Real Estate Deals -- The E-Mail Handshake

Smart phones are here to stay, so why not use them to negotiate a real estate deal? In fact, as an article in The New York Times points out, they are being used as e-mail is exchanged between prospective buyer, seller, and brokers.

"[I]t should come as no surprise that many real estate deals involving multimillion-dollar apartments and complicated co-op board applications are also now being done electronically.

In the current market, with fewer apartments being sold and buyers waiting to scrape the bottom of the market, many brokers say that the immediacy of e-mail communication often helps them keep deals alive."

Without discussing the possibly binding nature of e-mail communications in light of a state's particular Statute of Frauds, the Times does indicate there are "a host of new questions."

Can a negotiation be conducted entirely via e-mail? How much and what kind of information can be shared online? Are there times when agents and clients should put their BlackBerrys away and pick up the telephone? Are exclamation points and smiley faces unprofessional?

Those questions are discussed in The E-Mail Handshake. Do you see any risks? We'd like to know.

For your next title order, try:

Vested Title Inc.
648 Newark Avenue, P.O. Box 6453, Jersey City, NJ 07306
Tel 201-656-9220 - Fax 201-656-4506
E-mail vti@vested.com - www.vested.com

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