Austin Board of Realtors Selects SmartClose; Exclusive Online Transaction Management Partnership with Expeditrix Brings Service to More Than 4,000 Central Texas Realtors.Business Editors & Real Estate/High-Tech Writers AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 1, 2000 Expeditrix(tm) Corporation announced today that their SmartClose(sm) service was endorsed by the Austin Board of Realtors(R) (ABoR) to automate To turn a set of manual steps into an operation that goes by itself. See automation. and simplify the closing process for more than 4,000 Realtor Realtor In the United States a designation used to describe a member of the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Notes: The term "realtor" is a registered trademark and encompasses agents, brokers and associates who are members of a real-estate firm associated with and affiliate members in the greater Austin area. After reviewing several online real estate transaction management services, the Austin Board of Realtors signed an exclusive alliance agreement with Expeditrix, marking the first time the Austin Board of Realtors has ever officially endorsed a company's product, such as SmartClose. With Austin's $3 billion real estate market and a sizzling siz·zle intr.v. siz·zled, siz·zling, siz·zles 1. To make the hissing sound characteristic of frying fat. 2. To seethe with anger or indignation. 3. high tech job market attracting new transplants Transplants are an American punk rock/rap rock supergroup. They formed in 1999 when Tim Armstrong of the band Rancid played his friend and roadie Rob Aston some beats he had made using Pro Tools and asked Rob if he would consider contributing lyrics. , this secure Web-based service will enable Austin-area Realtors to provide their customers with a more efficient, accurate approach to home closing in this fast-paced market. The existing closing process, which is currently tracked and managed through volumes of paper documents, often requires upwards of 400 phone calls and 70 signatures, resulting in a frustrating frus·trate tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates 1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: and time-consuming ordeal ordeal, ancient legal custom whereby an accused person was required to perform a test, the outcome of which decided the person's guilt or innocence. By an ordeal, appeal was made to divine authority to decide the guilt or innocence of one accused of a crime or to for all parties involved. The Austin Board of Realtors is committed to providing technology tools that empower empower verb To encourage or provide a person with the means or information to become involved in solving his/her own problems its members and improve the quality of customer service. Virtually eliminated are those last minute phone calls on closing day asking `Where is this or that document.' All of the paperwork will be in the system, available to all parties, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. "We reviewed several online transaction management services and chose SmartClose because of its notification features and collaborative functions," said Diane Kennedy Diane Kennedy is an American CPA, speaker, and financial writer. She is the author of The Wall Street Journal and Business Week bestsellers, Loopholes of the Rich and Real Estate Loopholes. , president of ABoR. "Our relationship with Expeditrix illustrates ABoR's commitment to drive lasting value to its members by providing Realtors with practical technology that makes their jobs more productive. Our members and their customers will see immediate benefits by using the SmartClose system." SmartClose, the only service of its kind with proactive notification for multiple devices, connects all the participants in a residential real estate closing -- Realtors, title and mortgage companies and the buyer/seller. Austin area Realtors will utilize SmartClose as a virtual workspace that integrates with existing technology -- mobile phone, e-mail, fax, pager and personal digital assistant (PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) A handheld computer for managing contacts, appointments and tasks. It typically includes a name and address database, calendar, to-do list and note taker, which are the functions in a personal information manager (see PIM). ) -- to increase the rate of successful closings through proactive communication, improved document flow and business reporting. Expeditrix and ABoR will collaborate on joint print, online and event marketing as well as training courses to promote the SmartClose service to Central Texas Realtors. SmartClose will be made available at no cost to ABoR members through the Austin Board of Realtors endorsed Web site. Once adopted by the Realtor, the system will coordinate all the parties and documentation of each transaction. Participants in the transaction may log-on to SmartClose at any time to check on the status of the transaction or to view or print relevant documents. All information is secure and only available to the closing parties involved in the transaction. "Austin is consistently ranked the number one place to live in the U.S. and continues to rapidly grow. The Austin Board of Realtors is a leader in embracing technology and providing the necessary tools to reduce turnaround time (1) In batch processing, the time it takes to receive finished reports after submission of documents or files for processing. In an online environment, turnaround time is the same as response time. and eliminate real estate closing headaches," said Vijay Sankaran, president and CTO (Chief Technical Officer) The executive responsible for the technical direction of an organization. See CIO and salary survey. of Expeditrix. "We designed SmartClose to help agents, title and mortgage companies and other vendors more efficiently collaborate and reduce the time and complexities associated with exchanging hundreds of closing documents in a secure environment. SmartClose gives the members of the Austin Board of Realtors the ability to save time and money and better focus on their core business of selling homes." About The Austin Board of Realtors The Austin Board of REALTORS(R) is a local trade association representing approximately 4,400 licensed REALTORS(R) in the Central Texas area. Founded in 1941, the association is a non-profit voluntary membership organization. More information about the Austin Board of REALTORS(R) can be found at www.abor.org or www.austinhomesearch.com. About Expeditrix Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Expeditrix Corporation provides a hosted business-to-business Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the service that simplifies time-consuming and complex multiparty mul·ti·par·ty adj. Of, relating to, or involving more than two political parties. transactions in a variety of industries. The company's first service, SmartClose, focuses on providing collaboration solutions for the residential real estate industry. This Web-based service is fully customizable, reliable and secure, eases administrative processes and improves communication among all business participants. More information on Expeditrix and SmartClose can be found at www.expeditrix.com. Expeditrix is a registered trademark of Expeditrix Corporation. SmartClose is a registered service mark of Expeditrix Corporation. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated. |
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