Wow! It has been an overwhelming past year-and-a-half, particularly with the pandemic and everything that came with it. I’m thankful to work in an essential business area – namely, the real estate field.
Prior to joining Alliant National, I worked at eRecording Partners Network (ePN) for eight years. They’re one of the main electronic document recording service providers. The other main vendors are CSC, Indecomm and Simplifile.
Document recording is one of the final steps in the real estate transaction process. Getting real estate documents officially on record with counties is essential to the successful completion of a transaction. This process includes traditional recording of paper documents, as well as electronic document recording (eRecording for short).
eRecording started back in 1999 and it uses technology that’s now over 20 years old; some people are surprised by this. The eRecording process offers numerous benefits for title agents, other business submitters and counties. Turnaround times are reduced. Final policies are issued more quickly and the gap time is lessened. Some other benefits include: faster rejection resolution; streamlined electronic payments; the elimination of rejections for incorrect recording fee payments; compliance with industry best practices; and lender requirements and eco-friendliness. Plus, eRecording is more streamlined, secure, and cost-effective. As one title agent said to me a couple years ago, “It’s like going from the Flintstones to the Jetsons!”
But how does the process work exactly? Well, first it’s important to understand that eRecording is an “e-delivery” business service option for title companies, law firms, banks and other businesses that record land record documents frequently. It is not a service for one-time document recording. Once you have your documents executed and ready to record, eRecording is another option for document delivery, recording and return. County business customers can choose to pay postage, UPS, FedEx, a courier or an employee to deliver and return their paper documents. Or they can pay to eRecord them. Most eRecording vendors charge a few dollars per document. Some have other fees as well. Explore your options to ensure you are selecting an eRecording provider that best fits your unique business needs.
Getting started with eRecording is easy. Requirements are basic. You need a computer, a scanner, internet access and a web browser. You’ll also need to choose and sign up for a service with an eRecording vendor approved by counties where you record documents. Once your eRecording vendor sets up your login and account, you should be able to start eRecording immediately. Most counties typically have multiple approved eRecording vendor options. Most have approved ePN, CSC and Simplifile as eRecording vendor options. Sometimes Indecomm is included as well.
When you eRecord, the fees remain the same. eRecording vendors typically charge a fee per document; usually, this amounts to a few dollars. Some have adopted a “variable rate” approach based on volume and other factors. Some also charge additional sign-up, monthly or annual fees. Ask each vendor for their pricing options to gain a clear picture.
Today, eRecording is legal and available in 49 states, plus Washington, D.C. Vermont is the only state where eRecording isn’t yet legal. As of August 2021, almost 2,300 jurisdictions are eRecording nationwide. That’s about 88 percent by population. In about 15 states, 100 percent of the counties allow eRecording. Alliant National’s home state of Colorado is one of the states with eRecording available in 100 percent of its counties. The Property Records Industry Association (PRIA) is a great resource for state and county status for eRecording. Many state and/or county recording associations also provide information on eRecording availability, as well as contact info for each county recording office.
Due in big part to the COVID-19 pandemic, use of eRecording sky-rocketed in 2020. Shortly after the pandemic hit in March of 2020, things changed for everyone. At the county level, offices closed or had limited access. Some Recorder offices closed completely for a time or tried to continue operations by working remotely. It was a challenging period, and for a time, there seemed to be a lull in eRecording activity in county offices. In some cases, operations still aren’t back to where they were pre-pandemic. But thankfully, as we got toward the latter part of last year, we started to see a rise in county adoption of eRecording once again.
Now you may be asking, what about recording turnaround times? Pre-pandemic, it was pretty safe to estimate same day or next day eRecording by counties. And in many cases, it wasn’t uncommon for counties to turn documents around within a couple hours or less. However, during the pandemic, turnaround times increased in many counties, and at times dramatically. Situations, of course, varied. Sometimes, both traditional recording and eRecording were affected. In others, traditional recording was affected, but eRecording wasn’t affected as much. Over the course of the past year-and-a-half, we’ve seen improvements. I’m sure that those of you “in the trenches” and involved with getting documents recorded have seen and experienced fluctuations and changes in recording turnaround times. But I can say with confidence that eRecording certainly helps with recording turnaround overall.
Over the past decade, eRecording has received more attention due to regulatory changes (CFPB and TRID), more stringent requirements on lenders and, in turn, on their service providers – including those that record documents with counties. ALTA released its best practices in early 2013, which included a call for faster delivery, tracking and timely response to rejections. PRIA also released their TRID Informational Paper and their eRecording Best Practices for Recorders in 2015. These documents cover items like accepting all document types, allowing multiple eRecording vendors, imaging and making eRecording easy for their business customers, among others.
