About those who trade in Penny Stocks, our Chief Legal Officer, Ken Moyle, says:

In Exchange Act Rel. No. 44238 (May 1, 2001), 66 FR 22916 (May 7, 2001), the SEC sought to argue why its record retention rules were exempt from ESIGN. In so doing, they based their argument on the carve-out in ESIGN for transactions or records that are executed or stored principally for a “government purpose.” The SEC was careful not to reach out into other regulated documents and practice, limiting their comments to storage requirements that would still necessitate paper originals of certain manually signed documents, such as the transaction records described in Rules 15g-2 and 15g-9. The application of ESIGN to the execution of these documents themselves was not disputed.

In fact, the SEC later confirmed the applicability of ESIGN to penny stock transaction in its discussion of new proposed rules for a waiting period for purchase of penny stocks:
Section 101(a) of the Electronic Signatures Act “enables customers to provide to broker-dealers in penny stocks electronic signatures in place of the signatures in tangible form required under Rules 15g-2(a) and 15g-9(b)(4), and permits customers to provide the agreement regarding particular penny stock transactions required under Rule 15g-9(a)(2)(ii) through electronic media.” 69 FR 2540 (Jan. 16, 2004)

In other words, the SEC argued that its record retention rules were exempt from ESIGN. The SEC argument was based on the carve-out in ESIGN for transactions or records executed or stored mainly for a “government purpose” and was limited to storage requirements. These storage requirements would still require paper originals of certain manually signed documents, like transaction records described in certain rules. The SEC did NOT dispute the application of ESIGN to the execution of these documents.

The SEC confirmed that ESIGN applies to penny stock transactions, when it discussed new proposed rules for a waiting period for the purchase of penny stocks. Customers can provide their broker-dealers with electronic signatures and the agreement about particular penny stock transactions can be made with electronic media, for example, pdf documents.

So bottom line? You can use electronic signature and online contract execution in multiple industries, including wealth management and insurance. ESIGN applies to penny stock transactions.

So now you can send a document that needs several people’s signatures all at once. No more interoffice mail, no more overnight delivery and no more scan-print-copy-fax!

DocuSign electronic signature and online contract execution is clear cut and simple.

The Special Case of One Email Address, Two Individuals.

Mr. and Mrs. Jones share everything – he knows what she had for lunch: turkey club on whole wheat, no mayo, and she knows about the deal he landed, the one responsible for 20% of Q2 revenue. They share food, friends and even an email address.

So what happens to the Joneses when their real estate agent wants to send them the documents for electronic signature, and the only email address she has is jonandjanejones@gmail.com?

Miss Real Estate Agent:

1. Uploads the document(s) for electronic signature

2. Fills out the name (Mr. Jones) and email address for the first signer.

3. Fills out the name (Mrs. Jones) and email address for the second signer.

The email address is the same in both cases.

If the sender has invoked sequential signing, then Mrs. Jones will receive an email asking her to click, log in, and sign only after Mr. Jones has already signed.

If the sender has NOT invoked sequential signing, then Mr. and Mrs. Jones will receive emails at the same time.

The tab(s) indicating where Mr. Jones needs to sign will be grayed out on the document linked to Mrs. Jones’ email request for electronic signature. Likewise, Mrs. Jones’ tabs will be grayed out on the document linked to Mr. Jones’ email request for electronic signature.

Once all parties have signed, the sender receives a notification of the completed document.

Want to stop driving around, looking for faxes, overnighting documents or otherwise burning time as part of doing deals? Try DocuSign electronic signature for 30 days, free, to experience how quickly, easily and CONVENIENTLY you can get the papers you need signed with electronic contract execution.

Jeff Dowler, of RE/MAX Associates, has shared nine lessons he’s learned from relocations. These lessons are useful to both buyers and agents and include gems such as:

Communication must be timely and multifaceted – email, text messaging, cell phones, home phones, and faxing have been used to keep things moving along BEFORE we found the  right home and during the transaction. This was especially important when buyers are not local. And of course there was plenty of face-to-face contact during their house-hunting trips.

