When the coronavirus pandemic hit, several states issued emergency orders to allow remote notarizations, joining 23 that already had permanent laws allowing remote online notarization (RON). A number of the stopgap measures, however, didn’t actually allow RON; instead they authorized a decidedly lower-tech alternative called remote ink-signed notarization (RIN).

Like RON, RIN allows notaries to use videoconferencing technology to notarize documents remotely, but it involves wet-signing paper documents instead of using eSign and eNotary. 

How a new lender found success amid the pandemic: Download the MortgageCountry case study

The RON vs. RIN dichotomy adds more confusion to the complex hodgepodge of state regulations. Some states allow RON, some allow RIN, and others allow both. Meanwhile the rules are constantly changing as some emergency orders expire and others get extended.

The Vermont Paradox

Vermont, for example, is in a unique position: It has a permanent RON law, yet at the moment only allows RIN. Though Vermont passed its law in 2018, RON hasn't been implemented because the Secretary of State still hasn't issued formal guidance for it.

But in late March, the Secretary of State did issue a temporary order to allow RIN for the next 180 days—while expressly clarifying that the rule doesn't allow “any form of electronic notarial acts or remote online notarization."

A survey taken in April by the American Land Title Association found that 21% of title and settlement companies respondents offered RON and another 16% provided RIN-style emergency video notarization using FaceTime or Skype. The agents that offered RON used it in 7% of their closings, while those that offered video notarizations used it in 22% of their closings. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac each also released RIN guidance.

Here are some key differences between RON and RIN:

• Document Format: A RIN document is wet-signed on paper, while RON documents are almost always in an electronic format and are eSigned.
• Meeting Technology: For RIN, notaries and signers can use videoconferencing technology like WebEx, Skype, Zoom, and FaceTime to meet. RON requires a dedicated RON platform such as NotaryCam.
• Signatures: In a RIN, the signer wet-signs signs the document while the notary watches, and then emails, faxes, physically mails, or delivers the document to the notary. The notary then certifies and affixes their seal to it, and then returns the document to the signer. In a RON, the signer eSigns the document and the notary eSigns the notarial certificate and affixes an electronic seal.

There is another major difference: RIN is temporary, while RON, which had been gaining momentum even before the pandemic, is here to stay. When Fannie Mae released its RIN guidance, it pointedly noted that, “We do not expect these temporary governors’ executive orders and authorizations related to RIN to extend beyond the COVID-19 national emergency” and encouraged lenders to only consider RIN if RON wasn’t available.

“RIN is a temporary solution that is acceptable for now. It’s not a long-term solution because the GSEs won’t continue to accept this format,” said Chris Lewis, DocMagic’s Senior Account Executive for Enterprise Solutions. “RON eClosings will most likely usurp every other form of electronic notarization.”

Related Content:

• Webinar Recording: Road-Tested eClosing Strategies (5/27/2020)
• New support for power of attorney (POA) transactions amid COVID-19 (5/7/2020)
• Amid pandemic, states boost access to remote online notarization (RON) (4/17/2020)

For the mortgage industry, a lot has changed in a short amount of time—especially when it comes to remote online notarization (RON), according to the speakers at DocMagic’s May 27 webinar, “Road-Tested eClosing Strategies for Today.”

Click here to watch a free recording of the webinar.

Yet lenders shouldn’t just embark on a mad scramble to immediately implement RON, with its shifting landscape of changing legislation; instead, they should immediately begin doing hybrid closings, said Chris Lewis, DocMagic’s Senior Account Executive for Enterprise Solutions. Even if lenders can’t go 100% digital for awhile, they can still move in that direction by completely cutting paper out of the process except for the recordable documents: the note and deed of trust.

“This is easily scalable, it can be implemented in a very short period of time, and it puts you on the path to that fully digital transactional experience,” Lewis said.

The webinar’s other speakers included:

• Jason Nadeau, the chief digital officer at Fidelity National Financial. He noted that one of the key challenges is that RON technology, while legal in many places, is still risky for underwriters and settlement agents. “We’re talking about all new laws, all new practices, all new procedures—so they’re all untested in court,” he said. “It’s not about what’s legal, it’s about the risk profile.”
• Ben Sherman, president of Synrgo, who cited statistics and challenges for county recorders. “When it comes to the world of county recording there’s a lot of confusion and unknowns,” he said.
• Brian D. Pannell, DocMagic’s Chief eServices Executive, who explained why lenders should begin offering eNotes. Their popularity had been increasing even before the coronavirus crisis, Pannell said, displaying a graph showing that the number of eNotes registered with MERS® jumped from over 100,000 in all of 2019 to over 250,000 in the first quarter of 2020 alone.

