Old Mrs. O’Donnell Taught Me the First Rule of Real Estate Investing on the Blockchain… Years Ago.
The whole room gasped, but she just smiled at me.
Mrs. O’Donnell (not her real name) was a small, neatly dressed woman. She was slightly hunched, well past 80, but don’t think of pushing her around. Her smile said:
“DGAF.”
I had just said:
“Thank you for accepting the offer. I am so excited to buy this house!”
To which Mrs. O’Donnell had replied:
“I didn’t think anyone would buy it. Especially because the last tenant died there.”
Why Real Estate Will Embrace the Blockchain
Real estate may have a staid reputation, but this is rapidly changing thanks to blockchain.
Blockchain benefits include:
Fewer Middlemen
The classic example is title insurance. Moving titles to the blockchain will make real estate transactions more efficient and transparent. This could eliminate title insurance because titles are clearly documented.
Fewer middlemen also mean lower fees for all related transactions, not just title insurance.
Faster Transactions
Blockchain could mean faster listings, title searches, and title transfers, all completed quickly and securely.
The whole process would move faster… maybe even eliminating escrow companies and others holding information behind paywalls.
More Data Security
Moving digital property records, deeds, surveys, and plats to a public chain ensures records are accurate, accessible, and unalterable, resulting in….
Increased Transparency
… for everyone in the process. Currently, multiple parties control information and profit from the friction and opacity. (Again; why it takes so long to close, with additional fees at every step.)
Blockchain makes everything visible, boosting the credibility and trust between all parties. Equal access to information means faster transactions at lower costs. Blockchain may also provide more equitable and fair transactions, too, thanks to additional transparency.
Why Blocksquare Will Lead the Way
There are many people working to implement blockchain into real estate. It’s an exciting time and changes are just starting.
Blocksquare focuses on commercial real estate. The platform will be a set of protocols other real estate professionals may use, too. (ICO going on now!). Simon Kruse provides an overview.
Blocksquare appeals to me because the tokenization of commercial real estate will open this investment category to more individuals. It will provide greater liquidity and lower costs for all investors, regardless of size.
That moment with Mrs. O’Donnell was memorable because of the room’s collective gasp. Just as quickly, they all started talking at once.
Shut down this conversation! This sale must go on!
Mrs. O’Donnell had several people on her side of the table. I think she made this remark purposely. She wanted to reinforce who worked for whom.
“Don’t think I’m a dottering fool,” was the subtext. She was cashing in her portfolio. She was going to say whatever she wanted to say. No one in that office was going to stop her, or show her any disrespect.
Damn, I thought, as multiple people on her team rushed to assure my representatives that all was well.
(Dead? Yes, they quickly clarified, but not the “bad kind” of dead people way, lacking volume thereof, and in a manner unlikely to instigate a bus tour stop. Okay, I said.)
The blockchain lesson I took away that day from Mrs. O’Donnell?
Embrace Transparency
Mrs. O’Donnell wasn’t hiding this fact about her property. She knew I would find out, so, she chose to address it up front and let the handlers doing the deal, deal.
Maybe, in the future as the real estate industry embraces blockchain, there will be significantly fewer people in the room. Fewer gasps at unexpected data points.
Will the blockchain carry other information about a particular piece of real estate? More information than the notation of a deed passing between buyer and seller?
Maybe. Every property has a tale to tell.
I am participating in the Blocksquare ICO and volunteering as an Ambassador.
Check out the following resources for more information on Blocksquare (www.blocksquare.io):
One Page Doc → go.blocksquare.io/onepager
Whitepaper → go.blocksquare.io/whitepaper
Proof of Title Paper → go.blocksquare.io/proofoftitle
Help Documentation → go.blocksquare.io/helpdocs
