Remember the riddle that asks: If a tree falls in the forest, but no one is there to hear it, does it still make a sound?

Well, sound is ephemeral, which is why you can’t take any serious step in homebuying on a spoken word and a handshake. You must sign off on it in writing, often in a formal contract.
Now, though, forests don’t have to fall to lay a paper trail to your new front door.

Documents, even contracts, can be electronically sent to your computer. You can then affix your electronic signature and e-mail it back.

It’s all perfectly legal, explains Mark Lesswing, senior vice president and chief technology officer for the National Association of REALTORS®.

Ever since the “Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act” enacted a decade ago, your John Hancock can be any “electronic sound, symbol or process” associated with the document, according to the law.

Considering the amount of paper that can pass between buyers and sellers, it can be awfully convenient to e-mail rather than fax or drive over documents, notes Sue Thompson, owner of HomeTown REALTORS® in Auburn, Calif.

It takes more time to get a fax into a client’s hand, and repeated faxing lends to blurry copies, adds Rob Carter, a ZipRealty agent in Washington D.C.

While electronic transmission is fast, it’s not quickly accepted by everyone. “The only real pitfall is a cultural one,” explains Lesswing. “I know people who don’t use e-mail. Some people may not really trust the system.”

Familiarity, however, does breed trust, notes Carter. “My clients are very comfortable with electronic transmissions, that may be because we are a company with a strong Internet presence.”

Here’s a look at the technology that could transform your next real estate experience:

Same Fine Print
The words in a document or contract are the same, whether they are printed on paper or posted to the web.

The difference is in the delivery. But just because electronic transmission is speedy doesn’t mean you shouldn’t slowly read, warns Melissa Zavala, broker-owner of Broadpoint Properties, Escondido, Calif.

Moreover, Zavala doesn’t believe real estate agents should e-mail documents without discussing the important details with a client. “You still have to go through (a contract) blow by blow.” But given that clients may be out-of-town, or that partners may not be in the same location, discussions don’t have to necessarily be held with all parties sitting around a table, she notes.

Personal Touch
Many real estate agents use a “DocuSign” system recently adopted by the NAR, says Lesswing.

“I load a document into the DocuSign system and then put in virtual ‘post-it’ notes that show (the client) where to sign,” explains Carter.

Before the recipient can access the document, the system asks questions verifying their identity, explains Carter, and they can affix a legal signature with computer clicks.

Old and New
Carter and other agents say they haven’t yet seen an entire home-buying transaction that hasn’t included some paper. “I know some lending companies, for instance, that aren’t yet comfortable with electronic documents,” says Carter.

Robert J.Lindley III, president of Canyon Title Co., Denver, says he’s using paperless for “file processing and all document preparation leading up to close without printing one piece of paper. Paper is still required for a few processes.”

“There will be a mix of electronic and paper documents,” says Lesswing. But we are on the road to an electrifying trend, he believes, to a completely paperless real estate world.