Real Estate Contract Management Software: Key Features To Look For In 2024

Contract management is an essential part of a real estate business. Drafting, negotiating, signing, renewing, and terminating real estate contracts is a complex process that involves multiple stakeholders with diverse interests. Contract management processes help you ensure all parties' needs are met while maintaining compliance with legal and regulatory standards. 

Real estate contract management software is designed to make contract management easier. The goals are simple: reducing reliance on manual processes, eliminating mistakes, and maintaining compliance. 

In this article, I explain what is real estate contract management software and review the key features to look for in an effective contract management solution. 

Let’s get started. 

What is real estate contract management?

Real estate contract management is the process of creating, negotiating, implementing, and monitoring business contracts in real estate. Real estate contract management typically involves tasks like: 

• Drafting contracts. Creating detailed agreements that outline the terms and conditions of the transaction. These documents can include lease agreements, purchase agreements, listing agreements, and property management contracts.
• Negotiating terms. Negotiations and modification of contracts by buyers, sellers, agents, brokers, and lenders. 
• Executing contracts. Signing and executing contracts after negotiations are complete. 
• Organizing documents. Organization and effective storage of all relevant documents. Agents, lawyers, and property managers require easy access to review contracts and safeguard compliance. 
• Tracking critical dates. Tracking all the dates for signing documents, closing dates, payment schedules, lease renewals, and other key milestones. Contracts may also need amendments due to changing circumstances. 
• Ensuring compliance. Real estate transactions must comply with various legal and regulatory requirements. Contract management ensures that all aspects of the agreement adhere to these laws to avoid legal complications.
• Addressing disputes. Despite careful planning, disputes can arise during real estate transactions. Effective contract management resolves these issues through negotiation or legal means to prevent escalation. 
• Closing and archiving. Once all obligations have been met and the transaction is complete, contracts are closed out formally. Proper archiving is essential for future reference or in case any questions or issues arise later on.

Due to the complexity of real estate contracts and increasing workload, many real estate businesses struggle with organizing effective contract management. 

Challenges of real estate contract management

Some common challenges that real estate businesses are facing in 2024 include:

• Fragmentation of contract data and document management. Contracts and associated documents are often dispersed across various storage locations, such as physical filing systems, email attachments, and disparate cloud storage platforms. This fragmentation makes it difficult to locate, access, and track necessary contract information, which leads to potential oversights and delays in processing.
• Inefficient contract tracking. Effective contract tracking allows key stakeholders, particularly legal teams, to have visibility into the exact stage a contract is at within its lifecycle without having to navigate multiple systems. Poor tracking can lead to significant negative outcomes, such as friction during deal closures due to parties being unaware of contract statuses. Internal conflicts may also arise due to team members not knowing the cause of delays.
  
• Contract compliance. Managing compliance can be challenging, especially for businesses handling high-risk or large volumes of contracts. Common issues include lack of oversight, inefficient version control, and lack of timely adaptation to regulatory changes. Non-compliance can damage a company's reputation and client relationships since regulations are designed to protect both parties and build trust.
  
• Drafting process. Drafting also poses challenges if not consistent across the organization. Poor drafting practices include inconsistent language and clauses, misplaced documents or outdated versions being used, and data loss when using multiple drafting tools. These issues delay the contract lifecycle but are fixable with standardized processes. 
  
• Timelines and deadlines. Each phase of the contract lifecycle—from due diligence to loan approval to closing—must adhere to specific timeframes. Missing these deadlines can have serious repercussions, such as financial penalties or loss of transaction opportunities.

Real estate contract management software allows to address these challenges, standardize processes, and create effective contract management workflows. 

What is real estate contract management software?

Real estate contract management software is designed to streamline and automate the entire lifecycle of real estate contracts. It helps legal and business teams create, negotiate, execute, and track various documents such as lease agreements, purchase agreements, and property management contracts. This software centralizes all necessary features into one platform, which allows real estate staff to work with stakeholders to create, modify, and electronically sign contracts. The contracts are then stored in a centralized database and can be accessed whenever necessary. 

