EchoSign-for-Real Estate -- E-Signature Blog

Getting an E-Signature When Your Client Speaks Spanish (or French or Italian or German ...)

Jason M. Lemkin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:38:05 -0600

Electronic signature solutions like EchoSign have rapidly taken off in the past 12-18 months to be a key part of every realtor's toolkit.

But one problem most solutions have is dealing with non-English speaking clients. When signing with pen and paper, you or a family member can guide them as to where to sign, initial, disclose, etc.

But how do you do this with an e-signature?

The answer: the new Global edition of EchoSign. For what you're now paying for an English-only service, your clients can now use an E-SIGN compliant web service to get contracts signed in over a dozen languages, including Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian, etc.

They can even input Chinese, Korean and Japanese characters.

Only from EchoSign electronic signature!

Check it out at www.echosign.com and below:

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Don't Just Use E-Signatures: Market Around Them

Jason M. Lemkin — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:12:50 -0600

Full Voice Media rang in 2010 with "Tools to Use on Your Real Estate Website", and highlighted their top tools from 1000 Watt Consulting:

The point made (again) was a great one. Electronic signatures are a great way to automate real estate contracts.

But they're better than that. They make the real estate transaction dramatically easier -- and thus working with you much easier, and much more 2010. E-Signatures say a lot about your practice -- so market around them.

Start today - you can use EchoSign 100% for free for 5 contracts or less per month, with no credit card required. http://www.echosign.com

CT Realty Chooses EchoSign E-Signature Service for FlatFeePRO

Jason M. Lemkin — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:03:58 -0600

"CT Realty Services chooses EchoSign electronic signature service to launch new document signing process. The new service will enhance the signing of all documents in several ways:

Easy online forms which are E-Signed
Email validation for signer
100% compliant with the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act of 1999
Broker signs all documents for approval
Signer receives final copy in PDF format
Simply the best method for doing business online

We are always looking for process improvements which will enhance our business and the security of our clients. – Fred Romano, Broker CT Realty Services"

Realtor Magazine: "Momentum Builds for Digital Signatures on Real Estate Documents"

Jason M. Lemkin — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:19:07 -0600

Realtor just came out with a nice piece on electronic signatures - read it here.

As the piece notes, e-signatures are finally hitting a tipping point in Real Estate:

"This time next year, it's a safe bet that many more of you will be routinely circulating forms, disclosures, and contracts for clients to sign electronically."

Realtor profiles both the market leaders, EchoSign and DocuSign.

Interesting, beyond lender acceptance, one of the issues highlighted is getting other agents on board:

In Tampa, Fla., sales associate Jeff Launiere with Keller Williams Realty relies on the EchoSign system to have listing agreements, addenda, and disclosures signed online. "Consumers love it," he reports. "The difficulty I've encountered is with other agents. Many still don't seem to understand how electronic signatures work or the legality of using them."

EchoSign Launches 100+ New Features: The Easiest Way to E-Sign is Even Easier!

Jason M. Lemkin — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:43:50 -0500

EchoSign (www.echosign.com) has just put out its October 2009 Release, with dozens of terrific new features. We've further enhanced our #1 rated capabilities to make e-signatures look as paper-like as possible, and launched the fourth version of our mobile signing interface

A partial summary:

Save your written/biometric signature. The next time you sign with a mouse, you can save it and reuse it again and again. Super useful for countersigning.
Multiple automated signature stamps. For an even more paper-like signing experience with 2-6 signers.
More Mobile. Our Blackberry and iPhone mobile sign experiences have been further enhanced, with an even slicker experience and more form support.

A slideshow summary below.

Using EchoSign to Get Free Fax Signatures - And Know the Second the Fax is Sent Back!

Jason M. Lemkin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:30:48 -0500

Many of you know EchoSign as the web's leading electronic signature service, having recently passed 1,000,000 users.

But there's another great use for EchoSign in Real Estate - getting fax signatures, too. Just log into your Free EchoSign account and pick "Fax Signature" instead of E-Signature.

