DocuSign and LogMeIn

Two Products I Couldn't Do Without

I know you can read the Product Reviews on Active Rain if you're interested in these products but I thought a separate blog post might be useful to some who haven't thought of these products.  There's a bit of a story here so please bear with me.

Last week I found myself having to go out of the country unexpectedly.  My mother, in Vancouver, became very ill when she was hit with that awful flu that's going around North America right now.  Her flu turned into an infection that ravaged her body and made her so sick that we feared the worst.  

I jumped on the next flight available and took a few things with me that I thought I might need.  I had no idea how long I would be gone.  I had been working with a couple buyers and was a little worried about how I was going to make sure their needs were met while I was gone.  I'm a fairly new Realtor and haven't yet established a permanent system for coverage for these types of emergencies.  I was somewhat comforted knowing that I would have access to my computer no matter where I was.  I did bring a laptop computer but, since I share this computer with my husband, I don't keep any of my files on it.  

As luck would have it, one of my clients was close to making a decision on a purchase and, late last evening, Saturday, he decided to pull the trigger.  Of course, I immediately went to work. 

I get access to my computer using LogMeIn.  It's a software program that allows you to literally log in to your computer from any computer that has internet access.  Once you're logged in it's literally like sitting in front of your computer.  I use the free version.  There is a 'Pro' version for a fee but I'm not sure what more I would need.  Even though I could have logged into zip forms from any computer, it was more comforting to me to do it on my regular computer because it was more familiar to me, and again, because I'm fairly new at this, I knew I would be able to refer to any documents in my files if I needed to.  Thankfully, I was able to get the contract written up.  

Now it was time to send the documents to the client for signature.  I had subscribed to DocuSign last summer after exhausting the free trial version.  After the trial period there was no question that I would be a paid subscriber.  It's easy to load your document into DocuSign directly from zipforms but last night an error message came up.  I wasn't too worried because I had used the help line before with good results.  I called the help line and was immediately connected to someone who had no problem figuring out how to make it work.  I was so impressed that that kind of help was readily available on a Saturday night.  So impressed that I needed to tell someone, which was another reason I wanted to do this post.  

Once I got the contract and the addendums out to the client I realized one more document needed to be signed, the loan prequalification.  I had it saved on my computer so again, it was easy to send through DocuSign.  The only thing you need to make this happen is the DocuSign print driver.  Make sure you download that once you're a DocuSign customer.  

Bottom line is that I couldn't have served my client in the U.S. from here in Canada without these two products.  I highly recommend both.  

The best news is that my mother is now recovering.  This episode has taken all the strength right out of her but now that the infection is gone she's beginning her rehabilitation.  As soon as she's strong enough to look after herself she will be back in her home. I'll get to spend one more day with her before heading home tomorrow.