We at DocuSign listen to our customers when they talk about their electronic signature needs. This weekend, we stumbled across some comments about DocuSign and our free eSignature customer support. They were just too good not to share! Without further ado:

DocuSign’s Electronic Signature Customers Comment on Customer Support

The first story shares the experience of signing up for DocuSign’s eSignature service:

The reason I joined DocuSign was because of their AMAZING customer support. I joined on a Saturday night around 6pm and by 9pm I was having issues and needed to get a contract done that night. I asked if anyone knew the answer on twitter and within 5 minutes I had both their twitter account and the owner of the company talking to me on twitter and walking me through it. Then An, who is behind the twitter account, called me to make sure everything was ok. THAT IS SERVICE.

OK so they don’t offer free phone support. I have NEVER had a problem getting an immediate answer with them on chat or twitter. The support is some of the best I have ever seen. If you had a problem with any product in the world and put something out there on Twitter what do you think the chances of anyone, never mind the Founder and Vice President of Product Strategy of the company, offering help at 9pm on a Saturday night?

You have free email support and also free support via chat, the product is amazing, the support is amazing.

- Dean Ouellette, Tempe Real Estate

The second story details the robust support options DocuSign offers to its eSign customers:

I’ve used DocuSign for over two years and never needed to call them. Not once. Twice I had a question about how to do something (that if I’d taken a few minutes on my own to find the answer, I could have. It was on their site) and was immediately answered via email and Twitter. I also have agents that have been using DocuSign for two years — never needed to make a phone call for support for two reasons: 1) The product is robust and easy to use; and 2) there are many other ways to get support beside the telephone.

Lots of companies charge for extended (read phone) customer support. DocuSign isn’t the only one, not by a long shot. I’d rather them charge for extended support than raise my rates so they can handle all the “I forgot my password” and “It’s broken” (when it’s not) phone calls.

Have you tried the [free] chat, email, twitter, forums, webinars, blog, and/or FAQs for support? They work, and work well.

- Jay Thompson, Phoenix Real Estate Broker

The third comment explains a customer’s experience with how easy and intuitive DocuSign’s electronic signature service is for his clients:

I have used the DocuSign service hundreds of times over the past couple of years and I love it. More importantly, my clients LOVE it. The recent enhancements to their system helped an already great product become even more beneficial to my business.

My experience has been that anyone that can log on to the internet and do even the most basic of tasks have great success with the DocuSign service. From young to old, computer savvy to “old school,” I have never had a complaint.

- Nick Bastian, Tempe Real Estate Agent

The fourth comment discusses how one DocuSign user has worked with DocuSign on eSign policy issues and product feedback while turning to online help and web content:

I’ve been a Docusign user for several years now and have been really pleased with the technology. I enjoy being able to sign ANYTHING. I’m pretty technically inclined and have only had to contact customer service a couple times with help on policy issues, like FHA not recognizing e-signatures.

I’ve spoken with their Chief Legal Counsel and they’re now working with FHA and lenders to gainer wider acceptance of electronic signatures. I consider that responsive.

When I call in about product limitations or ideas, my requests are acknowledged and supposedly added to the feature request for future releases. I hope they don’t charge for these types of call. [ed. note: We don't charge for feedback-type calls, but as a best practice, email or chat works better discuss product limitations or ideas - we can log and track these communications and share them more effectively with the Product team!]

On the other hand, their online help has always been responsive and there’s a lot of material published on the website that’s gotten me through most issues.

- Derec Shuler, Denver Real Estate Broker

Do you have a story similar to Dean, Jay, Nick, or Derec’s? Do you have your own story about how DocuSign’s eSign service you want to share? Leave a comment to share your thoughts – we welcome them!

Today we hear from Ken Moyle, DocuSign’s Chief Legal Officer and noted electronic signature law expert. In addition to serving as the Public Policy Chair of the Electronic Signature and Records Association (ESRA), Ken also often teaches continuing legal education classes and seminars regarding esignature and ESIGN.

