An Interview with Laura Lafayette, Richmond Association of REALTORS®
By John Peretz, Real Estate Technology Writer
Becoming the CEO of a REALTOR® organization can sometimes take a strange path. It’s not like you’re with a group of friends in grade school, where everyone wants to be a teacher, astronaut, fireman, sports star or President.
Laura Lafayette’s start with the Richmond Association of REALTORS® had a very interesting prequel. Freshly out of college, Ms. Lafayette was working on the political campaign of L. Douglas Wilder, who was attempting to become the first elected black governor of Virginia (and in the nation). During his successful bid for office, Mr. Wilder asked Ms. Lafayette to become his first press secretary as governor and she agreed, at the ripe old age of 23.
Ms. Lafayette eventually left the world of politics, and joined the Richmond Association of REALTORS® in 1993. She worked her way up through the ranks and took the reins as CEO in 2009 after the retirement of 11-year CEO Mr. Ralph Cantrell.
Recently, I had the opportunity to chat with Ms. Lafayette about the technology landscape and the role of technology in an MLS as well as for individual agents
and brokers.
As an MLS, what are some of the things you’re doing from a technology standpoint to help
your members?
“We’re always looking at technology products for our member clients. We want to accomplish three things, primarily. First, we want to select tools that will make our members more efficient in their daily business practices.
“Second, we look for tools that will enable our members to position themselves as market experts.”
“And third, we see our role as separating the wheat from the chafe. There is so much information coming at our members, so many technology-related tools… We want to say to our members, ‘These are the tools that if you utilize them, you can be a far more efficient REALTOR®, you can see cost savings in your daily business practices, and you can deliver exceptional customer service to your clients if you utilize these tools.’” Ms. Lafayette explained.
As an MLS, how do you price technology products to your members?
“Well, as an MLS you want to provide the best suites
of products at a great price,” Ms. Lafayette continued. “And within the MLS, there are really two trains of thought. The first is to identify and then make available the best technology products on an a la carte basis to your members.
“The second approach is to identify the best technology products and then negotiate enterprise pricing and include that as part of their membership. In the case of the Richmond Association of REALTORS®, they chose the latter.”
A few years ago, eSignatures were a luxury, but now it seems like they are a necessity. What’s changed in the market?
“The rise of eSignatures is a client-driven phenomenon. As the client base moves younger, more buyers and sellers are comfortable with executing documents remotely,” Ms. Lafayette said. “This is the future and you have to adapt. It’s not difficult. It’s intuitive and the prompts make it simple.”
How can technology help your members with buyers and sellers?
“Our goal is to help our members articulate their value proposition to their client,” Ms. Lafayette said. “It’s not all about listings and showings. It’s also the ability to navigate their client through a very complex process, and technology can help a lot with that. It’s not about the macro but it’s about the micro. “Home buyers and sellers now have the ability to see their entire transaction online, in one place. Technology makes it a whole lot simpler.”
If you were talking to a new agent, what are some of the things you would tell them from a technology standpoint?
“You can’t chase all of the technology that’s out there. You have to farm, give listing presentations, and do all of the things that make a real estate agent successful,” Ms. Lafayette advised. “Technology is a really important element, but it can’t be all encompassing. Besides, good real estate agents are rarely genetically predisposed to sit behind a desk. There would be too much technology to learn that would take them away from doing the things they need to do to become successful.”
The Richmond Association of REALTORS® provides TransactionDesk™, Instanet Forms™, DocBox™, InstanetFax™ and Authentisign™ as a member-benefit. What would you tell someone about Instanet Solutions?
“Well, I’ve been in this line of work for 18 years. Instanet has been one of the very best technology vendors to do business with. They do what they say without reminding them, they deliver their promises on time, and they look for ways to add even more value to their partnership. They’ve been marvelous to work with.”
The Adoption of eSignatures. The federal ESIGN law was enacted in 2000, but REALTOR® adoption of eSignings was the biggest technology trend in 2011. Much like life before the ATM, SmartPhones and laptops, we may look back at the inconvenience of running all over town for traditional signatures as a thing of the past. Now FHA-approved and ESIGN-compliant, eSignatures will become mainstream. Authentisign reached the 150,000-REALTOR® mark in 2011, thanks in part to enterprise relationships with MLSs and REALTOR® Associations offering it as a member-benefit. And 2012 looks even stronger.
