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

The purpose of this 3rd AMENDMENT is to 1 - EXTEND the closing date to provide responses to questions submitted by potential offerors. Accordingly: The closing date is EXTENDED TO MONDAY, MAY 22, 2006, 3:00 PM, EST., in room 500 at the above address. This is a combined synopsis/RFQ for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in the Subparts 12 & 12, as supplemented with additional information included in this Notice. This notice constitutes the only RFQ; proposals are being requested via this notice; a separate solicitation will not be issued. The IRS seeks contractor services to provide on-line automated valuation of residential real estate in the major populations centers of the US. The North American Industry Classification System code is 531320; the small business size standard is $1.5 million. The RFQ number is TIRNO-06-B-00001. A fixed-rate, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, task order contract will be awarded from this RFQ. The guaranteed min is $10,000/max is $750,000 per contract year. Offers are due 3:00 PM, EST, May 8, 2006 ; Rm.500 at the above address. Submit your questions via e-mail to contact@example.gov. This RFQ & the incorporated clauses/provisions are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-07(as of 02/2006). The following FAR clauses: 52.212-4 and 52.212-5. The following FAR clauses cited in clause 52.212-5 paragraphs (a) & (b) are applicable: 52.222-26; 52.222-35; 52.222-36; 52.222-37; 52.217-8 & 52.217-9. FAR clause 52.212-3 must be submitted with any offer. These & all other FAR clauses referenced in this CBD/RFQ notice are accessible via the INTERNET at http://www.arnet.gov.far. PERFORMANCE PERIOD - 12 Mo. from the date of the award with 4, 1 YR Options, however, it is highly desirable that vendors propose 2 different payment methods. First - On a per - hit basis. It is highly desirable that the IRS be charged each time a positive response on an address is received with the exception of a 2nd request on the same address with 30 days to allow for quality review research. Second - A flat monthly rate for unlimited - hits to the database. The IRS estimates the need to access the system approximately 3,000 times per month for real-estate valuation. This is required to allow the IRS to perform quality review of completed Offer in Compromise (OIC) submissions incurring additional processing costs. It is highly desirable that the IRS is not charged for hit when the Contractor is unable to provide a property valuation report. Likewise, it is highly desirable that multiple requests on the same address shall only be charged one hit per calendar month. The Contractor shall provide all associated services & otherwise do all things necessary for or incidental to providing on-line real estate valuation services for the IRS. The proposed rates shall be applicable for all contract periods. CLIN/0001 - On-line automated valuation reports on residential real estate. GEN. INFO - IRS Small Business/Self-Employed (SB/SE) Operating Div. will proceed with centralization of certain OIC processes. To that end, SB/SE requires the services of a contractor with an established methodology and the demonstrated experience/expertise to provide on-line, via the Internet, automated valuation of residential real estate in the major population centers of the US. The IRS seeks Contractor assistance in valuation of real property identified in the centralized processing of taxpayer OIC submissions. Information shall be available that incorporates nearly all-major metropolitan areas of the US WORK REQUIREMENTS - The system employed shall provide instant property valuation for the subject property based entirely on comparable sales data where available and on data correlation and/or other statistical interpretations of market value when direct comparison is not available. The Contractor shall provide on-line access to automated valuation results on residential real estate estimates the most likely current selling price of a property. It is highly desirable for each report to contain a confidence indicator or score to assist the IRS to determine how well the data set supported the valuation analysis, along with a listing of any comparable sales utilized. Billing shall be by unique users ID and contain sufficient detail to allow validation of charges against current OIC case inventory. The Contractor shall maintain records of each IRS employees activity on the system, including, but not limited to: Log-in and log-out times, or Log in-time and duration of session and Number of searches. At a minimum, the Contractor shall maintain records of the maximum number of users accessing the system each hour, during periods of 7:00 AM EST through 1:00 AM EST of the following day. The Contractor shall provide this system usage report for every day the system has been accessed. It is highly desirable that all reports (monthly/quarterly/annually) be loaded to a URL for access by the COTR for billing validation and system monitoring purposes. Reports shall be in the following formats: Contracting Officer's Technical Representative's (COTR) Report - This report shall provide the overall total billing for the entire contract package, subtotaled by each of the System Administrators coverage areas. System Administrator's Report (SAR): - This report shall provide total billing for each System Administrator's coverage area (Holtsville, NY and Memphis, TN), subtotaled by each of the sites. The Contractor shall provide 700 unique user IDs shall provide access to services giving the IRS the widest data match possible. Service lapses shall not exceed 1 day. If the Contractor is not able to provide on-line access for any period exceeding 1 day, the Contractor shall notify the COTR with a description/explanation of the problem and the anticipated service restoration date. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS - System access shall be available via the INTERNET using a WINDOWS-NT operating system. INTERNET Access - The IRS requires secure access to a commercial web-server maintained by the Contractor. This secure access may be accomplished through the installation of a dedicated T1 circuit (or multiple fractional T1 circuits from regional access points) between selected nodes on the Contractor's network and the IRS Intranet, along with the installation of routers and appropriate "firewall" software. The product shall be accessible using standard web browser software. The Contractor shall ensure that any web-based service eliminates any security concerns regarding the use of Java applets, ActiveX or similar client-side processing. WINDOWS Access (Windows 95/98/NT) - The IRS requires the product to be available using modem and Dial-Up networking connections. Modem access shall be available at the fastest commercially available speed that is compatible with the IRS equipment. However, slower modem speeds shall also be accommodated. Access shall be via local and/or toll-free, on-line telephone numbers. The Contractor shall support PPP and/or SLIP access protocols. Any Windows NT-based locator service software shall be compatible with 32-bit architecture. MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL REQUIREMENTS - "OFFICIAL USE ONLY " Material. In the course of this contract, U.S. Gov't Treasury, and IRS material marked "Official Use Only" and other proprietary information may be provided to the Contractor. The Contractor shall use such information for the purpose of this contract only.Such material shall be kept under lock and key when not in use. PHYSICAL AND COMPUTER SECURITY OF FEDERAL TAX INFORMATION - The Contractor shall provide security measures to protect sensitive but unclassified (SBU) data from unauthorized access during duty/non-duty hours. At a minimum, IRS requires the following: SBU data shall be used only in an area that is restricted or secured or in a security room. When not in use or during off-duty hours, SBU data in hard copy format (e.g., paper or diskette) shall be stored in locked containers. All computer systems receiving, processing, storing, or transmitting sensitive but unclassified information, shall have the following minimum-security standards (see NOTE below). Contractors receiving FEDERAL RETURN INFORMATION shall conduct and document periodic inspections during the year to ensure that the physical and computer safeguards and adequate. These safeguard inspections are subject to oversight and review by IRS employees. The inspection records shall be filed in a separate folder, and for the purposes of meeting IRS Section 6103(p)(4) requirements, shall be retained for a minimum of 3 YRS. The documented periodic inspections shall be submitted in accordance with the REPORTING AND REVIEW REQUIREMENTS (see NOTE below). The Contractor shall track security violations by IRS users and provide records of these occurrences to the COTR. Security violations in this context would include simultaneous use of the same log-in and password, failure of a user to log off of the system, or other system integrity issues for which the Contractor systemically monitors. The Contractor shall include an automatic feature that shall log off the user after an extended period of inactivity. It is highly desirable that, the length of time that triggers this feature can be altered at the request of the IRS. It is highly desirable that, on an ad-hoc basis when requested by the COTR, the Contractor provides a report detailing all system activity of a specific user. (NOTE - for further information, request via e-mail the COMPUTER SECURITY and PHYSICAL and COMPUTER SECURITY REPORTING and REVIEW REQUIREMENTS).L DELIVERABLES/REPORTS - Deliver the requested property valuation reports on-line to the requestor via the Internet using Internet Explorer 4.0 or later. Billing shall be by user ID with sufficient detail to allow validation of charges against current OIC case inventory. Maintain records or each IRS employee's activity on the system, including, but not limited to: Log-in and log-out times, or Log-in time and duration of session. Number of searches - Maintain records of the maximum number of users accessing the system each hour, between 7:00 AM - 1:00 AM EST of the following day. EVALUATION CRITERIA: (a) This requirement will be processed under FAR 13.5. When acquiring commercial items using the procedures in FAR 13.5, the requirements of FAR 12 apply, subject to the order of precedence provided at FAR 12.102(c). Offers will be evaluated in accordance with FAR 13.106-2, Evaluation of Quotations or Offers. The IRS will award a contract resulting from this RFQ to the responsible offeror whose offer, conforming to the RFQ, will be most advantageous to the Government, price & other factors considered. The following factors will be used to evaluate offers: Criteria 1 - PAST PERFORMANCE/EXPERIENCE: Via reference checks, the IRS will evaluate information that describes the offeror's past performance record with at least 3-5 firms the Offeror is currently doing business with or has provided similar services to within the last 6 mo. Criteria 2 - CAPACITY: The IRS will evaluate the Vendor's to provide a fair market value calculation that includes the comparable sales when that is the method used to derive fair market value. The IRS will evaluate the proposed methodology of training (new and refresher). The Offeror shall document how the proposed system satisfies the requirements of 508 (request via e-mail a copy of the 508 evaluation requirements). Offers will be evaluated based on past performance/experience, capacity and price, with past performance/experience and capacity of equal weight and more important than price. Offerors shall submit their offer using a combination of standardized and customized materials not exceeding 30 PGs. Point of Contact Jean McLeod, Contract Specialist, Phone +1 (555) 000-0000, Fax +1 (555) 000-0000 Email: contact@example.gov Place of Contract Performance has not been specified.