Handling the paperwork in a secure, regulation-friendly way would go a long way to improving the experience of purchasing property.
I was surprised that my realtor, lawyer and mortgage broker all asked me to email sensitive financial information without any encryption and believed that a signature on a piece of paper is better than the cryptographic alternatives available today (which they don't even know about).
Especially with all of the intelligence-community BS that gets involved in the process today! I was flabberghasted that my lawyers office had no idea what an encryption key is. "Oh just email those bank statements over," they'd say. "No thanks," I replied, "I'll hand them to you myself."
And what a pain in the ass. I don't get paid to courier all that paperwork around.
And they have no idea. Think your insurance information is safe? I'd be surprised. These people just email sensitive documents around in the open. It's crazy.
I initially felt the same way as you about emailing documents and stuff when buying my house; but I figured that no matter how much trouble I put myself through, it wouldn't stop those others from emailing and faxing my stuff to here, there, and yonder.
I was surprised that my realtor, lawyer and mortgage broker all asked me to email sensitive financial information without any encryption and believed that a signature on a piece of paper is better than the cryptographic alternatives available today (which they don't even know about).
Especially with all of the intelligence-community BS that gets involved in the process today! I was flabberghasted that my lawyers office had no idea what an encryption key is. "Oh just email those bank statements over," they'd say. "No thanks," I replied, "I'll hand them to you myself."
And what a pain in the ass. I don't get paid to courier all that paperwork around.
And they have no idea. Think your insurance information is safe? I'd be surprised. These people just email sensitive documents around in the open. It's crazy.