A leading national subservicer opens up market opportunities by servicing eNotes stored electronically via DocMagic's eVault Technology.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – October 20, 2017 – LoanCare, a ServiceLink company, announced today that it has begun utilizing DocMagic, a provider of fully-compliant loan document preparation, regulatory compliance and comprehensive eMortgage services, in order to add eVaulting capabilities to its process. This allows LoanCare to begin servicing loans registered with MERS® as eNotes.

LoanCare is a subservicer operating in all 50 states, servicing more than 1 million loans. Clients of LoanCare can now begin servicing loans stored electronically as eNotes, using an eVault that is secure, compliant and scalable while providing process transparency.

“By utilizing DocMagic, we have established a competitive advantage and created the opportunity to store and subservice loans housed in an eVault, making us the premier subservicer for electronically closed loans,” said Gene Ross, executive vice president of strategy and business development at LoanCare. “After performing a careful evaluation of vault providers in the marketplace, it became clear that DocMagic was the software company that could enable us to broaden our services for our clients.”

DocMagic has an existing integration with the MERS® eRegistry system that registers originated or purchased loans as eNotes. After MERS® registration, the eNote is securely transferred to DocMagic’s eVault, and then can easily and efficiently be serviced by LoanCare. Loan details that are stored in DocMagic’s eVault can be referenced and reported on, so that in the event of an audit, LoanCare can provide proof of compliance for its clients such as TRID and other rules and regulations.

For all eNotes that LoanCare services, DocMagic retains a complete electronic audit trail, tracking every event and securely storing both data and documents for the life of the loan.

“As states continue to adopt more convenient notarization for consumers to enable digital signing of mortgage documents, we anticipate greater market acceptance that will drive the ease in which loans are originated,” said Dave Worrall, president of LoanCare. “One example was North Carolina’s recent achievement of its first ever eClosing – our servicing of that electronic mortgage loan utilized DocMagic’s technology. By providing eVault services to our clients and the marketplace, we plan to continue to be a leader of technology and process innovation.”

“With eClosings starting to gain adoption among lenders, LoanCare’s use of our eVault opens up a substantial opportunity for them to capture market share while operating efficiently, cost effectively and compliantly,” said Dominic Iannitti, president and CEO of DocMagic. “Our Total eClose™ single platform solution enables lenders to close loans without any paper involved whatsoever. The industry adoption of eClosings that we are seeing is significant. LoanCare is a visionary organization that has prepared itself to start servicing eNotes by harnessing the right technology ahead of the curve.”

DocMagic's eMortgage solutions have been thoroughly vetted and approved by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and MERS® to compliantly support all three eMortgage categories for eVault, eNote and eClosing. In addition to its SaaS-based eVault, DocMagic also offers an on-premise eVault solution that is available through eSignSystems, a DocMagic owned and operated company.

There's so much happening at this year's 2017 MBA Annual! Are you ready? Stop by booth 707 to learn how DocMagic's digital technology is helping lenders to close on fully paperless mortgages. Total eClose™, our suite of seamless, end-to-end, digital eClosing technology, is providing solutions to problems across the mortgage lifecycle. Read more see what else we have in store for the event.

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Written by Nathan Batts. This is the part 2 of a blog series. Click here to read part 1.

What is Driving the Transition

North Carolina is not the first state to begin offering electronic mortgages, but it is the first state in which the government has taken an active role in the development and rollout. The decision by the Secretary of State to begin a pilot project, convene various market participants together for a discussion, and form an advisory committee with the goal of developing best practices and standards now positions North Carolina to help form the national model for such transactions.

The groundwork began many years ago. The legal basis for digital signatures and documents has existed at the federal level, through such laws as the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-Sign Act), and at the state level in North Carolina, through such laws as the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act found in Article 40 of Chapter 66, since at least the year 2000. Similarly, North Carolina has had a structure for electronic recording and electronic notarization in place since 2005. The North Carolina structure includes safeguards such as a requirement that the electronic notary must be physically present with the borrower so as to protect against fraud or impersonation and duress.