Click here to watch a recording of the webinar, including more in-depth background information, recommendations, and the Q&A session.

Related Content:

• Pandemic leads to growing acceptance of eClosings: News source (5/21/2020)
• Improving the Loan Process With eNotes
• Amid pandemic, states boost access to remote online notarization (RON) (4/17/2020)

DocMagic is making an agnostic version of its eSign technology free to help organizations increase productivity and efficiency among work-from-home employees during the coronavirus pandemic—both during the stay-at-home orders and after they are lifted.

Our eSign technology is traditionally used by mortgage lenders to compliantly eSign initial loan document disclosures and closing documents. However, we modified the platform to make it document agnostic, thus allowing important non-mortgage documents such as contracts, NDAs, LOIs, and virtually any other agreement to be electronically signed and legally binding. (Note: Only the agnostic eSign solution is free, not the mortgage-specific eSignings involving our loan document generation service.)

Nearly every company needs to sign documents to conduct business, and signatures are often required from multiple parties. Documents have to printed several times, then faxed or emailed, resulting in a cumbersome process. As the COVID-19 pandemic led to a series of stay-at-home orders nationwide, companies have found signing and securely delivering these documents in a timely manner a challenge.

“As stay-at-home orders began to open up in more states, large numbers of home-based workers in all industries will continue with the telecommute model and thus continue facing challenges with signing and executing documents,” said Dominic Iannitti, DocMagic’s president and CEO.

“Many employees are using makeshift home offices that lack the hardware, devices, and software to facilitate compliant e-signings. Fortunately, DocMagic is in a great position to help with a proven platform used in one of the strictest, most highly regulated industries. Our eSign technology allows companies to circumvent wet signings, back-and-forth emails, and scanning or faxing documents for a proven, highly secure, compliant electronic platform.”

The eSign platform makes it easy to electronically sign documents. It’s 100% web based, requires no installation or maintenance, and can be securely accessed via any device with an internet connection. eSign also captures electronic signatures for all documents stored in the PDF file format. Documents are digitally sealed and access is provided to all parties, with audit trail capabilities, document versioning, tracking, and email notifications.

According to a recent Zillow survey, 56% of employed Americans have had the opportunity to work from home, and a vast majority want to continue. Among those working from home because of the pandemic, 75% said they want to continue doing so at least half the time after the pandemic ends. 

“We believe that even after stay-at-home orders are gradually lifted, there will still be a significant number of businesses that find the telecommute model to be pragmatic, efficient, and cost effective,” Iannitti said. “After the COVID-19 pandemic slowly winds down, we still want to make our eSign technology available for free. It’s our ongoing way of giving back in order to help companies remain as successful as possible.”

DocMagic is the leader in eSign technology within the mortgage industry, having executed more than 300 million eSign transactions and counting.

Interested organizations can learn more by emailing sales@docmagic.com or calling (800) 649-1362.

Related Content:

• Pandemic leads to growing acceptance of eClosings: News source (5/21/2020)
• New support for power of attorney (POA) transactions amid COVID-19 (5/7/2020)
• New AutoPrep technology can accept docs from ANY provider for paperless eClosings (4/3/2020)

The coronavirus pandemic has led to wide-ranging industry acceptance of eMortgages, eNotes, and digital closings, according to a recent article in National Mortgage News (subscription required).

Even before the pandemic, eMortgage transactions were on the rise. In April 2019, the MERS eRegistry saw 8,338 eNotes registered; by March 2020, that number had shot up to 24,519, an all-time high.

To learn road-tested eClosing strategies you can implement now, join our free webinar on May 27.

Since then the momentum has swung even more toward eClosings. Since March at least 20 states have taken emergency action to allow temporary remote online notarization (RON)—considered crucial in the age of social distancing—joining 23 states with permanent RON laws on the books. At the same time lenders are rushing to implement systems that utilize RON and electronic documents. 

DocMagic Chief eServices Executive Brian Pannell noted that DocMagic can have clients set up for hybrid eClosings (including eSign and ancillary documents) in as little as 24 to 48 hours.