Features of real estate contract management software

Real estate contract software provides features that simplify contract management workflow. The common features include:

Centralized data repository

Centralized contract storage and retrieval is a foundation of effective real estate contract management. Real estate contracts involve numerous documents that require the attention of multiple parties. Therefore, you need to provide high visibility into contract data to authorized individuals while safeguarding sensitive information from unauthorized access. 

A centralized data repository provides a safe, online location accessible 24/7. This allows team members to quickly identify, query, filter, and report on required information without searching through shared and local drives. 

Contracts stored in these databases can be end-to-end encrypted and feature role-based access controls, which ensures that only authorized personnel can view or modify sensitive information. This ensures that all stakeholders can access vital contract information such as tax records, title records, predetermined terms and conditions, purchase agreements, disclosures, and custom settlements. 

The database also enables parties to maintain a track record of changes for future reference in case of disputes. As contract volumes grow, a centralized database becomes indispensable for keeping data organized, secure, and easily accessible. 

Standardized templates

Standardized templates are designed to ensure consistency and compliance across all agreements. Here’s how they function within contract management systems:

• Predefined clauses. Standardized templates include a collection of pre-approved clauses tailored for specific contract types, such as non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) or purchase agreements. This ensures that every contract begins with a solid legal foundation.
  
• Customization flexibility. While templates provide a standard structure, they also allow users to customize details as needed. This flexibility enables users to adapt specific clauses to meet the unique requirements of each counterparty or transaction without compromising legal integrity.
  
• Self-service capability. Business users can confidently draft contracts using these templates with minimal legal oversight. This self-service capability reduces the bottleneck often caused by waiting for legal approvals and accelerates the overall contracting process.
  
• Analytical insights. Some platforms provide reports that highlight frequently used clauses and clause types. Authorized users can view all contracts containing a specific clause or clause type within the Reports module. 
  
• Scalability. The use of standardized templates allows organizations to successfully handle an increasing volume of contracts. Once a template is created, it can be used repeatedly, which saves time and resources.

Standardized templates enable organizations to control adherence to established policies and standards. This reduces the risk of errors or inconsistencies that could lead to disputes or compliance issues. 

Document Editing

Document editing functionality is a key feature in real estate contracts software. It helps to simplify and organize the contract creation and negotiation process. Some editing features to look for include: 

• Browser-based editing. Real-time contract negotiation within the browser eliminates the need for switching between multiple tools, which simplifies editing and speeds up sales cycles. 
• Permission Settings. Permission settings allow you to set specific permissions for viewing, commenting, filling fields, or writing. In this way, you can be sure that documents are accessed based on user roles. 
• Comments and Discussions. A commenting section allows stakeholders to add comments and participate in discussions through replies. This can also include visibility settings to control who can view comments.
• Secure Sharing Options. Secure sharing allows contracts to be shared via password-protected links. This may also enable counterparties to access and review contracts without needing a software account. 
• Change Tracking. Tracking features provide summaries of all changes and comments post-review. You also see which changes were made through redlining, which makes it easier to accept or reject edits. 

These features allow businesses to simplify contract negotiations and keep a complete history of user activities for transparency and accountability throughout the contract lifecycle.

Automated workflows

Automated workflows in real estate deal management software streamline the review and approval process of contracts. Workflow features can include:

• Automation of approval. The workflow system may enable you to create both sequential and parallel approval processes to help stakeholders review contracts quickly and in the right order. This allows contracts to move quickly through necessary channels without bypassing key decision-makers. 
• User Roles and Permissions. Assigning specific roles to users allows you to control who can view, edit, or approve contracts. This role-based access ensures that sensitive information is protected. 
• Customizable Workflows. Workflows can be tailored to fit unique business processes. Organizations can create conditional variations or entirely new workflows easily, which allows them to adapt the system to changing requirements without disrupting existing operations.
• Automation of Routine Tasks. The system can automate routine tasks such as contract renewals or client account updates to save time and reduce the likelihood of human error. This allows you to achieve faster outcomes while freeing up resources for more demanding tasks. 

