As a real estate agent, a vital part of your job is to guide your seller clients through all the paperwork. While this traditionally has been done by physically signing papers, today’s technology gives agents new opportunities to complete the process electronically. Not only is using an online platform more convenient, it also comes with a host of benefits for both you and your clients.
The main difference between using an online platform for home disclosure forms and their paper counterparts is the speed of the process. Rather than having to schedule a face-to-face meeting with your client, you can facilitate the signing remotely. It saves your time and your clients’ time. And let’s face it: with so many real estate agents today and limited inventory available, any differentiator you can offer in terms of service can help set you apart from the competition.
If there are any changes to make in the home disclosure forms, you simply initiate a re-signing through the online platform. Sellers can initiate changes in their own dashboards without having to reach out to you and wait for your response.
While it’s certainly possible to email copies back and forth, it’s difficult to track and file the most recent versions. It can also slow down the process. Plus, if your seller doesn’t have the ability to sign on a touchscreen device, they would have to print the forms, sign, and scan or fax them to you. This becomes a lot of inconvenient steps that can slow down response times from your clients.
As you receive finalized home disclosure forms from your clients, you can access them directly through your Sellers Shield™ dashboard. It keeps all of the information organized and in one place so you don’t have to dig through emails, faxes, or folders to find the correct information for each transaction.
In addition to making the transfer of disclosures faster and more efficient, online platforms also have the ability to lessen the burden of managing the process. With so much paperwork associated with the sale of a home, it can be tricky to actually track it all. Then multiply that by several clients and you can quickly become bogged down in paperwork.
Using an online platform also makes it easier and faster to stay on top of disclosures from multiple clients. In fact, you can even start to focus more on growing your client base rather than chasing after signatures.
When you opt out of paper disclosures, your platform starts to work for you. You can track when a client has signed a form, plus get a holistic picture of where all of your clients stand in the pipeline. You can view outstanding items so you know exactly who needs follow-up and who is ready to move onto the next step of the sales process.
As the disclosures are signed and ready to forward to a buyer’s agent, you can generate a fully formatted PDF file. Everything is processed electronically and automatically as you need them. It basically gives you on-demand files that are stored and organized for you.
There are countless ways that important details can fall through the cracks when you opt to use paper home disclosures. Using an online platform limits your liability as an agent in a number of ways. First, you automatically have all of the most up-to-date, state-specific disclosure forms to send to your seller clients.
On top of that, the Sellers Shield™ platform specifically educates sellers step by step so they actually understand the questions they’re answering. This protects both of you by ensuring their responses are accurate in describing their home’s condition. Plus, it removes the burden of explaining what the questions really mean. You don’t have to worry about incorrectly advising your clients; instead, the platform (built by experienced law, insurance, and real estate experts) has built-in tips and resources to prevent future lawsuits from disgruntled buyers.
Finally, when you tell your seller clients about our Home Sale Legal Protection service, it actually fulfills your fiduciary duty as an agent. If a claim is made against the seller and includes you and your brokerage, this additional step demonstrates that you provided the highest standard of care for your former client. It’s a huge bonus in terms of reducing you and your firm’s liability.
Navigating sellers home disclosures can be a tedious process. It can also be a risky one if you don’t take the proper measures to fully inform your clients of their responsibilities and record the signed paperwork.
Eliminating hard copies in favor of an online platform makes the entire process faster and easier to manage. There are also multiple levels of protection for you and your clients against potential litigation in the future.
Rather than getting mired in the details of signatures, faxes, and attachments, automate one of your most time consuming processes that simultaneously adds value to your clients. Your time and expertise are much better spent on other tasks, like growing your business.
Get started today and create your free account. Our online platform is free for unlimited disclosures. No credit card required.
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