EchoSign will then send out a copy of your contract or document, along with a fax cover sheet, to any email address. The recipient can print out, fill our or sign, and fax back. Best all of all, the second they do, ALL parties get a signed PDF copy email to them -- you and the signers!

So no more wondering "if the fax was sent" or "if the fax got there". Everyone will know the second the fax is sent back.

E-signatures are great. But sometimes you need a fax.

So get a FREE EchoSign account here.

Valuable Tool for Getting Contracts Signed Via Email

Jason M. Lemkin — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:10:42 -0500

Liz - thank you for the piece on EchoSign.

Via Liz Carla/Elite Staging & Design/DFW Texas (Elite Staging and Design):

I got some great advice from my fellow AR friends about using a contract and quickly pulled one together for my next job. I also found this great service which allows you to send a contract via email, your client signs it and they send it back all done in PDF format. It is very easy to set up and use. You just upload your contract, sign it and then send to your client. When it is returned as an attachment, you can then save a copy to your hard drive or print for your records. And the best part of all - the service is FREE for the first 5 signatures each month! Yeah! I love free. If you needed to use it more the pricing is pretty inexpensive. Hope this helps someone. See link below:

www.echosign.com

File Sharing WEB 2.0 Style - Just Thinking Inside The BOX

Jason M. Lemkin — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:09:39 -0500

EchoSign, the web's leading e-signature site with over 1,000,000 users worldwide, is 100% integrated into the web's leading file sharing site, Box.net

Via Brad Andersohn ~ Community Manager (ActiveRain):

With all the great tools available on the net for FREE these days, it seems like there's hardly any room or time to add anything new that will either simplify or complicate and consume our lives any further right?   There are literally hundreds of sites popping up each week that try to compete and offer greater value than the next site. As I research what's out there, some of my favorite sites to investigate are the ones that might benefit us, our clients or our business.

Have you ever tried to email a file attachment that was too large for your email host, or too big for the recipient? Many of these email hosts and pop servers put a limit to the file size you can share, send, or receive. I wanted to share a file with someone the other day, and their email kept rejecting it because the file exceeded their email servers limits. It was only 3 megabytes.

So looking for a quick and easy solution, I remembered hearing about Box.net It's a file sharing site that allows you to upload all types of files and give others access to them. It can be used for public or private sharing depending on how you set it up. Having a site on the web to store files can also be a huge benefit if you ever need to access them while you're away from your own computer. Of course having your own server is best, but most don't have that luxury.

Box.net lets you upload almost any file type and allows you store up to 1.0 gigabytes of data FREE! You can also add additional services to your "BOX" like efax, Outlook, Gmail etc. You can add your social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Friendfeed, Twitter and others. You can even post files directly to your blog to share information with others all over the world.

Here's a sample of one of my Business Cards I uploaded. You'll get a kick out of that one! lol~ It's nice that there's no software or hardware required, it's really simple to use and easy to set-up, you'll have user permission controls, and they offer 24x7 phone support. Here's one of the quotes from their site:

Did you know? Over 50,000 businesses use Box.net to share ideas, create content, and collaborate in an online workspace? Users can access online file storage from anywhere - even on the iPhone or Blackberry.

Since they've been around awhile, that usually proves their value, stability, and WEB track record.

I think Box.net really simplifies file-sharing and team collaboration. There's no attachments or FTP uploads, you just send your clients or co-workers a link. This could be a useful tool to add to the many other tools and resources you'll find in the WEB 2.0 World. Thinking and working inside the "BOX" may help you or your business be more productive when you're outside the box. I'm just sayin... :-)



"RainMaker" Special - Signup Here and Get New Member Discount

When E-Signatures Help in Real Estate -- and When They Don't

Jason M. Lemkin — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:53:11 -0500

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 guess I am old school but, my concern on [xxxx] and EchoSign: Where is the personal touch?

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?

