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A digital signature is an electronic representation of a user's signature. Digital Signing is often used for online transactions. When a customer signs into your website, they can digitally sign a transaction so that it cannot be altered without their knowledge. They also provide proof of identity through their email address.
The issue is that in our increasingly digitized society, it has become unacceptable for businesses to inconvenience their customers by requiring them to sign papers. Paperless electronic signing solutions offer a digital signature solution to this issue.
Why is the Retail Industry Going Through an Increased Demand for Electronically Signing Documents?
Electronic signature technologies allow your clients and all other stakeholders in the home-buying process to sign contracts digitally. When you use electronic signatures, you can eliminate many inefficient tasks from the home-buying process.
Over the last 20 years, digital technology has streamlined nearly every aspect of the real estate industry. Buyers, sellers, and agents only need a smartphone or tablet and a wireless connection to put their signatures on real estate documents. The electronic signature solution is a "must have" feature which allows your client or customer to sign a real estate lease, listing agreement, offer, or contract on the go.
Track Signatures Easily
These e-signature tools allow realtors to track the documents they have sent for signing quickly. The status of every signature can be tracked in real-time. After sending the real estate contracts, you can wait for the recipients to sign. The underlying encryption technology of digital signature platforms creates an audit trail to track each step of the signing process. This technology also provides certificates when documents have been executed electronically. You will get a notification immediately when someone signs. You can also see who has signed the contracts and who is yet to sign them.
With the built-in template feature of such software, rectors can retrieve signatures. Using the template button, you can email a message reminding should client to sign the documents. With this feature, you don't have to email buyers, call clients, or leave voicemail messages to remind them. With reminders, they can ensure short delays of any unnecessary delays.
Accuracy
When you send documents to your clients for their signatures, for how long do you need to keep waiting before you start working again? A few days or maybe even weeks! This causes significant disruptions in your workflow.
Furthermore, manually filling out forms can lead to mistakes and duplicate work. However, when using eSignature technology, the documents won't be sent out until they are 100% complete. This increases your work integrity because it minimizes the number of returns and saves the money that would usually be spent on reprinting paper. Additionally, it also decreases the time that would otherwise be needed to revise paperwork.
Going digital in today's fast-paced society streamlines your workflow by automating the tedious process of producing documents and mailing them for signature. It allows you to focus.
Reduce Expenses
According to Corp magazine (a publication for business owners), U.S. companies waste nearly $8 billion annually by not using paperless systems. Wouldn't it be beneficial to spend so much money on other things instead?
When dealing with eSignature for real estate, you won't require any paper or ink for printing papers. However, the shipping costs associated with postage or envelopes for processing documents are also eliminated.
You may think that using an electronic signature system will incur additional costs. However, compared to the cost of producing printing paper and postage, you notice a huge price gap.
Gain Confidence
One of the best ways to gain user confidence is by letting them access a highly secure electronic signature application. When asked to sign, they click to execute documents when emailed legally. Once everyone has signed, they automatically receive an official copy with all necessary signature requests.
Ensuring that all documents are correctly formatted and that they haven't been altered by anyone else will help increase your client's confidence in doing business with you.
Get Enhanced Security for Real Estate Documents
Real Estate Documents contain sensitive information regarding a new property, an agreement, tax payments, and financial transaction records.
You'll want a highly secure, hack-proof software app to store these sensitive files.
A digital signature is an electronic version of a handwritten or stamped document that only allows authorized personnel access.
The application uses different security processes like email authentication, login credentials, OTP over SMS, and secret questions to protect, verify and validate the editing & access rights of sensitive information.
Disadvantages of Paper Documents in Real Estate Agencies
The paper brings several disadvantages that most people experience first-hand.
Higher Operating Costs
Printing documents can cost money. You'll likely require printers, copiers, fax machines, and scanners. Even if you only work part-time, you may need multiple devices. Toner cartridges also go through quite quickly, so you should consider replacing these regularly.