Often, Ken is asked questions about when electronic signatures can be used to create a binding agreement. We all want to know how and when we can use eSignatures to create a binding agreement, so without further ado, Ken’s thoughts:

Consent to do Business With eSignature
Like most popular phenomena, the electronic signature movement is sometimes susceptible to rumor and misinformation. For example, there are still a few folks in the real estate and mortgage industries who insist that a real estate transaction cannot executed electronically unless there is a paper-and-ink contract confirming the parties’ agreement to go paperless.

This myth has been making the rounds for years in the Pacific Northwest and in some other small pockets of the country. I did a lot asking around to find out where this came from. The main source appears to be from an early Multiple Listing Service interpretation of the federal ESIGN Act, which provided an instant 50-state baseline for enforceability of electronic contracts (Washington is one of three states that have not adopted some form of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, the state precursor to ESIGN).

The confusion seems to come from this statement, which was forwarded to me recently by a real estate agent in Oregon who received it from a representative of her MLS:

“Electronic signatures can be used to create a binding real property purchase agreement, but only if the parties have a signed, written agreement to that effect in place before they use the electronic signatures.”

On its face, this statement is not inconsistent with the federal ESIGN Act or the state UETAs, since under these laws a “writing” is given the same effect regardless of whether it is on paper or electronic. But in the above case the statement was invoked to convince the agent that the “signed, written agreement” must be on paper.

The federal ESIGN Act requires that parties consent to do business electronically, but there is no requirement that a separate paper contract be in place in order to manifest such consent. In the case of a consumer transaction (such as a residential real estate sale) where a party is required by law to provide information that is otherwise required to be provided in writing and on paper, certain disclosures about engaging in business electronically must be provided to the consumer before the consumer consents to do business electronically. See ESIGN 101(c)(1). In addition, the consumer must “affirmatively” consent, but there is no requirement that the consent be documented in a [separate] “signed, written agreement.” ). In fact, section101(c)(1)(C)(ii) of the federal law requires that the consent be given electronically and not on paper, in order to demonstrate the consumer’s technical capacity to engage in business electronically. In business to business transactions and in transactions where a signature is the only legal requirement (even if a consumer is involved), the consent does not have to be explicit at all. It may be found based on the facts and circumstances surrounding the transaction, and in most cases the fact that both parties used electronic means to execute the contract in the first place is more than enough to demonstrate that the parties consented to engage in business electronically as well as consented to the terms of the agreement.

But what if ESIGN doesn’t apply? Isn’t the state’s law going to vary these requirements? In order to promote e-commerce nationwide, the ESIGN Act takes full advantage of the Commerce Clause of the Constitution in order to preempt state laws that would threaten the 50-state baseline. Any state electronic signature law that would impose burdens or increased costs on the use of electronic records could cause the state law to be preempted by ESIGN. To the extent that a state law requires a paper agreement to get consent to business electronically, such requirement would presumably be preempted.

Fortunately, an association or MLS has no authority to determine the enforceability of a real estate contract. If two parties, after agreeing to transact business electronically, enter into a real estate contract by electronic means, the electronically signed contract will be valid, effective and enforceable.

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.

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!

YES.

I know I’m biased, but with so many benefits including time savings, document storage and management, and increased customer or client satisfaction, I think businesses and professionals should strongly consider going paperless and adopting electronic signature technology.

Benefits of DocuSign Electronic Signature Service:

• Removes pen and paper from the paperwork process
• Eliminates print-sign-scan-fax process
• No need to shred physical documents once you’ve digitized them – they’ve been electronic records the entire time
• Document content is clear and easy to read – no more fax distortion
• Integration with forms creation software such as WINForms, zipForms, IRES, and others maintains the integrity of the paperless process
• Contracts and extensions can be signed and returned by out-of-town or traveling clients in fewer than 10 minutes
• No more missed signatures or initials due to DocuSign’s yellow stick-e-tabs
• 100% audit trail and three levels of authentication available: Email, PIN number and ID Check

Additional Information:

• Cost: Pricing starts at $15.95/month with a pre-paid, annual plan. With a DocuSign Free Trial, you can try DocuSign risk-free for 30 days. The Free Trial pricing starts automatically at the basic month to month rate, with an option to upgrade to an Advanced plan or switch to annual pricing. This provides subscribers with a high level of flexibility.
• Electronic signature acceptance: DocuSign has teamed up with the Electronic Signature and Records Association (ESRA) to have productive discussions with the FHA regarding electronic signatures on real estate contracts and they are working together to come up with a rapid solution.

