Ensure Online Signature Lawfulness for Client Information in Real Estate Transactions

How to eSign a document: online signature lawfulness for Client Information for Real Estate

- Most of the real estate professionals of today are using what's called electronic signatures or eSignatures to conduct their business. While they're an awesome tool, there's a very dangerous trend that we're starting to see that puts you, the agent, in the crosshairs of not only lawsuits but regulatory enforcement. And here's what you need to know in this video. (electronic music) Hey, everyone, my name is Paul Vojchehoske and once again, welcome to The Real Estate Classroom. Well, there's no doubt that electronic signatures have revolutionized the way that real estate professionals are doing business today. Programs like , DigiSign, E-sig, all of those type of programs have taken this industry by storm. And in fact, it's estimated now that 71% of all real estate sales transactions are now going through some type of electronic signature program. And while these programs are awesome, because they save the agent a ton of time and they're very efficient, there's some very scary trends that are starting to surface that are putting the real estate professional in the direct crosshairs of not only lawsuits but regulatory enforcement and the numbers are only growing. Here's the problem. Two signatures, one email address. What's happening is you're sending your documents for two signatures to one email address where there's an appearance that one person may be signing for the other with the click of the mouse. An issue is only an issue when it becomes an issue, and when it becomes an issue, you'll have wished that you had played it by the book, crossed those T's and dot your I's. And this situation typically becomes an issue when one party wants outta the deal and they're looking for a reason to terminate the contract. And I can tell you, at the school here, we've had numerous calls in recent months from buyers alleging this very storyline. It's no joke. I had one call one time where boyfriend/girlfriend had bought a house, it was pending, it hadn't closed yet. She discovered he was cheating on her and obviously, they broke up and she didn't wanna go through with the purchase of the house. And she made the allegation that he signed on her behalf, therefore, she's not a party to the contract. And actually, upon further investigation, it was determined that that very thing did happen. He signed her name on her behalf. So I think you can see the problem here and the problem that it could pose potentially for real estate professionals. What can you do to mitigate these circumstances as a licensed agent? Three options. Option number one, at a minimum, if there are two or more clients that signatures are required, send two separate emails to that one single email address. That way, party one can electronically sign their documents and then party two can electronically sign their documents. At least it gives the appearance of separation. Option number two, which is actually better than option one, obtain wet signatures on a separate authorization form instructing you, the agent, which email address or addresses each of the parties wanna use for this transaction. So, if both the parties want you to send their documents to a single email address, they are giving you written authorization of that. Now, make sure this gets put into your broker transaction file because it does provide just an additional layer of protection. In any case, it's very important, folks, very important, anytime you are sending documents to the same email address, always send separate emails based on the number of parties that must sign. Two buyers, two emails, three buyers, three emails. I think you get it. Listen, I totally understand that this can be a pain in the butt and very inconvenient, but it could save your bacon when this issue arises. Option number three, two or more parties, two or more separate individual email addresses. From a risk management perspective, the best solution here is each of the parties to the contract having their own unique individual email address. That's all I have for today's video. I appreciate you being here. Hey, do me a favor real quick, give this video a thumbs up or a thumb down. Either way, I don't care, it is all traffic for the channel. If you would, click on that little red subscribe button and subscribe to the channel. Click on that little notification bell and please, share this with a colleague, somebody you think might benefit from it. And last but not least, thanks for watching and have a great week. (rock music continues)