What Are Some of the Benefits of the Blockchain?
Buying a home is often the largest purchase someone makes in their lifetime, and they want to do it right. Therefore, it makes sense that they would want take advantage of those benefits, including the added security that using blockchain technology can bring. While the number of individuals who are utilizing this technology today is still relatively small, the trend is gaining ground, and it could be a good solution for those who are considering buying sometime in the next few years. Let’s look at some of the biggest changes that are likely to come with real estate moving to the blockchain.
Faster and Easier Contracts and Sales
Through the development of smart contracts, it allows for the development of real estate contracts, along with deeds, escrow, and more. It will make it possible for all of those contracts to be completed, and to have the money properly distributed, without the need to utilize attorneys or title companies. This means that it is typically going to be faster for those who are looking to buy a home. In fact, it has the potential to make buying a home, including going through and paying for the escrow and the title insurance, as simple as buying just about anything else online right now. In fact, it could become as simple as clicking on a home, adding it to a virtual shopping cart, and then making the purchase.
The blockchain technology is going to ensure that the buyer will receive the title or the deed. The seller is going to get the cash. However, they are going to be getting the cash through a cryptocurrency. They will then be able to keep it as cryptocurrency if they choose, or they could opt to exchange it for traditional cash, which they could then put into their bank, invest, or do anything else that they wish. Because they are going through the blockchain, it also means that it will create a verifiable record of the title and the deed that will go to the proper public records department.
Reduce the Possibility of Fraud
Another one of the fantastic benefits that can be had thanks to the blockchain is a reduction of fraud in the real estate field. One of the reasons that those who were buying and selling real estate would generally go through escrow companies was to ensure that both parties were safe when it came to the sale of a property. Even then, there could be the possibility of fraud. In fact, fraud accounts for millions of lost dollars each year.
Because other forms of technology have made it easier to forge documents, and because fraud has become a massive problem in real estate scams, the utilization of blockchain technology is a huge benefit. It can essentially eliminate the problems of fraud. The tech cannot be corrupted, which is one of the reasons it is so popular with cryptocurrencies and other businesses. This incorruptibility is a huge benefit for those who are going to be buying or selling real estate.
Transparent Transactions
Those who are using the blockchain technology for their transaction will also appreciate the transparency that it can offer. The process becomes faster, as mentioned, and it is easier whether they are a buyer or a seller. The entire process is also transparent, meaning that there should be no surprises and no hidden problems that are cropping up at the last minute. This is a technology that is failsafe, and it can be applied to physical properties just as easily as it has been applied with cryptocurrency.
For example, it could be possible to provide each of the homes for sale with their own digital identity. This ensures that the chain of ownership is always going to be associated with that identity no matter who owns the home now and in the future. It could even be possible to apply all costs that have been associated with home repairs, running and owning the home, and more, with that digital identity. In effect, everything about the home could be tied to that digital ID. This has a substantial amount of promise.
It Will Take Some Time
It is important to remember that we are essentially still in the early stages of blockchain technology for real estate, and it will continue to take more time for people to become accustomed to the ideas behind this technology. It will take time and the adoption of this technology by some of the top real estate companies in the field before it really starts to take off, but that does not mean that you should forego looking for these opportunities right now. There are already some real estate professionals who have embraced this option, and they can help to walk you through the entire process from start to finish.