If you have any questions or comments, please leave us a comment. If you’re interested in connecting in real life, DocuSign will be in San Diego at RE Bar Camp San Diego on November 12th, and at NAR EXPO November 13th – 16th.

The email address for ESRA is: ESRA@esignrecords.org.

Are you having problems using e-signatures with clients who have FHA loans? Are your clients losing their rate locks? Do they have to go back and re-sign with a “wet signature” because some lenders are unwilling to accept e-signatures? Has this affected your income? 

We are working to help you. 

At DocuSign, we heard you loud and clear and have teamed up with ESRA (Electronic Signature & Records Association, www.esignrecords.org) to bring this message to the FHA. ESRA’s mission is to educate its members, the public, and the government with respect to the legal, regulatory and operational aspects of the use and acceptance of electronic signatures and records. DocuSign, ESRA and the FHA are having very productive discussions on the issue of electronic signatures on real estate contracts, and they are working together to come up with a rapid solution.

We need your help.

As you know, electronic signatures are not new. Signed into law in 2000 by President Clinton, the ESIGN act provided for documents and signatures in electronic form to have the same legal standing as paper documents and handwritten signatures.  FHA leadership wants to make progress toward compliance with the spirit of ESIGN, and has been working to recognize these 100% valid transactions. Let FHA know that you support this effort.

What you can do.

Tell your story of customer frustration, economic loss-whether it is lost commissions, increased fuel costs, or hours/time lost in closing because of lender acceptance problems. Ask the FHA to publicly state its policy regarding e-signature acceptance.  The only way to effectively turn the wheel of change from “status quo“ to “e-signature acceptance“ is to stand up and be heard.

You can use our template to copy and paste into your email or just use it for inspiration.

Address your email to ESRA: ESRA@esignrecords.org.

ESRA will submit ALL of your emails to FHA on your behalf.

Act now! The FHA needs to hear from you. Send your email today.

Together, let’s make a difference. Click here for more information about this initiative regarding esignatures and the FHA.

I use a program called DocuSign.  DocuSign is a great program!  DocuSign recently allowed me to service both a seller who lived over an hour from me and a buyer who was serving our great country in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.  Yes, I said CUBA!  She was able to sign the contract and put an offer in on a property which we closed on earlier this month.  This would not have been an easy transaction without DocuSign.

Want additional, updated resources for electronic signature?

• The Legalities of an Electronic Signature
• FHA and Lender Acceptance
• Introduction to Electronic Signatures and other videos
• DocuSign Demo
• Try Electronic Signature with a 30-Day risk free guarantee

With DocuSign’s commitment to continual innovation, some of the many features we’ve added since JT published his blog post include:

Templates, so our customers can save even more time
“Husband and Wife” Signing, so two individuals who share an email address can both sign without having to set up another email address
• White-label, or Brandable Experiences, so your company’s logo, personalized messages and colors will be displayed for your senders and signers
Import of Handwritten Signature so you can upload your “wet” signature and adopt it as your electronic signature

What hasn’t changed in this year is that DocuSign electronic signature provides its users with significant time savings and convenience. What are you waiting for?

For clarification, we asked PAR to share their thoughts on electronic signatures, and Hank Lerner, Director of Member and Legal Services responded promptly (from his email):

The federal E-SIGN statute and PA Electronic Transactions Act (http://www.parealtor.org/content/Laws_Regulations.htm ) both state that electronic signatures are acceptable in transactions as long as they are done in compliance with the requirements of the laws. PAR’s “position,” as it were, is simply that if an electronic signature is done in compliance with the law, then it is legally binding. We have not ever suggested that our members cannot or should utilize e-signatures in their business; a decision to do so or to not do so is up to the individual brokers or agents. (emphasis ours)

PAR also stated that it does license the content of its statewide standard forms to four electronic forms vendors, all of which have relationships with DocuSign, to provide e-signature capabilities directly from the applications.

