paperless??

 Happy Labor Day everyone.  To celebrate Labor Day (and to avoid having live talent on air) one of my husband's favorite TV stations ran a series of shows today on various kinds of jobs.  The one I found most interesting was all about the production of paper products.  They looked at everything from creating reams of printer paper to rolls of toilet paper.  They made the point that we, as a country, are using much more paper than ever before.  I know they're right and it made me laugh because I saw first hand that increase in paper usage when I was working in real estate, first as a mortgage loan officer, then as a Realtor.  Early in my days in real estate, we were all excited when we could access information about houses on a computer instead of relying on the big fat Multiple Listing book that was published regularly.  Of course, when we found several houses listed on the computer, we had to print out the information on each property before we could show them to our prospective buyers.  Then we made multiple copies so everyone involved had the information.  If you were the listing agent, you made many many copies of the information about the house you were selling, to had out at open houses.  But that was the olden days.  Now everyone can access MLS information on their phones or tablets and there isn't nearly as much need for paper.  Until, that is, we come to closing on a transaction.  When I was still selling real estate I observed that every closing involved at least one more document than the one before it.  A friend of mine, who is active in real estate now, assures me that it's still the same.  Just to give you an idea of the amount of paper involved, a closing involving a conventional mortgage will require a stack of legal size paper one inch thick.  For an FHA loan figure an inch and a half stack of papers, and for a VA loan, two inches.  So rest easy, all you paper producers.  If the real estate industry is any indication, your product will be needed for years to come.