Seattle real estate trend: Making it easier for the client.....
Convenience and reliability in Seattle real estate are two of the things that come to mind when I think of helping Seattle buyers and Seattle sellers put together offers and transactions that are successful and advantageous. I like to make it easy for my clients to be able to sign the paperwork - buying or selling a house is stressful enough without having to take time off work to do paperwork.
I know Seattle is in the hot seat of techies, but I am still constantly amazed at how much technology is changing our business! I used to drive around the whole Puget Sound for hours to meet buyers and sellers to get little initials here and there on real estate contracts. I always like to have clear copies and the fax machines tend to shrink and lighten those signatures until I have to pull out the original and use it as a translator!
Seattle: Going Green in Real Estate? An Environmentally friendly choice.....................
I started using Docusign about two years ago. I use it for almost all my transactions now and it is especially helpful for my buyers and sellers who have busy schedules! I can prepare the document and instead of printing it to a printer, I print it to my secure Docusign envelope online. After I have printed all the documents I need to that document envelope, I am able to go in and use the Docusign tool to determine where I need my clients to sign using the full signature or initials. I put in my clients' emails and Docusign goes out and securely verifies who they are. Co-buyers and Co-sellers can both be at work at two different locations across the Seattle area and still be signing at the same time into one document and there are never any missed signatures. The client can print out what they signed for their own files and then Docusign emails me to let me know that all parties have signed the paperwork. I can then print it out for my files.
Final say?
My clients love that I use this service and I am constantly educating brokers that I come across about the benefits of using Docusign. Docusign is a paid service - I have to pay for it. There is a base monthly charge and then a per use fee when I go over so many a month. I find it to be worth it! I love finding something that makes this stressful time easier!
Courtney Cooper ....For all your Seattle Washington Real Estate Needs! Seattle Area Real Estate Agent: Broker and Realtor serving North King & South Snohomish County. Seattle Real Estate and Seattle Suburbs! Cooper Jacobs Real Estate Services: Experienced and with a background in accounting - I love my clients and work hard for them! Please call me if you are looking for a home or investment property (including short sales, preforeclosures, foreclosures, and REO properties) in Seattle, Shoreline, Edmonds, Brier, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Lake Forest Park, Bothell, Mill Creek, Everett, or other Seattle Suburbs! If you are thinking of relocating to Seattle, I am an expert at Seattle Relocation services and can help you find the perfect home while making sure it is a solid financial investment!
Courtney Cooper
Seattle Realtor, Owner/Designated Broker/EcoBroker
Cooper Jacobs Real Estate
206-850-8841
(Seattle real estate - search all MLS listings from all companies for FREE), SeattleAfloat.com (Seattle Houseboats), GreenLakeLoop.com (Green Lake Blog), QueenAnneBoulevard.com (Queen Anne Blog), MagnoliaView.com (Magnolia Neighborhood Blog)
About Me:
Seattle real estate has been a big part of my life for well over a decade since I began my career in real estate,but also before that time when I was in the process of purchasing my own first home. Buying your first home can be quite overwhelming,but I have managed to help many first time home buyers along the way.
Move up Seattle buyers and other types of specialized purchasing is a great passion of mine! I love Seattle houseboats and you can find me down on the docks of Lake Union and Portage Bay several times a week. Other aspects of Seattle real estate that I adore include Queen Anne Real Estate,Wallingford Real Estate, Ballard Real Estate, Green Lake Real Estate, Laurelhurst Real Estate, Magnolia Real Estate,andSeattle Waterfront Real Estate.
In addition to being a Seattle residential broker and founder of Cooper Jacobs & Seattle Afloat, I am also a member of CBA (Commercial Brokers Association) and head of the Cooper Jacobs Commercial Division in an effort to provide excellent commercial real estate services to the Seattle commercial real estate industry. With a background in accounting and management, it is my great pleasure to coordinate our Seattle commercial brokers.
About Cooper Jacobs Real Estate's Seattle Branch:
My office at Cooper Jacobs Real Estate LLC is located centrally near all my favorite Puget Sound neighborhoods just a few blocks up from Lake Union in Seattle’s Wallingford. Cooper Jacobs Real Estate is a wonderful place filled with talented Seattle real estate brokers and I count myself extremely lucky that I get to spend so much time with these wonderful people. We specialize in different Seattle neighborhoods and suburbs in both residential and commercial real estate and are all very passionate and excited about each of our favorite Seattle neighborhoods and industries!
©Courtney Cooper ©Cooper Jacobs Real Estate LLC
We can use a similar service for documents printed on WinForms through the California Association of Realtors, and it's free. Mostly I use MONGO fax, because my company pays for it; although, it doesn't allow for electronic signatures like WinForms.
Sounds great, I hope this takes off everywhere real fast
Sincerely
Tom Braatz
Courtney,
Thank you so much for the mention! We're happy to help you save time (and gas!) while making it convenient for you to ensure that every signature and every initial is placed by the buyers and sellers in the documents. You bring up a great point about clear copies, faxes, and wet signatures - that signatures on faxes are hard to read and aren't the most secure. DocuSign's many security measures means that DocuSign's electronic signatures cannot be faked. Thanks again for the mention and see you around Seattle!
Best,
An Bui, DocuSign Blogger
Hey An - I love Docusign!!!! You guys have mad emy job easier!
Courtney: How do you get your own signature into the contract? Do you set yourself up as a recipient or is there any easier way? I just signed up for a DocuSign account this morning, and I can't figure out how to sign the contract myself. I saved a signature in my account set up, so you'd think I could find it and put it in there.
Hi Elizabeth:)
That is exactly what I do - send it to myself and stamp it. Email me if you need help.
Hi All -
Getting your signature into your DocuSign account is really easy. First, you need to sign something that has a signature & initial you like. Then either scan this or fax it to yourself so you have your signature in an electronic document. Use a paint program to select your signature and initials and save them as little graphic files - like "mysig.jpg" and "myinits.jpg" - you can save them as JPG, GIF, PNG, etc.
Then log into your DocuSign account, and select 'manage signature' from the menu. Click to create a signature. Follow the steps there to enter your name, and initials - and then rather than choosing a script style, use the 'choose' and 'upload' buttons to load your signature into your secure DocuSign account.
For a video on how to do this check here: http://www.screencast.com/t/XktawHrvcaU
This is better than just having an image on your PDFs or emails because it is ACTUALLY PART OF AN ESIGN SYSTEM which manages your contracts securely, creates an audit trail, and provides all the evidence you need for a legally binding 'signed writing'. Just pasting your signature into your email or PDF may LOOK like an electronic signatures, but they are not compliant with the Federal ESIGN act.
A final note - while this may LOOK closer to your handwritten signature, it really does not add any 'legal' weight to your signed document. DocuSign does this for you with the whole system and how it manages your documents, signatures, and signers. It is a matter of taste - which is totally up to you and how you want your signature to appear.
Hope this helps!
TG (DocuSign)