You know the drill. Just sign here, here, here …and initial here, here, here and here… and when your fingers are cramping and numb, we’ll have ourselves a legal document.

The paperwork in a real estate transaction – from listing to closing – can be a real time-drain for all involved.  On some deals, all those signatures and initials just might necessitate a physical therapy appointment.

DocuSign offers a legal, secure electronic signature service guaranteed to reduce the wear-and-tear on schedules and fine motor skills.  Did you know that an electronic signature is enforceable and legal. (even in California!)

Better yet, DocuSign Lite is a free service anyone can use right from DocuSign’s homepage! There’s no paper, no account to set up, no cost or credit card number to provide. Simply upload the document that requires a signature and enter the email address of the recipient. Your recipient gets an email message from DocuSign notifying them of a document to be signed and you receive an emailed receipt confirming that the process is complete.

For more information, here is a link to the DocuSign blog.  If you’re a Mortgage professional, an REO Professional or a Real Estate Professional, take a moment to read through the section dedicated to the real estate industry.

Learn how DocuSign can speed up the process for everyone on both sides of a transaction.  And if you’re headed to NAR – you can check out their booth.  Tell them AnotherME sent you!

So when you hear, “where do I sign?”… now you can tell your clients, just click here, here, here and here…

Paperwork for a real estate transaction – from listing to closing – can be a real time-drain for all involved. Just sign here, here, here and initial here, here, here and here…and when your fingers are cramping and numb, we’ll have ourselves a legal document.  And with all the signatures and initials, it could necessitate a physical therapy appointment.

DocuSign (www.docusign.com) offers a legal, secure  electronic signature service guaranteed to reduce wear-and-tear on schedules and fine motor skills. DocuSign Lite is a free service anyone can use from DocuSign’s homepage. There’s no paper, no account to set up, no cost or credit card number to provide.

Simply upload the document that requires a signature and enter the email address of the recipient. Your recipient gets an email message from DocuSign notifying them of a document to be signed and you receive an emailed receipt confirming that the process is complete.

An electronic signature is enforceable and legal. (even in California!) There’s a whole section on the DocuSign site dedicated to real estate professionals and how DocuSign can speed up this necessary chore for folks on both sides of a transaction.  For more information, check out the key points from an October 6 talk by Ken Moyle, “Legality of Electronic Signatures and Real Estate” (http://docusign.com/blog/category/realestate/).

So when you hear, “where do I sign?”;  now you can tell your clients,  just click here, here, here and here…

Do you feel like a pawn in the voice mail chess game? Call – Call Back? Message – Return Message? Check – Check Mate? Well, technology has come to our rescue!

SlyDial (www.slydial.com) is a free service for your land or mobile calls that allows you to connect immediately to your recipient’s mobile voice mail without waiting for four to six rings, their outgoing message, inevitable prompts, blah, blah, blah.  SlyDial lets you go directly to voice mail.  Check Mate!

SlyDial is a real time-saver when when you need to share a bit of information and just don’t have time for a full conversation. It’s also a tool for discretion and consideration – ever disturb or distract someone when all you wanted to do was leave a quick voicemail? Like the times you remember that you need to return someone’s call… at midnight!  I hate it when that happens.

So here’s how it works: to use Slydial from a land line or a cellular phone, dial 267-Sly-Dial (267-759-3425) to leave a message for your intended recipient. The service is free to users who don’t mind listening to a little advertising, or you can pay a very modest subscription fee to avoid ads (look for the words “MYslydial Premium”.)

You don’t have to join the premium service to use SlyDial – just enter the 267-759-3425 number on your phone and you’re in business. But if you want to use SlyDial apps for your iPhone (www.apple.com/iphone), BlackBerry (www.BlackBerry.com) and Windows Mobile Smartphones, you need to be a MYslydial Premium subscriber.

There’s lots of great information (check out the FAQs) at the SlyDial website that clearly explains the value of this very simple, very convenient communication solution.

I’m always looking for ways to save time here or there and to become more efficient in my business.  Slydial is a winning deal!

Over the summer months, I’ve been using my laptop in the evenings to update my Facebook and Twitter accounts. And let me tell you, a laptop is hot!

Did you know heat is the probable a cause of some those annoying performance issues, like ‘lockups’.  And it might even be the cause of permanent damage. Yikes! What I’ve learned is that with a laptop, heat issues can be even more of a concern. (now they tell us!) All those heat producing components are tightly arranged inside a small space…so there’s not much room for a cooling system. (think tiny exhaust fan)

Use your laptop for an extended period of time and feel the bottom of it. Or feel your legs!

Well, I found a “COOL” solution for the “HOT” laptop! It’s a laptop cooling pad! I had no clue there was a product like this.

One day browsing for a thumb drive at Office Depot, I ran across this little gem. It’s a lightweight, thin “platform” that houses 2 cooling fans. (It’s the same footprint as a laptop) It plugs into your laptop and doesn’t create a big drain on the battery life either! Bottom line – less heat makes for a more efficient computer.

In case you’re wondering, I purchased the Targus brand Chill Pad, but there are others on the market as well. After using this “Cool Tool” for the past few months – I am singing its praises. I’d recommend this $30 investment (average cost) for any real estate professional who uses a laptop.

It will improve your overall computer experience and extend the life of your laptop.  While keeping you from heating up!