Chicago real estate, living and neighborhood perspective

Digital Buyer

Today, more and more people are starting their searches online.  In 2009, more than one-third of buyers began their search online, looking for information about neighborhoods, the buying process and   information.  Nine out of ten buyers used the internet as one of their sources of information in their search process (National Association of REALTORS®).

There is an immense amount of information; from news sites, brokerage / agent sites, personal sites, blogs (including this one), videos, webinars, social-networking pages… Everyone seems to be an expert in some capacity.  How to translate and understand all that information pertaining to your immediate environment can be frustrating and even difficult.

A look at WSJ online (May 26th evening) says the Dow was down by -.69%, but Boeing, Disney and General Electric are up.  There are still neighborhoods that are in demand and performing strong for today’s environment, but understanding the “how” and “why” is another story.

Beyond the information, research and various perspectives, there are the photos and virtual tours.  There have been 3D tours that have been used for architecture, developers and marketing, although the technology is being expanded upon.  The recent surge in 3D technology could further this technology and availability.

Business processes have also gained.  Several years ago, I started on a campaign to try to make my office paperless.  I have been seeing positive results.  The past two years worth of files fit into file box that normally would hold roughly six months worth of data.  Part of the change was processing contracts digitally and electronic storage.

Digital signatures have been proven to be extremely advantageous for several reasons.  They can be process extremely quicker than hard copies, faxes or snail mail.  Copies are always legible.  Paper consumption is drastically reduced.  You also don’t have to worry about paperwork sitting in a fax machine somewhere for anyone to read.  For those not technologically savvy, there are online storage/hard drive/backup services with encryption that can be subscribed to.  Average cost was roughly about $60 or so last time I checked.

I am sure there is a high percentage of buyers waiting for closings to become digital in lieu of signing stacks of papers for an hour.  Sadly, this may not happen for a while.  There are a lot of institutions to coordinate with during a close, compliance and standards that all have to be set.

Personally, I am waiting for a specific e-reader to become available (no not the Ipad) to use during appointments and meetings.  I would much rather bring one flex paper with my files for the day versus a file folder or binder.

Sherwin is a REALTOR® in the Chicago & Suburban area with @properties. Questions can be forwarded to Sherwin Sucaldito

Creative Commons License

”Digital Buyer” by Sherwin Sucaldito is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at Realty Evolved

Photo licensed for use by Sherwin Sucaldito; May not be redistributed, copied or transmitted in any way.

Realty Evolved