e-Signatures are Legal in Real Estate

(back)

I am in the middle of buying a new house. My Realtor e-mailed several documents for me to sign.

In my work electronic signatures are common practice. I was wondering if electronic signatures are used in real estate transactions. Is it legal?

A friend of mine said that in order for real estate contracts to be legal they needed to be signed in blue ink.

If it isn’t legal to use electronic signatures, the real estate industry should get into the 21st century!

Electronic Ed

Dear Ed,

Electronic signatures are legal in a real estate transaction. They have been legal since President Clinton signed their use and guidelines into law 9 years ago.

In fact, the National Association of Realtors is in the 21st century. NAR just unveiled an exclusive Realtor electronic signature service called DocuSign. It is an exclusive on-line eSignature service designed specifically for Realtors.

The Realtor edition allows agents, buyers and sellers to electronically sign agreements. The new product includes on-line signing from an iPhone, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Google Android and other mobile devices.

According to NAR there are already over 20,000 Realtors using DocuSign.

The new e-signing service is a win-win all the way around! It frees up the back and forth faxing of documents that often end up illegible. The less paper that is used, the greener the transaction. It also allows buyers and sellers the time to calmly and thoroughly review documents from the comfort of their own homes prior to signing them. Agents can now spend more time with clients and less time processing paperwork.

In today’s real estate climate time is really of the essence. Multiple offers and counter offers and returned contracts with electronic signatures will take a matter of minutes instead of hours and sometimes days.

Transactions can be done from anywhere. One client completed his real estate purchase by transferring his funds to close his escrow while he was 30,000 ft in the air. If you forgot to pack your blue ink pen, no worries. Use electronic signatures. They can be a matter of good home dollars and sense!