Buying and Selling Your Home From Home: Why Our Firm Is Staying Virtual
It looks like we may finally be seeing the end of lockdowns, with Ontario announcing a gradual re-opening plan that should slowly see a return to small gatherings and activities throughout the second half of this year. For those who have spent the better part of this winter hibernating in relative isolation, the news has come as a welcome relief.
However, this does not mean that we will all be rushing back to indoor spaces. Most workplaces are keeping their work-from-home setups in place for the coming months, and large crowds indoors may still be some months away. The latest provincial modelling shows us headed for a summer of small outdoor gatherings, patio dining with precautions, beautiful outdoor walks in nature, and for some copious rounds of golf.
Essential services such as lawyers have been technically allowed to keep our doors open throughout the pandemic, but we at Sari Rose Law have been doing as much as we can to keep our clients safe from COVID-19. Here are some of the measures that we’ve implemented to ensure that your real estate transactions can still run smoothly without having to set foot inside our offices:
Virtual Consultations - Instead of having to book time out of your busy schedule, get in the car and travel to a lawyer’s office in the middle of the day, we are pleased to be able to offer you legal services from the comfort of your own home. We have adapted all of our processes so that we can gather your information, confirm your identification, and conduct a full consultation with minimal inconvenience to your schedule. We may not get to shake hands, but you’ll have our full attention the entire time.
Virtual Document Exchange - Real estate law can often feel like it involves a ton of paperwork, but we’ve used technology to make it as easy as possible. Instead of mountains of paper, we are able to process all of your paperwork virtually and minimize or even eliminate the need for documents to bounce back and forth via courier most of the time. We can easily produce digital documents and exchange all documents with your mortgage lender/broker, as well as with the lawyers for the other side of your transaction.
Virtual Document Signing - Traditionally, you had to visit your lawyer in person a few days before your transaction closed to review and sign a pile of important paperwork. Today when it comes time to sign all your documents, we make that easy. Our virtual document signing technology allows you to make your purchase, sale, or refinancing from anywhere in the world. You’ll no longer have to worry about finding a pen that writes - today the computer can take care of everything. Rest assured, your digital signature is equally as valid and binding as pen and ink, and we take precautions to ensure that all virtual documents remain safe, secure, and easily accessible as needed.
Our Tech-Savvy Team - We understand that not all of our clients may be comfortable or familiar with relying on technology. That’s why we have an incredible team who are technologically savvy, and will help walk you through each step of the digital process. Weak internet signal? No problem, we can help you tether from a smartphone. Trouble working your webcam? We’ll guide you through it until you’re able to figure it out. We may ask you to enlist the help of a nearby friend or relative if we’re really struggling, but rest assured we are committed to keeping you safe and figuring things out.
Office Safety Protocols - While our primary goal is to avoid our clients needing to come into the office, we still have some of our staff in the building to keep our behind the scenes operations running and ensure availability for emergency pop-ins. We protect them above and beyond every required measure through mandatory masks, a minimal number of staff present (rarely more than 2), physical distancing, and sanitizer at every turn. We need to protect our team and keep them safe so that they can keep providing you with incredible remote service.
While the pandemic has been a scary time for all of us, we’re proud of the job that we’ve done making a pivot towards virtual client service. Even once the pandemic is officially over, we expect to be able to carry this model forward well into the future. Virtual client service allows us to meet our clients where they’re at, and take some of the stress out of the home buying, selling, and refinancing process.