When you add up the costs associated with printing everything, you quickly realize that it costs you hundreds, perhaps even thousands of euros per year. Imagine if you had no printing costs at all. You could spend the money saved much more effectively.
Time Intensity
It's not just printing or scanning documents that take much time. The organization of printed contracts and their laborious retrieval must also be considered. You need multiple binders in your offices where you store individual documents. If you need to find a contract from 3 years ago, you might spend several minutes looking for it.
It looks good at first glance, but considering all the time you spend filing papers and looking for them across the entire office, it could be more than an hour's worth of time.
Lengthy Conclusion of Agreements
Maybe you know it already. You should book a property with a customer, but the customer is busy. You called her several times, rescheduled the meeting date, and fitted it into your schedule. These processes waste unnecessary hours and annoy you and the customers.
With the advent of technology, people are accustomed to accessing almost anything online from the comfort of their houses. If they have to go halfway across town to meet with you for just one Signing, it's irritating for them. Meeting physically for signatures unnecessarily prolongs all the processes. It creates the possibility that the transaction might not happen.
Top Electronic Signature Software for Real Estate Agents
Electronic signatures are an essential part of any business today. To help you choose which electronic signature solution is right for you, we've reviewed the top five electronic signature solutions available today. Read on to see why each one stands out from the rest.
DocuSign
A comprehensive real estate document management solution, the DocuSign Agreement Cloud for Real Estate allows title and escrow companies, real estate agents, REITs, home builders, developers, and more to manage their documents from one central location.
Create an online marketplace for contracts that simplifies the entire contract process from start to finish.
With the DocuSign Agreement Cloud for Real Estate, you can save time and money by automating most of the processes involved in real estate transactions.
eSignly
Using eSignly electronic signatures for real estate, customers can efficiently complete purchases, sales, financing, and service-level agreement documents from their computers and mobile devices. Our online signature technology is available for all tablets and smartphones. The agent or broker must bring the real estate records or documents, enter the client's email address, and click "send."
Advanced electronic signature solutions like eSignly provide cutting-edge text-based verification methods for ensuring the authenticity of documents. They also offer advanced tamper-proofing mechanisms to prevent tampering during submission. Audit trail reports are also generated to keep an eye out for any suspicious activities.
Allows real estate professionals to streamline their eSignature workflows and improve customer satisfaction. It also reduces the turnaround time for the application while remaining compliant and secure.
signNow
Whether you're a tenant or a real estate agent, electronic signature software makes the process easier for both parties.
With signNow, you can request legally-binding eSignatures on desktop or mobile. Sign the electronic signature for real estate contracts on your computer or smartphone from anywhere, whenever you need it. signNow also offers the ability to add a payment collection feature. For instance, easily collect security deposits without holding offline meetings or troubling anyone's day. Plus, individuals on the other side of the signing process don't have to have an account to execute contracts, meaning it's extremely easy and convenient for them.
Foxit eSign
Accessible to Use, Cost-Effective, and Most Comprehensive. Legally Binding eSignature Solution to eSign Contracts in Record Time Using Secure & Best Electronic Signature for Real Estate Industries with a proven solution using Foxit eSign Online Form link, SMS, or APIs.
The Key Takeaway
Electronic Signing: What Are the Possible Drawbacks? Without proper guidance from you, the same ease and convenience that makes electronic Signing for real estate agents so convenient can also confuse their clientele.
Real-time document signing platforms speed up the signing process by allowing clients to sign documents without reading them first. However, these platforms may not allow for easy discussions about the contents of the documents.
This content is provided by an external author without editing by Finextra. It expresses the views and opinions of the author.
Eimear Oconnor COO at Form3 Financial Cloud
07 November
Karla Booe Chief Compliance Officer at Zeta Services Inc.
Kyrylo Reitor Chief Marketing Officer at International Fintech Business
06 November
Konstantin Rabin Head of Marketing at Kontomatik
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