In the years since then, advances in technology and encryption have made more secure transactions possible and have added the capability to detect when tampering is attempted to electronic signatures and documents. Changes affect the “hash value” which operates like a cryptographic and tamper evident seal.

From the standpoint of compliance with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s TILA-RESPA integrated disclosure rule (TRID), an electronic mortgage also has many advantages. One of these is the ability to easily retain and store records and produce audit logs. Every digital signature is logged when made and the reports generated can become an important tool in showing good faith compliance.

As we look at the development across the state of capability to accept eRecording, additional counties are quickly coming online. In North Carolina, an estimated 77 out of 100 counties now accept secure eRecording, with 74 having full capability and three accepting mortgage satisfactions only. Electronic documents coming in are of higher legibility, and staff time and operating costs are reduced as scanning and other responsibilities are diminished. As more counties accept eRecording, travel to go out and do the filings in person and shipping costs can be reduced or eliminated, saving time, money, and reducing carbon emissions. 

From the closing attorney perspective, after an initial learning curve to use the software and modest investments in equipment like a webcam, electronic signature pads, and a computer, there is the prospect of potentially faster closings, as well as less travel to visit borrowers or down time waiting for borrowers and others to arrive for the closing. Mountains of paper are no longer needed. Much of the eClosing package can be completed in advance and the attorney has the certainty of knowing that all of the documents are on hand and are in the eClosing platform rather than dealing sometimes with the last-minute scramble to collect them from lenders. For an attorney, this could translate into a higher degree of efficiency and the capability to fit more closings in per day. And the closing attorney doesn’t have to lose time tracking down a borrower after closing because a document was left unsigned.

From a borrower perspective, the greater automation means that the time from application to underwriting and approval and closing can be significantly shortened. There is also the convenience factor of potentially eliminating travel, with the electronic notary coming to the borrower’s home or another location. And there is the real prospect of lowering closing costs as such things as mailing costs go away.

From a lender perspective, the essential documents are already in electronic form and are thereby ready much sooner for sales to investors, which can translate into more money per transaction as investors pay a premium for such speed. There is also the added advantage that there are no paper promissory notes to get lost.

Other Considerations

Lenders can choose what portions of the mortgage transaction should be electronic and which should continue to follow a traditional model. If a Register of Deeds in the lender’s market doesn’t accept eRecording for instance, the documents may need to be converted into paper for recording and notarized using the traditional method, but the efficiencies before that step are still realized. Similarly, a lender that wants to continue using paper documents may still want to scan documents and eRecord in some circumstances to save time. And there is nothing that prevents the closing from still taking place in person if that is the most comfortable for the parties.

For millennials and others who place a high value on convenience, electronic mortgages could be a good option. And for those who are buying a second home and don’t want to travel several hours to a closing, the prospect of having an electronic notary instead travel to them to help complete the transaction and to do the closing remotely may be a selling point. 

Future Transactions

While the NCBA is very optimistic about the market potential for electronic mortgages, we are still early from a market adoption standpoint. Federal regulators have been very supportive, particularly the CFPB which conducted a study and has actively encouraged financial institutions to explore the use of electronic mortgages.

Importantly, the servicing process and secondary market are still developing. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have taken steps to support the transition but others on the investor side are still building out their procedures. This means in the near term that the number of transactions will tick upward but the tipping point to when the flood begins is further down the road. 

As we go forward in this process, other eClosings have already been scheduled by the earliest adopters of this technology. The beginning of calendar year 2018 is emerging as a time period when some of the larger players in the mortgage industry appear positioned to begin phasing in the technology that underpins electronic mortgages. Once the conversion begins, the enhanced speed, efficiency, and cost savings will undoubtedly drive and accelerate the transformation. 

