Going Paperless: Bringing Value to an Undervalued Process

A couple of weeks ago, Marc Grayson made his debut on the Tomato with a very informative article regarding the tools available for determining the value of a property.  Ironically, the article has the Tomato coming up quite competitively for the search phrase: “What is my home worth?”  So, I couldn’t wait for him to contribute another piece, expecting more great SERP success! 

This week Marc breaks down the process of how to take your real estate business paperless.  This was a topic that was quite interesting to me, given I threw my printer away about 3 years ago, and have never looked back. 

 

Going Paperless: Bringing Value to an Undervalued Process

As the Web 2.0 era is in full-swing, consumer-centric, real estate websites have allowed and inspired consumers to list their own homes, discover house values, conduct neighborhood searches, and further self-serve elements that were once the sole responsibility of the real estate agent. 

Thought provoking questions posed at Inman.com for example, have asked readers to “sound off” on what is the value agent’s play in this heightened web era.

An Undervalued Process

The most delicate aspect of any transaction is undoubtedly the paperwork and its execution, an aspect commonly overlooked and undervalued by today’s buyers and sellers.  Yes, you are scheduling inspections, working with lenders to discover financing for your clients, facilitating the opposing agent & client, working with transaction coordinators, dealing with stacks of paperwork…but such efforts on behalf of your buyer and seller clients are commonly unnoticed and simply overlooked. Yet, these efforts “scream out” the value of you, today’s agent.

Transactions have become extremely complex and inclusive documentation of disclosures, agreements, inspections, title, escrow, home owners association, and financing are voluminous. In one market, as reported by the Center for Realtor® Technology (CRT), transactions can be as many as 41 documents totaling 200 up to 500 pages. The idea that a consumer can purchase a CD of these documents and successfully execute a transaction themselves is daunting. 

Can movement towards a paperless transaction establish a heightened, more “visual” awareness to the agent’s efforts; efforts that are worthy of praise and moreover, worthy of commission?

 

 

Bringing Value to an Undervalued process

Given today’s Paperless Initiative, as established by Brad Inman of Inman News at http://www.PaperlessNow.org, the website states: 
 

 “For years, the real estate industry has pursued the grail of purely digital housing transactions in an effort to become faster, less expensive, more consumer-friendly, more accurate, and more flexible than the burdensome traditional approach, with its piles of paper and endless cycle of signatures.”

 

For many, the thinking behind a paperless transaction should involve just that, no paper.  Through electronic signatures, electronic forms, online transaction management, with facilitation via email, are the many elements that can enable a full, paperless transaction.  For now, get your feet wet and enable paperless activities where possible…especially using Online Transaction Management (OTM).

 

Call to Early Adopters

Whether using electronic forms, PDFs, Word docs, etc., Online Transaction Management (OTM) is the key to embrace this initiative.  OTM is what every agent / broker can implement. Yes, Online Transaction Management is loved by risk managers; even its implementation can save money on Errors & Omissions (E&O) insurance for example.  But today, I’m speaking to the early adopters, those agents who implement blogs themselves for example, when broker/managers may not get it.

Let’s discuss an example product I had a chance to review.  RELAY™, from Real Estate Business Technologies (REBT), is an online transaction management tool “…that lets agents work with clients through a custom transaction website…” 

We just scratched the surface of RELAY™; however, its ease-of-use was quickly noted. I myself and the Real Estate Tomato, thank them for allowing us to a look-under-the-hood. 

 

Agent or Broker Website

Below, we see a custom splash page, built by an agent (myself playing around) describing the RELAY, transaction system. This sample agent also added a navigational button for this page called “Online Transactions”, a meaningful button label for this agent’s consumers and site-visitors.  In addition, the navigational button and web page further implies all inclusive-services offered by this agent, while maintaining a clean and seamless web presence.

 

Branded & Personalized Experience

Once logged-in to RELAY, anyone “invited” into the transaction from the client, guest agents, title, lender, and other invited vendors involved with this transaction engage a branded experience for (1) the agency, (2) the agent and (3) the target property in-discussion as shown below.

 

Checklists

Below, you’ll see that checklists with OTM systems keep those involved within the transaction in-the-know on what’s due, what’s outstanding and what’s on-the-horizon.  RELAY sends out automatic, email reminders of activities coming due, and allows export of activities to your choice CRM, calendaring tool.