While there are now almost 15 states with 100 percent eRecording, there are others that are close to the 100 percent mark. To gain a complete picture of each state’s status, PRIA put together a helpful map. Some states are working on legislation that would mandate that all counties make eRecording available by a certain date. My home state of Ohio is one of them. I know that Indiana, Kentucky and others are working on legislation as well.
As of July 2021, about 88 percent of the U.S. population lives in eRecording jurisdictions. Counties continue to come online with eRecording or expand their services by adding more eRecording document types. Counties, eRecording submitter vendors, underwriters, and industry associations like ALTA, PRIA and state associations, continue to raise awareness and promote eRecording. If eRecording is not yet available in counties where you conduct business, please ask your county recording office how soon they will offer eRecording or when they’ll start eRecording deeds and let them know that you are interested to explore the benefits of this technology.
For more information on eRecording, here are the websites for eRecording vendors that service counties across the U.S.:
The adoption and implementation of remote online notarization (RON) received a tremendous boost during the COVID-19 pandemic. Buyers, sellers and title agents are looking to close transactions in the safest way possible. According to the American Land Title Association (ALTA), “Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia have either passed a RON law or issued an executive order pertaining to remotely notarizing documents. Some have done both.”
In December of 2020, ALTA reported that RON use had increased 547 percent during the year compared to 2019. If you are a “Star Trek” fan, the lightning-fast adoption of RON – as well as alternative remote closing methods such as Remote Ink-Signed Notarization (RIN) – has felt like the title industry has gone from cruising to warp speed in a nanosecond. It can even feel tempting to utter one of the show’s classic lines like “Beam me up, Scotty!” when thinking about such transformative change.
But let us back up a bit. As the automobile was invented and became a commonplace form of transportation, society built an accompanying infrastructure – including roads, highways, bridges and tunnels. The same is needed for RON. However, it takes time to develop secure and accessible technology that everyone can use. It requires effort to garner the acceptance of the county recorders who must be ready, willing and able to record native electronic instruments. Creating uniform laws to ensure interstate legal recognition and consumer confidence is also no easy matter.
Properly building out RON infrastructure necessitates the continuous collaboration of numerous parties, including individuals, industries and organizations. For example, MISMO, the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization, has been working on standards concerning credential analysis, borrower identification, audio-visual requirements (including the recording of the electronic notarization process) and audit trails. PRIA, the Property Record Industry Association, has been developing national standards and best practices for the land records industry. ALTA and the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) have also joined forces to establish model RON legislation. Finally, there are numerous other stakeholders not identified here who have, and are, tirelessly working to enable the requisite RON infrastructure.
Currently, the federal Senate bill (SB) 3533, the Securing and Enabling Commerce Using Remote and Electronic Notarization Act of 2020 (otherwise known as the SECURE Notarization Act), is pending. If passed in 2021, the SECURE Notarization Act will permit RON across the nation and provide for minimum standards and interstate recognition. To track the progress of the SECURE Notarization Act, click on the link provided for SB 3533.
During this time of rapid transition, it is important to keep abreast of the latest RON developments, to “boldly go” forth and not end up like another classic science fiction show: “Lost in Space.”
Integration streamlines the digital closing process, saving agents time and effort
Longmont, Colo. – (January 21, 2021) – Alliant National Title Insurance Company, a unique title insurance underwriter that partners with independent agents to improve their competitive position, announces the launch of a new policy jacket integration with software partner E-Closing.
The new integration is now live within the E-Closing title production system and available for agent use. Agents who write for Alliant National will be able to pull Alliant National policy jackets directly through the software platform.
Agents can already generate closing protection letters (CPLs) through E-Closing’s software . They will no longer need to navigate to the Alliant National website to generate either of these documents, providing a more convenient and time-efficient experience overall.
“This integration is a helpful tool that will streamline the work of the agents we partner with, improving their ability to quickly obtain the documents they need,” said Bryan Johnson, Director of Information Technology for Alliant National. “It represents another effort on the part of Alliant National to put supporting the independent agent at the heart of everything we do.”
Alliant National distinguishes itself from competitors by combining strong underwriting capability with independent agents’ in-depth knowledge of local markets. The result is a nationwide network with deep roots in local communities, and a wealth of expertise that is flexible, nuanced, and continuously growing.