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Nathan Batts, Senior Vice President and Counsel, North Carolina Bankers Association (NCBA)

Written by Nathan Batts

The mortgage process is time-tested and ancient. While there has been considerable innovation, such as in the ability to shop for rates and apply online, many facets of the mortgage process have remained essentially unchanged. Paper and ink signatures continue to dominate transactions, closings are face-to-face, many documents are mailed, and filings with a local land records office are often still done in person. 

With wholesale transformations occurring everywhere in the banking business, we are at a critical point when changes in both technology and the law underpinning transactions are combining to bring about a new advancement for the mortgage industry. Electronic mortgages are positioned to transition from pilot project initiatives to routine occurrences and finally the new norm. In this article, the focus is on providing a high level explanation of these transactions and how the changes will benefit customers, financial institutions, and other market participants.

eMortgages and eClosings

Let’s start with a few basic terms. In an FAQ entitled “eClosings and eMortgages (eNotes)” last updated on May 18th of this year, the government-sponsored enterprise Fannie Mae includes the following helpful information.

“What is an eClosing? An eClosing is the act of closing a mortgage loan electronically. This occurs through a secure electronic environment where some or all of the closing documents are executed and accessed online (also known as the ‘execution’ phase of creating an electronic mortgage loan). This is often a hybrid process in which certain key documents (e.g., Note, Security Instrument) are printed to paper and traditionally wet-signed while other documents throughout the process are signed electronically.

What is an eMortgage? An eMortgage is a mortgage loan where the critical loan documentation, specifically the promissory note (eNote), is created electronically, executed electronically, transferred electronically and ultimately stored electronically. An ‘eClosing’ produces an ‘eMortgage’ only if the promissory note is signed electronically. Note: This can still include a traditionally wet-signed security instrument.”

“eClosings and eMortgages (eNotes)” Frequently Asked Questions, Fannie Mae, https://www.fanniemae.com/content/faq/emortgage-faqs.pdf. 

Thus, two key terms, eClosings and eMortgages, have emerged. For now, we can use electronic mortgages as a more general term encompassing both concepts. The term digital mortgage is also widely circulating.

Characteristics of the First Transactions

The eClosing for the first documented end-to-end electronic mortgage in North Carolina occurred on May 5, 2017 as part of a pilot initiative by the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State and North State Bank Mortgage.

The second eClosing occurred on August 10th as a hundred industry and regulatory agency observers, who had signed nondisclosure agreements to protect borrower information, gathered in Raleigh and watched the transaction unfold remotely on video screens. 

For the observers at the second eClosing, the left-hand side of the screen was split between streaming video of the closing attorney sitting in her office and below streaming video of another location where the borrower was seated together with a certified electronic notary. On the right-hand side of the screen, observers saw an open application window displaying the mortgage documents. A sidebar in the document window showed by name which document was being displayed and listed the other documents in the closing package. Thus, video-conferencing replaced a transaction which has traditionally been conducted in an attorney’s conference room, where everyone would gather around a table and sift through a stack of paper documents.

In transactions such as these, the software platform used by the lender and the closing attorney helps to guide the workflow and keep everything organized. The borrower simply goes through a few steps on the screen to consent to electronic records and to adopt an electronic signature which is held in the system. Then, the closing attorney explains to the borrower the mortgage disclosures and loan documents, steadily scrolling forward using mouse clicks and a scroll bar. At intervals a tab pops up on the screen where a digital signature needs to be applied. The closing attorney then temporarily transfers control to the borrower, who in turn with mouse clicks applies the previously selected digital signature to those tabbed places in the agreement or disclosures. After a digital signature has been applied, control transfers back to the closing attorney who continues his or her explanation and scrolls to the next area where a signature is required. One safeguard in the software platform is that documents will not continue to advance on the screen until necessary signatures have been obtained, which prevents many of the mistakes that occur at closings.

