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Like most real estate agents and brokers, when I first started in real estate, the office where I worked required the agent to create and maintain an on site copy of their file at the brokerage main office. Unless you (the agent) retained a complete backup of the office file at your home or in your car, you’d often find yourself running to the office when you needed to look at a form or answer a quick question for your client. Because of this challenge and due to the amazing advancements in technology in the past decade, most brokerages find themselves developing, adopting, or improving upon their current paperless transaction management systems.

For many agents already comfortable conducting business on a tablet, a smartphone, or a laptop, it seems difficult for them to operate in a world of paper files.

According to a recent article on Inman,

Brokerages are finding they need the right technology and training to bring their agents squarely into the mobile, paperless future, and leaders with several brokerages — large, medium and small — have shared with Inman News some insights they’ve gained into challenges surrounding agent adoption.

Keys to agent adoption include picking an easy-to-use collaborative transaction management platform and employing the most effective training and persuasion strategies.

Two issues that have arisen in adopting a paperless real estate transaction management system include agent training and file storage. The Inman article comments on the issue of agent training: “With the crazy nature of the business and the pace at which agents and transaction coordinators move, many [agents] do not feel that they have the time to throw a wrench in their system by learning yet another program.”

Your Real Estate Transaction Management System

One solution to this problem is to help agents focus on what they do best—listing and selling property. At Transaction 911, we recognize that paperwork is generally not where the agent wants to spend his or her time. And, if agents recognize their own value and calculate their own return on investment, many may realize that they can take listings and write offers all during the time that a transaction coordinator manages the online transaction file.

Another challenge that has arisen with respect to adoption of paperless real estate transaction management systems is file storage. Brokerages need to create a plan for all of those old files still hanging in folders at the office. While the California Association of Realtors® advises that paper copies be retained for three years, attorneys may advise that files be retained indefinitely. In adopting a plan with regard to those file cabinets filled with paper files, remember to check with your brokerage’s legal counsel before creating a file storage plan. Some brokerages are scanning old files and the arranging for shredding companies to shred their paper files. If you or anyone you know plans to adopt this arrangement, please keep in mind that it is best to backup your files in multiple offsite locations—not just on a computer located at the brokerage. In this way, no matter where you are and what happens, you can access your old documents. And, of course, the physical space saved using this method can help many brokerages to save on such items as paper, file cabinets, and storage facility rentals.

Whether your company has adapted to a paperless real estate transaction management system or is still preparing paper files, we can help. At Transaction 911, we can prepare your paperwork based on your brokerage specifications. Adapting to your system and freeing you up to do other things is our goal. We prepare paperwork. You sell real estate. Plain and simple.