Joint venture meshes property appraisal, counseling

It's no PricewaterhouseCoopers, but a joint venture between Heyle Realtors & Counseling Services LLC and Price & Associates LLC hopes to provide similar real estate appraisal and counseling services under one umbrella in southwest Missouri.

The trio of Kirk A. Heyle and Lee and Piper Price has formed an association focused on advisory and appraisal services for corporate and institutional real property.

"We're trying to offer something a little more turnkey and under one umbrella," said Heyle, a 27-year brokerage veteran in the local real estate arena.

Heyle said worldwide companies like PricewaterhouseCoopers and Landauer Realty Group, a Grubb & Willis company, are the "big versions of what our little group is trying to do."

While a handful of real estate companies in Springfield offer both counseling and appraisal services, the joint venture is focusing mainly on the institutional sector.

Potential clients include universities, school systems and city, county and state governments, Heyle said.

Lee Price, a state-certified general appraiser, said it's not common for such public entities to have staffs with real estate expertise, and they usually prefer to outsource the work.

To Piper Price, the growing school systems in surrounding communities are prime candidates for their services.

"They are all growing and they have to obtain land," she said.

Price has 18 years' experience as an administrator in the Springfield Public Schools system, most recently as assistant superintendent of business services. She is familiar with the public sector's land acquisition process, condemnation cases, eminent domain and statutory guidelines.

So is Heyle, who will handle the consulting end of the venture. Heyle said they will assist in special purchasing and land swaps, so public entities can avoid condemnation cases, which often give a bad name.

"Our triangle will be very helpful in something like that," he said.

For instance, Heyle said he assisted the Springfield-Greene County Library Board in acquiring the former Payless Cashways property on South Campbell Avenue, which is now The Library Center.

Another move to benefit the nonprofit organizations is the option of a set fee or a commission-based fee for their services. Heyle said public institutions generally prefer the former.

"The relationship is not clouded by commission-based sales," added Lee Price.

The partners have no plans to relocate their offices at this time. Heyle Realtors is at 309 S. National Ave. and Price & Associates is at 1801 W. Norton Road, Ste. 206.

Piper Price said they are waiting for a response from the public before any further actions are taken. "This will be a long-range type venture," she said, because needs may not arise within the industry until weeks, months or years down the road.

The idea came about from clients and because Heyle and Price had been referring clients and exchanging information for about 10 years.

"We really hope to fill a void, Heyle said. "(Clients) wanted to see a marriage between someone who can provide appraisal and counseling services."

Heyle is one of about 4,000 certified commercial investment members in the nation; he was No. 951 when he earned the title in 1979. At the time, he was the first CCIM in Springfield, he said. Heyle is also a counselor of real estate.