I remember the late 1990s when everyone wanted to do an eClosing pilot. Everyone thought that eMortgages would blow up and go mainstream faster than you can imagine. Well, here we are over 15 years later and eMortgages are still not mainstream. But fear not, there is renewed industry interest and good things are happening once again.
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For example, DocMagic Inc. has successfully completed the mortgage industry’s first comprehensive eClosing in Massachusetts, which included both lender and closing/settlement agent documentation, for radius financial group, inc.
DocMagic’s Total eClose solution is a single-source platform that contains all of the components needed to facilitate a completely paperless digital closing. Paramount to achieving the end-to-end eClosing was eNotarization services provided by strategic partner World Wide Notary (WWN). Once the eClosing process begins, documents requiring notary acknowledgment are automatically grouped by the system and electronically executed in the presence of the notary. The entire process takes only minutes and can happen in the comfort of the borrower’s home.
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DocMagic’s solution includes all of the critical components required to execute a fully digital eClosing transaction: its dynamic eDocument library that features eSignature, eNotary, and MERS eRegistration capabilities, and the system automatically stores all data and documents within a secure eVault designed to make investor eDelivery as simple as a few clicks. The single-source platform creates a highly-efficient, transparent and fully compliant eClosing process that guides users through every step, logs all activities and creates an irrefutable audit trail.
Also key to DocMagic enabling radius’ first eClosing was the participation of Santander Bank, which served as the eWarehouse lender. “In addition to having integrated eNotary capability, one of the last remaining obstacles to adoption has been the reluctance of warehouse players to fund eNotes,” said Tim Anderson, director of eServices at DocMagic. “We helped test and implement an eWarehouse process to eDeliver acceptance of the eNote to Santander Bank within seconds after the eClosing was completed. This is an industry-altering achievement.”
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DocMagic maintains detailed evidence of TRID compliance from the original loan application and Loan Estimate (LE) to delivery of the final Closing Disclosure (CD) with data, compliance determinations, calculations and documents all stored within DocMagic’s eVault for proof of compliance.
So, it’s certainly great that the eMortgage is catching on again, even if it had to be re-branded and called the Digital Mortgage to get where it is today. Hopefully the industry will get it right this time.
Where do we go from here to make this effort this time around a success? More vendors and lenders have to move in this direction. The more vendors that offer an eMortgage solution and the more lenders that adopt it, the better.
And we are starting to see this happen. For example, NotaryCam has launched what it calls its eClose360 platform. “What we’ve done has cracked the code around that last mile friction in a real estate mortgage transaction,” said Rick Triola, president and CEO at NotaryCam. “Our eClose360 is an online notary platform that allows mortgage closings to take place online, completely, removing all associated stress and the friction of having to attend closings physically. Borrowers now attend anytime from anywhere in the World and we have legally completed tens of thousands of notarizations in all 50 states and over 65 countries.”
Over the past several years the system has been in a pilot program with top online mortgage lenders to close loans nationwide. “Having borrowers attend our closings from anywhere — even overseas, even at 7 a.m. on a Saturday — has been most rewarding. Our partners have been thrilled by the tremendous feedback from their borrowers and loan officers. Closing On Demand — they couldn’t ask for anything better,” Triola stated.
NotaryCam allows businesses and individuals to legally notarize, sign and execute documents and agreements online. Parties from anywhere in the world can connect to a live notary public in a secure virtual signing room. Identities and eSignatures are verified in a face-to-face web interaction to eClose real estate and mortgage transactions, notarize deeds, powers of attorney, health directives, and more. NotaryCam was developed in lockstep with the changing needs of the GSEs to ensure that eClose360 would meet all investor requirements.
I’m cautiously optimistic that this time it’s the real deal. This time the eMortgage, or the Digital Mortgage, or whatever you want to call it, will in fact go mainstream.