There are a plethora of modern time-saving apps and gadgets that enable us to be more efficient.  One time-saving app that helps consumers in real estate transactions is the convenience of digital delivery for listing or purchase documents.

Using state-of-art software, a Realtor® can create digital documents at their fingertips from any place at any time and send them off to their client for e-signatures.  This ability saves the consumer and the Realtor® the time of traveling in order to facilitate the physical signing of contracts.  It is especially convenient in transactions where the clients are long distance or when there are people involved in the transaction who can’t be bothered to take the time out for a face-to-face interaction.  It doesn’t work for clients who don’t have email capability.

In a digital transaction, the client receives the documents either on a personal computer or on their smart phone, opens the program, then with a few clicks and finger swipes on their touch screen, can quickly scroll through the document and sign each page using electronically created signatures without ever printing the document or seeing a hard copy. 

The realty of today’s fast paced world is that most people want this convenience.  They want to transact this important business in quick segments during their work day instead of the hassle of taking time off.  Most Realtors® want this convenience too because they can move faster and do more business in a shorter time period. 

This practice, though convenient, can have a few pitfalls!  First of all, human relationships suffer, because people are less connected and less likely to trust and feel supported.  The worst danger in my opinion is that the client is less likely to pay attention to the specific details of the contract they are signing, thus creating misconceptions and misunderstandings in a transaction.

For example, in a recent transaction between parties in different states, the digital documents were created, sent and signed by both parties during a work day without any significant discussion with either of their agents.  They may have visually scanned portions of the documents signed, but certainly did not take time to fully comprehend the implications of the contract addenda.  An ear-to-ear session with their broker for some expanded dialogue and coaching may have saved this flubbed transaction, but for sure the sore feelings and wasted money on both sides of the failed transaction.