For want of a nail, a kingdom was lost. For want of a spellchecker, a million-dollar home sale was lost. Simple typos on the HUD closing statement will at best delay your payment, and at worst torpedo the deal completely.
Small Errors, Big Consequences
It happens to all real estate professionals. The HUD settlement statement is a long, complex form. No matter how experienced you are, you can make a mistake. It could be a misspelled name, transposed digits, an inaccurate interest rate or a simple arithmetic error. You do your best to provide accurate information and to proof the documents before getting them signed, but it still happens. A mistake is made, someone notices it and now you have a problem.
How serious a problem? Well it depends. Simple errors may simply mean submitting a corrected form. With luck you could close the deal the same day. On the other hand, people may not be able to change their schedules and now the deal — and your payment — is delayed by several days. If the transaction has already been delayed for other reasons, then the contract to close might expire and you could lose the deal completely.
Technology to the Rescue
This is one of the many reasons successful real estate professionals use HUD settlement statement software such as Easy HUD. Automatic calculations avoid the mistakes inherent when doing the work manually. Embedded tax tables ensure you are using the right rates for the sale, which is especially important if your business crosses tax borders.
It’s not just about the numbers. Then integrated spell checker catches typos in other parts of the HUD or in the other forms, letters and other documents you can generate with the software. You can save partially filled-in HUD forms to be used as templates so you don’t have to keep typing the same information on every form, and that gives less opportunity for embarrassing errors.
With dedicated real estate agent and attorney practice management software so affordable and readily available, there really is no excuse for careless errors. No the software doesn’t take the place of your own diligence and proofreading, but it does gives you another set of unblinking electronic eyes that will catch many of your mistakes. Don’t continue to practice using last century’s technology. Contact us to find out how Easysoft Legal Software technology helps your real estate business succeed.
