If you’ve never heard of electronic signatures, the concept is simple: instead of physically signing documents, you sign a document electronically by typing your name, clicking with your mouse, or a variety of other methods. Electronic signatures come in many forms, and you’ve likely already used them without even thinking about it. If you’ve ever faxed a contract or attached one to an email, you’re already using electronic signatures.

The question is whether the time has come to make the switch completely by using companies such as Docusign (the only company I’ve personally used) to remove pen and paper from the process entirely. In terms of ease of use, there’s no comparison. If you’ve ever found yourself printing a document just to sign it and then scan it right back into your computer, then you can see the advantages of electronic signatures. Adding insult to injury, if you keep electronic records you’ve now got nothing to do with that paper but shred it and put it in the recycling bin, hopefully destined for a more noble purpose next time.

In California, the Association of Realtors offers it members Winform Online, which lets us draft contracts right online. It’s integrated with Docusign, so you can create a contract and prep it for signing without printing anything at all. Your clients are notified by email to sign, and you get an email as soon as they have. I’ve had contracts and extensions signed and returned by out of town clients in less than 10 minutes. As an added bonus, they can’t accidentally miss any spots to sign, since the program highlights each area and checks for completion.

So what’s the downside? While for starters, it’s not free. Pricing on Docusign’s website starts at $15.95 per month. For part time agents or those with low volume, the convenience might not be worth sacrificing the four lattes a month you could be enjoying instead.

The biggest drawback I’ve found, though, is that not all brokerages and companies will accept electronic signatures.  In fact my most recent transaction involved Cartus, a large relocation company, and they would not accept them. I try to always check beforehand so I don’t look foolish in front of a client, but sometimes a third party will send us back to the starting line. I’ve also reviewed the legal resources available on the California Association of Realtor’s website, and there are some specific documents where electronic signatures are not allowed. I was hoping for a simple “yes, electronic signatures are legal and effective all of the time”, but at the moment it’s not that black and white.

In short, if your brokerage is not already currently using electronic signatures, you should certainly discuss it with your manager before making the leap on your own.  If they are using electronic signatures, you should definitely take the time to learn more about it and give it serious consideration; I’ve found them to be a huge timesaver and well worth the cost.  And of course, saving a few trees doesn’t feel too bad either.