“Key to implementing a smooth e-close process is ensuring the lender's workflow is well thought out ... which we hold our clients' hands in doing," he told National Mortgage News. "That includes ensuring all docs are e-enabled and leverages a single-source platform with both hybrid and RON capability. We can implement a completely digital and fully paperless total e-close in 17 days, and e-enabled dynamic docs is critical to that."

To learn more, read the article (subscription required).

Related Content:

• Improving the Loan Process With eNotes
• New support for power of attorney (POA) transactions amid COVID-19 (5/7/2020) 
• Amid pandemic, states boost access to remote online notarization (RON) (4/17/2020)

A recent DocMagic update has made it easier to conduct transactions that involve someone with power of attorney (POA) acting on a borrower’s behalf, especially during the closing event. This is crucial during the current COVID-19 era, helping to reduce the amount of in-person contact needed by borrowers and title companies.

The changes to the eSign Solution, including the eSign Console and the Settlement Agent Portal, allow borrowers to grant POA to an “attorney-in-fact” who can then eSign documents on the borrower’s behalf—a first on DocMagic’s eSign platform. The attorney-in-fact will also be displayed in the eSign Console as well as the Settlement Agent Portal as an additional participant associated with the borrower.

The updates come at a time when more borrowers are choosing to grant POA to an attorney, a closing agent, or a representative of the title company in order to allow the borrower to close a loan remotely.

Such moves are supported by the GSEs. Both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae issued updated guidance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that expands powers of attorney and the transaction types that allow for it.

Fannie Mae, for example, confirmed that an employee of the title agency or title insurer can serve as the borrower’s attorney-in-fact. It also introduced new requirements for such transactions: Borrowers must verbally acknowledge they understand the loan terms, and the conversation has to be documented in writing or captured on a recording and saved by the lender.

DocMagic’s recent updates also improve the POA and closing process in a few other key ways:

• The attorney-in-fact gets their own DocMagic login credentials, giving them access to the platform.
• The settlement agent or the closer can upload an executed and notarized POA document to the DocMagic closing platform as proof that a POA has been granted on the borrower’s behalf.
• DocMagic can now generate forms that can be executed by the attorney-in-fact.
• After selecting a POA, the borrower will then have view-only capability in the platform, though they will still receive email notifications to view all documents.
• If the closing continues via a remote online notarization (RON), the attorney-in-fact will also conduct an eNotarization on the borrower’s behalf.

These changes should make the closing process easier at a time when coronavirus-related physical distancing is still needed.

Related Content:

• DocMagic expedites eNotary workflow for settlement service providers (4/27/2020)
• Amid pandemic, states boost access to remote online notarization (RON) (4/17/2020)

DocMagic has improved the process for for settlement agents to link up with notary providers to complete an eNotarization—especially a remote online notarization (RON) that allows signers and notaries to meet in virtually. The change is crucial in the current COVID-19 climate.

The recent updates to DocMagic’s Settlement Agent Portal helps settlement service providers streamline the eSigning process for borrowers. These functions are part of DocMagic’s Total eClose™ platform, which provides a wide variety of digital eClosing experiences.

Settlement service providers can already use the Settlement Agent Portal to conduct a variety of transactions as part of the closing event. These transactions include adding additional participants (e.g. sellers and witnesses), adding and e-enabling title documents, and reviewing the closing document package to ensure all acknowledgeable annotations are present prior to eClosing.

Now, agents also can select their preferred eNotary Provider and eNotarization method: “In Person” or “Remote Online.”

To learn more about Remote Online Notarization (RON) in the age of COVID-19, sign up for our webinar on April 29.

Once they make their selection, the chosen notary will contact all of the closing package’s participants (borrowers, loan originators, settlement agencies, etc.) to inform them what technical requirements they need (such as browser support, video camera access, internet speed, etc.) in order to conduct the eNotarization. This pre-evaluation of the end users’ technical capabilities helps ensure a fluid eClosing process, especially if the closing will be conducted via RON, which requires specific audiovisual technology.

Another update expedites the final stages of the closing process. When it’s time to close, the agent simply clicks on the “Ready to Close” button, which triggers a notification to the selected notary provider that the package has been finalized. This notification allows the notary provider to contact all participants and prepare a notary for closing.

Those aren’t the only DocMagic improvements to the workflow. Other changes include:

• The Agent Portal’s Participants section has been re-designed to easily associate a notary for each signer and display each participant’s most recent status.
• The Agent Portal now gives the settlement agent access to inspect the generated package documents and add additional annotations if missing.
• When new documents that require notarization are added to the package, the settlement agent can add notary signatures and seals to those documents and assign them to a particular participant.