 

Faxing Services

Undoubtedly, inclusive fax capabilities are the one feature that makes OTM worth its weight in gold.  Below, you’ll see a fax coversheet (with bar-code technology that “ties” the whole fax to this particular transaction) that is made available to me to return signed documentation. Although not paperless (as I printed and signed these docs), I’m not rushing to a FedEx Kinko’s to make the 2PM deadline to return signed paperwork (I’ve been there as a RE consumer, its not fun).

  

As a consumer, I check my email 15-20 times a day, my mailbox, maybe twice a week at best.  This OTM system sends automatic and prompted email notifications by the agent, like a (1) document I must sign and (2) inclusive fax coversheet.

 

The inclusive toll-free number makes this process easy on me…one (1) fax number through the life of the transaction.  I can login myself to the OTM system and see it made its way “back”, never bugging my agent with “did you get it”.  I never hear those dreaded words from an agent of, “can you fax it again”.  I’m not being supplied 5 different fax numbers through the life cycle of this transaction, I only need one! It’s a direct, secure fax; where my personal information like Social Security Number, Bank Information are never viewed by the guy at Kinko’s or unscrupulous email hackers.

Although just touching the surface of OTM systems, some other systems to note include:

 

SureClose - Stewart Transaction Solutions

SettementRoom - SettlementRoom Systems, Inc.

Transaction Manager - First American Residential Group

TransactionDesk - Instanet Solutions

TransactionPoint - Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions

 

Candidates of the REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER certification at www.Webographers.com get to “play” with RELAY within a sandbox of technologies showcased; to get their 5 senses around OTM and paperless transactions.

In conclusion adoption towards a paperless transaction is commonly viewed as a behavioral change.  It’s changing how you do business…for the better.

 

Online transaction management brings value to what has commonly been undervalued.

 

Clients will love you for it. 

Marc Grayson is the president and founder of the National Institute of Webographers, the owner of the REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER™ certification found at www.Webographers.com. He has provided consultation to real estate agents and brokers in web-based technologies and implementation. In addition, he has provided consultation to Fortune 500 companies during product development of real estate technologies. He is an advocate for real estate technology adoption and implementation.  To contact Marc directly, you can call him at his extension: 888.877.0159 *3

Great stuff Marc.  We look forward to next week’s offering: Is this the Most Powerful Listing Tool?

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Comments

[Michael Price]

I find it interesting that so many topics of discussion these days are actually just ongoing threads of 10 to 15 year old issues. I was involved heavily in the development of a system that was built to be a web based REALTOR listing/content/contact management that had virtual folders etc. It was meant to tie into a transaction management system that brought together all participants in the transaction from listing to closing. That was over 7 years ago. For the most part it failed (it's still out there in a different form, but not in function). Why did it fail? For the same reasons the industry is struggling with a so called paper enviroment today. It was just too far ahead of it's time. Getting all parties from inspectors, appraisers, loan officers that still use 3x5 cards and rotary phones, etc. together is the real challenge. The technology isn't really rocket science. I don't know what the magic bullet is to get the world to stop wasting dead trees on the escrow transaction is. I have plenty of opinions though :)

I saw an awesome post today on another issue at TransparentRE that has had the dust blown off of it recently. Disintermediation. I'll to comment on that over at his blog when I get time. Maybe the winds of change are finally here. Time will tell. Let's hope it's not another decade plus though.

MP

[Marc Grayson]

[Michael] "...Getting all parties from inspectors, appraisers, loan officers that still use 3x5 cards and rotary phones, etc. together is the real challenge...I don't know what the magic bullet is to get the world to stop wasting dead trees on the escrow transaction is"

[Marc] Yes, peer professionals may be a challenge for full participation within an online transaction system. It's believed the consumer is "ready" & "waiting". If the consumer performs online banking, they are ready. If participation includes just the agent/client & opposing/agent client, that is a huge milestone. As stated, the technology is simple, first implementation should also be kept simple; by inviting those within the transaction who's words towards referral business mean the most.

[Michael Price]

I agree. I think the timing is much better now. I have to think the implementation is ready. There are some pretty big players that have been working on this for some time now. One thing's for sure, it's starting to get interesting again.

I think in a few years you'll see so many different niche based business models emerge they will be hard to count. I also think they will be using one or two dominant back end platforms to manage the transaction. The marketing component will be a different story entirely.

