And a big step it is.
I picked up a tablet computer a few years ago. Seduced by the cool marketing and all of the smurfy cool junk I would be able to do, I plunked down enough money to buy a decent parts car for a little silver swiveling box. So, I got it home and figured out I had a good laptop with some extra functionality... but couldn't do all of the cool junk I saw on the commercials. What's worse is that I couldn't do the main thing I wanted to do... sign the stupid forms on the computer.
So, I started on my little quest. I found a few windmills to tilt at, and asked people... a lot of people... people that worked for "paperless companies" how I could have a client sign a contract on the screen of my tablet computer. I was told that I needed to have the document printed out (like that is paperless) and they could sign it, and I could then scan it into a PDF, and boom... I would have it all...
Well, isn't the point of a paperless transaction to NOT MAKE ALL OF THE STUPID PAPER? Seriously, I have had deals where I had 10 different copies of the same contract with different combinations of signatures, as well as in different levels of clarity from the repeated scanning and faxing and printing. The client had a few... the other agent had some more... and their client had a couple, too. So, basically we killed a small tree to sell the house. Even the paperless solutions weren't so paperless.
There had to be a better way.
So, off the the Atlanta Board of REALTORS(R)/FMLS Showcase Expo... no luck. I was told that if I bought a signature pad, they had a software package... blah, blah, blah... monthly fee of <eyes have glazed over... I have a tablet. I can write on the stupid screen>. So, let's try the NAR Convention and Expo. There were 8.2 million exhibitors... and again I was told that the way to go paperless was to print the document and sign it, and then scan it back in. Or, I could use a digital signature... ok, I called a couple of clients... they want to have their fancy handwriting on the document, not an asterisk that says they "signed it... really, it was them". I was told it was good enough for the Post Office... heck, they won't admit to being government employees, even while paying into a government pension system.
Back in Atlanta... Where oh where can my solution be? In my bookmarks. I found it three years ago, but didn't realize it. PDF Annotator had the capability (they didn't then, but when I looked back today, they did). So, I now can stick my tablet/laptop convertible computer with a PDF in front of someone and they can sign it right there... in blue "ink". I can then "melt" it into the page, and it can't be stripped off. I'm going to talk with a few closing attorneys about the technology to make sure there won't be any problems at closing, but I think I have found the grail.
Adding OneNote, PDF Annotator, and the tablet together, I am moving towards a slightly less paper cluttered workspace. Maybe now my wife will let me get the film scanner so that I can get all of those cool... I mean cluttersome... negatives and slides scanned in.
Vicky - That is easy. Go to the next EXPO event and get a pantload of flyers and brochures. They often stack better. Also, in my office, the local printing/flyer delivery company delivers a couple dozen sheets of recycling material each week. You might actually be able to compost them right there...
Gary - I bet we will see all sorts of stuff. I think it would be easier to get the fingerprint scan. But, if I am dealing with people that I think are going to try that hard to get out of contracts, the signature isn't going to be good with ink on paper, either.
Hi Lane,
Another great tool. I think we need all the tools we can get. Good Luck.
Well...aren't you just Mr. Hi-tech Red neck???? =]
I hope you find that humorous. I certainly don't want to tick you off! Hope I didn't. You know I'm picking!
I'm getting rid of my typewriter this year and going to Texas Instruments DOS based system. =]
Anthony - I am a tool kind of guy.
Jessica - Are you worried that the Jeep guy that finds it entertaining to roll a Jeep off of a rock is going to get offended at being called a redneck? I love my TRS80 descktop. It is so much batter than the old Colleco that hooked up to the TV..
I have to be careful...I've pushed a few buttons this week with one of my posts. OMG! My dad had a Colleco "Adam" computer! HA!HA! I liked donkey kong!
Lane,
I hope you love your new toy.
I have written about PDF annotator a few times. I have also shown many agents in SoCal how to do it and still don't get the usefulness of a tablet pc.
You can even do what you want w/o PDF annotator and only use OneNote. But the PDF annotator solution is easier and has less steps.