Once all borrower signatures have been obtained, the closing attorney and the electronic notary can carry out any remaining steps. For example, the closing attorney can pass control to the notary to apply electronic notarizations to the documents, with the notary’s signature and seal being applied in much the same manner used by the borrower to apply digital signatures. The closing attorney can review the documents and, using the dashboard in the eClosing platform, send the documents electronically to the lender for final funding approvals.

When the approvals have been obtained, any documents such as the deed of trust that require local recordation can be sent electronically, along with the recording fees, using an eRecording platform to the local Register of Deeds for the county where the real property is located. What the observers at the second eClosing saw was a software product that integrated both the eClosing and eRecording features. Once received by a Register of Deeds, the documents are reviewed by staff and either approved, with a book and page number assigned, or the closing attorney is notified where there may be any deficiencies that need to be corrected before the recording can be accepted.

Assuming the recordation has been done, the electronic promissory note is ready for eVaulting and registration on the MERS® eRegistry.

Under these steps, ownership can be transferred and view or access rights can be granted to various participants like warehouse lenders and Government Sponsored Enterprises like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. While there may be many copies of the documents, the registry is set up so that there can be only one “authoritative copy” of the eNote, with information stored about who is the current controller/holder and the location where the authoritative copy is stored.

Thus, the cycle or workflow is from Pre-Closing (loan origination, title production, and document preparation, with any associated platforms or software systems), to eClosing, eRecording, and finally eAsset Management. Much of the flow can be controlled through simple software dashboard steps through the selected technology provider. 

Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and a team led by Ozie Stallworth, Electronic Notarization and Notary Enforcement Director, have posted an excellent video online that walks viewers through these steps and shows how the transactions look. The video is available on YouTubeᵀᴹ and is entitled “North Carolina Secretary of State eClosing Pilot: From Aspirational Vision to Commercial Reality.”

North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State. “North Carolina Secretary of State eClosing Pilot: From Aspirational Vision to Commercial Reality” Online Video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 15 August 2017. Web. 25 September 2017. 
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We'll continue the 2nd part of the series next week when we dive into "What's is Driving the Transition" and "Future Considerations."

Nathan Batts, Senior Vice President and Counsel, North Carolina Bankers Association (NCBA)

Reposted with Permission from Carolina Banker Magazine. 

By Tim Anderson

Today, digital technology is driving more of the loan transaction away from paper to online. The industry is realizing that it’s time to get the paper out of our systems and manual processes. Paper documents take more time to process, require more people to validate, and key information from and follow-up efforts to track down missing pages, signatures, or total file loss.

For example, delivering a correct closing disclosure (CD) to the borrower three days before closing highlights just how difficult it is to get everything right and on time in a paper world.

Ensuring proof of compliance on confirming something like receipt of delivery is next to impossible in a paper world. Taking the mortgage process fully electronic will be the only way to ultimately ensure a totally verifiable, auditable compliant process.

Beyond the improvements gained by eliminating the paper process, digital collaboration during the loan transaction promises a better consumer experience from the start. For lenders, the increase in operational efficiencies and consistency are measurable. Overall, a digital process ensures greater data and document integrity, compliance and control.

Digitizing the mortgage process has the potential to greatly improve both productivity and the customer experience. Lenders who incorporate a digital workflow gain efficiency, better satisfy borrower expectations for collaboration and communication, and ultimately capture more market share.

• Go from a 50-minute to 15-minute closing
• Eliminate last minute surprises at the closing table
• Significantly reduce time and cost
• Close without exceptions
• Ensure a “consistently clean and clear” closing every time
• Better authentication and security (reduce fraud)
• Tamper evident seal on data and documents to protect data and document integrity
• Differentiates yourself in the marketplace
• Ensure greater service
• Ensure better loan quality and compliance

The technology is available and the process, albeit not widespread, is gaining momentum. Selling something that everyone else already does and has makes it a commodity. Digital Mortgages are for those that want to introduce a new way of doing business that gives you a competitive market advantage. It presents a new opportunity to truly differentiate yourself in an otherwise crowded  mortgage market. With immense regulatory pressure looming, historical methods will no longer be sufficient. And, as more organizations discover the demands of the marketplace, and today’s borrower, more parts of the lending transaction will happen electronically.