[erin]

"If the consumer performs online banking, they are ready."

Couldn't agree more - this doesn't have to be an ultra-technical process. I think many people are ready for the convenience of paperless real estate transactions.

[Edde Anderson]

Boy, you guys hit the nail on the head with regard to getting everyone involved. The question is how do you get the perr professionals on board?

[Marc Grayson]

Edde,

With Online Transaction Management (OTM), you are a project manager...

In terms of "wooing" peer professionals into the online transaction management system, it starts with your confidence with the system. For Peer Professionals, I'd look at 2 perspectives.

REOCCURING PEER PROFESSIONALS
If the peer professional is from an inspection company you use all the time, or a particular Lender, they are prime for a user account for every transaction. Be aggressive, launch an invite email from the OTM system and give a call that same day, stating "I need you to complete account registration today".

Once they establish the user account, and upload the very first document, the comfort is there. If uploading documents is all they do, that's huge. I'll explain why.

With OTM, you are a project manager. The Peer Professional uploads a document, you get an automated email of that. You a send message from the OTM system to the client, affixing the doc they must sign. Client uses fax coversheet, with barcode & toll-free number to return signed document (same day, they can fax it from there day job even, its free for them). You get an automatic notification email it was "returned" securely.

You have complete control on the volley of paperwork, you are a project manager. Peer professional participation can be extremely "light" by them just uploading documents, but critical in the success of implementing OTM. Many of times, that's all you need from them.

ONE-TIME PEER PROFESSIONALS
For a professional unique to one transaction, engage/estimate the amount of docs with this professional. With many docs coming, try to push the invite email for a user account to them. At minimal, you can always obtain the docs and add them to the OTM system yourself, takes 2 seconds for you to do when you have them in electronic format. 1 minute when you use a fax coversheet yourself given the doc in paper format.

The client will be amazed. Considering all the madness the client is dealing w/ in relocating, you made a process that was once considered arduous, extremely easy and convenient. In terms of word of mouth referrals, it’s a killer. You’ve made the paperwork aspect glitzy!

[Marguerite Crespillo]

We have used Planet RE for quite a while now and the majority of our transactions are paperless, however getting 95% of the other parties out there to participate is like herding cats! Remember the real estate industry was the last one to embrace computers. It has only been a little over 10 years that we had a computerized MLS!!! It could be another 10 years before you convince the entire industry and all affiliates that this is the way to go.... And we wonder why our reputation or lack there of preceeds us...

[Edde Anderson]

Wow... Thanks Marc... Before this article I had only just heard of OTM. I knew it was in the processes of being developed, but did not realize it was fully here. My bad for being too busy to keep up with the latest technology.

About 5 years ago, I started scanning documents into PDF format as they came in so that I could have the ability to email them to clients and save them for digital file storage, eliminating the need for paper file storage. Later on I subscribed to a digital fax service so that I could receive my faxes in PDF and resend them to my clients and other agents who I knew used email. This eliminated the time needed to scan so many documents.

With an OTM product like RELAY, should I do away with these old systems, or try to integrate them into the process?

[Marc Grayson]

Yes, you can DO AWAY with the digital fax service when enabling OTM like RELAY. You can fax "to" and "from" RELAY. At $149 a year (Realtor(r) special), that's $12.40 a month and unlimited number of transactions. Your digital fax service may cost more...and that's all it is...a digital fax service.

CENTRALIZED REPOSITORY
OTM is also a secure repository. Although your digital fax service puts docs into digital format (PDF), those PDF's are on your thumbdrive, at one of the PCs at the agency during "floortime", on your home PC, your office PC. OTM like RELAY gives you a centralized repository, accessible from any Internet-enabled PC.

MANAGEMENT WITHIN THE REPOSITORY
OTM is so much more than just a holding tank. You establish a checklist of ACTIVITIES. Consider these ACTIVITIES:

- Sign listing agreement
- Sign agreement #2.
- Sign agreement #3.

With each ACTIVITY, you can affix 1-to-many documents, so "Sign listing agreement" could be 1 doc.

You can then group many ACTIVITIES into a GROUP called "agreements".

You can use that same checklist over and over and over. Never missing a beat.

It was noted that the User Interface to RELAY was very intuitive, so to pick up and find your way around is easy.

Marc