Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/400168
e-signatures on its residential short- sale and real-estate-owned properties. Other retail landlords besides We- ingarten are noting the trend. Kimco Realty Corp. has been seeking to imple- ment e-signatures, and the company had already said it could establish the prac- tice as early as this current quarter. Until now the idea of using e-sig- natures on legal documents may have caused nervousness in some quarters. "Without question, they are legally bind- ing," said Walt Burton, a commercial real estate attorney at Thompson Bur- ton, in Nashville, Tenn. Laws pertaining to the definition and use of e-signatures have been passed in dozens of countries. Most U.S. states have enacted some form of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act of 1999, which was followed by the Electronic Signatures in Global and Na- tional Commerce Act the next year. That federal law supersedes the state laws and ensures the validity of contracts entered into electronically. "It is really that law that gives comfort nationwide to use elec- tronic signatures," Burton said. The European Directive 1999/93/ EC adopted in 1999 established a com- mon framework for the legality of e- signatures on electronic contracts in the European Union. According to Docu- Sign, 30 European countries have since implemented the directive. Tech firms continue to educate us- ers about the process and to reinforce the fact that it is an easy and secure way to manage documents. The e-signature firms have processes and security steps in place to ensure that e-signatures are authentic and the documents are valid. DocuSign's security levels and required authentication are customizable. A re- cipient may be required to provide a code before opening a document to view and sign. And various steps are taken to verify identity. DocuSign is able to place a phone call to an individual and take a biometric print or recording of that per- son's voice to confirm identity. Confirming the signature is critical, of course. If an individual is on a mobile de- vice, DocuSign records his location at the time the document is signed. All this in- formation is wrapped into the document, which is then encrypted and sealed. Were anyone to remove the document from the system later and tamper with it in any way, the system would detect that. "It creates a very secure way and a very easy way to create an agreement — with no paper involved, and from any mobile device," said Gonser. "It is just one of those things where, once people start doing it, they wonder what they were doing before." SCT r e T a i l i n g T o d a y N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 4 / S C T 55 KNOW REAL ESTATE. KNOW BUSINESS. KNOW ENGINEERING. Get the know-how to be a top-performing executive in real estate asset or development management. MS IN REAL ESTATE Launching in May 2015, a 1-year program with tracks in asset and development management. The MS Real Estate degree curriculum includes a rigorous background in quantitative fnancial analysis and management, and specifcally prepares you for careers in the fnancial, management, and the operations aspects of real estate. realestate.colorado.edu/ms/ THE DAN & LAURIE IVANOFF MBA WITH CONCENTRATION IN DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT A personalized, whole-student developmental experience. Specially designed courses. Mentoring. Experiential learning. Flagship-quality academics on a campus with fve Nobel Prize Laureates. Customized career advising with opportunities nationwide and a 90% placement rate within 3 months of graduation. Also offering an MBA with Real Estate concentration. realestate.colorado.edu/mba Leeds School of Business CU Real Estate Center College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Department of Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering