Propy’s Weekly Webinar runs every Wednesday at 1 PM PST.
Weekly Webinar #127: The New Chain of Title: How Blockchain Will Affect the Title Industry
In today’s webinar, Kelly Dolyniuk and Elena Solovyov discuss the news about Propy’s NFT Avatars and the upcoming Web 3 Summit, and Gwyneth Iredale takes viewers through the dashboard of a transaction.
Propy’s NFTs and Shredders
“We’ve announced the date of the drop of the Propy NFT avatars, which we call Meta Agents and Shredders,” Elena explains, “And one of our missions is to bring along agents to educate them, and to change the way we do real estate, so it’s fitting that the artist who created this collection of characters wanted to create an agent of change.”
The drop happens on September 27, and agents will learn how to buy an avatar, connect their wallets, and then become the owner of a NFT collectible that can be used as a social profile. The avatars, designed by artist Dan Weinstein, were created as utility NFTs, which means there are bonus items included in the purchase, including a ticket to the upcoming Web 3 & Real Estate Summit, and access to the new Meta Agent course, which will teach agents how to navigate in metaverses.
Additionally, the NFT avatar owners become members of DAO, and will make decisions on how to govern this project and vote on how the treasury will be spent.
Web 3 & Real Estate Summit
Kelly shares that the second summit will occur October 27-28th in Miami, Florida at the convention center. Speakers will include Tony Giordano, Natalia Karayaneva, Nabyl Charanai, Karin Prangley, Louis LeHot, Jim Park, and Nina Fabbri, along with many others who spoke at the Summit held in March, along with some new speakers.
Learn more about the Web3 and Real Estate Summit.
Propy Title and Escrow Services
Propy now offers Title and Escrow services for all transactions in Arizona, Colorado, and Florida. Additionally, we can assist with crypto and NFT transactions in the entire U.S.
Gwyneth explains that Anna Attencio’s team at Propy Title have over 20 steps they have to take to successfully close a transaction, but from the perspective of the buyers and sellers, there is very little they have to do. Propy Title does all the heavy lifting in setting up the transaction.
All the participants in a transaction, such as the transaction coordinator, attorney, and of course the agent, and the buyer and seller, are invited to the platform so that they can view and sign documents as needed. There are different permission levels for every participant that determines what they can see on the platform.
The left-hand menu of the transaction dashboard gives participants a way to track at a glance where the deal is and the general status of it. Everything listed in this menu are traditional real estate steps, and will show with a green check mark when that step has been completed.
At the top of the dashboard is a transaction timeline, which shows the milestones that the buyer needs to be aware of, such as when the inspection is due and closing date.
Elena shares that this dashboard is easy to follow and transparent. Behind the simplicity of the dashboard is the power of Web 3 technology, and the platform is powered by blockchain.
Smart Contracts
Gwyneth points out that the steps listed in the left-hand menu all initiate smart contracts, which run on the Ethereum blockchain. As items are completed on this list, the smart contracts time and date stamp those steps, and as the transaction moves forward, this process is creating blocks on the chain. The smart contracts have various components that are automated, such as automatically assigning a document that contains the title to the correct checklist step. Using this advanced technology makes the transaction easier for the people involved in it.
Preventing Wire Fraud
Using this platform, buyers have the ability to initiate their deposit payment with just a few clicks, connect with their bank through Propy’s integration partners, and then send their payment via ACH. They will receive notifications when the payment is sent and when it clears. All the documents pertaining to this transaction are located on the secure platform. If for some reason a wire transfer needs to occur, those instructions can also be stored securely on this platform for the buyer to retrieve, which eliminates the potential for wire fraud.
The Blockchain Address
This dashboard also shows the hash that pertains to this transaction, and this information will be added to the deed. Gwyneth explains that some title companies don’t know what blockchain is, so there is also an education component involved for the team at Propy Title. When the deed is recorded with the county, a QR code is placed on the deed and that shows that the deed has been recorded on the blockchain, along with the blockchain address.
The individual documents are not physically on the blockchain. Instead, they are referenced with an ID. No personal data is ever recorded on the blockchain.
Kelly adds that because the blockchain is immutable and impossible to hack, that this provides security in case of a natural disaster destroying the county recorders office. The buyer will always have access to the blockchain address through this dashboard, and can retrieve the QR code in the case of an emergency.
Closing the Transaction
Gwyneth explains that once the deed that contains the blockchain hash is recorded with the county, a copy of that is uploaded to the dashboard, and then that will finalize the transaction. This creates the provenance, or what is called the Genesis block on the chain for this particular property. What this means is that a title company will not have to go back past this time with their title research on future sales of this property.
Signing Documents and Storing Forms
Propy Title has an integration with DocuSign, and any documents that have already been signed can be uploaded to the dashboard. Each transaction will have an email address that will allow the agent or other participants to add documents to the secure storage.
If an agent has a different form that needs to be used, we can obtain that, or an agent can email those into the storage area. Everything done through Propy Title is what you would go through with a transaction with any title company, only this process is secure, transparent, faster, and recorded on the blockchain.
Transactions can be done in a traditional manner using 100% Fiat, or crypto can be used for the down payment or purchase amount. Propy Title is set up to handle all types of transactions, though primarily we work with traditional transactions.
Outside Title Companies Can Participate
If an outside title company is going to be used, they are invited to the dashboard, just like any other participant. However, to receive the funds, that title company will need to become a Propy client, so that we can set them up and connect their bank to allow the deposit payment to go to their bank. It’s an easy process with a 20-minute setup call.
Propy Academy
Kelly explains that Adam Brown, Propy’s VP of Education and Industry Relations, is now teaching the Propy Academy course, which is basically the Crypto Certified Agent course taught to a brokerage. Agents can still go through the Crypto Certified Agent course individually by going to Propy.com and looking under the Courses tab. This course is a great way to learn the basics about crypto, blockchain, and how it applies to real estate.
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