I also use it myself for customer receipts/invoices
Loren
www.futureofrealestatetechnology.com
I know digital signatures are accepted and compliant with the law Clinton passed on digital signatures. You might look at SureDocs, they have it so you can upload any document to it, email them to be digitally signed and converted to PDF... It is awesome, I used it when I was an LO. I'm not sure that the software your using would be compliant or not... something to look in to though.
I almost hate to say this, but in the interest of entertainment. I'll do it. My previous career was in technology. I was the manager of the computer operations department at a very large retail company. My department used millions of dollars of paper every year, and one of our goals all through the 90's was to eliminate paper cost. We spent a lot of time and money working to achieve that goal. What we found out was that sometimes paper is the cheapest, most reliable form of communication. It's very reliable, and portable, and cheap. I can print 1 page of information for just a few pennies, fold it up, put it in my pocket, take it to anywhere in the world, and read that information. No matter how good your PDA or Laptop may be, it will need electricity, and a network connection, not to mention the space it takes,/ . And when it dies from a disk failure, or cpu failure, you will probably lose some of your data. I back up my systems weekly, but I still keep contractd on paper, as well as pdf. One of my tasks as operations manager was disaster recovery planning and implementation. After 20 years of doing that, I know that it's hard to imagine everything that could happen, but do your best, because Murphy's law is always out there.
Believe it or not, Coffee spills and Lightning are the 2 biggest fears for me. I've spent more time replacing hardware from those than all others combined.
Larry - Never hate to disagree with me... or even appear to disagree. I respect your opinion, and have NO issues with posts that don't say... "great post, Lane"... in fact, I often prefer them because they challenge my thinking.
I understand, and agree that paper is cheaper. I can print a page for just a few cents. I think when I ran the numbers for my multi-function printer, I was around 1.9 cents a page. So, the average contract was about 19 cents. Even if I had it 5 times, that was only $1. I don't do a lot of volume, so that $60 software investment and extra $600 or so on the tablet would take decades to pay back from paper cost savings.
I also mostly agree with you regarding reliability. After the page is printed, it stays printed... unless it is lost, destroyed or thrown away unintentionally. That is part of it. I'm not a filer. I'm much more efficient at tracking files on my computer than I am at tracking them around the office (spelled H-O-U-S-E). Also, as an agent, not a broker, I don't have a legal obligation to maintain the files after closing. So, while I do keep files of final contracts for all of my closings, I won't be in trouble if they are lost... not advocating lost, just looking at worst case.
Finally, I am in no way even thinking I will be paper-free. I just want to be at a reasonable and manageable level. I will still print listing sheets for my buyer, if not for me as well. I will still have other information on paper as well. I'm just tired of dealing with so much intermediate paper that is printed to be shredded.
Thanks again, Larry. You're going to keep me thinking...
Lane, I think that is an brilliant idea. I love the idea of having a signed pdf. With all different types of digital archiving available, I dont think you can go wrong. I would like to see what you learn about the legality of it. - Julianna
Larry - I understand. I don't like to be too far in front of the curve, but I think that this is a reasonable step that we can take to be more ecologically friendly, as well as more organized.
Julianna - I will update the post as I get deeper in to this, as well as as I find more info.
Lane,
Great post. I picked up a Lenovo X-61 Tablet for my wife "Realtor" about 3 months ago. So far so good. Signing contracts on the screen and emailing it to all parties works great!!! Clients love the technology being used too - looks very professional. I use MyFAX too and have become much less of a tree killer - great post!!
Mike Lewis
Mike - I have a mail out to one of my closing attorneys... we'll see the response. What I have seen so far is that this technology is widely, but not universally accepted.
BTW, here is another post that has popped up in the last couple of days about this very subject. I had trouble wit hthe video, but listened last night. As usual, there were a number of great points that were brought up.
I have run across another possibility for on-screen signatures. It is called Bluebeam PDF Revu. It comes from the drafting world, but they figured out that others had similar needs. It is $150, but also authors PDFs, as well as allowing a few other things. One can re-arrange pages in the PDF, or re-arrange info in the PDF without converting and reconverting. It offers the same abilities to ink on the document and then "melt" it in.
It is a bit more like the Adobe PDF creator, with ink annotation added in... and priced accordingly.