The ability to communicate with clients and customers via a variety of channels gets (and keeps!) business moving. DocuSign recognizes this daily – our core electronic signature and electronic contract execution technology’s application helps our customers close sales more quickly than the outmoded alternatives – overnight shipping, in person delivery, and fax.

Be prepared to move quickly – a delay in your decision making can cost you the home. You are NOT the only person looking for a deal and there are others who are as hungry for it as you are. I have had several multiple offer situations recently.

You snooze; you lose. You can buy more time to discuss and decide if you take less time to receive and sign legally-binding documents by using DocuSign’s electronic signature and online contract execution services. If you don’t need more time, using DocuSign means that you can feel good about doing everything you can to move as quickly as possible to increase your odds of getting the home you want.

And our favorite lesson?

DocuSign is a great tech tool – this can be a godsend, with all the paperwork that needs to flow back and forth very quickly. Getting DocuSign signatures via email from all parties, and having a PDF file that could be saved, is a terrific time saver.

DocuSign – the electronic signature and online contract execution solution for real estate that enables buyers, sellers, and agents to integrate these lessons in the property buying process. See the rest of Jeff’s words of wisdom on his blog and let us know which lesson you found most valuable in the comments!

Recently, DocuSign joined ActiveRain. Why? With so many Realtors and real estate agents as customers, we want to understand the challenges they face so we can provide better service and create useful features. By following the vibrant discussions on ActiveRain, we hope to provide useful insight to help the real estate community where we can, especially regarding electronic signatures and online contract execution.

DocuSign continually innovates our electronic signatures and online contract execution service for real estate and has established real estate specific partnerships with many of the major forms providers such as IRES, Realfast, Reveal Systems (TrueForms), Ziplogix (Zipforms) and Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions. One of the many useful features DocuSign provides includes signing by multiple people with only one email address, as is the case when a husband and wife share an email address. DocuSign also works with ESRA, the Electronic Signature and Records Association, to establish clarity in policies regarding the use of electronic signature and electronic contract execution.

DocuSign’s commitment to providing an electronic signature and online contract execution tool that helps real estate agents save time, money and do more deals has brought us to ActiveRain. Please do stop by, say hello and let us know how we can help you.

Enjoy the questions and answers – as always, please feel free to head over to the DocuSign forums to ask us your questions about electronic signatures, share your expertise developed from your early adoption of electronic signatures, and give us feedback on what features you’d like to see in future releases!

Q: Is there any way for signers to be able to read rather than jump to next tab, during the online contract execution process?

A: Signers can use the navigation bar to scroll through the document at their leisure. The signer can also print or download the document. Another option for signers is clicking on the “printable version” button near the top of the screen once they are viewing the electronic document. A menu will pop up and the signer can select the ‘envelope PDF’ and either save the PDF to their computer or print out a copy.

Q: I got an email saying that my document had been signed… how do I get the copy?

A: Once the document is uploaded, tagged and sent, it stays on the website. The client(s) get a notification to sign, and then you get a notification that electronic contract execution process was completed. No actual documents are ever transferred back and forth because emailing sensitive documents as email attachments is against many state and federal laws. “Solutions” that actually email documents back to signers after they have been signed create some potentially serious legal issues for the users.

Also, you can check the status or retrieve your documents any time by logging into your DocuSign account, going to your Sent Items folder, and selecting the envelope.

Q: I have opened a document that was signed by DocuSign and it says “problems with one or more signatures”. How can I correct this?

A: There is nothing wrong with the DocuSign signatures on the document. The message you’ve encountered is usually caused by Adobe Acrobat not automatically trusting the VeriSign PKI Certificate (digital signature) on your DocuSign document. This is fairly easy to remedy. Follow the steps below:

*Adobe Acrobat 9

- Log-in to DocuSign
- Open up the DocuSign Envelope and double-click to open.
- Click on PRINTABLE VERSION in the upper right.
- Adobe Acrobat will launch in a new window with your file displayed in PDF format.
- Click on “Signature Panel Button” (upper right) and the signature panel opens to the left
- Right click on “Rev.1: Signed by DocuSign, Inc.”
- Click on “Show Signature Properties”
- Click “Show Certificate button” (under the summary tab) – the Certificate Viewer opens
- Click “Trust” tab.
- Click “Add to Trusted Identities”
- Adobe Security window opens, click “OK”
- Click OK again until you exit from the all the dialogue boxes.

