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…

Transaction Coordination, Contract to Close, Closing Coordination, Transaction Management… Whatever you call it, this is the one service you should consider adding to your business.

One of the challenges facing many agents today is keeping the paperwork and communications flowing during the closing process. When you’re out with new clients and can’t respond to calls or emails until the evening or the next day, the closing process for your Under Contract clients has been slowed down or sometimes derailed.

A Transaction Coordinator is on the job and working for you. She will be responding to those emails and phone calls during the day and making sure that everyone is “doing their job!” Then you can focus on new clients while still providing excellent service to your clients who are under contract.

Coaches and brokers recommend adding a Transaction Coordinator to your team when you are handling at least 20-24 sides per year.  A Virtual Closing Coordinator just makes sense.  Most Virtual Transaction Coordinators charge a flat fee per contract, paid at the closing.  No overhead, no additional phones or computers to buy and no salary.  Just pay as you produce!

Your Transaction Coordinator/Closing Coordinator is responsible for managing the process and deadlines, monitoring the progress, following up, communicating with all the parties in the transaction, and assisting your clients through the closing process.  When you stop and think about it, there can be up to 12 parties involved in just one deal: buyers and sellers, co-op agents, escrow companies, title companies, closing attorneys, appraisers, inspectors and don’t forget the loan officers and processors.  And with today’s market, deals are taking longer and are a bit more complicated!

The bottom line…  when you get to the closing table and everything has fallen into place, then you look good and your clients are happy!  Happy clients equal more referrals!

As a real estate professional, you know that during the holiday season, your business begins to taper off while the stress of your personal life builds up.

Have you done your holiday shopping yet? What about wrapping all the presents? Which parties, company get-togethers, school functions and family gatherings will you attend? And of course, you’ve got to send your holiday cards, calendars and gift items to clients and prospects, as well as your family and friends.

Back to your business… With the phone not ringing quite as much, this is the best  time of the year to take on all those administrative tasks you’ve been meaning to do; like working on your 2009 marketing plan, updating your contact database (crucial for holiday cards), revising your listing presentation, updating your buyers’ packet. Are your Listing and Closing checklists up to date? Do you have a “New Client Information” form?  Now’s the time to create one! (this is a great way to gather birthdays and email addresses)  Or perhaps get to work on that email campaign you’ve been putting off.

The holidays are for family and fun… and the perfect time to delegate those administrative tasks so that you can enjoy the season and all the special occasions. It’s a good time to start working with a Virtual Assistant who can  handle all the above-mentioned tasks, plus mailing cards and calendars. If you’ve hesitated in the past, why not prepare for the New Year by calling AnotherME and “Delegate so you can Celebrate!”

Let AnotherME help you put the “Happy” back in “Happy Holidays.”