Today's "Ask the Expert" column features Tom Gonser, the Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of DocuSign.

Q: As the importance of eSignatures continues to grow, what must real estate professionals keep in mind when choosing a product?

A: As DocuSign's founder, I'm familiar with eSignature legal frameworks, especially in real estate as a primary market for us. In the past four years, we've seen big changes in the use of tech with eSignature as the preferred way REALTORS® close transactions. In fact, NAR reported that more than 50 percent of all REALTORS® have used eSignature in the past year. eSignature eliminates printing, faxing, scanning and overnighting to create an easier, faster, more convenient and secure transaction. However, if not careful, agents can put their clients and transactions at risk with the wrong eSignature tool.

As a third party with a significant stake in the integrity of real estate contracts, banks must ensure the validity of contracts funded by their loans. Banks across the country, including Bank of America, have supplied detailed requirements for eSigned documents.

While some eSignature solutions meet the minimum requirements set by the U.S. ESIGN Act, many don't create reliable contracts. Some aren't even compliant with the ESIGN Act.

Contracts must be able to stand for themselves outside of the eSignature solution. To be legally binding and stand up in court, eSignatures should:

1. Ensure signers understand what they're signing. Legally valid consumer consent process as defined by ESIGN requires the consumer agree, and that agreement tells them how to get paper records.
2. Verify signer authentication. The system should verify the signer is who they say they are.
3. Not change documents after the fact. Documents should be tamper evident so that if changes were made AFTER being signed, the document would indicate it.
4. Show who signed and when. Audit trail and certificate showing IP and email address, date/time stamp, and authentication measures used to identify the signer(s) help prove the document's authenticity.

You should also consider:

• Is the product flexible enough to meet your needs?
• Is there an app for iPhones, Androids, iPads?
• Is the product easy to use?
• Does the provider offer the highest levels of security?
• Do the 'terms of use' ensure you and your customers' data will not be sold?
• Does the provider ensure system uptime to provide availability when needed?

Given the increasing importance of eSignatures in real estate transactions, agents would be wise to educate themselves on which solutions provide the greatest security to support their business.

To view the original article, visit RISMedia.

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