Realtors Lead Digital Signature Revolution

 When it comes to adopting new technology, mortgage and real estate professionals are a tough crowd.
The party line is that these professionals are conservative “late adopters.” But like many labels that get thrown around, it misses what's really going on. Mortgage and real estate professionals come from all walks of life and range from PhDs to high-school drop outs - and all can be successful. So a one-size fits all label doesn't really fit here.
Closer to the truth, as evidenced in a recent Inman News story titled Part 2: Paperless progress: Who's winning, who's losing, Glenn Roberts finds that real estate agents are more than willing to adopt new technology (such as electronic signatures) -- if it makes them more effective.
That's the key. In tough, demanding businesses like mortgage and real estate, the only technologies that get any traction at all are the ones that help brokers and agents increase sales, save time and offer better service to their customers. It's potentially helpful to think of this industry as technology's litmus test - only the good stuff survives.
One of the guys who knows better than most is Jim Kimmons, who runs the real estate business section on About.com and is also one of the technology experts blogging for RealtyBlogging.com. If you're a mortgage broker or real estate agent looking to sort out the truly helpful technologies, be sure to add Kimmons to your news reader. If a new technology gets past Kimmons, you know it has something useful to offer.