As the rush continues to provide expanded data services in the commercial real estate industry, FCT has announced a joint venture with U.S.-based Remine Inc. to launch the PropertyFlow platform to Canada.

FCT, an established Canadian title insurance and technology company, announced the partnership on Monday morning.

“We have had a strong relationship with Remine Inc. for approximately three years and the launch of PropertyFlow is a natural evolution of this,” FCT chief executive officer Michael LeBlanc told RENX in an email exchange.

“The Canadian real estate landscape has been undergoing digital transformation for many years, with the pandemic making an interconnected digital real estate journey even more important.

“We knew that to stay ahead of this and reshape the future of the Canadian real estate market, it was pertinent that we bring Remine’s industry-leading technology north of the border.”

PropertyFlow will combine FCT’s existing property intelligence and Remine’s technology and capabilities to create a digital platform which can span the residential real estate lifecycle.

PropertyFlow combines MLS, public data

“Like FCT, we believe in an interconnected digital real estate journey,” Mark Schacknies, CEO and co-founder of Remine, said in the announcement. “The Canadian real estate business is changing dramatically and our proven success in delivering advanced technology to many organizations across the United States positions us well to navigate this shift.

“We look forward to working with FCT to improve the homebuying experience in Canada and remain at the forefront of the industry’s transformation.”

The platform will provide realtors, brokers and MLS boards with access to both MLS and public record data in a single view, including on- and off-market properties in one place, while offering real-time connections with potential buyers or vendors.

Consumers can view property listings and transaction details through a digital hub.

“The Remine Canada platform was designed to create a simpler, faster and improved experience for realtors and consumers, by providing all of the property intelligence and data they need in one consolidated view,” Leblanc wrote. “Before Remine, realtors were unable to provide their clients with the ability to see both public record and MLS data in one place.

Digital transaction management

“The Remine Canada platform bridges this gap by bringing together on and off-market data from the MLS and other public data sources with analytics to enhance the selling and purchase experience for realtors and their clients.

“It also offers . . . digital transaction management and a fully integrated digital document solution, the first of its kind in Canada.”

Docs+ is a proprietary digital transaction management tool with patented SmartForms providing cloud-based document creation, e-signature and transaction management tools.

Leblanc said FCT has already begun the groundwork to roll out the platform to clients.

“We are currently in the diligence stage with many boards and look forward to making significant announcements on how realtors can begin using the platform in the coming months,” he said.

The first Canadian clients to use the platform could be online within just a few months.

“The platform can run alongside existing MLS platforms or Propertyflow can provide a full state-of-the-art MLS system,” the said. “No integration is required as the application accesses a feed of the MLS data, so after customizations the application can be up and running within approximately 90 days of contract execution.“

About FCT and Remine

Founded in 1991, the FCT group of companies is based in Oakville and has over 900 employees across the country.

The group provides title insurance, default solutions and other real estate-related products and services to approximately 450 lenders, 43,000 legal professionals and 5,000 recovery professionals, as well as real estate agents, mortgage brokers and builders nationwide.

FCT is part of the First American Financial Corporation group of companies.

Remine is headquartered in Northern Virginia, with remote employees across the United States and in Canada. Its digital real estate platform has been designed for real estate agents, lenders and consumers to use throughout the real estate lifecycle – from listing or buying to close.

The company says its platform could serve up to a million real estate professionals in the United States and up to 80 boards and 130,000 professionals in Canada.