The blockchain, a technology which is taking the world by storm, has the advantage of having many uses–the most popular one being the enabling technology behind cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The blockchain has many other uses, including those that enable data to be securely stored and verified.That is the technology CPROP is using to address common and major challenges happening in real estate markets in the world such as improving inefficiency and security.
CPROP’s decentralized platform has the advantage of being built by a highly experienced team which features Adam Koehler, who was a co-founder of Dotloop Inc., now owned by Zillow.
So, what’s the project all about?
CPROP aims to make the process of transacting in the real estate market more efficient, auditable and protectable from negative aspects such as contract tampering, fraud, corruption, human errors and excessive delays.
CPROP’s platform will allow all parties to a transaction to see where all the bits and pieces of a deal stand at any point in time, so critical path items can be readily flagged to avoid delays in closing. The platform also allows property investors to research, make transactions with cryptocurrencies, and have a reliable record ownership of their domestic and international property investment, all in one app.
We recently sat down with Adam Koehler, a Co-Founder of CPROP, to have a chat with him about the project as well as finding out his thoughts and insights.
Hi, Adam. Thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us more about yourself and CPROP?
My background is in marketing and startups. I co-founded a company in 2009 called Dotloop that allowed real estate purchase contracts to be signed digitally. At the time, the fax machine was the tool of the trade and by bringing documents online, transactions were completed much faster. Our CEO always said “Time kills deals” and now CPROP hopes to bring this same thinking to the “last mile” of the real estate transaction process.
First off, why did you decide to use the blockchain in building CPROP?
What can the blockchain do that other technologies cannot?
Blockchain technology has some unique attributes that make it particularly useful in the real estate industry, particularly around documenting property ownership and mortgages. The immutability of data housed on a blockchain makes it resistant to fraud and helps keep critical information in a place where it can always be found, no matter how many times a property or mortgage changes hands. It’s kind of like never having to look for your car keys.
Tell us about how you came up with the idea of CPROP. Did you face a problem within the real estate industry or do you think there is a gap in the market for CPROP to fill?
CPROP is short for CryptoProperties LLC, the legal name of the company. When I was part of Dotloop, we developed a solution that addressed inefficiencies in the way purchase and sale agreements were negotiated and executed. With CPROP, we’re targeting inefficiencies inherent in actually closing the deal – the difficult part that comes after the purchase and sale agreement is negotiated. I like to refer to this as “the last mile”.
What do you think is the biggest problem CPROP will solve and why is the problem important to solve?
In any transaction, there are a myriad of intermediaries and service providers and lots of pieces of information that need to be gathered, documented, signed and so forth. There are many moving parts involving many people. Most of the time, there is no consensus on the critical path which slows down the closing process. And if a transaction involves a buyer and seller that are located far away from one another, like in different countries, these challenges can become exponentially greater.
Even before the blockchain existed, why do you think it took so long for people to find a solution to real estate’s biggest problems? Did people just didn’t care enough about it to make a difference?
The real estate industry, while very large, is not highly technology-enabled. People are used to doing things a certain way and getting them to move away, for example, from the fax machine takes time. We saw this at Dotloop. But there is a tipping point when it just happens. The vast majority of all residential purchase agreements negotiated in the US now go through the Dotloop system.
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Real estate is one of the largest asset classes in the world, yet technology adoption lags other major economic sectors Consequently, it is ripe for technological advances that will deliver extreme value to all parties involved in the a transaction–buyers, sellers, their respective service providers, mortgage lenders and government registries.
In your opinion, what do you think are the biggest changes that will happen once smart contracts are commonplace in the real estate industry? What is the power of smart contracts here?
Smart contracts offer the promise of automating repetitive tasks that are largely the same from one deal to the next. It will be interesting to see how far and fast the real estate market can adapt and take advantage of this new technology.
About tokenizing property and mortgage deeds in CPROP, how does that work and why did you choose to make this decision? Is tokenization a similarly revolutionary concept like smart contracts?
No doubt. We were at a conference recently where a lawyer from Panama was saying that something like 70% of all the owned land and property in the world is not properly titled. This guy made the point that, without such documentation, a family cannot use what is often its largest asset to collateralize a loan to start or expand a small business which we all know is where most jobs are created. This, in turn, creates a drag on the local economy. So it’s really a much bigger issue, as the ability to create immutable property records, enabled by blockchain technology, can be a catalyst for positive economic change on a global scale.
How are you integrating with other real estate portals in the market currently?
Our goal is to design CPROP so that we are adding value to existing real estate portals as we see a lot of value in integrating with those established enterprises. We want them to want us. How, exactly, that integration will look is what we are presently discussing with several of them now.
What has been your happiest moment so far working on CPROP? On the flipside, what has been the most painful, or perhaps the most regretful decision you’ve made with CPROP?
That we didn’t start this process six months sooner.
Is the CPROP platform already working with notable businesses or firms? Are there any future partnerships in process? If yes, can you explain briefly about it?
Sure. We are planning a number of partnerships with blockchain companies, in addition to the real estate portals we discussed earlier. Blockchain alliances that are presently under discussion include companies providing fiat/crypto payment gateways, crypto-collateralized fiat loans, smart contract templates and identity verification.
Why did you make the choice to use the CPROP token as the backbone of CPROP? Can you also explain more about the process of planning and designing the CPROP token to specifically fit in CPROP’s ecosystem?
Our token structure is based on a membership model where service providers, including real estate agents and brokers, would purchase a nominal amount of tokens each year to have access to the platform and secure a position in our service provider directory. However, we have gone a step further to ensure token supply remains in check and reduces over time by committing to have tokens tendered for memberships routed to a locked wallet where they would be permanently removed from circulation. Our modeling shows this to be a fast and effective way to reduce tokens in circulation. We would continue this practice until we reach some minimum number of tokens required to keep the platform running effectively, presently estimated to be about 21 million.
What do you think is the biggest challenge or obstacle CPROP will face? How do you plan to tackle that challenge?
The biggest obstacle, by far, is going to be technology adoption by the real estate profession. This is another reason why we plan to integrate with real estate portals. We saw this with Dotloop – when we were acquired by Zillow, our market share shot through the roof.
Moving on to more personal stuff, what does a typical day in your life look like?
Planning our crypto event here in Cincinnati for December 12 has taken a big chunk of my time for the past few weeks. There’s a measure of pride at work here because we want the event to be successful in our hometown which is not known as a technology hub for blockchain. I’ve been working hard to connect with folks locally to generate interest – both those already in the crypto community as well as those that know nothing about it but are curious.
Can you express one personal opinion of yours about the blockchain? It doesn’t matter if it’s negative or positive, we just want to hear your thoughts on it.
I think there is a lot of buzz about blockchain in general which is great and I think it will impact the future of business. What I do see a lot of are putting big hopes put on the technology that is probably not commercially feasible. Just like many things in this world, the truth of what actually pans out lies somewhere in the middle.
Finally, what other personal goals (besides your career) do you have in life? Is there anything else in life you want to achieve?
Travel everywhere. I love exploring different cultures on this big planet we call home.
That concludes our Interview with Adam Koehler.
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