R -- R -- ON-LINE AUTOMATED VALUATION OF RESIDENTAL REAL ESTATE

Notice Date

July 18, 2001

Contracting Office

Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), National Office Procurement (A:P), 6009 Oxon Hill Road, Suite 700, Oxon Hill, MD, 20745

ZIP Code

20745

Solicitation Number

TIRNO-01-Q-00172

Response Due

July 20, 2001

Point of Contact

Helen Carmona, Contract Specialist, Phone 202-283-1514, Fax 202-283-1514, Email helen.d.carmona@irs.gov -- Helen Carmona, Contract Specialist, Phone 202-283-1514, Fax 202-283-1514, Email helen.d.carmona@irs.gov

Description

This is the SECOND AMENDMENT to RFQ TIRNO-01-Q-00172 for contractor services to provide on-line automated valuation of residential real estate in the major population centers of the US. The purposes of this 2nd AMENDMENT is to: 1 -- EXTEND the closing date and, 2 -- provide responses to questions submitted by potential offerors. Accordingly: The closing date is EXTENDED to MONDAY, JULY 23, 2001, no later than 3:00 PM, EST., in Room 700 at the above address. Questions and Responses follow: QUESTION 1: Is the IRS most interested in the value of a specific property, or the average prices of a 'typical' or 'representative' property within the immediately surrounding area? REPLY: The specific subject property is to be valued. QUESTION 2: The IRS has requested a property valuation based on comparable sales data. We note that property values are largely dependent upon a multitude of housing attributes. Other than address, what information specific to a property (i.e. square footage, housing type [single family home, condominium, duplex, mobile home, etc], number of bedrooms, amenity information, etc) will the IRS provide to the contractor? REPLY: We will only look to provide the address and the most recent purchase date and purchase price. We do not require the taxpayer to provide type of dwelling, number of bedrooms or other amenities. Most commercial sources can determine this from the address. QUESTION 3: Will the contractor have advance notice of the properties/address that the IRS will request? REPLY: No. QUESTION 4: The IRS requests a 'confidence indicator'. What is the minimal level of confidence and/or accuracy required by IRS? What, if any, are the ramifications if calculated property value differs substantially from actual sales value? REPLY: We have no requirements of the confidence factor, however, it should be as accurate as possible to make informed case decisions on the true value of a subject property. The confidence factor should indicate the confidence the provider has that they are giving an accurate valuation of the subject property. A lower factor would cause the IRS to expend more efforts on the property and consistently low confidence factors would eventually work against a contractor at renewal time. QUESTION 5: The IRS mentions payment by number of 'hits'. What are the IRS' expectations as to the percentage of 'hits' vs. non-hits? For example, out of 100 property submissions, the IRS expects 'X' to be 'hits'. REPLY: The IRS would expect to receive 100 valuations on 100 subject properties that were single family dwellings. The valuations should be based on actual comparable sales where available. Mathematical calculations based on most recent purchase date and purchase price should be provided for all others. QUESTION 6: Approximately how many locations do you define to be "major population centers?" REPLY: Approximately 70% to 80% of the households in the country should be covered by sales comparable data. QUESTION 7: By removing the requirement for a dedicated T-1 line, does this also remove the dial-up requirement? REPLY: No. QUESTION 8: Is the "commercial web-server maintained by the Contractor..." required to be internally hosted by the Contractor? REPLY: The contractor must be able to certify the security of the web-server both physically and from a data integrity perspective. QUESTION 9: Is SSL (secured socket layer) an acceptable alternative for PPP and/or SLIP? REPLY: No. QUESTION 10: Please explain, in more detail, what is required of the contractor in regards to "periodic inspections... to insure that physical and computer safeguards are adequate". REPLY: The Service requires quarterly safeguards procedures reports that address issues of both physical and data security. The contractor will be provided with the format and a schedule of these inspections to be conducted by the contractor and certified for delivery to the Service. QUESTION 11: What is the intended use by the IRS of the valuation process? We have some standard reports but also have many options since we base our evaluations on over 40 property attributes. We also can provide sales trending within census tracks etc. It would be useful to get some background on intended directions. REPLY: The intended use is to determine the equity a taxpayer has in a specific asset. This is a critical component of ability to pay in many cases. The required data elements are Fair Market Value of the subject property and a confidence indicator that the fair market value is reflective of the actual sales price should the property be sold. QUESTION 12: There is mention of approximately 2,700 transaction per month. Are there some projected details about where that 2700 is coming from? An example is would 5 % be based in WI and 3 % in Washington? We are trying to get a handle on data requirements and geographic impacts from the IRS. We do not have data from all 50 states but are willing to work with the IRS to get as high a coverage area as possible over time. REPLY: Obviously we have more cases where there are larger population centers. We would like to have approximately 70% to 80% of the households covered with sales comparable data; sales trending is acceptable for the remainder. QUESTION 13: Is the IRS willing to work with a vendor over time to discuss future needs etc? We would like to gain outside input as we develop our product and would find this mutually beneficial if this were the case. REPLY: We do not see future needs at this time. We may add users to the contract but meeting the requirements of the contract now is satisfactory to requirements. Should future needs be identified we would be willing to discuss them with vendors. QUESTION 14: Will there be demonstrations of the systems required before a final vendor is chosen? If so, will this be held at the vendor location or at the IRS facilities? REPLY: Since the requirement is for online property valuations, a limited number of accesses to the proposed application, approximately 5, would be sufficient for the IRS to evaluate performance. This could be done on known subject properties by analyst at IRS, and would not require the vendor to travel to the IRS or for the IRS to travel to the vendor location. QUESTION 15: Training is mentioned. We have a PHD of Real Estate Appraisal on staff and can develop training purely on the aspects of the valuation tool and or provide additional background training should the IRS like to gain more in the theory of valuation as well. We would like to know if there is interest in information/agenda on this kind of training or should we stick to the tool only? REPLY: We only require training in the tool itself. QUESTION 16: If we submit electronically, what is the desired format? (Microsoft Word (Version), RTF, etc.) What are the time rules for electronic submission? (i.e., submitted by X time on Y date)? REPLY: Electronic submission of an offer will not be accepted. QUESTION 17: Are Exhibits included or excluded from the 30-page proposal limit? REPLY: Exhibits submitted as an ATTACHMENT to your Offer, are excluded from the 30-page limit. Additionally, the ACH form; the 508 checklist and FAR 52.212-3 submission are excluded from the 30-page limit. QUESTION 18: What is the time duration allowed for development of the requested software/equipment set up? REPLY: The IRS seeks a commercial on-line automated valuation system; that is, the product/service should be currently available to the general public and not developed specifically for this requirement. QUESTION 19: How 'up-to-date' is the database expected to be (Year/Month/Week/Other)? REPLY: At a minimum, current sales should be updated quarterly and 'sales trending' should be updated annually. QUESTION 20: Approximately how many modem lines are expected to be available for direct dial-in access? REPLY: Five (5) should be sufficient. QUESTION 21: Could you elaborate on the equipment set-up necessary to connect to the IRS Intranet? REPLY: We are seeking service via the INTERNET; no connection to the IRS intranet is necessary. QUESTION 22: How many copies of the offer should be provided? REPLY: The submission shall be: 1 -- SIGNED ORIGINAL and 3 -- COPIES of the entire offer. ALL QUESTIONS must be submitted via e-mail to: helen.d.carmona@irs.gov =20

Web Link

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Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010720/RSOL012.HTM (D-199 SN50S219)