2
The rise of the iPad and other Tablet Devices. Surely one of the most innovative technology products since personal computers and cell phones, iPad sales will most likely surpass the 50 million mark by the end of 2011. More and more agents are using the iPad in their listing presentations and using them while showing homes. Instanet was the very first forms company to come out with online forms that work on the iPad and other tablet devices.
3
QR Codes. There's a lot of talk about QR Codes, and more and more real estate offices are including them on business cards, print ads and yard signs, but the adoption by home buyers is still very low. Unlike Asia and Europe where QR codes are popular, North Americans have been slow to adapt to this new technology. New product launches in 2012 using QR codes to automate the forms, document management and electronic signing process are coming.
4
Language Diversity. If all real estate is local, shouldn't real estate software reflect the language preferences? Real estate services companies have been slow to adopt language-specific software to their business. But if you're selling in a predominantly Hispanic area, wouldn't it be nice to have software options for Spanish? Instanet Forms rolled out fully translated Spanish and French software in late 2011 that is now available to its subscribers.
5
The Bundling of Real Estate Technology Services as a Member-Benefit. Bringing members improved technology tools as a bundled member-benefit not only puts high-value services in the hands of members, but it also allows Associations & MLSs to offer more services for less.
6
Covering the Audit Trail Through Technology. As real estate technology improves, so should the ability to "red flag" missing items at the end of a real estate transaction. Powerful Broker Document Verification & Compliance Tools help to identify the missing parts that could prove troublesome in the event of a real estate audit. The use of Broker Compliance Tools integrated with their forms and document management system has increased substantially in 2011.
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Seamless Integration Between Technology Tools is Improving. Yes, there are a lot of individual technology tools that improve productivity. The challenge in 2011 was to seamlessly integrate these items in a way that saved the user time. One area within online forms was repetitively placing eSigning blocks each time a new transaction was ready to be signed. In 2011, Instanet completely "templatized" all of the real estate forms making the agent's job easier by just assigning buyers and sellers names once to all of the appropriate pre-positioned blocks.
As we start a new year in 2012, many of these trends will continue, and there will be certainly new ones to watch. We'll keep you posted on the latest real estate trends.
If you've been in real estate for any length of time, you know the dreaded call "Can you send me the document right away," usually when you're headed out of town or aren't anywhere near the office. Well, if you had DocBox2Go, you could pull over, find and send that archived document in just a matter of minutes.
DocBox, from technology leader Instanet Solutions, is a remarkable archiving system that stores your most important real estate documents in the cloud. It's particularly effective for archiving real estate records by transaction, or date and can be easily retrieved in a matter of moments.
DocBox2Go is free for all users of DocBox. And it's really easy to use because there's no apps or downloads to install. Just access www.DocBox2Go.com from your Smartphone and you're ready to go to work.
DocBox2Go works with all the latest Smartphones, including iPhone, Android-based devices, Blackberrys and more. All you need is Internet access in a coverage area, which is expanding all the time.
Just because you're on the move, doesn't mean your business has to stop moving forward. It's like having all of your office files in your purse or pocket.
To use DocBox2Go, you simply need to have a DocBox or TransactionDesk account from Instanet Solutions.
Never lose another deal because you're away from the office or on vacation. With DocBox2Go, you'll have immediate access to your most important documents and records.
Transaction Management in a real estate office should be a top priority on several fronts. That's because transaction management is at the forefront of almost all misunderstandings and litigation. And it's why having a top-notch transaction management system in place is paramount.
Instanet Solutions, a leading real estate technology company, has one of the very best transaction management platforms available. The Company calls the service TransactionDesk.
With TransactionDesk, your transaction management tasks just got a whole lot easier. There are many robust features, including:
Reporting and File Management
View and access all the listing, sales and lease files in your office.
File Review Compliance Manager
You can define what documents you require for each transaction type. Brokerage staff can quickly and easily review files online, from any computer with web access.
Includes FREE "cloud storage" with DocBox and DocBox2Go
Access and manage your files from any computer with Internet access, 24/7. DocBox2Go includes Smartphone access. Don't wreck another vacation by not having the documents you need. Now you can have complete access to ALL your files, no matter where you are, as long as you can get on the Internet.
Task Management
A virtual checklist lets you manage all your transaction-related tasks and to-dos.
Custom Client Portal
Give your clients the ability to review files online, with their own online access. You control the setting of what you allow them to see.
Personal Branding
All emails, faxes and documents can be set up to include your logo, photo and personal branding.
This transaction management process is true 21st century, best of breed technology for your real estate practice. If you're ever audited, make sure you have all your ducks in a row, and all the necessary paperwork completed properly, archived, and easily available for review.
