How will blockchain technology it impact real estate?
While tokenization of real estate is coming, Samuel Grossman sees the immediate impact with data and transparency.
Watch as Samuel discusses blockchain and real estate on the latest episode of Real Estate Hacking Live.
Watch the full episode of How Will Blockchain Technology Impact the Future of Real Estate: https://youtu.be/srBWp3vyhK0
Transcript:
Chris Bounds 00:02
How is blockchain gonna change the real estate world? How is it going to impact the real estate world?
Samuel Grossman 00:08
Well, I think it’s already impacting it. I mean, at the end of the day, you know, what blockchain technology really does is it leads to a few things. So, for us, you know, the reason why I joined in venom is what it does is it creates transparency. How does it do that? Well, it credentials data, right verifies data. And, you know, Blockchain, you know, what does it really do?
It’s just saying that, you know, this document, you know, belongs to this person, this building, whatever it may be, and, you know, it creates real data that allows you to make real decisions on real information, expedite those decisions, makes it more efficient. But at the, you know, at the end of the day, really, it’s transparency, that to me, that is the key. Sure, eventually, you can talk about how it creates liquidity, how the tokenization of real estate provides liquidity, but I think that’s, you know, next stage, next phase, you know. For right now, I just think it’s helping provide accuracy and transparency.
Chris Bounds 01:19
Where- How do you see it impacting the actual closing process? Documents, recording, accuracy, dispositions refinancing, that kind of stuff?
Samuel Grossman 01:30
Well, I think it, it definitely, it can be a game changer, obviously, you know, you need some, some regulatory changes to allow that. But, you know, I make the example of a notary, for example, right? The the closing documents, always need a notary. A notary really is a person that you’ve never met before, that you’re handing your license to. And they’re saying, looking at your picture and saying, “Okay, yeah, that is Sam gross.” And he’s gonna sign it.
Chris Bounds 02:01
It’s real legit, right?
Samuel Grossman 02:02
Real legit. So, if I were to tell you, we could use blockchain technology to make that process a lot more accurate. Not to mention expedite the closing process. I don’t think there’d be a lot of people in the room that would say, “No, I don’t want to do that.” Again, it’s, it’s the same concept of accuracy. And I think that, you know, that really, at the end of the day is what blockchain technology can bring to real estate across, you know, every facet.
Whether it’s a closing, whether it’s a transaction, whether it’s a buy or sell. That’s really what it has the ability to do is that it can verify both parties. It can replace, you know, the proof of funds, the POF and an offer. It solves in my opinion, a lot of the back and forth, that prolongs the transaction itself, whether it’s the negotiating, or actually the closing itself.
The contracts, I mean, you got smart contracts now. So, you know, the days of handwriting and and showing up to a showing with a blank offer? Well, it’s kind of a thing of the past, right? So DocuSign replaced a lot of that, but I think blockchain can add tap just a whole nother level of security and clarity.
Chris Bounds 03:31
Do you think it stands to replace title companies? At least as we know them now.
Samuel Grossman 03:42
You know, I don’t think, I don’t think blockchain replaces anything. I don’t think it’s like I say all the time, and Venom isn’t going to replace the app folios the real pages of the world, it’s going to enhance it. Blockchain has the ability to enhance, not replace. And, and I think that’s a key factor for everyone to understand is that it doesn’t necessarily need to replace, to make things better, to improve.
You know, it can, it can disrupt in a good way, right? So, blockchain is disruptive, but it’s disruptive in a good way. And why is that? Because it allows- it disrupts the the nature of the industry, and that it can solve its inadequacies. It can make, it can just make things more efficient and more effective.
You know, I see as an I was not a believer, I was a client of venom before I you know, had a position with him before I was out there, you know, selling the platform and selling the concept of blockchain six months ago. I didn’t know what blockchain was. I didn’t know what, you know, crypto was.
We all know what, you know, people think when they hear those words. I don’t utter those words anymore. Um, I try to stick to blockchain. But you know, it’s really just a token and you know, what’s a token, right? It’s a digital verification.
So,everyone in this world is really trying to get clarity, is trying to get a better way of getting from point A to point B, that’s cost effective, but allows them to, you know, make that decision more efficiently with better data for a better outcome. And to me, that’s what blockchain is, and that’s-
Chris Bounds 05:45
The average really with you and you can go back and threads where I was making fun of Bitcoin and crypto. And I mean, just humbly speaking, it was a lack of education. That’s just one facet, you know, blockchains. You know, really the highway that those, those, what would you call them?
Features, travel on. So, blockchain is the big, big apple, from a platform standpoint, where do we need to get to, to where we can start buying tokenized securities, actual real estate, just like you would a stock trade, like where it’s seconds away. And it’s that seamless from an end in, like user experience?
Samuel Grossman 06:36
First, I’d like to make it very clear. I in no way am an expert in talking about anything securities wise. And if you’re asking me my opinion of the next step of how tokenized real estate works, it really is from a refi standpoint. It’s tokenizing, an asset that you already own.
It’s recapturing equity, it’s re, it’s refinancing capital sex. I’m no, I’m not a proponent of raising money to purchase real estate from a tokenized standpoint. I believe that the proof of concept and the education to the market is imperative to do it the other way around. I think you can tokenize assets that you already own and provide liquidity to your current investor base.