DocuSign vs Digital Ink for Sacramento Real Estate Agents

For a lot of real estate agents, when it comes to DocuSign vs Digital Ink, most tend to choose whichever platform they are introduced to. I’m wondering if many ever compare systems. I’ve used both, and I’ll just lay it on the line upfront that when it comes to DocuSign vs Digital Ink, my vote enthusiastically goes to DocuSign.

Because I’ve been using computers since the 1980s, online since 1991, I generally do not struggle with technology issues. In fact, I often discover back doors to overcome obstacles when glitches set in. There is usually more than one way to access data. But when an agent sent a Digital Ink document a few days ago, it took me a long period of time to figure out how to access a document, much less sign it.

The buyer’s agent had forwarded a purchase contract to me via Digital Ink. He is a new agent, licensed last fall, and I don’t think he’s closed a transaction yet. There were no signatures in the Digital Ink file. They were not set up to sign. But just dicking around with the program was a bit irritating.

Finally, I said to the agent, you should just use DocuSign. For digital signatures, when comparing DocuSign with Digital Ink, DocuSign is so much easier and more user friendly. Even my 95-year-old clients can sign a document with DocuSign. The buyer’s agent agreed, said his Millennial clients could not figure out how to use Digital Ink, either, and that’s why they couldn’t sign the contract.

Part of his problem, in all fairness for the DocuSign vs Digital Ink discussion, is he, like many others, want to synchronize MLS with their digital signing software. In my opinion, synching is a bad idea. The concept sounds like it’s easier and more stress free, but it is not. The reason is the data that is pulled into the documents such as a California Residential Purchase Agreement is pulled from an unreliable source such as Realist. Bad data in, bad data out.

I can’t even begin to take listing in Sacramento until I check Realist against Metroscan, to reconcile, and both pull data from the public records, which can also reflect wrong data. I have more issues with Realist than Metroscan. Names of owners are often reversed, especially Asian names. Or, not all of the owner’s names are disclosed. I always enter my information manually, so at least my documents are correct. Because I care more than the average bear about accuracy.

The other issue with synching with MLS data is it pulls every listing agent’s name into the contract, even if only one agent should be identified.

Later in the day, after I received the signed purchase agreement, the buyer’s agent sent me the contract in DocuSign. There were no signatures on the contract in DocuSign. I asked the agent why. Why did he send me the contract without signatures when I have the signatures? Answer: because I told him to sign up for DocuSign, LOL.

I feel bad for him now because he has two digital signature accounts. I prefer to pay for my own account so all of my data belongs to me. Having your own account also means when my brokerage’s account goes down for whatever odd reason, I can still access my own account.

DocuSign also has a mobile app and I don’t think Digital Ink does. It is very easy to access all of your settings in DocuSign and make the software perform exactly the way you want it to. My only beef, if that is a beef, is I can’t preset signatures to sign at a future date and future time. You know, drip the email to go out on a certain date. That would be helpful to me as a top listing agent because I could upload everything at one time and schedule the paperwork to go out on different days. Because I handle volume.

Or, a client is traveling and asks me to upload a contract on a certain day when I might be traveling. Sometimes I work from my house in Hawaii. I asked DocuSign if we could have this feature and their programmers shot me down flat. A girl can hope for someday. But for efficiency purposes, client happiness and simple peace of mind, you really can’t beat DocuSign.

Just ask Tom Gonser.