What is UETA and ESIGN?:
UETA is the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act. It has been adopted my most of the states and sets forth the rules for treatment of electronic signatures and document delivery. ESIGN is the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act. It does the same and overlaps UETA in some respects.
We just need to know that, based on if our state has adopted UETA and based on any ways in which they may have modified it, we may be able to use electronic or e-signatures on most of our purchase agreements, contracts, counter offers, etc.
Why even worry about E-signatures?:
How many times, due to their location, have you had to email a document to a customer/client, they then have to print it, then sign it,then find a fax machine to send it back? And what about the quality of the fax? Those in vacation and resort markets deal with this situation in a majority of their transactions. Then we have the client forgetting one of the initial boxes or a signature somewhere, and the process repeats itself.
There's a better way that provides legally binding signatures without the customer/client having to print the document until it's been signed. No print then fax. Just sign online.
How can they sign documents on the computer screen?:
Docusign®, an electronic signature service, makes it happen.
The client receives a link to the online document with little yellow stickies where initials & signatures go.
The client follows a short identity verification process to validate that it will be their signature.
The service lets them choose a cursive style representation of their signature.
They go through the document and click on each sticky. Their initials or signature are placed for them.
They can print it after completion (all stickies must be done). They submit it and it comes back to you online and signed. And your copy is printed legibly.
Every step of the process is date and time stamped:
A history report is available on demand for you or the client. It shows when documents were created, sent, received, signed and returned completed.
Records like these are great to have if there are questions later as to the timeline of contract acceptance or counter offer signatures. Plus, you receive it right after they do it! No delays that could let another offer come in to cause problems for your buyer.
If both sides are doing it, you'll get that acceptance back from the other side faster too. The process is streamlined and cost effective.
You can't stick your head in the sand in today's high tech world.:
Too many real estate clients know more about technology and the internet than their real estate agents and brokers do. We need to keep up better with what's happening in more ways than just getting our web sites to generate more leads.
Look into electronic signatures and how they can help you in your real estate practice. They can save time for both you and your clients. There are also benefits to better quality printouts of contract documents. The degrading quality of fax copies is not only annoying, but it can also cause problems if key phrases aren't legible on the printed version a client uses to make a decision or provide a response.