For more information, go to InstanetSolutions.com/TransactionDesk or call 800-668-8768.
The Future of real estate eSigning is Here
You know the story, you need to get real estate documents signed and distributed, but first you have to coordinate everyone's schedule and run all over town. But not anymore, with esigning from Authentisign. With simple "drag and drop" signing box technology, you can add esigning to just about any document, and then email or fax to get the job done.
Authentisign is FHA-approved and ESIGN compliant
Authentisign's esigning technology is the way of the future and it's available now. And its completely FHA-approved and ESIGN compliant. Once you start to use it, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. This is game-changing technology. Your clients want the ease and simplicity of esigning. And it's a real schedule time saver. No one wants to have to rearrange their schedule to sign documents. Do it the easy way with Authentisign.
Fast and Simple - Any Real Estate Professional Can Do It!
Simple always makes for the best real estate technologies. Authentisign uses fast and easy "drag and drop" technology for individual e-signature blocks and "add initials" for multiple pages of sale contracts and listing forms. Authentisign provides the real estate technology solution to prepare any online document for secure online signing.
Low Cost for Unlimited Usage
In keeping with the simple approach, Instanet Solutions offers Authentisign with unlimited usage for one low cost annual (or monthly) subscription. There are no page counts or limits on the number of online esignings that an account holder can create. Additionally, Instanet Solutions offers free real estate training services for Authentisign as well as their other online real estate technology tools. Other companies have charged a "per use" cost that gets expensive fast.
One Platform Technology
Authentisign works well by itself, or as part of the suite of services offered under the One Platform technology from Instanet Solutions.
There is a saying that "actions speak louder than words." Bring your real estate practice into the 21st century with Authentisign. Like ATM machines, cell phones and laptop computers, you'll wonder how you ever got along without this technology. So stop running all over town to get signatures. For more information, click here.
If your real estate practice is still using the same old faxing solution, there's something you should know. Faxing has evolved, and the latest version of InstanetFax brings some of the best real estate technology features to faxing.
Those that say faxing is dead haven't been in a bustling real estate office lately. Title companies, loan brokers, escrow offices and attorneys all use faxing on a regular basis.
But what if you could change HOW you fax? That's the new evolution of faxing and it starts with InstanetFax.
The InstanetFax service has five different faxing services all bundled into one for one ridiculously low cost.
Email to Fax:
That's right. Now you can use your own email and send it to regular fax machine. InstanetFax includes the technology to compose an email message and send to a traditional fax machine. All you have to do is compose an email message, type the recipient’s fax number in the subject line, attach any document (like a pdf or doc) and click send. How's that for convenience. You don't even need a fax machine in your home office anymore.
Fax to an Email:
Do you ever have paper contract pages and a fax machine, but really need to send your client, another agent, or service provider the fax but they don't have immediate access to a fax machine? Mostly everyone, though, has access to email. With InstanetFax, you can use a traditional fax machine to email message the contents of the fax. InstanetFax will covert a paper fax into a PDF document then deliver that PDF document to any email address. Here’s another valuable tip: create an InstanetFax cover for your own email account and use the same InstanetFax cover sheet time and again to email docs to yourself.
Inbound Faxing is another feature of InstanetFax. You can have your own personal fax number or even include toll-free fax-back cover sheets. You receive inbound faxes online, can store them, and you get an email notification with the received fax attached as a PDF. You can create very specific fax-back cover sheets when receiving specific documents or use a generic cover sheet to first receive, review then re-name and save received fax documents online for the required state retention periods.
Outbound Faxing is super easy when combined with DocBox. You don't need to be within a thousand miles of a fax machine to send an outbound fax. With Internet access, deliver documents as outbound faxes to a recipient’s fax machine. And with DocBox2Go, you'll have additional mobile access for online document faxing since you can do it from your Smartphone. With DocBox, any saved digital document can be faxed outbound.
Use the DocBox Print Driver to virtually ‘Print’ any document to fax, email or account upload. Install the DocBox Driver along with the other Printers on your desktop, laptop, office workstation or on all of your computers. You can then fax or email that document to anyone, anytime, as long as you have an Internet connection.
So there you have it -- the evolution of faxing. It can be a huge advantage to your real estate office in terms of convenience, accessibility and ease-of-use. You don't have to have access to a fax machine to fax -- how cool is that?
