SETTLEMENTROOM IS THE ONLY REALTOR SECURE TMS

(Read the second half of this article which cites SettlementRoom as an industry leader)

The Wasington Times (Washington, DC), Clicks and Mortar Column
By M. Anthony Carr
July 15, 2005

Your next real estate transaction may be managed from an Internet-based transaction-management system (TMS). Plenty of companies are beginning the trek toward online servicing of real estate agents' transactions. These TMS providers, so far, include title companies, software companies, real estate companies and multiple-listing services.

It's the natural progression for the industry. However, standardization and acceptance will be the key to success for any TMS -- especially if real estate firms design their own programs. Many types of companies want access to the information, and that's what muddles TMS development.

A TMS can be described as Web-based software that manages a transaction, beginning with either the buyer or seller, from listing the property or approving the loan through settlement. The system allows service providers to enter data into the transaction from any place where the Internet is accessible. Each transaction has plenty of service providers touching it -- real estate agent, title coordinator, settlement agent, home inspector, loan officer, law firm, insurance agent, pest inspector. Each would input data about his piece of the transaction into one Web-linked file hosted by the TMS company and controlled by the subscribing agent.

The challenge in today's paper-intensive real estate transaction file is to keep up with each aspect of the transaction while ensuring that each task is completed according to a legally binding contract. Most times, this is monitored through faxes and e-mails between all the parties involved -- the real estate agent, title coordinator, settlement agent and so on.

One topic for debate is who owns the transaction. Is it the listing or buyer agent, loan officer, or settlement/title company? The objects of the transaction obviously are the seller and buyer. However, they don't have the access or expertise to keep up with the scores of documents, tasks and scheduling necessary to move the transaction from contract to settlement.

The National Association of Realtors has designed a Realtor secure certification for organizations that use the "best online security practices in the real estate industry," according to the group's member Web site (www.realtor.org).

So far, only one TMS provider has received certification for its program, SettlementRoom Inc. (www.settlementroom.com). Although this certification gives the Vienna-based software/Web developer a competitive edge in implementing its program with real estate companies and multiple-listing services, so many other TMS providers are on the horizon that it will be interesting to watch to see which one wins out or at least becomes the primary TMS service in any given jurisdiction.

NAR reported recently that SettlementRoom "is the first transaction management vendor to complete the rigorous REALTOR Secure program. SettlementRoom successfully demonstrated that it met program requirements to have policies and procedures in place to protect real estate, employee and customer information from internal and external threats and to prevent business interruptions." NAR based its certification on security standards from the International Standards Organization and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

"Realtors are harnessing technology to help consumers and making that technology secure. So it's encouraging to see an industry firm like SettlementRoom demonstrate that it takes seriously the security of data from Realtors, consumers, and others involved in the transaction," Mark Lesswing, NAR vice president, was quoted as saying in a press release on Realtor.org.

Of the 42 transaction-management sites listed by the Web directory site ReBuz.com, several already are kaput, while others redirect the click from the original URL to another entity. The battle is fierce, and the field of winners already has begun to narrow.

Here are several Web sites for current TMS providers:
• Access2RE: www.access2re.com.
• AutoRealty: www.autorealty.com.
• ClosingCounsel.com: www.closingcounsel.com.
• DocuTech: www.docutechcorp.com.
• ELynx Ltd.: www.elynx.com.
• Electronic Original Co.: www.eoriginal.com.
• Hall Settlement Systems: www.hallsystems.com (formerly BridgeSpan.com).
• MBH Settlement Group: www.mbh.com.
• REApplications: www.reapplications.com.
• TrackMy.com: www.trackmy.com.
• Wintrans Solutions: www.etranscentral.com.

M. Anthony Carr has written about real estate since 1989. He is the author of "Real Estate Investing Made Simple." Post questions or comments at his Web log (http://commonsenserealestate.blogspot.com).