Quick Recap – Ken Moyle’s “Legality of Electronic Signatures and Real Estate.”

At the Caifornia Association of Realtors EXPO’s Tech Tuesday, Ken Moyle, DocuSign’s Chief Legal Officer gave a talk: “Legality of Electronic Signatures and Real Estate”. This well-attended session covered quite a bit of information with answers to many questions from the audience.

DocuSign ESignature Fall Release Highlights

Want to know the scoop on this Fall’s release and the latest about electronic signature from Tom Gonser, the VP of Product Strategy? On October 6th, DocuSign’s Fall Release will be available. With several powerful new features, the latest innovation in electronic signature will allow our customers to do more than ever with DocuSign.

Electronic Signatures, Real Estate, Pennsylvania Association of Realtors… What’s Really Going on?

Since DocuSign began participating in online conversations about electronic signatures and online contract execution, we’ve noticed that misperceptions exist regarding whether or not various groups approved the use of digital signature and electronic contracts or records. We recently published a piece discussing FHA and lender acceptance of electronic signature, and the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors clarified its position on electronic signature.

FHA & Lender Acceptance

Background: Nine years ago, the federal ESIGN Act passed through the legislative process to become national law. However, some federal and state agencies have been slow to adopt rules and guidelines consistent with ESIGN’s intent to remove barriers to e-commerce. Among these is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). What was the result?

NAR Selects DocuSign as Official and Exclusive Provider of eSignature Services under NAR’s REALTOR Benefits® Program

To set the stage, DocuSign has more than 18,000 Real Estate subscribers who use DocuSign electronic signature every day to close deals faster and make it more convenient for their customers to sign by avoiding faxes and other paper messes. Thank you to the many customers who have come by the booth at the REALTORS® Conference and Expo.

These first five moments of the “Top 10 Real Estate and Electronic Signature Moments in 2009″ demonstrate DocuSign’s leadership in – come back tomorrow for the final five real estate and electronic signature moments.

Don’t forget that this is the last week to take advantage of the “ESIGN Advantage Promotion for REALTORS®,” available to all NAR members.

• We kicked off October with our Fall Release, bringing additional powerful functionality to DocuSign’s electronic signature services. Key features include Designed for Mobile, Sign on Paper (Mixed Mode Signing), Request Documents, Fix on the Fly, Resizable Electronic Signatures and more
• Stories about fast tracking sales, increasing access to working capital, or cutting costs and accelerating workflow with DocuSign for Salesforce
• Time Saving Tips to help you take advantage of workflow rules and Advanced features and tips on how to integrate DocuSign with your forms creation software – zipForms, WINForms, Adobe and others
• A presentation by Ken Moyle, DocuSign’s Chief Legal Officer, about the Legality of Electronic Signatures in Real Estate. Ken gave this presentation at the California Association of Realtors EXPO (CAR EXPO) to share some key information
• DocuSign Lite, a free electronic signature service that lets you try the power of electronic signature without account creation or a credit card

Next month, we have more up our sleeves – you’ll have to check in with us in-person at NAR EXPO, RE BarCamp San Diego, or Dreamforce. Otherwise, you can always check in with us via this blog, Twitter, or Facebook!

Last week, Coachella Valley Escrow’s weekly Tech Tuesday post featured a video discussing DocuSign and electronic signature. Did you know that DocuSign is compatible with zipForms, WINForms, TrueForms, Realfast, DocCentral and Transaction Point? If you want to learn more about using DocuSign with your current forms creation software, take a look at this How-To.

In addition to the video interview conducted at the CAR 2009 Conference & EXPO earlier this month in San Jose, Coachella Valley Escrow also highlighted some of our more popular blog posts, including: “The Legality of Electronic Signatures”, “Why DocuSign Electronic Signature Might be a Realtor’s Best Friend”, and “The DocuSign ESIGNControl App by Smart Mobile Solutions”.

Want to Learn More about DocuSign Electronic Signature?

Other popular posts from the DocuSign blog include:

Want Free Electronic Signature? Try DocuSign Lite: With DocuSign lite, you can get a document eSigned with no paper, no account and no cost. You can also try the Mozilla Firefox plugin, LOOP to PDF tool, or iGoogle Gadget.

FHA and Lender Acceptance: With background information about the federal ESIGN Act, HUD and FHA policy, and frequently asked questions (FAQ’s) about electronic signatures in real estate transactions, this post is a valuable resource for those who have questions about electronic signatures, the FHA and lender acceptance.

How-To ESIGN: In-Person Signing with DocuSign: If you want to leverage the power of DocuSign electronic signature and preserve the face-to-face interaction with your clients, you can use DocuSign’s in-person signing feature. This means you can keep all of your files DocuSigned and consistent! You no longer have to keep track of paper copies, and your clients can download their signed, easy-to-read copy.

If you missed meeting us at CAR EXPO in San Jose, the DocuSign team will be at REBar Camp San Diego November 12, 2009 and NAR EXPO in San Diego November 13-16, 2009. Stop by and say hi!