Ken Moyle, DocuSign’s Chief Legal Officer and the rest of the management team designed DocuSign so that the DocuSign system is in compliance with the law. DocuSign’s security measures ensure that your records and data are fully secure. As of this date, in every case that a DocuSign electronic signature or contract has been challenged, the evidence and digital trail created by the DocuSign system has resulted in party backing down from their attempted repudiation.

So Pennsylvania brokers and agents, you can decide to use electronic signatures from DocuSign and electronic forms to save you time in your real estate business. Any stories of how DocuSign has saved you time and money in your business? Let us know – we’d love to share it!

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), resulting in a current HUD policy yet to officially recognize electronically signed documents submitted to its mortgage insurance arm, overseen by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The most recent policy statement from FHA on e-signatures dates back to 2003, when the Administration announced that it would accept electronically signed property appraisals.

What has changed?

Until recently, FHA’s failure to keep up with the times did not have a major impact on the real estate and mortgage ecosystem, as the FHA insured only about 2% of originated single-family home loans. Due to recent changes of the residential mortgage infrastructure, the market share of FHA-insured mortgage loans has exploded, hitting nearly 30% in early 2009. The increase in FHA’s market presence and government scrutiny of lending practices has led to increased deference to FHA standards and policies.

Progress is being made

The FHA’s response to the changing climate of mortgage insurance resulted from the surge in volume of electronic documents that were finding their way into insurance case binders. In January 2009, the operational arm of the Administration’s single-family home loan group embarked on an effort to update systems and procedures, including guidelines for processing electronic loan packages, complete with electronic promissory notes (i.e. e-mortgages). The effort is receiving “fast track” treatment and will be released during the second half of 2009 at the earliest. DocuSign, both on its own and through its participation in Electronic Signature and Records Association (ESRA) has been at the forefront of this effort and moving it forward.

FHA does accept DocuSign today

As the real estate industry’s leading provider of electronic contract execution, DocuSign has also sought to establish a clear distinction between an electronic mortgage – with process requirements and controls that must be in place at closing – and an electronically signed real estate contract, seeking appropriate treatment of electronically signed real estate contracts by lenders, the FHA, and other “downstream” recipients of these 100% valid and enforceable agreements. Largely as a result of our early efforts, the FHA in January 2009 affirmed its willingness to accept electronic signatures and instructed its Home Ownership Centers not to reject case binders containing electronically signed real estate contracts.

Challenges remain

This FHA policy has yet to be communicated to lenders in writing, as the FHA prefers that the e-mortgage guidelines and electronic signature guidelines be released concurrently to avoid further confusion. However, FHA’s failure to communicate a clear policy about accepting paper case binders that include electronically signed documents, particularly paper copies of electronically signed real estate contracts, has perpetuated confusion among realtors, mortgage brokers and lenders. The compliance departments at major lenders such as Wells Fargo and Countrywide (now Bank of America) have taken steps to better understand the FHA’s position. These lenders have recently adopted cautious, temporary policies that have flagged mortgage applications that included electronically signed documents. We expect these policies to be reversed or relaxed very soon, but in the meantime much confusion remains.

Frequently Asked Questions

My broker has never seen one of these signatures before. How do we know it is “real”?

Over the past five years, hundreds of thousands of real estate documents have been electronically signed by buyers and sellers using the DocuSign electronic contract execution platform, and not one of these transactions has failed for fraud or unenforceability arising from use of the electronic signature.

