
RealtyRates.com is looking lonely. With dot-coms fleeing Bradenton or collapsing, the four-employee company has few peers. But unlike HandySource, which moved its offices to Atlanta, or the departed ClearAccess Communications, RealtyRates is staying put -- and growing. The company just signed a deal with Bank of America to provide BOA's 150,000 associates worldwide with real estate, financial and market data. "It's a big outfit, and it's enterprise-wide," President Robert Watts said. "It's big for us." Bank of America isn't RealtyRates' only whale. The tiny company, which operates from Watts' home in west Bradenton, counts Deloitte & Touche, BankOne, Wells Fargo and Credit Suisse First Boston among its 8,000 subscribers. Its bread-and-butter clients remain appraisers, banks and investors. It's been that way since Watts, a frustrated appraiser for 29 years, published his first quarterly report in 1992. He has just two clients in Manatee: The county property appraiser and Gold Bank, formerly American Bank. He's not an analyst, he says. Watts correlates the numbers: market data, appraisals, recent sales and reams of financial data that ends up on spread sheets. Some information comes from the 300 surveys he regularly sends to appraisers, brokers and others. "After 29 years as an appraiser, you build up a lot of sources," says Watts, who now works with his wife, Susan Campbell, and two employees. Watts won't say how much the Bank of America deal is worth, but he notes BOA got a special rate he probably won't offer to other clients. The basic yearly subscription for the rest of us: $79 to $179. 'HR Legal Issues to Avoid' The Suncoast Workforce Board's next roundtable meeting is called "HR Legal Issues to Avoid." Lawyer Marc Edelman will lead a discussion about the top 10 myths that lead to employee lawsuits. He'll also discuss changes in labor law and how to avoid such problems as harassment in the workplace and retaliation lawsuits. The meeting is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Nov. 19 at Jobs Etc., 1112 Manatee Ave. E. in Bradenton. Genmar to grow? Just when you thought it was stuffed to the gills, Irwin Jacobs' Genmar Holdings Inc. is about to get bigger. Genmar already owns 17 boat companies, including Wellcraft Marine, Hydra-Sports and AquaSport in Manatee County. Now comes word the company will announce a new acquisition, possibly this week. Rich Shopes can be contacted at 742-6160 or by fax at 742-6169. E-mail him at rich.shopes@heraldtribune.com.
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