Blink Transactions has now been open for business for two months and going strong thanks to all the Agents who are using us for their Transaction Coordinator needs!
In order to keep that momentum moving forward I thought it would be good to write about how to best utilize your Transaction Coordinator, i.e. TC, so that not only are you getting the most bang for your buck, but also so that you are setting you and your TC or up for success.
Rule number one: Stop doing the paperwork!
Transaction Coordinators primary responsibility is to the paperwork required for the transaction. That means once a home goes into escrow all paperwork required for the transaction and for your Broker's office file will be generated and followed up on by the TC.
Unless you have a special circumstance that requires you to sign the paperwork with your Clients, leave the paperwork signing to your TC. With that being said, don't judge a book by its cover! What do I mean by that? I've had many transactions where the Agent didn't feel their Clients would be okay with signing documents via DocuSign, only to be proven wrong! As a rule of thumb always encourage your Clients to give DocuSign a try, more often than not your Clients will love the program, as most do, because it allows them to sign at their leisure... Who doesn't love that!
On the other hand, don't forget to review the paperwork. Although your TC will be obtaining signatures and making sure the paperwork gets signed appropriately and completely, you should still be reviewing the paperwork to make sure that the content is filled out and answered correctly.
Rule number two: Keep track of your contingency time frames.
Some TC's help keep track of the contingencies for the Agents, but not all. With that said it's important for the Agent to continue to be aware of the contingency time frames throughout the transaction.
We at Blink Transactions will send out contingency reminders for the Agents. The primary purpose is to keep the contingencies fresh in everyone's mind in order to keep everything moving forward within the applicable time frames. However, TC's do not chase down contingency removals. As the Agent please communicate with your TC if or when you want a Contingency Removal to be executed and only after you've approved the removal with the applicable parties.
Rule number three: Don't let your TC negotiate terms of any sort and/or type up a contract regarding terms of the transaction.
It's not uncommon for your TC to receive an email or phone call from your Client regarding terms, questions or requests to the transaction. As your TC we can help guide your Client in the right direction, either making sure that their questions are being directed to the right party, or answering them ourselves. However, what your TC shouldn't be doing is negotiating terms of any sort.
Rule #3 puts you at a huge risk, especially if your TC isn't experienced or licensed! What you can do is ask your TC to send out forms for signatures after you've completed negotiating the changes in terms and have typed up the applicable form to be sent out. Here is a list of forms that often fall into this category: CR, RR, SIP, PAA, ADM, VP and so forth.
Rule number four: Let your TC orchestrate the transaction
Don't forget that your TC wants nothing more than to have their Agent's feel that they and their Clients were represented professionally and held in the best care during the transaction. The BEST way to accomplish this is communication. Emails that seem mundane may often have a nugget of important information that your TC can extract in order to better serve you and your Clients throughout the escrow period... So don't forget to cc your TC!
There's an art to orchestrating a transaction file, and there's a fine line between diligently following up and bugging the heck out of someone so much that they start to ignore your requests, experienced TC's know the difference... Blink Transactions knows the difference. Every day we keep a note pad next to our keyboard taking notes of the most effective an ineffective ways to expedite the transaction process. Out systems are constantly being tweaked to best serve you the Agent and your Clients.
Rule number five: Use Blink Transactions!
I can't guarantee rules 1 through 4 if you are using a TC outside of Blink Transactions. Transaction Coordination has been around for a long time, but the gaps between service are far and vast, and as a result it makes it hard to pin your TC to a standard, which I believe you the Agent's deserve.
Once a standard has been established then and only then can the most benefit be cultivated.
For example, most in house TC's cater their service to best suit the Broker's needs. Or assembly line TC's generally know little about the content of the paperwork and can often misguide your Clients.
Blink Transactions mission is to not only provide their Agent's with the best service available, but to make sure that they're maximizing our TC service while guaranteeing to get the work done correctly and efficiently. We're setting the standard... We're raising the bar... Will you join us?
Sincerely,
Rachel Jacobsen - Blink Transactions