Next time you open up a PDF, the DocuSign Signature should be valid (trusted). Find more information from Adobe about digital signatures, changes and improvements.

Come to the DocuSign Forum and join the discussions about electronic signatures and electronic contract execution.

Recently, DocuSign joined RealTown. Why? With so many Realtors and real estate agents as customers, we want to understand the challenges they face. This enables us to provide better service and create useful features. By following discussions on RealTalk, we hope to provide useful insight to help the real estate community where we can, especially regarding electronic signatures and online contract execution.

With real estate specific partnerships with many of the major forms providers such as IRES, Realfast, Reveal Systems (TrueForms), Ziplogix (Zipforms) and Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions, DocuSign continually innovates for real estate. DocuSign’s electronic signature and online contract execution supports signing by multiple people with only one email address, as is the case when a husband and wife share an email address. DocuSign also works with ESRA, the Electronic Signature and Records Association, to establish clarity in policies regarding the use of electronic signature and electronic contract execution.

DocuSign’s commitment to providing an electronic signature and online contract execution tool that helps real estate agents save time, money and close more deals has brought us to RealTown. We hope you stop by, say hello and let us know how we can help you. Please don’t be shy – we’re nice, we promise!

Last weekend, Greg Swann of Bloodhound Realty blogged about some of his questions regarding DocuSign, and received some amazing answers from some really cool commentors:

1. Is it possible to use DocuSign to do “broker oversight” signatures?

DocuSign can be used to sign any printable document. In the U.S. and worldwide, customers in every industry have used DocuSign to sign over 30 million transactions – loan mods, real estate transactions and sales contracts. You can now upload almost any document format into the DocuSign envelope to be converted to PDF. Any required secondary documents can easily be uploaded as well.

2. How can one use DocuSign to get a client’s signature on a document from another DocuSign-using Realtor?

Depending on the workflow used by the other realtor, you can get your client’s signature on a document with one of two methods. If the other realtor were to ‘CC’ you on the transaction, DocuSign will get you that document the second the last signer signs. Then, you can take that document and create a new envelope with it, adding your signers, and cc’ing the other agent so they will receive the final, signed copy when it is done.

Another way to get a client’s electronic signature on a document is by uploading the document to DocuSign once the other realtor sends you a copy in an email. However, this is not as fast or automatic as the first method.

3. What about an ordinary PDF or ordinary fax?

On Windows, DocuSign can load any document that can be printed via the print driver. On Mac and Windows, you can load most file types directly by using the ‘upload’ function.

4. How can we add our own forms and/or other added documents in a DocuSign envelope?

You can add your own documents from other locations after you add your ZipForm, or other form software-created documents. Simply start your envelope with ZipForm, then select documents and load more. If you have the print client (Windows only) you can also print more documents into that same envelope.

5. What do you love about DocuSign?

I love how one spouse is in New York and the other is in China. Then after they sign, miraculously both of their signatures are merged onto the one document…. freaking amazing…no FEDEX or UPS overnighting docs ever again. Since DocuSign did an update, now I can take my real signature and upload it to be used on all of my signings. – Rob Thiessen

Increased productivity, lower business costs, clients LOVE it! Try setting up templates for your disclosures and having your clients fill them out on-line — very cool. – Kris Berg

6. What do you hate about it?

You have to be very careful in placing initials or signatures above one another. If they are too close they ride over one another. Templates are fussy to set up, but worth it. Also, if the client forgets his password, it can be a bit of an ordeal.

*note* DocuSign uses user feedback in future product development – please post your suggested improvements in DocuSign forums for us to consider in future releases!

