4 keys to paperless real estate transactions
Save time, money and provide better customer service
By Andrea V. Brambila, Thursday, July 28, 2011.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Going paperless can save real estate professionals time and money and help them provide better customer service, according to Cary Sylvester, a speaker at the Real Estate Connect conference Wednesday. Sylvester is executive director of technology for Keller Williams Realty International.
Although it's an expense to go paperless, in a 25-person office at one transaction per agent a brokerage can save almost $20,000 a year in printing, gas and document storage costs, she said. And that's not counting the extra time agents gain when they give over to technology the drudgery involved with data entry, copying and faxing.
That frees the agent up to provide what's most important -- better customer service, Sylvester said. "It's giving you time to be that relationship-builder in your business ... (to) get back into the business of real estate."
Defining paperless
Going paperless doesn't mean agents should print out a document, fill it out, scan it and email it. "Paperless" does not mean simply using less paper, Sylvester said.
She outlined four components of a paperless transaction: transaction workflow, online forms, document storage and electronic signatures.
1. Transaction workflow: A transaction management system can help real estate professionals ensure they're compliant with rules and regulations and streamline the transaction process. "The process of a real estate transaction doesn't change -- why reinvent the wheel every time?" Sylvester said.
Keller Williams has partnered with paperless technology company DotLoop to provide its agents with eEdge, a lead management, contact management, marketing and transaction management platform. Other transaction management platforms include SureClose and TransactionPoint.
2. Online forms: These can help real estate professionals reduce unnecessary data entry and save on printing costs. They're also easy for customers to use, Sylvester said. Examples of online forms products include zipForm and Form Simplicity, which was created by the Florida Realtors association.
3. E-signatures: Electronic signatures can save agents money on printing costs and gas. Because clients can sign anywhere, anytime, agents can provide them services wherever they are -- whether on vacation, away on business, or simply busy. Clients don't have to change their lives in order to deal with the transaction, Sylvester said.
4. Document storage: When real estate brokerages across the country are trying to shrink their office space, storing documents in the cloud can provide considerable cost savings. Online document storage can also be more secure than having an agent carrying around important files, Sylvester said.
All contracts and paperwork are kept together throughout the transaction and available for follow-up with clients after the transaction has closed. Sylvester suggested that agents keep former clients engaged by periodically reminding them that any documents pertaining to their transaction are available at a moment's notice.
Clients have two big fears when it comes to doing a paperless transactions, Sylvester said: e-signatures and security. She advised agents to remind consumers that they use e-signatures every time they go to an ATM or use their debit card.
As for security, she recommended working with a reputable company whose business is storing information online and who follows compliance procedures. "You cannot take chances with these," Sylvester said.
Gmail, for example, is not a good place to store clients' confidential information, she said. It's too easy to send documents to the wrong person or to email the wrong file. Services such as Google Docs, Dropbox and MobileMe are fine for sharing documents, but not for long-term storage, she said.
Most agents are required to keep their transaction files for seven years and "Google Docs may not be going anywhere, but I'm not going to (bet) my life, my business, on someone that I don't have an agreement with," Sylvester said.
Office security is also important. If agents use their own servers to save files, they should back up that information in at least two ways and ensure firewalls are up to standards, Sylvester advised. And don't share passwords and other sensitive information with colleagues indiscriminately.
"It's not just the technology security ... make sure only the appropriate people can access the information," she said.
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Submitted by James Daniel on July 28, 2011 - 6:00pm.
Hi Andrea, I was wondering why you said that GoogleDocs, and Dropbox are not good for long term storage?
James Daniel, CRS
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
Cambridge, MA
CambridgeHomesList.com
Submitted by xiamen henre on July 29, 2011 - 1:38am.
I agree with author about the opinion of gmail.It is quite convince for us to chat or send message.tory burch miller.
tory burch miller thong.
Submitted by Jay Thompson on July 29, 2011 - 8:01am.
James - look no further than drop.io for an example as to why something like dropbox may not be a good idea for long term file storage. Drop.io was a popular file sharing/storage service that was acquired by Facebook, and shut off. Users were notified of the impending closure of course, but I'm glad I didn't have a lot of files there. And I'm really glad I didn't miss that email that notified me.
