Good reasons to go paperless in real estate.

A paperless workplace is one of those fantastic ideas that everyone as a whole wish to realize but just cannot seem to actualize.  Who doesn't want to go green? 

Yosemite's Beautiful Trees

What are the advantages of going paperless?

• Save Money
• Reduce, or eliminate the clutter and gain focus
•  Become environment friendly and live greener
• Enhanced customer service
• Improved public image 

That's all well and good, but how do you, as an agent, go paperless?   There will always be times where you have to click on "print," but there are also ways of saving paper.  Think about your e-mail for example:  Do you currently use this as a storage system for transactions and communications?   Just think if you had to print off all those e-mails!

So consider saving your e-mails using such services as Yahoo's free e-mail service or Google's G-Mail.  Both allow you to store a HUGE amount of info and the e-mails won't automatically disappear after a set time.  Plus when you send PDF's and other files via an e-mail it essentially "backs up" those files.


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Also, start using your office PDF machine!  We have these devices that will allow you to take any paper document and simply send it as a PDF to any e-mail you wish.  And if you start requesting other agents you work with to PDF and/or e-mail you instead of faxing this WILL also help.


Click here to learn more about PDF's:  PDF's on Wikipedia

You could also invest in E-Fax or a like product.  These services give you a number that's all your own and when people do fax you it simply sends the fax to your e-mail as a PDF.  Most of these plans run around $10 to $30 a month depending on your volume.  

But most importantly just ask yourself when you're about to print, do I really need this?  Is this something I can just go to my e-mail and look at later?

Facts about trees

• The shade and wind buffering provided by trees reduces annual heating and cooling costs by 2.1 billion dollars.
• Each average-sized tree provides an estimated $7 savings in annual environmental benefits, including energy conservation and reduced pollution.
• A single tree produces approximately 260 pounds of oxygen per year. That means two mature trees can supply enough oxygen annually to support a family of four!
• Water originating in our national forests provide drinking water for over 3400 communities, and approximately 60 million individuals.
• One tree can absorb as much carbon in a year as a car produces while driving 26,000 miles.
• Over the course its life, a single tree can absorb one ton of carbon dioxide.
• An average American uses about 750 pounds of paper every year, and 95% of homes are built using wood. That means each person uses the equivalent of one 100 foot tall, 16 inch diameter, tree every year for their paper and wood product needs.
• About one third of the United States of America is covered by forests.
• According to the last forest inventory, there are almost 247 billion trees over 1 inch in diameter in the U.S.
• The average tree in an urban/city area has a life expectancy of only 8 years.
• The tallest tree in the country is a Coast Redwood growing in northern California's Redwood National Park. It is 369 feet tall and over 2000 years old!