The Legality of Electronic Signature for Real Estate

We started the event off with a session at Tech Tuesday, with a presentation by Ken Moyle. With a discussion on the Legality of eSignatures in real estate, over 70 attendees were able to voice their questions about electronic signature. Ken captivated an audience of over 70 attendees in the one-hour session, which was especially important and relevant in today’s real estate market. With a special guest in attendance, Ken’s mom, we also captured a picture for posterity! Click for more information about Ken’s talk, “The Legality of Electronic Signature for Real Estate.”

EXPO: Discussing Electronic Signature

We also had a number of interested real estate professionals stop by to ask us questions about DocuSign, electronic signature and discuss their questions and concerns. We also ran a special $500 Visa Gift Card promotion for those who stopped by and left us their contact information.

We’re pleased to announce the winner – congratulations to Geri Murphy of J. Rockcliff Realtors!

Of course, we can’t forget about our great customers who stopped by the booth to tell us how much they love DocuSign! We got some great pictures, available by clicking the link, as well as some video. Check back soon, as we’ll let you know when they’re posted to the DocuSign YouTube channel!

Next month, DocuSign will be at the National Association of Realtors EXPO, or NAR EXPO, in San Diego from November 13 -16, 2009. We’ll also be at RE BarCamp San Diego November 12, 2009. Keep an eye out for more details, and let us know if you’ll be going too!

DocuSign Fall Product Release 9

Earlier this week, Tom Gonser, Founder and VP of Product Strategy, shared some exciting new electronic signature features developed by DocuSign. These features were built based on customer feedback, so don’t be shy about telling us how we can improve DocuSign! A “designed for mobile” experience, fax capability, and resizable electronic signature are only a few of the new features Tom discussed. For more information, read “DocuSign ESignature Fall Release Highlights” from Tom Gonser.

DocuSign iPhone App Launch – ESIGNControl

ESIGNControl, a new iPhone application from Smart Mobile Solutions is now available from the iTunes store. This app enable you to use your iPhone to track, view and control documents sent for electronic signature. Smart Mobile Solutions specializes in mobile application development and created ESIGNControl with DocuSign’s software development kit in conjunction with participation in the DocuSign DevCenter. To learn more, read “Smart Mobile Solutions Launches New iPhone App for DocuSign.”

California Association of REALTORS® EXPO 2009

This week, Ken Moyle, Dave Thorpe, Suzanne Alberti, Jim Custer and I attended the California Association of REALTORS EXPO, or CAR EXPO. Ken Moyle, DocuSign’s Chief Legal Officer and Public Policy Chair of the Electronic Signatures and Records Association (ESRA), gave a well recieved talk: “Legality of Electronic Signatures in Real Estate.” More details can be found by reading the quick recap of Ken Moyle’s Tech Tuesday Talk.

Did you miss us at CAR EXPO? Keep an eye on our blog for more from CAR EXPO – we’ll add video testimonials, pictures and more shortly!

DocuSign on YouTube

This week, we’ve launched our own YouTube channel, to be a centralized resource for “How-To” videos, clips about electronic signature and videos about how electronic signature has impacted business. Visit and subscribe to the DocuSign YouTube channel here.

We hope your week has been as busy and productive as ours. With DocuSign electronic signature, you can save time AND get your documents e-signed within minutes.

You can catch up on the action at CAR EXPO and Tech Tuesday until Twitter clears its index.

Some key points from the DocuSign twitter stream from Ken Moyle’s discussion about the “Legality of Electronic Signatures and Real Estate”

• E-signature is fully supported in CA and there is no California case law that questions the legality of electronic records or signature.
• Fannie and Freddie do not have problems with electronic signature.
• DocuSign is set up for real estate transactions
• Ken discussed value and features for electronic signature and electronic evidence – DocuSign does have these electronic evidence features.
• DocuSign’s optional initial feature came up, which allows signers to pick and choose which provisions they agree to – our users love this and leverage it for optional clauses like liquidated damages and others.
• Ken showed a demo video of the DocuSign electronic signature signing experience, to demonstrate its look and feel. The signing experience includes adoption of a signature, consumer disclosures which enable DocuSign electronic signature to be ESIGN compliant.
• Fraud mitigation was a topic of discussion – DocuSign provides access codes and ID check functionality and lots of tools in place to mitigate fraud.
• Ken Moyle called us all super, super heroes, but we can’t prevent all crime. However, it is hard for people to use DocuSign for fraud and not get caught.
• Lots of great questions were asked about electronic signature, including where tablet PCs fit into electronic signature or digital signature space.

Not only did we have a lawyer in attendance, we also had Ken Moyle’s Mom really come to his session! Interested in making your voice heard regarding FHA and ESignature? It’s not too late to reach out to ESRA on this issue!

Once I get a copy of Ken’s deck from today’s presentation, I’ll post it online – keep an eye out for it.

Bottom line? Electronic Signature IS enforceable.

Please note: These takeaways are provided in accordance with DocuSign’s blog disclaimer policy.