Jay Thompson
Broker / Owner
Thompson's Realty
Blog: www.PhoenixRealEstateGuy.com
.
Submitted by Gabrielle Jeans on August 4, 2011 - 12:25pm.
I agree with James Daniel. Please explain why you said Google docs is not good for long term storage?
Gabrielle Jeans
CEO
WEBTECH DEZINE
www.moneymaker4agents.com
www.mmtrial.com
Submitted by Gabrielle Jeans on August 4, 2011 - 12:25pm.
I agree with James Daniel. Please explain why you said Google docs is not good for long term storage?
Gabrielle Jeans
CEO
WEBTECH DEZINE
www.moneymaker4agents.com
www.mmtrial.com
Submitted by Cary Sylvester on August 5, 2011 - 1:12pm.
Google Docs is not a good long term strategy as you don't have a contract with Google directly holding them to standards of service. In actuality, you have agreed to their terms of service which state there is not warranty the services will work (see below). When I'm responsible legally for saving key materials, I want to ensure that the location of said files are secure and guaranteed to be there when I need them.
Cary
From Google Terms of Use:
14.1 NOTHING IN THESE TERMS, INCLUDING SECTIONS 14 AND 15, SHALL EXCLUDE OR LIMIT GOOGLE’S WARRANTY OR LIABILITY FOR LOSSES WHICH MAY NOT BE LAWFULLY EXCLUDED OR LIMITED BY APPLICABLE LAW. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OR THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY NEGLIGENCE, BREACH OF CONTRACT OR BREACH OF IMPLIED TERMS, OR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. ACCORDINGLY, ONLY THE LIMITATIONS WHICH ARE LAWFUL IN YOUR JURISDICTION WILL APPLY TO YOU AND OUR LIABILITY WILL BE LIMITED TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
14.2 YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK AND THAT THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND “AS AVAILABLE.”
14.3 IN PARTICULAR, GOOGLE, ITS SUBSIDIARIES AND AFFILIATES, AND ITS LICENSORS DO NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT TO YOU THAT:
(A) YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS,
(B) YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE OR FREE FROM ERROR,
(C) ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED BY YOU AS A RESULT OF YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE, AND
(D) THAT DEFECTS IN THE OPERATION OR FUNCTIONALITY OF ANY SOFTWARE PROVIDED TO YOU AS PART OF THE SERVICES WILL BE CORRECTED.
14.4 ANY MATERIAL DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE SERVICES IS DONE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK AND THAT YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR OTHER DEVICE OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY SUCH MATERIAL.
14.5 NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM GOOGLE OR THROUGH OR FROM THE SERVICES SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THE TERMS.
14.6 GOOGLE FURTHER EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.
Submitted by Gloria Singer on August 5, 2011 - 4:40pm.
Who do you recommend for document storage and online transactin management?
Gloria Singer, Broker
Boca Expert Realty llc
www.BocaExpert.com
Submitted by Jeffrey Douglass on August 11, 2011 - 11:32am.
To say that Google Docs is not a good long term storage is really laughable. Clearly it was written from the perspective of Cary's company using DotLoop. Personally I would bet on Google Docs being around more than I would DotLoop.
Where ever the data is stored it should be in an industry standard format like PDF and be downloadable should a particular vender shut down. If Google Docs ever decides to shut down they will certainly give everyone a great deal of notice, but why would they do that? I do pay for Google Apps for business which I certainly think is worth the $50.00 per year.
Our data storage includes storage on a local machine with hourly backup, storage on Google-Docs, and a third archive storage on Docu-Sign. In addition the Client can be given a backup copy on a CD-Rom or thumb drive.
Submitted by tony khatemi on October 29, 2011 - 4:56pm.
We have just created a storage system specific for real estate folks. It is simple to easy, drag & drop and unlimited access and storage. 1 price per transaction per year. For real estate a secure storage is a must. We have been in escrow for over 15 years and for this reason we definitely see a need for such a service. Google docs, dropbox are all temporary file storage and not a permanent solution. I think to STORE your files for later retrieval, you need something like Digital Paper Exchange. Anyone interested contact me please.
thank you
Tony