Realtors often ask me the following question.

My clients can't come to your office because they live out of town. Can they sign remotely/virtually?  

It’s important to note, I am only commenting on Alberta . Other provinces may handle things differently. For example, BC used to allow virtual signups but now they don't except for very unusual circumstances.

Alberta still allows virtual signups although, like BC, that may change in the future. We use Zoom and Microsoft Teams for ours. The ability to do virtual signups can be a big help but, like everything , there are challenges.

Clients have to be at least mildly computer literate, or have someone who can assist them. 

Real estate closings, especially purchases with new mortgages are documents heavy! We scan everything and send it to our clients, but then they have to print what can be a large number of documents with numerous copies. This can be difficult for some clients.

The scanning/printing system also has another added requirement. After the Zoom/Teams meeting where I watch people sign the documents, they then must courier me the original, wet ink signature documents. Having to courier documents back to us can add 2-3 days to the process so that extra time has to be taken into account especially with rush closings.

Despite these challenges, virtual signups still currently exist in Alberta and can be a big help for out of town clients. 



Protect yourself.

Cheers,

Barry

I'm taking on new clients. Please consider me and Field Law when you write your next deal.