If you're a real estate broker or agent looking for the best technology tools, you can find them under one platform. Instanet Solutions actually has six of the best real estate technology tools to help you with your real estate practice. And learning to use the new technology is made a lot easier with their unique one interface approach that contains one, or all six of the best real estate technology tools. Here is summary of the best real estate technology tools:
TransactionDesk
If you bring all of the elements of a transaction or sales folder together online, what do you get? You get one of the best real estate technology tools on the market today. With TransactionDesk, you can manage all of your listings, sales and lease files online. It's the complete online transaction management solution. Feel free to replace those old manila folders filled with paper pages with online transaction files filled with digital forms and documents. TransactionDesk has a complete and robust file history, and visibility from virtually any Internet-enabled device. TransactionDesk also includes task, contact and calendar management features.
Instanet Forms
The first real estate forms service available for your iPad or other tablet device, Instanet Forms is a complete online and editable forms product. Use form fields with no restrictions. Instanet Forms also has easy copy and paste functionality, and a clause library for easy access to standard provisions and contract language. Instanet Forms are printable, emailable and faxable. You can even be notified, when forms are accessed and signed. What's more, Instanet Forms are also available for esigning via our ESIGN service, Authentisign.
Authentisign
Now you don't have to run all over town getting signatures and arranging everyone's busy schedules. Authentisign's eSignature technology is ESIGN-compliant and FHA-approved. Use easy drag and drop signing blocks. Authentisign's digital signatures trump ink signatures from a convenience and efficiency standpoint. Plus, Authentisign is incredibly affordable, and can be accessed on an unlimited basis for one low yearly subscription price. Adding esignatures is one of the smartest things you can do for your real estate practice.
DocBox
More than just unlimited online storage, DocBox is document management. Access your most important documents from any Internet connection, 24/7 from anywhere in the world. Meet local and state file retention requirements, and save on paper and traditional storage costs. Plus, you get a very unique printer driver which lets you print documents, web pages, and virtually anything from your PC directly to any fax in the continental United States or Canada. The printer driver also has a built-in PDF maker and integrated email feature so you can easily convert and protect documents before emailing them to your clients.
DocBox2Go
Now harness the incredible power of DocBox from any Internet-enabled Smartphone. DocBox2Go is one of the best real estate technology tools because you don't even have to lug around your laptop or paper files. Go on vacation with just your suitcase and your Smartphone!
InstanetFax
Four distinct faxing services are included with InstanetFax. They include outbound electronic faxing, direct receipt of inbound faxes, fax to an email and email to fax. Choose from unlimited toll-free cover sheet faxing or unlimited faxing with a personalized fax number. Receive and store faxes online and receive email notifications when you receive new faxes.
So there you have it, six of the best real estate technology tools. You can choose the technology tools that best fit your business. Get everything you want, and nothing you don't. But together they represent one of the most powerful suites of the best real estate technology tools. Please visit www.InstanetSolutions.com or call 800-668-8768 today.
As a real estate professional, do you find that the busiest time for buying and selling is when you are trying to take a vacation or are simply away from the office? How many times have you been on the way out of town or at a personal event only to get a call from a client, cooperating agent, lender or closing officer requesting a document? When your files and documents are stored in the cloud with DocBox™, it can be easy to find and forward any documents they need. You can even leave the laptop at home and access your files from your Smartphone with DocBox2Go™.
Here are the top 5 reasons to move your files to online storage with DocBox and DocBox2Go:
Accessibility
You can have 24/7/365 access to your most important documents through any Internet-enabled device. You can use a computer, SmartPhone or even your iPad or other notebook device.
Flexibility
With DocBox, you have delivery options of email, fax and e-signing. DocBox supports multiple document formats including PDFs, Word documents, spreadsheets, image files and even photos.
Sharing/Participating
Offer access to your online transaction file content to clients, cooperating agents, lenders, title attorneys or anyone else that want to grant access to your file details. This saves you time, energy and cell phone minutes.
Longevity
There's a saying that the internet is forever. In this case, that’s a good thing. Documents stored online are retained and available in the same place year after year after year. No more back up files or searching "deep storage." Simply login, do a keyword search and the file from five years ago is recalled immediately. You can view your transaction history, actions taken, time and date stamps as well as who and what actions took place.
Differentiation
Lots of real estate people talk about it, but only the most professional do something about it. Now you can deliver the online access and support that clients and customers want. Even when you're not available, your online content is. You can even add branding to your account with personal photos and company logos to differentiate and distinguish yourself on all communication.