Bonus Electronic Signatures and Online Contract Execution Tips:

You can at any time, save your envelope as a ‘draft’. Then you can come back later and add documents, tags, users, etc. This enables you to periodically save so you won’t have to start over if you forget to include a document in your envelope.

If you have DocuSign Advanced, you can create templates that apply everything – tabs, workflow, etc. – to documents you load into the envelope.

Templates will save you significant time when you send the same documents over and over. For example, consider a purchase agreement. Make a template for your purchase agreement, then the next time you send a purchase agreement, IDR will apply everything for you – ALL the tabs, the subject, email, etc. You just need to translate the roles in the template to users. This turns a 10 minute job into a one minute job, and you can’t make mistakes anymore!

Depending on the version you select, DocuSign costs from $.45 per day to $1.15 per day. However, user surveys indicate DocuSign saves the average realtor about 6 hours per week, or nearly an entire day. No more babysitting the fax machine, no more making customers find fax machines to sign, huge customer satisfaction increase. So for transactions that may be worth thousands of dollars in commission, spending less than a buck to ensure it goes smoothly does not seem expensive… using electronic signature and electronic contract execution is just good cents, I mean, sense.

The latest issue of Insurance Networking News features a cover story about Amica Life’s adoption of electronic signature and online contract execution technology. We especially appreciate that Amica Life named DocuSign as its e-signature provider of choice.

Amica Life Insurance Co., Lincoln, R.I., used DocuSign’s e-signature technology to:

Slash transaction times: Previous transactions completed by mail averaged a 14 day turnaround. With DocuSign,transaction times average two days, or 14% of the previous turnaround.

“In terms of getting the coverage in force and getting the case out of our queue, it really sped things up,” says Duncan Hannah, assistant VP of Amica Life Insurance Co.

Improve customer service: DocuSign revolutionized how Amica Life handled changes to accounts, like changing beneficiaries. Instead of the “type a form – snail mail for signing – return to sender” process, Amica simply keys the information into the form, sends the document through DocuSign’s secure system for electronic signature, and gets the deal done.

“The whole transaction is completed in a much shorter timeframe, and there is less follow-up on our part,” Hannah says.

Close new business deals: Amica Life trains its sales agents to walk their customers through the electronic signature process in a manner that makes ESIGN feel natural. Those on Amica Life’s sales team report a high rate of DocuSign usage.

With DocuSign’s technology, all signers and senders need is an internet connection, email and a browser. An insurer can send a contract and have it securely signed online. There’s no software to install and add an unnecessary layer of complexity when you can have a esign solution that is fast, simple and secure.

Thanks to Duncan Hannah of Amica Life for sharing how electronic signature and electronic contract execution helps slash turnaround time, improve customer service and close business deals. You can read the article in its entirety and experience the power electronic signature (for free!) with DocuSign Express for Drawloop.

Nick Bastian, a DocuSign power user, wrote about DocuSign in a blog post, Work Smarter, Not Just Harder, dated 04/03/2008:

I am surprised at the number of agents and people that have never heard of electronic signatures. While not perfect for every situation, I believe DocuSign is a time and life saver in many situations. With our ZipForm program, it is very easy to send contracts, addendum’s or any file to a client for an electronic signature. The document returns clean, legible and secure which surely beats a faxed copy! Better yet, any document can be sent for signatures, it doesn’t have to be a “standardized” form. Many people love it because it is clean, easy and provides a great paper trail. Some agents will occasionally ask me if this is “legal” to use. Normally, I will send them a link to DocuSign.com..

A year later, Nick’s words still hold true, and according to Nick, DocuSign passes the “Can My Mom Use It?” test:

I recall sending a counter offer to my mother in law when we were negotiating the sale of her home because I was curious to see how “easy” the service is for ANYONE to use. I gave her no warning, just sent the email and explained the situation of the counter offer. She LOVED it! Now, to say she isn’t exactly a “computer geek” is an understatement.

