Why Should I go Green?
Isn't it expensive and a lot more work?
NO, NO, NO, NOT AT ALL!
It's cheaper, faster, more efficient and more responsible.
Green Tools
The human inhabitants of Earth are charged with responsible stewardship of our fragile blue planet. There are radicals on both sides of global warming, and no one can prove, with absolute certainty, what the truth may be, but if you could GO GREEN without costing yourself anything, why wouldn't you?
In fact, if going green costs less and makes you more efficient, wouldn't you want to know more?
All in One, 3 in 1 or 4 in 1 Multifunction printers
As far as the environment is concerned, these machines may be the best thing since sliced bread. The 3 in 1 prints, copies and either faxes or scans. The 4 in 1 does all four and that is what you need to be green. Make sure the machine you buy ($99 to $350) has a minimum 12 page document feeder. Price varies dependent on how fast and how long the printer cartridges last. Frankly, the printing component is less important than all the rest because you should have a cheapy laser printer ($99 to $175) to do the bulk of your printing anyway.
Let's think this through. With a standard paper copier I would have to print my documents and carry around bulky files. With a 4 in 1, I scan everything to my laptop, which I carry around with me anyway and can print my documents, when I need to, at the office, my home printer or Kinkos. No more "Oops, I left the file at home." Scanning takes about the same amount of time as printing and doesn't use paper or ink. Just make sure your scan preferences are set low enough, usually around 150 dpi. Your machine manual will tell you how to set it up. The default is usually 300 dots per inch (dpi) which is great for pictures, but lousy for speed. The fax standard is 75-100 dpi, for example.
I know what you're thinking, I have to print it sometime for signature. Maybe not. You can get electronic signatures on PDF documents (see Docusign below). PDF has become the standard for legal documents (see PDF editors below). Let escrow kill trees, printing everything out for you while you remain lean and green. Almost all MLS systems allow saving listings and documents to PDF instead of printing.
Imagine you have been good and scanned everything to your computer. Escrow is about to close and you want to get paid immediately. You fill out your disbursement sheet and scan it to your computer, or fill out a PDF formfill, then email all of the documents to the office. I suppose, if there are restrictions of email file size, you could put the docs on a memory stick (see Memory Stick below) or cd and take them into the office. But if you can email the stuff, you never even have to get into your car except to pick up your commission check. You can also give your client an electronic copy on CD or stick.
Electronic Files
BROKERS, PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THIS. Your broker, instead of printing everything out and putting it into a bulky paper file, could keep an electronic cloud "Broker" file where financial info is stored. This is legal according to the DRE.
You may, at some point have to print files for the DRE but that also might never happen. In fact, some people at the DRE are also thinking about green and may, instead of flying to your office and wasting fuel, precious time and money auditing you on site, call and say "Send me the following files in PDF format."
File cabinets occupy very expensive space, YOUR OFFICE. Why not get rid of the paper files, quit killing trees and free up that expensive space for better uses? Banks have already done so and if it's good enough for them, shouldn't it be good enough for brokers?
Efax
Email or electronic faxes are far better than standard faxes. No requirement to refill the printer just so you can receive stupid fax solicitations. Efaxes go directly to your email in computer storable PDF format. You can print them for signature later (if you do not have electronic signature capability). You can forward them by email to your client for their signature. Mongo is an example of efax, but there are efax services on the internet that run $9 per month for standard use, up to $50 per month for a power user. But think of all the paper and ink you will be saving. The cost usually balances out.
Drag the PDF files from your email into a file on your computer and you have all the docs saved for your electronic broker file. Yes the client still has to sign them but that is what Docusign is for (see Docusign).
Most efax services also allow you to fax directly from your computer without printing documents. No need to get up and load the fax machine with outgoing stuff.
Docusign
Your investor in Brentwood has lots of money to invest into rental properties and you, of noble heart and brilliant mind, are willing to help them out for a small, but lucrative 3% commission. You found the perfect property, in reasonably good shape, priced at $105,000 with rents at $1,300 per month, positive cash flow with only 20% down. But there will be lots of competition for this property, other investors are sharking and this property would even be attractive to a first time home buyer. You will have to act fast.
You draw up the offer papers and call to schedule an appointment with your buyer. Unfortunately he is at the office and won't be able to break free till five and you will have to meet him in Century City where he works. You will be driving there at peak traffic which will take about 2 hours, then make the 2 hour drive home to fax over your offer. By the time you get back, there are already three other offers on the table and they've put the property on Hold status. Bummer.
But wait. You don't have to do that. You have Docusign. You save the offer from Winforms to PDF. You upload it to the Docusign website, enter the areas where your client will have to initial and sign, and send an email to the client allowing them to log in and sign the documents online. At the next coffee (or martini) break the client signs the docs, which only take a few minutes, and faxes over a copy of their good faith check to your efax. They drop the check in the mail, so that you will have it when the offer is accepted. You get a notification by email that the docs have been signed and you fax the offer over to the listing agent without leaving your chair.
Most escrow companies, and even some lenders, are now honoring electronically signed documents, and they will hold up in court. Imagine the gas, time and trouble you will save by not having to get into your car to have documents signed, And what about all those addendums once the property is in escrow. Imagine you or your admin getting them all signed without leaving the office. The cost is around $60 per year, the cost of a couple of tanks of gas. And just think what you are doing for the environment, no driving, no papers, just the internet, pretty cool. Best yet, you can meet disclosure requirements by letting them print or save their own electronic copies at the time of signature.
There are other electronic signature companies out there, but Docusign seems to be the most prevalent.
Tethering
Tether your smartphone to your computer or tablet. Many tablets are already enabled, but even if they are not they can generally be tethered. Almost all smartphones allow tethering. This allows you to use your smartphone as an internet hub, connecting your laptop or tablet to the web through your cell phone instead of connecting to a wired or wireless hub. This can be an awesome solution when there is no Starbucks around. Many providers charge for the service, but it can easily pay for itself. If you can download emails, it is likely you already have this service, whether you know it or not.
Laptop, Tablet or Desktop
For all of the above reasons, laptops or tablets are the choices for most agents. They are cheaper, faster and hold more than the laptops of old and worthy of consideration. Get at least a 1TB laptop. You can get by an a 128GB tablet but you can never be too thins, have too much money or have too much memory. Tablets are approaching 1T but it can get pricey. Try for at least 2 gigs of RAM and 4 gigs is even better. Get a six cell battery if possible (good for about 3.5 hours). Size matters. Bigger screens are easier to use for everyday, but smaller screens are easier to tote around. If you use both a laptop and tablet, opt for a bigger laptop. If you use only the laptop, get one with at least a 15" screen. You may want to assure that one of your devices is Windows compatible as that is the most used business software.
Convertors (12 volt to 110 volt)
Also invest in a little goody called a convertor. This plugs into your car lighter (12v) and produces 110v output, allowing you to charge your laptop, your supra key, play with your Wii or whatever while on the go.
Cloud Storage and Backup
One thing is absolutely true. All laptops, tablets and cell phones will break or be lost. Backing up your valuable data is the only sure way of avoiding catastrophic loss. There are many good affordable, online backup companies. Pick one and BACK UP regularly.
