What is a real estate transaction coordinator, and why doesn’t Harb and Co. use one? A real estate transaction coordinator, better known as a TC, is used by most real estate companies to handle the paperwork involved in a real estate transaction. In my opinion, that is frightening. What is the most important aspect of your real estate transaction? It’s the details, and there are many. The paperwork is overwhelming. And then there is Docusign, an online platform where clients sign digitally. So who’s minding the paperwork, your real estate agent or the TC?
I began my real estate career as a loan processor. I like paper; I always have. At Harb and Co. we have paper files. Your real estate transaction isn’t the place to “go green.” At Harb and Co., we print inspection reports. Then we get out the yellow highlighter and make notes. I don’t know any other way to thoroughly review a client’s inspection without printing the report. I also print and review disclosures. Often, I have questions that need addressing and/or clarification.
Our business model is simple; Kris and I primarily handle the paperwork and interact with our clients. My brother-in-law Joe is mostly in the field. Kris and I work together Monday through Friday in our office sitting at our desks. We interact most of the day. Kris and I believe we need to be deeply involved in each real estate transaction. Our clients share very personal information with us, and we try to keep it close; we don’t want to bring anyone extra into our transaction.
So what is a real estate transaction coordinator? In a typical escrow at Harb and Co., we represent the seller, and an agent from another brokerage represents the buyer. We review our seller’s real estate disclosures, and when escrow opens, we forward them to the buyer’s agent. In most instances, the buyer’s agent tells us to send all the paperwork to their TC. Their real estate transaction coordinator then puts these very important disclosures in DocuSign for the buyer to sign electronically.
Where is the buyer’s Realtor in all of this? Well, it depends on the caliber of their real estate agent. Many real estate companies have a new business model: free up the Realtor to move on to the next escrow and keep the Realtor’s involvement in the paperwork to a minimum.
Call us old school, but at Harb and Co. we believe in a hands on approach to paperwork. That is the heart of your escrow.
Related Post: Is signing online safe?