DocuSign is used by real estate agents in all 50 states to allow parties to real estate contracts to sign online, without paper. The DocuSign system has been identified as the electronic signature of choice by the California Association of Realtors since 2005 and is branded as “Zipform Esign” for users of the Zipform real estate form network in 34 states. More recently DocuSign has partnered with Reveal Systems to provide electronic signing of real estate forms in 10 additional states. Approximately 750,000 real estate agents and brokers have access to DocuSign for electronic execution of over 20,000 different kinds of forms used in real estate transactions.

DocuSign is also used by hundreds of mortgage brokers and correspondent lenders to execute front-end RESPA disclosures online. These include TIL, GFE, and all state-required disclosures.

My mortgage broker says the lender won’t accept electronic signatures

A few lenders have some policies in place that restrict electronically signed documents, but not all documents in a mortgage application file are the same. There is a difference between a mortgage closing document (such as an electronic note) and a supporting document (such as a real estate contract, addendum or disclosure). Supporting documents represent contracts between consenting parties that have already been consummated and are not part of the closing process. It is unusual for a lender to interfere with a real estate transaction by asking for it to be re-executed. Ask the broker or lender to clarify their position and to make sure they have all the information they need to make that assertion.

If you are unable to get your lender to accept a DocuSigned contract as part of a mortgage application, please immediately send the lender name and contact info to legal@docusign.com.

Our broker/lender says FHA won’t take electronically signed documents.

That is not correct. The FHA will accept DocuSigned real estate contracts, addenda, appraisals and disclosures.

FHA has affirmed its willingness to accept electronic signatures and has instructed its Home Ownership Centers not to reject case binders containing electronically signed real estate contracts. If any cases are rejected (or designated “NOR”) by a HOC, the FHA take it up directly with the HOC and correct them.

If the lender receives a case binder back as NOR by a Home Ownership Center because it contains an electronically signed real estate contract, they should contact DocuSign’s legal department at legal@docusign.com or call Ken Moyle at (206) 973-8187.

This is not an e-mortgage, so doesn’t that mean it can’t have electronic signatures?

No. An e-mortgage is an electronically closed loan. The vast majority of electronically signed real estate and mortgage documents are found in traditionally closed mortgage loans. Electronically executed real estate contracts are often emailed (or even printed and faxed) to lenders just as their paper counterparts are, but with added convenience and security. Similarly, electronic records are usually included with scanned paper images in paper or electronic case files used by lenders for conventional closing and servicing.

FHA has recently undertaken an initiative to prepare itself to accept electronic mortgages, including e-Notes. However, there is no need to wait until the e-mortgage guidelines are complete. Electronic documents and signatures can be used today in FHA case binders.

Contact: Ken Moyle

Chief Legal Officer, DocuSign, Inc. (Seattle, WA)

Ken.moyle@docusign.com

(206) 973-8187

About DocuSign

DocuSign provides on-demand software services for electronic signature and online contract execution, empowering individuals, small business and global enterprises to operate faster, more efficiently and profitably with enhanced security and compliance. To date, more than 16 million signature events have been executed using DocuSign.

About ESRA

The Electronic Signature and Records Association (ESRA) is a national industry association established to educate business, government and the public legal, regulatory and operational issues related to the use of electronic signatures and records. ESRA’s web address is: www.esignrecords.org.

The series will include:

• Overview of Electronic Signature or E Signature Laws
• Intent to Sign
• Record Retention
• Admissibility into Evidence
• Authentication of Paper Copies of Electronic Records

As technology adoption progresses, questions about electronic signature and electronic contracts or documents arise which Ken addresses. He represents DocuSign on the board of directors of the Washington D.C. based Electronic Signatures and Records Association (ESRA) and serves as chairman of ESRA’s Public Policy Committee. He is also a member of the Mortgage Bankers Association’s MISMO eMortgage Legal Issues workgroup and has lectured on legal topics including ESIGN/UETA, electronic signatures in academic lending, open source software licensing and application service provider (ASP) business models and has spoken on a variety of public interest topics to audiences around the country.

Recently, American Banker published an article discussing the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)’s preparation of electronic mortgage specifications this year, with Ken contributing his thoughts.

Thank you for leaving your questions about DocuSign, electronic signatures, or concerns in the comments.