Embracing Technology

Happy Friday Everyone!

Goodbye fax machines, mailing, scanning and sore wrists (well, maybe not fully but hopefully one day!). The real estate industry has come a long way in the last few years. The way a real estate transaction is completed has changed forever and is quickly evolving. Beyond being faster and way more efficient, buying or selling real estate today is also helping all everyone feel more secure and at ease about “inking” a deal on their next property, whether it be buying a condo, renting a property, buying your first investment or listing your home for sale.

As part of Condo Culture’s commitment to ensure our customers have the best real estate experience possible, we’re obsessive about the details and do everything we can to ensure that we introduce tools that make the process easier, more secure, more insightful and frankly more enjoyable for our clients. Our mission is to ensure not only do you have all the information you need to make the most informed decision but you also have fun doing it! After all, while it’s a big decision, it’s also an extremely exciting time. Afterall, we’re the experts so you don’t have to be and a huge part our commitment to all of our clients is making sure we have your back through the entire process and stay a step ahead, giving you the edge you need to make the smartest decisions while also taking in the moments and enjoying the ride! As the industry grows and new technologies evolve, its changing what’s possible in a real estate transaction and how we, as your experts in condo real estate, can elevate your experience and give you a leg up in the market. We’re proud to be leaders of in this respect and you can rest assured when you’re dealing with us, you’re on the cutting edge.

One really simple piece of technology that has completely changed and revolutionized how we work through a real estate transaction of today is e-signatures. Although there are still a handful of individuals that prefer the ways of old signing everything by hand in-person (there are still times when this makes sense), we wanted to share our take on the importance of e-signatures and why we believe in this as one of our best practices for the future.

One of the worst things about “inking” a real estate transaction the old fashion way was the loss of clarity on the document as both parties went back and forth through negotiations. Sometimes by the time we went back and forth through various offers and counter offers you’d lose clarity on key elements of the agreement which could lead to uncertainty for the buyer, seller and everyone else involved. Add in a scanner here and a fax there and it wasn’t long before you couldn’t read any part of the agreement at all! While there were ways to deal with this in our old, paper hungry world, they were inefficient and created unnecessary stress.

In addition to being difficult to read, paper contracts signed by hand also relied on perfect memory and 0% human error when keeping track of important dates and critical deadlines. While we all like to believe we’re perfect :) , the advent of e-signatures and electronic deal tracking now enables us to capture all dates electronically and be automatically notified when an important date is here or a critical deadline is coming up. Not only that, we can also share these dates with everyone involved in the transaction, reducing stress for your lawyers and bank/mortgage broker and most importantly you as the buyer or seller. Working with you when buying or selling your condo property, e-signatures and electronic agreements also enables us to move quicker on opportunities or jump on an incoming offer when the time is right - something that used to be much slower in the old paper days and at times increased the chance of competition or an expiring offer if all parties weren’t easily accessible. Today, you can sign from anywhere at anytime and there can be some real, and even strategic, advantages to that.

Another advantage over the old way of handling paper agreements was the possibility of misplacing a page or even worse, losing a document in the mail. Do you remember the Canada Post strike? YIKES! No longer with paperless contracts. Another great feature of e-signatures is that once one contract is signed, it is emailed and stored in your inbox. Now not only you can never misplace any page or agreement but they’re also easily shareable with other important parties to the transaction such as your bank or lender, lawyer or insurance company through the course of the transaction and for years into the future.

At Condo Culture, we work hard to harness modern technology to make the process of buying, selling, renting or investing in a condo as smooth and as smart as it can possibly be. By working towards a paperless digital transaction, it’s just one more way we use modern tech to help deliver you with a stress free and FUN experience when selling or buying your next condo. So, if you’re in the midst of listing your property with us or on the hunt for that perfect space but are also craving some warmer weather like we are, not to worry. Grab your smartphone, iPad or laptop and book that trip down south. We’ve got you covered here :)

Have a great weekend everyone! -CC