Dave Thorpe, Director of Business Development and Director of Real Estate Services

Dave is responsible for developing strategic business opportunities in the Real Estate, Contract Management and Credit Union industry segments. Dave also has primary responsibility for DocuSign’s web subscription business and affiliate marketing programs.

Dave works with key partners like zipLogix and LPS Real Estate to develop integrated solutions with their froms and document management applications to provide streamlined solutions for Real Estate professionals. These integrations will help agents eliminate time consuming activities associated with managing and transporting paper to obtain legally binding signatures.

These integrations also save agents significant time and expense while making it easier for their clients. Dave is also working with a number of Associations on ways to provide members with entry level access to DocuSign as a member benefit.

Jim Custer, DocuSign Account Executive

Jim’s role at DocuSign is to identify needs within organizations and help demonstrate the impact e-signature will have in addressing those needs. Drawing from past successes, he can help a company understand what future success may look like for companies that come onboard with DocuSign.

Jim also helps determine the level of commitment that will drive the highest level of success as well as set up new partners’ DocuSign subscriptions.

With real estate, Jim helps organizations, brokerages, and offices that support real estate professionals realize the role DocuSign can play to improve each professional’s business. When all agents in an office use DocuSign, everyone saves time and operational costs decrease. Additional benefits include:

• Secure delivery, receipt and storage of documents
• Improved customer experience due to responsive customer service and instant gratification
• Legally defensible e-sign process, which Ken Moyle will be happy to discuss
• Environmentally friendly

An Bui, DocuSign Social Media

An signs her name on comments, blog posts, and other online activities as “An Bui, DocuSign Social Media” to be clear and transparent that she’s providing information about electronic signature because of her relationship with DocuSign. In addition to writing and moderating the DocuSign blog, An also tweets from @DocuSign, monitors the DocuSign Facebook page, responds to comments on blog posts about electronic signature, and participates on RealTown, ActiveRain, and Trulia.

DocuSign also hosts electronic signature videos on YouTube, participates on discussions on LinkedIn, posts e-sign whitepapers and other materials on Scribd, as well as posts presentations about esignature on Slideshare.

An listens to the online conversations and provides information that real estate professionals are looking for.

Common questions she provides information about may be:

• How-To [use DocuSign in a specific way]. Click for How-To videos
• Do you have any information about FHA and Lender Acceptance?
• Is DocuSign legal?

Of course, you can find out more about the legality of electronic signature in real estate if you attend Ken Moyle’s Tech Tuesday talk, tomorrow at CAR!

Come by the DocuSign CAR EXPO booth to meet Dave Thorpe, Suzanne Alberti, Jim Custer and An Bui and discuss electronic signature, real estate or just say hi!

We’re looking forward to seeing you at CAR!

E-Signature and real estate work well together – from the time savings and convenience factor to increased customer satisfaction. We look forward to meeting each of you and having further conversations about how esign technology can help you, as a real estate professional.

Ken Moyle, DocuSign’s Chief Legal Officer, will be Presenting at CAR

Ken manages legal, personnel and corporate matters at DocuSign. The legal work has two distinct flavors. Ken works with DocuSign’s own contracts as well as helps other companies work through legal and regulatory issues that may arise when working with electronic signatures and records.

According to Ken:

By far the most important projects that I am currently working on are centered on removing barriers to e-commerce, such as government regulations that haven’t yet caught up with modern ways of doing business.

Ken can help real estate professionals by addressing and removing “downstream” issues that can arise when progressive-minded real estate professionals use new tools to perform age-old tasks. Right now, for example, we have some outdated guidance from the FHA that is confusing the market. Ken’s goal is to help the real estate industry realize the full value of electronic signatures by educating regulators and lenders about the enforceability and security of electronically signed contracts, and help them appreciate the economic and environmental impacts that ecommerce is having nationwide.

Want to know more? Attend Ken’s session at CAR! Ken will be presenting “Legality of Electronic Signatures and Real Estate.”

This all level session is applicable to any real estate professional and will be on Tech Tuesday.

Who: Ken Moyle, DocuSign Chief Legal Officer

What: “Legality of Electronic Signatures and Real Estate”

When: Tech Tuesday, 10/6, from 2:00-3:00 pm

Where: CAR EXPO

Check our Twitterfeed throughout CAR EXPO for real time updates on DocuSign.

Suzanne Alberti, DocuSign’s Marketing Manager, will be Answering Your Questions

Suzanne Alberti, DocuSign’s marketing manager, develops the marketing initiatives for the web subscription channel. She works mostly with real estate professionals. She finds her work fulfilling and truly believes that DocuSign is a great fit for real estate and feels passionately about it – ask her about her real estate background!

Suzanne is well versed in DocuSign’s benefits and capabilities:

I understand that most agents are apprehensive about introducing technology into their business when they feel they have been successful without it. But this is definitely one of those things, that once you try it, you don’t know how you lived without it.

Next Monday, meet the rest of DocuSign’s representatives who will be at CAR! Wonder who they will be? Check back!