Real estate liability, when it comes to document management, is an important management consideration in the modern real estate brokerage. With agent independent contractors each out there executing documents, it's critical that the brokerage reduce their real estate business liability by properly managing and archiving all documents, including emails.
Document Retention and Real Estate Liability
Your agents are out there increasing your real estate liability daily by creating, forwarding and retaining records and documents. This includes email, as email records are required in federal court actions' pre-trial discovery.Are you getting all the emails and other notes and documents into the permanent transaction records? Are your agents giving you their emails relating to their deals? Most brokerages are on thin ice in this regard.
Real Estate Liability as Discussed in The Digital Paper Trail
A thorough review of all brokerage office procedures, document policy, marketing materials and virtually every facet of the business is something that should be done frequently by all brokerages to reduce their real estate liability. The Digital Paper Trail discusses all aspects of brokerage and agent liability.Electronic Signatures and Real Estate Liability
Electronic signatures are legal by federal regulation. However, the states have their own laws that might place more restrictive requirements on E-signature usage. This is an excellent tool, especially when working with clients out of the area. Find out what you can do in your state with electronic signatures. Also, here's a company that specializes in E-Signature services for real estate professionals.Transaction Emails Should Not be Deleted!
Your real estate liability is significantly increased if your agents are not providing you with copies of their emails as related to transactions. You cannot rely on them to be around, or have their emails if you should need them. We work under numerous federal regulatory agencies' regulations, and if we end up in federal court, emails will be required in pre-trial discovery. More on email retention.Copyright - What is "Fair Use" and What Do You Need to Do?
There is a great deal of confusion out there about copyright and what one can and cannot use of someone's written, audio or video works. It's not a simple topic, but it's also not difficult to avoid problems. Fair Use doesn't go very far.Also, you need a strict written policy on copyright for your agents.
