As a realtor or real estate agency representative, you’re dealing with lots of sensitive client data. Whether you’re interacting with buyers or sellers, there are specific regulatory requirements for the maintenance of an archive and the handling of industry estate document management system.
A 2018 National Association of Realtors report suggests that only 55 percent of firms use document preparation or management software. The figure is higher for residential firms (58 percent) but only 39 percent of commercial real estate firms rely on such technology customer service.
The figure is much lower than the adoption of other digital technologies like e-signatures (79 percent of real estate agencies) and comparative market analysis software (81 percent of agencies) who are using paper files which are very time consuming.
Only 18 percent of realtors currently rank document management solutions as the most valuable technology utilized by their firm. Going digital, however, can reduce the paper clutter significantly and also ensure regulatory compliance starts the real estate transaction with electronic signatures on electronic documents in the real estate firms.
According to 48 percent of real estate agencies, keeping up with new technologies is one of the biggest challenges they’ll have to overcome in the future. As far as digital document management goes, however, a couple of simple practices can ensure optimal outcomes with filing cabinets.
If your agency is considering the adoption of a real estate document management solution, here are some of the best practices that will enable optimal use of the technology of document management solutions.
Minimizing the Use of Paper-Based Data
Most compliance and privacy issues in the world of real estate transactions stem from the use of paper-based documents. The traditional realtor folder is easily accessible and someone could glance at sensitive information whenever a professional is too tired or just a little bit careless estate document management software.
Reducing the use of paper-based information is one of the best ways to ensure compliance and guarantee data privacy.
Sensitive documents should either be covered or redacted when being presented to clients or potential partners. The physical data should also be stored correctly so that unauthorized staff and other individuals don’t have access to it.
While getting rid of all paper-based documents is impossible right from the start, the use of such records can be reduced extensively.
Real estate document management solutions make it much easier to prevent unauthorized access. For a start, documents can be encrypted and password-protected. In addition, it would be up to the administrator to allocate access permits. Certain sensitive documents will only be visible to a select small group of people, eliminating the risk of violations and data leaks altogether.
The best aspect of cloud-based document management solutions is that the information will be accessible from any location with internet access. Thus, a realtor will find it very easy to show relevant records to clients on the go, without compromising the integrity of the entire archive.
Classification and Structure – Biggest Document Management Essentials
Real estate document management solutions are functional and user-friendly. In order to make the most of such a system and ensure regulatory compliance, however, you’ll need to come up with a classification system and the right structure for the archive.
Different types of documents have to be maintained in an archive for a specified amount of time. Proper tagging and the assignment of the right attributes will allow the system to maintain a comprehensive archive and delete the documents that have become obsolete real estate business.
Most real estate agencies organize their digital archives by type of document – agent agreements, purchase agreements, seller disclosures, home inspection and appraisal reports, amendments, lease agreements, insurance policies, etc. Once the structure of the archive is created, each document will have to be equipped with the right attributes for effortless retrieval during a search real estate industry.
Real estate document management systems have extensive capabilities but the quality of the input still matters. This is why the agency should consider a systemic approach towards document uploading and entry into the system. If everyone relies on the same methodology, the archive will become much more usable.
Permits, Encryption, Backups and Other Security Features
The next important decision involves the types of permits and levels of access to be granted in the system with mobile app which save time.
Each file category should come with the respective permit level. Who will get to see the information? Will they have the right to edit and delete the files? Will they have the authority to make new contributions to the respective folder. After the document classification system is determined, assigning permits will be the second most important decisions.
Contemporary real estate document management solutions create automatic backups over a specific time frame to ensure disaster recovery. If your archive changes rapidly, however, you may want to consider more frequent backup scheduling.
It’s also up to you to enable or disable additional security features like encryption and the creation of detailed logs about each document. Such information will often help you trace issues and undertake the right measures to recover lost, stolen or damaged documents or property managers with management filing.
Finally, understand the fact that real estate document management systems are not created equal. Some have more extensive capabilities than others. Take your time to examine multiple options and compare them side by side. Having a good idea about what the market has to offer and the specifics of different solutions will allow an informed decision you’ll be happy with commercial real estate.