How Electronic Application Forms Simplify the Job of Real Estate Agents
Online application process helps to speed up business transactions, thereby helping the organization to reach greater levels of success.
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Paper vs. Digital Data
entry
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document
management
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integral
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successful business or organization including real estate organizations. This process is effectively managed with reliable data entry outsourcing. Organizations that continue using paper files do so because of the many perceived advantages. It is a practical solution that provides business owners the confidence in knowing that they have physical proof of their records. This option also makes the documents accessible to anyone, at any time in the office whenever required. However, as your business continues to grow, in this datadriven world, the stack of papers also grows consuming more space in your office. In addition to that, paper files are difficult to share with others who may be in other locations, time-consuming to organize and at risk of being ruined or lost in the event of an unexpected disaster. The accumulation of paper in the business can thus be quite overwhelming. That is why many organizations are converting their documents including drawings, images into electronic format with the support of document scanning companies and enjoying streamlined business processes. All paper documents can be converted to electronic format using advanced scanners and software. This option offers numerous benefits to your company. These include: •
Preserves your confidential data against damage or destruction
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Saves office space
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Provides easier access to the documents
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Allows quick retrieval of documents from anywhere, at anytime whenever required
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Saves time and cost
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Environment friendly option
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Allows sharing of documents with multiple users simultaneously
A Real Life Example -- Online Platform for Real Estate Forms Processing Real estate is a paper-intensive industry. They have to process a number of important documents such as sale and rental agreements, property management forms, lease applications and invoices. Due to several issues involved in paper-based filing systems, coop boards are now accepting online applications from apartment buyers. Online applications are gaining widespread acceptance as it can speed up the co-op purchase application process. In order to simplify the real estate transaction process, a revolutionary new tool Board Packager was created by Jim Brune, a real estate agent with a brokerage firm Douglas
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Elliman. It is a secure online tool that allows real estate agents and their clients to better control the entire process of assembling a board package for a sale or rental. Real estate agents create an online template for the required documents. Once all the documents are uploaded and approved by the real estate agent, the agent will generate a .PDF package. Real estate agents share the package with a listing agent and/or managing agent or landlord through an online link to a .PDF file. The idea of BoardPackager came to this New York City real estate agent when he faced various challenges during the paper-based application process. He was trying to assemble eight paper copies of a 500-page application package, but everything turned out badly. His two copiers got jammed and broke. He had to deliver this package to the property management on the following day. So he had to rush across the street to Staples to finish copying 4,000 sheets of paper. This cost him hundreds of dollars. This incident made him think that there must be a more efficient way to address these issues. For that purpose, he collaborated with property management companies to understand the process when an application package is received. He surveyed the market of already existing online platforms. But he could not find anything that was all-in-one. At that time he had a feeling that there was an opportunity to create a strong, versatile, secure, and universal platform. So he assembled a dedicated team of partners and they created BoardPackager.
A Trend That Is Picking Up
Proprietary online applications like BoardPackager are being used by many real estate agencies now. The adoption is quickly picking up with more board members becoming aware of the benefits of electronic forms. The beginning may be problematic for many companies but over time the entire process becomes smooth and perfect. FirstService Residential started using its proprietary online application process ten years ago, and now ninety percent of their clients are using the online platform. According to these agencies that use the online application format, advantages include the following. •
Getting rid of huge stacks of paper
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Board members can see in real time the status of the application
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Faster processing
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Ensured security with encryption or password
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No documents to shred or dispose of
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When it comes to simplifying business processes, there is no doubt that electronic transactions are the way to go. That is the reason why data conversion services have a greater demand at present. Moreover, businesses conscious of the environment and the need to protect it will surely adopt document processing methods that are environmentfriendly and more efficient.
www.managedoutsource.com
(800) 670 2809