Recently ActiveRainer Darla Dennis (Movewest Realty, Inc.) asked a question we don't get asked that often -- but that we think about a lot: Who Needs E-Signatures, and Who Doesn't?
You may be surprised as the web's leading paperless signature solution -- but we're not opposed to paper. In fact, we've offered a fax signature option in EchoSign since 2006 for customers that prefer to sign by fax.
Really, the value of electronic signatures in real-estate is tied to two factors (x) the amount of offers, contracts and documents you need signed, and (y) how many of the signers are remote -- vs. how many are willing to come down to the office.
The numbers from our 1,000,000+ users suggest that people who get more than 10-12 documents signed a month dramatically benefit from electronic signatures. It just takes too much time, pain, and paperwork to get a dozen documents signed by multiple parties -- that's hundreds or even thousands of pages and another hundred or more signatures!
Also, if any signer is remote, or if you want to allow your clients to be able to sign offers very easily without coming to the office, electronic signatures are a must.
For closings, where everyone can easily get together -- that's another story. Maybe in person is best in many cases. Buying a home is an emotional and personal experience, and in many cases perhaps, an important time to spend with your clients. In fact, we strongly believe that the more virtual commerce is, the more important face-to-face meetings become.
But where there is volume -- and distance ... then -- Go electronic signature. You'll never go back
I take my clients personally through every peice of paper signed. I know that Some of my clients would be willing to do this, but how is it professional to e-sign a legal document. If my lawyer sent me over something and said sign this, oh by the way, pick a signature, I think I would be concerned about what I am signing. I can see how this will help when at the last minute a signature was missed on one of 25 pages, but I still don't get it. I tried the free trial for Docusign and had trouble finding the sign in page, I just kept getting put back to the sign up page. I will give EchoSign a try. I am not sure what you mean by 5 signatures a month at no charge, in a contract we certainally have more that 5 signatures. Maybe I am just to "homegrown" and concider Face to Face the best way to go. What am I missing?
I guess I am old school but, my concern on [xxxx] and EchoSign: Where is the personal touch?
I use electronic signatures for a variety of reasons. You can use them even if you are all sitting at the table together. It makes for a much nicer package to send to the other side of the transaction.
Electronic Signatures is a big time saver when it works. I use extensively. But with anything high tech - there are always some kind of difficulty, from Vista compatability to god knows what. Experiencing issues as we speak. Great when it works, though.
Hello, welcome to Active Rain! This seems like a wonderful environment to network as well as learn from others. I hope you enjoy yourself and participate often in the Active Rain environment!
Hello and welcome to Active Rain! Enjoy yourself, learn from others and share your experiences and knowledge with all of us! I look forward to reading your blogs in the future!