It is time to put the power of DocBox and DocBox2Go in the palm of your hand. The internet and cloud computing has changed the dynamics of filling out forms, getting signatures and retaining required documents.
So go ahead, plan that vacation knowing that you can access, review, deliver and manage the sale process all online and remotely with DocBox. To The Cloud!
DocBox is one of the most powerful technology tools an office, broker or agent can have. To learn more, visit www.InstanetSolutions.com or call 1-800-668-8768.
Did you know that you can now access all of your real estate forms and contracts directly from your iPad or other popular tablet devices such as the Xoom, PlayBook or any other Android-based tablet device?
Instanet Solutions announced the availability of a zero-footprint version of Instanet Forms™.
“As more real estate professionals migrate to tablet technologies, we saw the need to empower our users to be able to work with their forms and contracts using tablet devices,” stated Martin Scrocchi, President and CEO of Instanet Solutions. “Instanet Forms was originally released in 1998 and was the first web-based contract and forms management service, and is now the first service of its kind to enable users to be truly mobile when it comes to managing their forms.”
The zero-footprint version of Instanet Forms is available to all existing Instanet Forms and TransactionDesk™ users at no additional cost. Users simply login to their existing TransactionDesk or Instanet Forms account through their tablet browser and they will automatically be able to access the new version.
Now there's a big trend in real estate that occurring. It's office and agents that are going paperless. In addition to helping to save the environment, offices and agents can save real money, too.
Instanet Solutions has come up with an innovative Paperless Savings Calculator which shows just how much a real estate office can save. And it's really easy to use.
Users can simply put in their average transaction sides and the approximate number of pages per transaction (rough estimates are fine).
The calculator guides you through estimated printing, storage, staff time and other costs such as express mailing, paper shredding, etc.
When you're finished, you'll be able to see the total estimated amount of money you'll save in a year by going paperless, or at least reducing the amount of paper that travels through your office.
The reality is that most people don't want to print, file and store lots of paper files, and real estate transactions are known for sheer size of the paper trail.
Instead of all that paper, Instanet Solutions has a complete paperless solution that keeps documents electronic, and allows you to print things out if and when you need to. It's an electronic storage solution, DocBox™, allows you to store your most important documents "in the cloud" and retrieve them anywhere, anytime from any computer or Smartphone with Internet access.
Instanet Solutions also offers Authentisign™, a complete eSigning solution that is FHA-approved and ESIGN compliant, so in addition to paper, you can save money on gas and time trying to run all over town and coordinate schedules to get important documents signed.
So go paperless with Instanet Solutions. You'll not only be helping to save the planet, but you'll save money and your sanity as well.
Free
Becoming the CEO of a REALTOR® organization can sometimes take a strange path. It’s not like you’re with a group of friends in grade school, where everyone wants to be a teacher, astronaut, fireman, sports star or President.
As an MLS, how do you price technology products to your members?
If you've been in real estate for any length of time, you know the dreaded call "Can you send me the document right away," usually when you're headed out of town or aren't anywhere near the office. Well, if you had DocBox2Go, you could pull over, find and send that archived document in just a matter of minutes.
Transaction Management in a real estate office should be a top priority on several fronts. That's because transaction management is at the forefront of almost all misunderstandings and litigation. And it's why having a top-notch transaction management system in place is paramount. 
The Future of real estate eSigning is Here
If your real estate practice is still using the same old faxing solution, there's something you should know. Faxing has evolved, and the latest version of InstanetFax brings some of the best real estate technology features to faxing.
If you're a real estate broker or agent looking for the best technology tools, you can find them under one platform. Instanet Solutions actually has six of the best real estate technology tools to help you with your real estate practice. And learning to use the new technology is made a lot easier with their unique one interface approach that contains one, or all six of the best real estate technology tools. Here is summary of the best real estate technology tools:
As a real estate professional, do you find that the busiest time for buying and selling is when you are trying to take a vacation or are simply away from the office? How many times have you been on the way out of town or at a personal event only to get a call from a client, cooperating agent, lender or closing officer requesting a document? When your files and documents are stored in the cloud with DocBox™, it can be easy to find and forward any documents they need. You can even leave the laptop at home and access your files from your Smartphone with DocBox2Go™. 
Did you know that you can now access all of your real estate forms and contracts directly from your iPad or other popular tablet devices such as the Xoom, PlayBook or any other Android-based tablet device?
Now there's a big trend in real estate that occurring. It's office and agents that are going paperless. In addition to helping to save the environment, offices and agents can save real money, too.