Settlement service providers play a crucial role in the closing process; with these changes, DocMagic hopes to make their workflow a little smoother.

Related Content:

• DocMagic Gets Lenders Started With eClosing (9/27/2019)

—Update (2/12/2021): RON update: First new remote online notarization law of 2021 passes
—Update (6/26/2020): RON update: Remote online notarization sees forward momentum—and a setback

With most people currently unable or unwilling to leave their homes, the ability to conduct remote online notarizations (RON) has become more necessary than ever—and state and federal officials are taking note.

Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, at least 27 states have taken steps to enable remote online notarizations, bringing the total number of states that presently authorize some form of RON—either through existing law or emergency action—to 42.

Some of the states that now allow RON via emergency action previously hadn’t permitted any form of eNotarization at all. Others had RON laws on the books that would have taken effect later this year, but those states opted to enable RON immediately instead of waiting. Some of the laws are limited in scope.

On top of that, a federal bill was proposed that would allow the practice nationwide.

To learn more about RON, including how to get started, sign up for a DocMagic webinar on April 29.

The flurry of action allows for much-needed notary services to continue at a time when notaries and signers need to maintain social distancing.

Since Virginia became the first state to allow it in 2011, RON has been a game changer in the mortgage industry. Remote online notarizations are simply more convenient, compliant, and secure. Additionally, RON integrates with DocMagic’s Total eClose™ platform to facilitate a 100 percent paperless eClosing.

Before the pandemic, most states already allowed eNotarizations, in which electronic documents are signed with an electronic signature. But in many cases, the signer still needed to physically appear before a notary (known as in-person eNotarization, or IPEN).

Not so with RON, which allows notaries and signers to complete an eNotarization by meeting in a virtual environment using audiovisual technology.

The momentum for RON had been growing even before the COVID-19 outbreak. In Florida, where RON has been in place since Jan. 1, DocMagic’s partner NotaryCam announced it saw a 100 percent month-over-month increase in RON closings.

In the early months of this year, record-low mortgage rates led to an uptick in lending action; according to CNBC, refinance applications were up more than 400 percent annually. Many of these moves would have been in limbo after the “shelter in place” orders came down if not for the increased access to RON.

Additionally, on March 18, U.S. Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) proposed a bill to allow all licensed notaries in the country to perform RON, though the legislation still has a long road before passage becomes a reality.

Much of the recent action is temporary. Many states including Maine, Mississippi, and New Jersey, for example, are only allowing RON for the duration of the coronavirus emergency.

However, as the country reopens in a piecemeal manner, several of the states that temporarily increased RON access will likely consider making those changes permanent—especially after they see the benefits.

Related Content:

• DocMagic and NotaryCam Integrate to Eliminate Reliance on In-Person Notarizations for Paperless eClosings (9/8/2018)

eClosing just got a lot easier because DocMagic’s new AutoPrep technology can convert ANY document from ANY lender into a compliant e-enabled document that’s ready for electronic signature inside our eClosing platform.

One of the drivers behind the development of AutoPrep was a 2019 independent technology survey of the mortgage industry conducted by STRATMOR. It ranked DocMagic’s Total eClose™ solution as the No. 1 eClosing platform for market share, overall satisfaction, and Lender Loyalty Score®. 

We felt that it was critical for us to be able to work with any lender to ingest any document—and that’s exactly what AutoPrep does, allowing our Total eClose™ platform to accept documents, even non-e-enabled documents, from any source.

How does AutoPrep work?

This technology can transform any standard document or PDF, even partially e-enabled ones, into a fully e-enabled document in seconds. It uses artificial intelligence, OCR, and machine learning technologies to scan and parse documents, locate all signature and notary regions, and then electronically tag them for eClosing. As a result, lenders can use loan documents produced by virtually any document provider with our Total eClose™ platform.

AutoPrep can also:

• Learn the nuances of specific documents and adjust accordingly going forward.
• Identify whether signatures are improperly placed or missing.
• Find e-tags placed by other providers.
• Read documents that have been partially, but not fully, converted into e-enabled documents.

In addition, AutoPrep can identify situations that are outside the norm and flag documents for personnel, saving them the time and trouble of having to comb over every page of a document package.

While eClosings are known to be more efficient and compliant, they aren’t nearly as common in the mortgage industry as they should be. One reason is because some lenders are tied to systems that don’t produce e-enabled documents. With AutoPrep, we’re pleased to say that roadblock is removed.