TORRANCE, Calif., September 1, 2017 

Mike Zarrilli thrives in the fast-paced, dynamic environment at DocMagic. As COO, he has a critical role ensuring that company operations run smoothly and efficiently. 

Amid an ever-changing, compliance-intensive mortgage landscape, DocMagic has experienced major growth during the past five years, realizing a 42% increase in revenue for 2016, the second time revenue has increased by more than 40%. Zarrilli is instrumental in helping to effectively manage this hyper-growth from an operations and budgeting perspective, ensuring the company expands at a healthy, controlled rate.

Zarrilli was heavily involved in the integration of DocMagic’s acquisition of Document Express in 2014, leading the project plan to integrate the two companies’ infrastructures. Zarrilli recently helped organize the strategic alignment of DocMagic’s enterprise sales team with its customer service department, improving transparency, ease of communication and collaboration.

“Mike is masterful at bringing different teams members together to coordinate and understand DocMagic’s different undertakings for the benefit of partners and clients.”

For more information, visit https://www.housingwire.com/.  

App opens a pivotal avenue for lenders to capture more market share

With every passing year, consumers rely even more on portable mobile devices for their personal and business activities — this includes obtaining a mortgage. Millennials in particular expect to handle every step of the process  on a phone or tablet, from starting the origination process to checking status, eSigning documents and completing the closing process. DocMagic’s BorrowerMobile app satisfies every aspect of this expectation. 

Because BorrowerMobile integrates with DocMagic’s single-source, comprehensive Total eClose solution, it revolutionizes the lender’s eClosing process into  a seamless, sophisticated and easy digital mortgage experience for not only the borrower, but also the lender and closing agents. Lenders who use BorrowerMobile gain efficiences, exceed borrower expectations for collaboration and communication and ultimately open a pivotal avenue for capturing more market share.

“At DocMagic, we identified a critical mass of issues and challenges that occur around lender-borrower communication and extend into virtually every aspect of the mortgage process,” said Dominic Iannitti, president and CEO. “BorrowerMobile provides lenders with a way to avoid potentially costly challenges and delays while delighting the borrower at the same time.”

BorrowerMobile provides the missing link that not only connects lenders and closing agents with borrowers for real-time secure communication and updates, but also enables borrowers to use their mobile devices to fulfill their part of an end-to-end, 100% paperless, fully electronic mortgage. 

It also answers the consistently growing consumer demand for a mortgage process that can be completed entirely on a portable mobile device. BorrowerMobile gives lenders a competitive advantage by aligning the entire mortgage process with borrowers’ typical app-centric buying experiences; creating a more secure, efficient process; and providing much needed transparency for all parties — the borrower, lender and closing agents.

BorrowerMobile’s seamless connectivity allows lenders and closing agents to communicate loan conditions immediately through a secure central location, giving borrowers a real-time “to do” list with complete visibility. As borrowers satisfy conditions through BorrowerMobile, the application instantly updates the lender and closing agent. 

Borrowers get the efficiency and convenience of tracking the real-time status of their mortgages, getting estimated target dates and accessing expanded milestone descriptions and specific loan information at any time, without ever having to initiate a phone call, text message or email.  

In addition to enhancing efficiency, BorrowerMobile makes compliance easier by providing a completely secure environment for transmitting documents and data, thus protecting data integrity and reducing errors and oversights. 

“BorrowerMobile helps lenders reach a larger market by fulfilling the demands of the growing number of consumers — many of them Millennials — who expect to use mobile devices to transact personal and business activities,” Iannitti said.

As featured by HousingWire, September 2017

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