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New tech likely to find favour with agents

By Tim Neary
29 November 2016 | 10 minute read
laptop technology potential

Likely to get a strong thumbs-up from all real estate agents, a new digital signature technology is enabling real estate contracts to be signed and exchanged online within minutes – no paperwork and no driving between solicitors.

Digital signatures are legally valid and have been used for many years to sign documents in all types of industries, but it is relatively new for real estate contracts to be signed electronically.

And by now introducing this as standard practice, lawlab, one of Australia’s largest national residential conveyancing providers, is making the contract exchange process easier and more convenient for both buyers and sellers.

Lawlab calls it “the final barrier” in offering a streamlined online real estate service. 

Lawlab partners with real estate groups, finance aggregators and brokers to deliver its conveyancing services through the secure online collaboration platform, Rundl. 

In February this year, Rundl and DocuSign announced a partnership to bring the contract signing and exchange process completely online.

Managing director of lawlab Ian Perkins said the firm has delivered more than 25,000 transactions over the past four years.

“But what was preventing us from fully streamlining the service was the acceptance of digital signatures – we have been waiting for the industry to catch up,” he said.

“Now we are starting to see more industry players accept this technology.”

The initiative has been well accepted by the industry so far.

Tifanie Milton, a recent home seller from Queensland said signing the contract was so much easier using the online platform.

“I was waiting in the lounge to board a flight when I got a message that my sale contract terms had been agreed and the contract was ready to sign.
Within minutes, I received a link to the contract by email and was able to sign it digitally using DocuSign on my laptop. The contract was automatically forwarded to the buyer for them to countersign digitally and on getting off the plane I was informed the contract had been exchanged.”

Shannan Whitney, director at BresicWhitney, also endorsed the service.

“BresicWhitney continue to focus on improving the real estate experience and streamlining the conveyancing process is a natural extension of this,” he said.

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