Workflow management functionality makes sure that all contracts follow a standardized path from creation to execution, which makes the process quicker and decreases the number of errors. 

eSignature functionality

eSignature functionality allows you to add legally binding electronic signatures to contracts from anywhere, on any device. This capability removes the need for wet ink signatures or separate eSigning tools, which makes the process faster and more convenient. Aside from the eSignature itself, here are some e-signature features you can look for in real estate offer management software: 

• Dynamic Data Insertion. This feature automatically inserts relevant data into agreements to ensure that documents look native and tailored. The app may also upload relevant data directly from your systems and generate tables and terms automatically, which reduces the need for manual work. 
• Document Format Support. It’s important that your system supports a wide range of document file types, such as .doc, .docx, .pdf, .xls, .xlsx, and more. The system may even recognize PDF fields and automatically convert them to signer fields for ease of use.
• Guided Signing Process. The system may provide you with standard tags to collect signatures, initials, names, titles, and other information. When necessary, you could create custom tags for future use. 
• Field Restrictions and Validation. To prevent errors during entry, the system may allow you to restrict data types in specific fields (e.g., text, email, or phone number). 
• Supplemental Document Handling. For convenience, you may include additional legal disclosures or terms as distinct parts of an envelope. This will allow signers to easily view and accept supplemental documents as required. 

These features of contract management software for real estate help to streamline contract signing, reduce administrative burdens, and eliminate mistakes. 

Calendar and Reminders Functionality

Real estate contract management solutions incorporate calendar and reminder functionality to help you manage contract deadlines and obligations. These features help businesses track schedules and automate renewal reminders. Here's a breakdown of the key features:

• Automated Renewal Reminders. This feature allows you to automatically track critical contract dates and set up reminders for upcoming renewals. 
• Month View Calendar. An easy-to-understand calendar may display contract schedules and reminders in a user-friendly month-view format. This provides a simple visual overview of current contract obligations. 
• Renewals and Extensions. This feature allows you to automatically renew contracts and create extensions based on predefined criteria. This allows your team to adjust contract term periods without manual intervention. 

These features of real estate document software allow businesses to focus on strategic priorities while ensuring compliance with contractual obligations. 

Why custom real estate contract management software?

When choosing contract management software, you can opt for an off-the-shelf or custom solution. Examples of popular off-the-shelf solutions include Docusign, ContractWorks, and ContractBook. 

While off-the-shelf solutions provide you with benefits like low upfront costs and quicker implementation, they are difficult to modify, scale, and adapt to your business needs. 

Custom solutions, on the other hand, are tailored exactly to your needs. By collaborating with a reliable software development partner, you can develop a solution that aligns perfectly with your workflows and addresses the unique needs of your organization. 

Additionally, when you need to implement new features or adjust existing ones, you can easily initiate these changes by simply communicating with your development partner. This level of flexibility is often unattainable with off-the-shelf solutions. 

These benefits make custom real estate contract management software an attractive opportunity for businesses focused on long-term growth, strategic planning, and success. 

Conclusion

To sum up, real estate contract management software is designed to streamline contract negotiations, signing, renewing, and termination of contracts. It is indispensable for businesses that need to manage a large volume of contracts. 

Effective real estate contract management software massively reduces administrative load and eliminates manual work while making contract negotiations a pleasant experience for stakeholders.

At Apiko, we develop solutions tailored to the unique needs of real estate businesses while using the advantages of cutting-edge technologies. Our expertise in AI in real estate, for example, makes us an ideal AI software development partner for real estate businesses seeking to use the power of artificial intelligence to streamline their operations, optimize workflows, and reduce manual work.