Learn how to organize your real estate documents.

As you know, real estate agents get buried in documents. Starting with a listing agreement or a buyer’s agent agreement and  all the transaction documents through closing.

Keeping all these documents organized, safe, secure, and available takes time.

The Most Important Real Estate Documents to Organize

Your most important documents include: 

 

Agency Agreements

 

Your working relationship with sellers and buyers revolves around the agency agreements with them. They include what commissions you earn, your responsibilities, their expectations, and what the licensing laws require of you.

Thus, keeping these documents on hand in case you need to refer to them becomes essential.

 

Purchase Agreements

 

You already know that a Purchase and Sales Agreement is a legally binding contract. The seller agrees to a specific price in lieu of transferring the title to the property in a certain condition to the buyer.

Besides, specific timelines for the completion of the transaction exist. Also, certain conditions determine whether the transaction concludes.

Amendments to Agreements

Contingency agreements like the buyer obtaining financing and seller maintaining the ability and right to sell also determine the success of the transaction.

However, other riders and addenda may come up later due to problems with the contingencies. They lead to more negotiations resolved with more conditions and deadlines for them.

Seller Disclosures

By law, sellers must provide buyers with certain disclosures about the condition of the property and environmental issues with the vicinity.

Home Inspection Report

A professional inspection of the home required by the all-cash buyer directly or his or her mortgage lender must occur before the closing.

The home inspection report may discover problems with the condition of the home. Such as termite infestation, mold, and defective structural conditions.

Such discoveries lead to more negotiations and further written agreements.

Title Insurance Policy

Title insurance protects the buyer and the lenders from problems affecting title to the property.

Seller Financing Agreements 

Aside from a straight forward all cash or a mortgage loan enabling the buyer to complete the purchase, alternative methods for completing a sale exist.

Seller financing (in whole or partial) creates more documents to complete the sale.

For instance, a lease with the option to purchase at a later date requires monthly payments which partially pay for the sales price. More documentation to finalize the purchase at a later time.

 

How to Efficiently Organize Real Estate Documents

 

Follow these tips to organize all the real estate documents:

 

1. Digitally and Physically Store the Documents

Many of the above-mentioned documents begin with a physical original and copies. For example, the original purchase and sales agreement hand signed by the seller and buyer.

Nowadays, it’s important to keep a digital copy of all the documents. Digital copies are now easier to store and accessible from anywhere at any time. Sharing and managing digital documents stored in a cloud becomes much easier.

In case of poor internet connection, it’s valuable to print the digital files so a paper copy remains available to view.         

 

2. Managing Permissions

Storing files on a cloud-based app allows you to give and manage access permissions and sharing the files with authorized persons needing to view them. Learn how to manage the shared settings almost becomes an art in itself. Yet, very important for your efficiency and security. 

For example, the signed purchase and sales agreement needs accessibility to the seller, the buyer, their agents, the lender, and escrow officer, amongst others. However, other documents require limited access to fewer people not related to that aspect of the transaction.

Yet, some documents need additional digital signatures from specific parties. Or, the other players in the same transaction don’t need access to the document. Especially, when authorized viewers can change the document’s content. 

 

3. Maintain Multiple Backups

Backing up your files becomes essential in the digital world. Vulnerabilities always exist no matter what method you choose for storing documents. Using a safety deposit box or a safe in your house or office, or an online cloud storage platform all become vulnerable. Therefore, gaining access to multiple copies of important transaction documents ensures you attain them in case of an emergency. 

 

4. Labeling and Organizing Your Folders

Finally, you must create an organizational system allowing you to quickly find the files. Whether you store them in a filing cabinet or online, you must create a folder for all related documents for each transaction.

Once you systematically organize your files, you’ll feel secure about the accessibility and integrity of your documents. Sure, it takes time to set up and organize an efficient system. In addition, to maintaining that system. However, it’s worth it to become organized.

Conclusion

Learning how to organize your real estate documents requires dealing with a lot of important documents like:

  • Agency Agreements;
  • Purchase Agreements;
  • Amendments to Agreements;
  • Seller Disclosures;
  • Home Inspection Reports;
  • Title Insurance Policies; and
  • Seller Financing Agreements.

Let’s face it. Not everyone easily organizes and manages transaction documents.

Lose or misplace one and the whole transaction falls apart.

As you read above, organizing real estate documents requires:

  • Storing the Documents physically and digitally;
  • Managing Permissions;
  • Maintaining Multiple Backups; and
  • Labeling and Organizing Folders.

A Better Alternative Exists

 

Forget about all these hassles.

Hire a Transaction Coordinator (TC) to take all these hassles off your hands. Instead, focus on what you do best. Prospecting, listing, negotiating, and making sales.

Contact Us to learn about how we save you time to focus on making sales while we handle all the transaction documents and coordinate the successful closing with the escrow officer.

Transaction Monster takes the hassle out of transactions so you collect your commissions easier.

Steven Rich, MBA – Guest Blogger

HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?

Contact us here: www.TransactionMonster.com/contact

Let us know, we love to help!

Transaction Monster – Real Estate Transaction Coordinating Company