Transaction management systems offer agents a customizable way to keep up with the many steps of a real estate deal
By Scott Mason
A typical homebuying or selling process has several phases.
First, an agent meets with a potential client to determine if there is a good fit for representation. Then, an agent will either facilitate the listing process for a seller or the home search for a buyer. Once a match is made, the process’s financial and legal transaction portion begins.
This is often a fast and furious exercise, incorporating several outside parties—mortgage lenders, home inspectors, lawyers, to name a few—coupled with numerous forms and paperwork and the need for meticulous communication and record-keeping.
Such is life as a residential real estate agent. As experienced professionals know all too well, this part of the process can result in confusion and errors, leading to stressed colleagues and unhappy customers.
That’s where transaction or deal management systems can assist agents tremendously. Not only do these systems help streamline all the information needed to officially close a deal, but they also allow agents to easily manage multiple deals at once, leading to significantly less anxiety, better organization and fewer piles of papers strewn about a desk.
Does your brokerage utilize a transaction management system? If not, you may want to start.
Recognizing the need
Via Surmelis, CRS, broker/owner of A.V. West Real Estate in Boise, Idaho, uses a transaction management system for her business, noting it has been beyond beneficial for her and her team. “I used to lead a team of around 50 agents,” she says. “When my husband was alive, he would do all the bookwork for the business. But when he passed away, it became my job.”
Tired of having a garage full of paperwork and files, Surmelis needed a solution. “Before, agents would send me their files, and I’d have to scan them, print them and file them,” she says. This process proved incredibly inefficient and not the best use of her time as a business owner.
But one day, Surmelis was speaking with another broker and realized there was another way. “[The broker] said all of her transaction paperwork was automated,” she says. “I signed up for Paperless Pipeline [a transaction management platform] to make things as easy as possible for my agents.”
Reaping the benefits
Marta Paulson, CRS, an associate broker at Surmelis’ A.V. West Real Estate, says using a transaction management system has worked wonders. “It can sometimes eliminate the need for having a transaction coordinator,” she says. “The platform is your transaction coordinator once you learn how to use it. Contracts can be split out separately and then downloaded and stored. It tremendously reduces the printing, paper and files we had before.”
Paperless Pipeline, A.V. West Real Estate’s transaction management system of choice, offers additional features that can be useful for real estate teams. The platform can track and coordinate deadlines, and it offers DocuSign and zipForm capabilities to make processes easier for clients and other parties involved in a transaction.
Surmelis notes that while her agents have free reign to use the platform as they please, she still wants to oversee their actions. “I want to be able to check all the documentation to make sure it’s accurate and we’re not missing anything,” she says.
Making earnest money easy
Surmelis and Paulson have gone one step further to make their transactions smoother—direct earnest money transfers. Normally, when a buyer is required to put up earnest money during a home transaction, a check is written by the client, delivered to the seller’s brokerage, and then that brokerage holds the money until closing—when it will officially be transferred as part of the sale. However, not all agents feel comfortable handling and being responsible for these large sums, nor do they feel comfortable handling the logistics that come with the process.
“There can be tons of driving back and forth, plus the liability of having somebody’s check in your hand,” Paulson says. “I don’t want to carry a client’s check around or have it on my desk or in a file. I don’t want the liability of it.”
Knowing this, A.V. West Real Estate began using EMTransfer, a service that facilitates secure money transfers directly for real estate professionals and their clients. Not only does this service help agents, but it also makes things easier for the clients. “It’s convenient. Clients can go online with the secure link, fill out the necessary information, and it’s done,” Paulson says. If a deal falls through, it also makes returning the funds to the buyer quick and simple, with a direct deposit back into their bank account.
For those hesitant about the safety of this process, Surmelis says there are checkpoints to prevent mistakes or errors. “I can’t take the client’s money, and the client can’t go in and initiate a transfer unless the agent gives them a password,” she says. “The controls that are offered are great.”
While EMTransfer is encrypted and secure, Surmelis and Paulson stressed safety when dealing with large sums of money and the importance of always double-checking that you’re receiving instructions from a trusted person before making a move.
Taking the next step
While adding innovative technologies may seem daunting, transaction management systems can help you and your team operate more efficiently and effectively.
For those thinking about taking the plunge, both Surmelis and Paulson stressed one piece of advice: don’t panic. “If I can do it, you can do it,” Surmelis jokes. “I’m always here to help those who need it.”
Register for Sell-a-bration® 2025 at www.CRS.com/events/sell-a-bration-2025 to consult with exhibitors specializing in transaction management systems.
Photo: iStock setthaphat dodchai, Togapix, Visivasnc; tmarvin E+ via Getty Images
