How I Am Surviving My Vacation

So.  I’m supposed to be in the midst of relaxing right now. 

You’ve probably noticed that postings on the blog are light and they’ll probably continue to be light for the next week or two. 

But even though I’m on “vacation” work just hasn’t stopped.

It’s a big joke in the real estate industry that if you aren’t busy enough, then go on vacation.  And damn, ain’t that the truth!

But still, when I packed up my stuff to go on my short getaway, all I brought was me laptop, and my cell phone, that is, frankly useless where I am since cell reception is non existant here.

I didn’t bring a printer.  I didn’t bring a fax.  I mean, who brings these things on vacation, right?

Well, the day that I left, things started happening. 

One client had to renegotiate a purchase contract.  I had to send 8 different documents back and forth to make it happen.

Another client had to remove contingencies in an offer.  This took about 3 different documents since there were all sorts of things that were complicated about this deal.

And a third client (I’ve only been on vacation for 4 days) needed to submit a purchase offer, which included 180 pages of disclosures for the property itself, the purchase contract, several other standard mandated property disclosures, more random property disclosures that popped up and three counteroffers.

Every single document mentioned above needed a signature.  Some needed to be marked up as well.

I won’t tell you where I’m hiding out for vacation (Ok, maybe when I get back) but I will tell you I’m miles from a Kinko’s or anything similar.

Yet, with no, printer, no fax and no Kinko’s within miles (and no, I didn’t use smoke signals or carrier pigeons either), I still managed to get all of these documents signed by my clients and sent off to the various parties that needed them. 

Best of all, I did it all without printing (and therefore WASTING) a single piece of paper!

I feel like some cheesy commercial – but I have to say, that I did it all thanks to the amazing tool that is DocuSign.

Yes, I pay for DocuSign.  I don’t even remember what the cost is, but it’s something like a couple of cups of coffee a month.

But what DocuSign allows me to accomplish without printers, fax machines, scanners, Kinko’s or killing a single tree is absolutely priceless!

The short version of how it works is that it allows you to receive a document via email and to sign it electronically with the click of a mouse!

Using DocuSign to sign documents is free!  (as in my clients don’t pay for it.)  But using DocuSign to send real estate documents does cost a little something (as in other agents do have to pay to use it.)

The electronic signature is legally binding, and while it isn’t recognized as legally binding in some instances such as when signing loan documents or a deed because these things require a notarized signature, it is legally binding in all sorts of contracts.

Oh, and the best part – you don’t need to sit near a fax machine or printer while your real estate transaction is happening.

I’ve had clients sign documents in airports, in hotels in foreign countries, on their Iphones while driving down the freeway (I hope they meant they where a PASSENGER, since driving while signing just can’t be safe!)

And of course, that means that I too can help my clients complete a transaction wherever I am – whether in my “real” office in Noe Valley, my home office on Great Highway (which translates most often to my couch), at a conference or seminar, or on vacation in a secret location.  All I need is my laptop, the documents to be signed in PDF format (I have a PDF creator for that) and my clients’ email address. 

The rest is a just smooth transaction history – without a single tree killed in the process!!!

So – what does it mean to you?  It means that if you want to be green and sign documents in the most efficient way possible, you need to find yourself a Realtor that uses DocuSign. 

And if you’re in the San Francisco area, you need to look no further.  Call me at 415–307–1392 to find about about this and other innovative tools I have that benefit my clients in their search for a home, the sale and preparation of a home and through the entire purchase or sale transaction.  Oh, you can also email me.  That doesn’t kill trees either.