Real Estate Continuing Education - Cloud Storage and e-Signatures

1. Cloud Storage & e-signatures
ARE MY DOCUMENTS SAFE? ARE E-SIGNATURES REAL?
CARRIE J . BEY-LITTLE, B.S. , BROKER

2. The Goal of the Course
• What is an electronic signature?
• E-signatures and how they play a role in a Real Estate Agents business, the Consumer & Your
firm.
• Are electronic signatures legal?
• E-signatures and how they work
• E-signatures, the state of Illinois and the U.S.
• The benefits to e-signatures and drawbacks to e-signatures
• Cloud Storage & Transaction Management
• Short-sales & REO as it applies to e-signatures and Cloud Storage
• Choose wisely when deciding on any e-product
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3. What is an electronic signature?
• The ability to sign a document on a computer
• Laptop
• Tablet
• Smart phone
• All in an electronic format
• (5 ILCS 175/) Electronic Commerce Security Act – State of Illinois
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4. E-signatures and how they play a role in a Real
Estate Agents business, the Consumer & Your
firm
• E-signatures are changing the way we do business as agents and
consumers.
• With the new technology available agents are able to work more efficiently,
keep better files for their clients and the companies they work for.
• Today’s agent can produce better quality documents for their clients at a
much faster pace.
• The tech savvy agent is setting a new standard for how we do business.
• If you aren’t using e-signatures now is the time to learn the products so you
are able to keep up with technology that is changing constantly
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5. Are electronic signatures legal?
• Yes, Electronic signatures are legal in the State of Illinois.
• Yes, Electronic signatures are legal in the United States
• Illinois formed the (5 ILCS 175/) Electronic Commerce Security Act.
• Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (U.S.) – adopted by 47 states in
the U.S.
• Washington, New York and Illinois are the
3 states that adopted their own Acts
for electronic signatures
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6. E-signatures and how they work
• Documents are signed on a computer, Laptop or tablet
• E-Signatures formats
• The best e-signature formats are those where the document can later be
accessed by all parties signing the document and when certification is
available
• An agent will complete a document using a pdf creator or e-signature
program.
• Once the document is completed the signer may sign in front of the agent
or when sent via email.
• After all parties have sign everyone should automatically receive a copy
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7. E-Signatures flow chart
Buyer Two
Signs 2nd
Step 1.
Buyer’s Agent
Completes
document
Buyer One
Signs 1st
Everyone
Receives a
Completed
Document
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8. E-signatures, the state of Illinois and the U.S.
• Illinois – Electronic Commerce Act
• Illinois – must use a product that provides a certificate proving how
the document was signed.
• Signature Device – Unique information, such as codes, algorithms,
letters, numbers, private keys or personal identification numbers.
(5ILCS 175/5-105)
• Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (U.S.) – adopted by 47 states in
the U.S.
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9. Benefits for Real Agents
• Saves time
• Saves money
• Saves Paper
• Creates legible document
• Work from anyone
• Store documents in the cloud easily
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10. Benefits for the Consumer
• Clients are able to sign at an off-site location (ie: out state clients,
clients on vacation, when there are multiple signers involved and
they are in two different states, great for the busy client.
• Many transactions call for signatures with multiple clients. E-signatures
make it easy to have a document signed and returned
quickly
• Documents are legible.
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11. Benefits for your Firm or Brokerage
• Businesses are able to provide flexibility to their agents, admins and
brokers
• Easy to sign and gain access to documents
• Legible documents
• Available at your fingertips from anywhere
• Re-image offices – smaller spaces because less space is used for
document storage
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12. Drawbacks for Real Estate Agents
• Learning curve for the less tech savvy agents
• Could be open to fraud – best to use a program with history and
certification processes
• The lender wants wet signatures
• The short sale bank or
negotiator may require
wet signatures (signed
with a pen)
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13. Drawbacks or the Consumer
• Doesn’t want to sign electronically
• Doesn’t have email
• Difficult to use
• Not Tech Savvy
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14. Drawbacks for the Real Estate Company
• Not able to invest in the products
• Not sure where documents are located
• Agents using different platforms
• Unable to train the agents
• Might be difficult to use
• No time to learn the product
• Might elect to have a policy in place for e-signatures and cloud
storage
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15. Cloud Storage
• Illinois Real Estate License Act – Administrative Rules Section 1450.755
• Document Storage
• All transactional documents must be kept for 5 years
• Hard copy or electronically
• Escrow Records
• Escrow records must be kept for 5 years
• The most current 2 years must be kept on-site
• Must be able to be produced with in 24 hours
• Cloud Storage – Many choices
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16. Where is the Cloud
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NEC.com

17. Transaction Management
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18. Are My Documents Safe?
• Yes
• Agents should make sure they are using a secure platform
• It’s easy to make a mistake and share a document with the world
• Choose a storage system that includes secure access with a log in and
password
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19. Short sales & REO as it applies to e-signatures and
Cloud Storage
• Short sales
• Most short sale banks will accept e-electronic signatures
• Banks like Bank of America have resources where the sellers, buyers, agents and attorneys agree to sign electronically
• Smaller banks tend to accept electronic signatures
• If you are using an e-signature product be prepared to have your clients resign using wet signatures (with an actual pen)
• Or provide documentation to the bank that e-signatures are legal
• Some banks may require that the affidavit be signed at closing by all parties
• REO
• Most REO – Bank owned sales may require that buyers sign using a pen (wet signatures)
• HUD – HUD homes when purchasing a HUD home buyers will still be required to actually sign the paperwork.
• As of January 30, 2014 FHA announced that they would accept more documents with electronic signatures. HUD
No. 14-011. Allowing buyers to sign loan documents
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20. Choose wisely when deciding on any e-signing
product, Cloud Storage or Transaction Manager
• Do your research
• Docusign has been indorsed by the National Association of REALTORs
• The best systems use certification platforms (questions to ask: Can I track
show signed, when, where and how?
• Other e-signatures products used by real estate agents include:
• Tablets or any computer with a touch screen are great for electronic
signatures
• Cloud Storage products that work great with electronic signatures include:
• Transaction Management
• These are suggestions. There are many products to choose from.
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21. Paperless Products
A few options but not limited
to these paperless tools
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22. The Trends in paperless
• At least 115,000 agents use Docusign
• E-signature program
• Also has a transaction room product
• 40,000 people signup to use this system everyday
• Over 2500 brokers use the Dotloop dash board
• All inclusive
• E-signature program
• Brings everyone into the transaction as if they were all in the same room in a
virtual format
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23. Review & Exam
• Websites to view
• Fannie Mae www.homepath.com
• Freddie Mac www.homesteps.com
• Always check with a short sale lender to verify that they take e-signatures.
Most banks will take e-signatures. Always do what’s
best for your client.
• www.facebook.com/TheRealEstateTrainer
• www.twitter.com/CarrieBeyLittle or #SocialCarrie
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24. Thank you
• "The illiterate of the 21st Century will not be those who cannot read or
write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.“ Alvin Toffler
• Why Not learn the technology today so you are not left “list-less”.
• Don’t wait to use the e-signature products. There is nothing like trying to
learn something new because you are forced to.
• Docusign.com, dotloop.com, evernote, pdfexpert dropbox, google drive
• Illinois Real Estate license law
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