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We’ve covered Bisnow partner VTS in our list of top commercial real estate apps before, but the company’s first stand-alone product—a deal calculator simply known as DealCalc—is here to change the game. By simply inserting the deal terms, DealCalc can help brokers calculate any key performance indicator (NER’s, average rents, commissions) they want on-site, making deals quicker, easier and less likely to fall apart.
The company’s top priority, says VTS senior mobile product manager Steve Xie, is to “build the only commercial real estate ecosystem,” so the app’s free, stand-alone nature should encourage all industry players to check it out, even if they don't have a VTS subscription. But, he admits, becoming a member may have some big advantages, as the app's premium add-on features will only come with a VTS membership.
“We’re aiming to create a seamless experience where users can switch between our main app and the DealCalc app, similar to what Facebook does with the Facebook app and the Facebook Messenger app,” he tells Bisnow.
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But how exactly does DealCalc make brokers’ and dealmakers’ lives easier? We spoke with CBRE Senior VP Sam Seiler (pictured calculating a deal at 280 Park Ave) to get a broker’s perspective.
While many brokers know handy information like budget, Sam explains, real-time, on-site and, most importantly, accurate calculations can not only create better communication between a broker and a client, but also help distinguish brokers from their competitors. That’s why DealCalc has helped him with so many potential deals.
“Commercial real estate deals are complex and have many moving pieces,” he says. “Being able to run numbers in a calculator specifically built for commercial real estate allows you to provide exact numbers from your phone rather than 'back of napkin' responses on what the average rents or NER's might be, for example.”
But with so many other deal calculators on the market, what does DealCalc do to stand out from its competitors? Sam says that it’s all the little touches that show that the app was designed by “people who understand the tools that brokers need while working on deals.” The ability to enter critical information like the tenant improvement allowance, operating expenses, taxes and escalations is rarely found in one place and the flexibility and simplicity of having those options can make all the difference.
“Simply put,” he says, “VTS has enhanced our ability to do things (in) real time, ultimately helping us add more value to our clients throughout the process.”
To download DealCalc, click here; to learn more about our Bisnow partner, click here.
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