Cathie Beck Capital City Public Relation e : cathie@capitalcitypr.com p : 303-241-0805
ABOUT ALLIANT NATIONAL TITLE INSURANCE COMPANY
The Independent Underwriter for The Independent AgentSM – Alliant National believes in empowering people to thrive. The company protects the dreams of property owners with secure title insurance and partners with 500+ trusted independent title agents as a licensed underwriter in 27 states and the District of Columbia, with annual revenues exceeding $126 million.
About E-Closing
E-Closing is the title industry’s premier cloud-based title production system. E-Closing is trusted by thousands of title professionals across the country. E-Closing is a powerful tool that can help modernize and streamline any title operation. Whether providing better customer service, tracking business relationships, adopting a paperless environment or managing multiple offices, E-Closing equips title agents with the tools necessary to take their business to the next level.
Is your agency set up to close transactions using remote online notarization (RON)? If so, the American Land Title Association (ALTA) is encouraging you to let lenders know by updating your ALTA Registry listing.
“RON is in high demand and lenders are actively looking for title and settlement companies that can close their loans using this technology,” the association said in a recent post. “Being RON Ready could lead to new revenue during these difficult times.”
There is no cost to be included on the ALTA Registry.
We break down a complicated process by describing the five main components of the Digital Closing Process.
Remote Online Notarization (RON) started making headlines
several years ago but was slow to catch on because, frankly, it didn’t really seem
necessary. Then, we could all gather in the closing office and sign with paper
and pen, and the technology was new and a little scary. It was like a “big
black box.” Few understood how the technology worked, and most approached RON as
a convenience for the few people who perhaps couldn’t easily get to the closing
office. Articles were written, webinars were presented, legislation moved
forward piecemeal, but since RON was considered only a “nice to have” option,
there was no widespread incentive to embrace it. It would be understood and
adopted over time.
Well, “TIMES” HAVE CHANGED!
We are NOW in the
midst of a national pandemic. States are issuing “shelter in place” orders; the
federal government is urging people to stay at home; and we’re afraid of getting
too close to one another lest we expose ourselves or someone else to the COVID-19
virus. The nation is at home and unable to conduct business as usual.
The real estate, title, and financial industries are a
cornerstone of our economy. Our businesses are essential to our country’s entire
system of trade, exchange, and consumption of resources. So how do we continue with
our business without the need for physical contact? In states where we can, one
way is to turn to RON, which enables us to conduct closings remotely. Consumers
can go online and execute documents electronically while the closer and notary
are located elsewhere.
Many states have recognized RON’s potential as a solution
and enacted legislation. There is currently extensive, ongoing efforts to
legalize RON across the nation through federal legislation. However, legalizing
RON is not enough because RON requires the efforts of many stakeholders to be
successful. We all have to work together and be “on the same page.” Do you know
what happens before or after you do your part in the Digital Closing Process?
Alliant National’s new Components of a Digital Closing
series was created to give people a common understanding of both in-person
electronic closings and remote digital closings facilitated by RON. We produced
this series of handbooks to demystify the process – eliminate that “black box” –
and provide readers with the “big picture” of how it all works. There are a lot
of moving pieces and a lot of players who must come together (hence the
“eCollaboration” component of the series) to create the infrastructure needed
for the successful adoption and implementation of Digital Closings. Our series
of handbooks shows how the Digital Closing Process works from beginning to end.
To break down a complicated process, we’ve described five
main components of the Digital Closing Process in these series of articles as:
eSign = electronic signing or electronic
signature
eNotary = electronic notary or electronic
notarization
eRecording = electronic recording
eVault/eNote = electronic vault and electronic
note (respectively)
eCollaboration = electronic collaboration
It all begins with eSign and expands from there. The advent
of recognizing an electronic signature as legally enforceable led to electronic
notarization – after all, an electronic notary (and the principals and
witnesses) must be able to electronically sign documents. Then, that
electronically executed and notarized digital deed, mortgage or deed of trust
must be recorded in the public records, so electronic recording (or the
acceptance of “papering out” as discussed in the article on eRecording) must be
available, or all is for naught! And what about the electronic note? Well,
there is a system set up to facilitate the creation, transfer and sale of
eNotes through the use of an electronic vault.
Within each article, we explain what the component is or does;
we discuss its history or describe its legal evolution; we provide links to
other articles or resources on the subject; and we provide a technological
overview.
The current health crisis presents many challenges for our
industry, but it also represents a unique opportunity to implement technologies
that will ultimately make the real estate transaction safer and more efficient
than it has been in the past.
It is our hope that you will find Alliant National’s Components of a Digital Closing series
be a comprehensive, ready reference as the industry transitions toward the
digital closing environment.