Going Paperless - Electronic Signatures- DocuSign and EchoSign

Jason M. Lemkin — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:44:52 -0500

Via Jen Bowman - Real Estate Agent in Decatur, GA serving metro Atlanta (Success Realty ):

Going Paperless, using electronic signatures with DocuSign and EchoSign - As a Real Estate agent in Decatur GA, it seems that we have more and more documents that need to be signed. By the time a transaction closes, we can easily have 100 pages or more printed and faxed back and forth, from listing agreements to disclosures to purchase and sale agreements to counter offers and amendments. Managing the paper can be a lot to handle and a lot to store. I decided that there had to be a better way and there is.

I checked out 2 different electronic signature companies, DocuSign and EchoSign. I have now tried them both. Here's my comparison of the 2.

Docusign

Limit of 40 envelopes per month. An envelope is the same as an email basically.

No fax option as of yet, that option is said to be coming 9/18/09.

Easy to use and for clients to use

Cost $15.95 a month 40 envelopes

Sign using mobile phone option is coming 9/18/09.

30 day free trial

Echosign

Option for people to print, sign and then fax it back to keep it in the online folder on Echosign

Easy to use and for clients to use

Cost $14.95 a month for unlimited signatures

No limit on the amount of emails or envelopes

Sign using your mobile phone.

Free account that limits you to 5 free documents a month.

Check out EchoSign Check out DocuSign

I first tried EchoSign with my client who lives in Washington DC. I manage his property in Tucker, GA. The tenants called and said they wanted to extend their lease. I contacted my client in DC. I sent an extension via email through EchoSign to the tenants, they signed off electronically and it was forwarded to my Client in Washington, DC, he signed off on it and it was automatically forwarded to me. I clicked sign and then a fully executed signed agreement was sent to all the parties involved. It took a total of 30.5 minutes. EchoSign keeps track of the time for you. That was pretty amazing. I didn't have to drive anywhere to get it signed or wait for a fax to come in or keep sending anything to multiple parties.

The next day I tried DocuSign with a Buyer Client. The whole transaction has been done paperless except for the Buyers Broker Agreement that I brought with me when we went to look at the house. My client didn't need to have a scanner or a printer or a fax. All she needed was internet access. It has saved a tremendous amount of time and paper. The contracts are clear and not fuzzy from being faxed back and forth. You put the "signature" boxes where they need to go on the document by dragging and dropping it in place. Your client sees the "sign here" yellow tabs and that's where they know to click.

Last night I sent off a 14 page offer through DocuSign to another Buyer client. He commented that even his mom thought it was cool. Just think if I had to print that document, send it to my client for him to print, then he signs it and faxes it back to me that's already 42 pages! By the time I send it to the listing agent it used up 56 pieces of paper. They send to their client, add 14, their client sends it back add 14 and then the listing agent sends back to me there we are at 84 pages and we have hardly started! Whew! Tired yet??? With an electronic signature, there is nothing to print and everyone gets a clean copy.

I have been using the electronic signatures for about 2 weeks now on 6 different transactions. My clients love that it's easy to use. (They knew they were my guinea pigs in my test. ) I haven't been able to use it on my short sales yet because the banks I'm dealing with aren't taking documents via email. That's a story for another post. The other great part about an electronic signature company is that you can access your documents from anywhere you have computer access. Using an electronic signature makes it easy for home sellers, home buyers and real estate agents. It's a beautiful thing!

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in or around Decatur, GA contact local expert and Realtor Jen Bowman, Broker Associate & e-PRO with Success Realty at 404-456-5024.

View more of the Georgia Real Estate Voice. Search Search Decatur GA homes for Sale

EchoSign Electronic Signature Crosses 1,000,000 Users

Jason M. Lemkin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:54:17 -0500

EchoSign Reaches 1 Million Users

Signifies momentum and mainstream acceptance of electronic signatures, and

highlights the benefits of SaaS and cloud computing

Palo Alto, CA, Sept 23, 2009 --- EchoSign, the leading Web-based provider of electronic signatures and signature automation, today announced it has surpassed 1 million users. EchoSign’s on demand electronic signatures provides a digital contract signing experience that takes the entire business process of signing, tracking and filing contracts into the cloud, giving companies a powerful tool to drive efficiency and increased profitability.

