MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- HomeServices.com Inc. (Nasdaq: HMSV), the nation's second-largest, full-service independent real estate brokerage firm, announced today that it has entered into a relationship with ImproveNet, Inc. to provide its home improvement service, The Fix Up(TM), to HomeServices.com customers.
ImproveNet is an Internet resource for quality home improvement information and services, including a screening and matching process to help homeowners find qualified and reputable local contractors. ImproveNet generates revenue from the fees it collects from contractors who choose to join ImproveNet's contractor-matching service.
"This agreement creates new revenue for HomeServices.com and provides the type of extended home services program we're interested in offering our clients. Through ImproveNet and its commercial relationships with many leading home improvement brands, we can now offer a superior home remodeling solution for our customers, finding ways to meet their needs by using the speed and convenience of the Internet," said Ronald J. Peltier, president and chief executive officer of HomeServices.com.
HomeServices.com's customers will access The Fix Up(TM) through the individual Web sites of HomeServices.com's real estate brokerage firms and the HomeServices.com Web site, www.homeservices.com. The Fix Up(TM) will be initially launched in the spring of 2000 on a pilot basis in the Minneapolis/St. Paul region and one other selected region in the HomeServices.com system. With The Fix Up(TM), HomeServices.com customers will access ImproveNet's services and request help with their remodeling projects. ImproveNet's free services include a search to find pre-screened local contractors, architects or designers who are interested in and available to complete a customer's project. Homeowners also can use ImproveNet's online tools to get local cost estimates and have questions answered via ImproveNet's expert-monitored message boards. ImproveNet's extensive array of design ideas and product descriptions completes the customers' HomeServices.com experience, helping homeowners find creative solutions to their remodeling needs.
"HomeServices.com is committed to offering a full array of services at exactly the point when the client has those needs," said Doug Carey, vice president of e-commerce at HomeServices.com. "The Fix Up(TM) is the second major element of our e-commerce platform, following The Hook Up(TM). It is simply the next step in our process to continue to seek and provide innovative ways to use e-commerce to meet our customers' needs," Carey added.
The Hook Up(TM) is a free service for home buyers or sellers who need to connect basic home services such as local, long distance and cellular telephone service, home security, electricity, gas, waste disposal, newspaper delivery and Internet service. The program was launched in 1999 in the Minneapolis/St. Paul market and continues to roll out on a region-by-region basis throughout the HomeServices.com system.
HomeServices.com, Inc., based in Minneapolis, is the second-largest independent residential real estate brokerage firm in the USA based on closed transaction sides. The HomeServices.com system offers integrated real estate services, including mortgage, title and closing services, and various related e-commerce services. The company currently operates primarily under the Edina Realty (www.edinarealty.com), Iowa Realty (www.iowarealty.com), CBSHOME Real Estate (www.cbshome.com), J.C. Nichols Residential (www.jcnichols.com), Long Realty (www.longrealty.com), Paul Semonin Realtors (www.semonin.com), Carol Jones Realty (www.caroljones.com), First Realty Better Homes and Gardens (www.firstrealty.com), and Champion Realty (www.championrealty.com) brand names in 12 states: Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Arizona, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Indiana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Maryland. HomeServices.com ranks first or second in market share positions in each of its major markets, operates 160 branch offices, has approximately 6,350 sales associates and has an average 54-year operating history in its major markets. Information about HomeServices.com and its principal subsidiary companies is available on the Internet at www.homeservices.com.
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