So why am I bringing all of this up now? Last week, the conversation picked up again when the enforceability of electronic signatures was introduced to the discussion. Both Tom Gonser, DocuSign’s Founder & VP of Product Strategy and I added our thoughts. Tom explained:

I think this because we tested [DocuSign] twice in ‘Mock Trials’ with actual sitting judges, attorneys, etc.  In both cases, the court found that the overwhelming evidence generated by DocuSign transaction provides a much lower ‘relative risk’ when compared to a paper contract, or a fax contract.  DocuSign provides an encrypted audit log of all events that happened – from your email address, IP address, time-stamps, and authentication measures.  This coupled with the fact that it is literally *impossible* to change a contract signed in DocuSign makes it a very strong medium for signing contracts – again comparing this to paper/fax. The DocuSign audit trail and encrypted documents create a very strong picture of what happened.
[W]e do all the work behind the scenes to ensure your contracts will be ESIGN compliant – from use of the Consumer Consent, adoption of the signature, exact placement, audit trail, encryption, hashing, and managing records in secure environments.  All of this work is done ON EVERY TRANSACTION so that if anything ever does go to court, generating all the ‘evidence’ of signing can be done in a tiny fraction of the time it would take with a paper or fax contract.

The bottom line with electronic signatures and online contract execution from DocuSign?

1. Faster document turnaround than paper/fax with higher level of convenience for the customer
2. Lower ‘relative risk’ than paper/fax as well as lower risk of ID theft from unsecured personal data on paper at FedEx Office or the office
3. Integrated Authentication tools allow senders to determine the appropriate level of authentication that fits their needs
4. Eliminates the need to deal with counterparts
5. Warrants that contracts executed through the DocuSign system are compliant with Federal ESIGN Act
6. Used by Fortune 100 companies for millions of transactions per year

Finally, DocuSign has ALWAYS supported people retaining their own counsel to evaluate and compare DocuSign to paper, fax, and other methods. This has always resulted in a very positive finding that says DocuSign provides a lower ‘relative risk’ –  no matter if you are working in Real Estate law in California or on worldwide contracts through a Fortune 100 company.

Conversations like these help everyone – we learn what readers and users think about DocuSign, electronic signatures, and/or online contract execution. Readers and users receive more information and our collective understanding grows because we had the discussion.

What is Fall Pre-Leasing?

Fall Pre-Leasing is the process by which students heading to school in the fall determine their fall semester housing. The typical steps of a pre-lease include:

1. Contact and develop a relationship with your leasing agent
2. Define what you’re looking for in a pre-lease: neighborhood desired, number of beds/baths, budget, pets, and any other must-haves
3. Have your rental application, deposit funds, application fees and parental guarantees (if necessary) lined up
4. Set aside a weekend for showings and multiple showings are rare, so be prepared to make decisions after only one showing.
5. Once you’ve been approved, sign the lease, keep a copy of the check-in/check-out sheet to document damage, get the information to transfer utilities into your name, and get renters insurance.

Fall pre-leasing can be stressful, especially when the renter is not local to the area. How can renters develop the relationships and sign all the necessary paperwork in a very limited amount of time?

With Social Media and DocuSign of course!

Many real estate agents participate in social media. Renters can use Twitter, Facebook and blogs to vet leasing agents and find ones to work with based on information the agents and others they’ve worked with provide. Renters, choose an agent whose style meshes with your own as well as one who is knowledgeable about the area. Parents who will be providing parental guarantees will also be able to vet the agent’s online reputation.

With DocuSign, you can sign all the contracts and associated paperwork remotely – that’s the power of electronic signature and online contract execution. All you need is a browser and internet connection. It’s fast, convenient, and means that you can get the deal done, regardless of where you are. You might be getting on a plane when the paperwork hits your inbox. You can sign before the cabin doors close and head home knowing that you got the apartment you wanted before you start school in the fall.

Make the Fall Pre-Leasing as smooth as possible by choosing an agent with whom you can quickly establish a rapport and an agent who knows that using DocuSign makes the process easier.