Electronic signatures are experiencing simultaneous momentum with the adoption of SaaS and cloud computing. EchoSign’s on demand electronic signature solution:

gets deals closed more quickly and stores contracts in a centralized place;
facilitates a quicker time-to-sign across HR, procurement, and legal processes, and;
is especially beneficial to contract-intensive industries such as real estate, telecom and insurance.

“Electronic-signature (e-signature) software suites and services reliably and easily present, sign, route and store electronic records, and audit the signing process events to support potential legal proceedings. Client interest in electronic signatures has grown during the past year, so vendors must respond to meet market demand,” says Gregg Kreizman, Research Director, Gartner Inc.

Click here for a video demo of EchoSign, which lets users sign on the go with a mobile capability.

Electronic Signatures Going Mainstream

With customers ranging from consultants and small businesses to brand name companies such as British Telecomm and Qualcomm, EchoSign helps businesses of all sizes get contracts signed quickly and securely.

“Congratulations EchoSign! Even as an early user I knew you’d be successful.Our biggest wins with EchoSign are our ability to close clients extremely quickly, and the professional image that it gives to our clients. In many cases we have an executed agreement within 5 minutes of speaking with our customers.” - Brian Eng, co-founder and CTO, Bluebuzzard, an early EchoSign customer since 2006.

“We regularly close 25,000 contracts per month using EchoSign eSignature. This traffic would previously have gone through the post, so we are cutting operational costs, signing contracts quicker and collecting cash faster. This has given BT Business a huge productivity burst. Congratulations on hitting a million users!” Bill Murphy, managing director, BT Business, an EchoSign customer and partner since 2007. BT uses EchoSign to manage its relationships with more than a million phone and broadband, software and IT services customers.

“Congratulations EchoSign! We were an early user at Network General and had great results. I’m a repeat customer – using EchoSign at Network General and now Extreme Networks.” Robert Schlossman, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Extreme Networks, EchoSign customer since 2008.

Using EchoSign for Salesforce, the Qualcomm QES division has been an EchoSign customer since 2008. The contract visibility within Salesforce CRM significantly reduces the time spent on email or phone call follow-ups, enabling the sales team to focus on the sale and not associated paperwork. Qualcomm QES has seen executed agreements in as fast as 11 minutes. In addition the contracts department has found that EchoSign is becoming the preferred signature method for both the sales team and for customers as they are exposed to it. For additional information, read the full Qualcomm case study here.

“EchoSign has been a salesforce.com partner since 2006, and we’re excited to see them achieve this milestone of one million users,” said Kendall Collins, chief marketing officer at salesforce.com. “Over the years our joint customers have enjoyed the benefits of EchoSign for Salesforce CRM, which enables companies to manage contracts in the cloud. In fact, the solution was voted the Best App of 2008: Contract Management by the AppExchange community. We congratulate EchoSign and wish them ongoing success.”

A Greener Business and Environment

To celebrate its’ 1 million user milestone, EchoSign EchoSign will plant a tree with the Arbor Foundation for every comment an EchoSign user shares on EchoSign’s Facebook wall. “We’re very excited by this company milestone,” said Jason Lemkin, CEO, EchoSign. “We’d love to be able to plant 1 million trees, so I encourage our users to visit our Facebook page and share their EchoSign experiences.”

About EchoSign

In just one click, the EchoSign electronic signature solution automates the entire signature process from the request for signature to the distribution and filing of the executed agreement or form. With nothing to download, learn or install, there is simply no faster or secure way to get your contracts signed, tracked and filed. EchoSign customers close over $200M in contracts each month with an average 'quote to close' time of 42 minutes. EchoSign has won numerous awards including a 2009 WizKids Award from Beagle Research Group, LLC, Red Herring Top 100 Private Company, and has twice been named by Salesforce.com as an AppExchange Essential and JMP Securities in the “Hot 100 Report”. Over 1 million users at organizations such as British Telecom, Comcast Spotlight, Delta Airlines, GE Capital, Qualcomm, and Time Warner Cable use EchoSign everyday to get contracts signed, tracked and filed in the most efficient and effective way possible. For more information and access to web service, visit the website.

For more information, sign up for a free trial of EchoSign, or register for a weekly webinar.