Everything You Wanted to Know About Digital Closings, But Were Afraid to Ask

By Danielle L. Kaiser NTP

Summary: We’ve been talking about this for many years … But have you had all your questions answered? This lab will provide a safe space for frank discussions with your peers about the realities of implementing this technology in your operations.

Digital closings are possible, but have been a long time coming. In 1999, our industry took the first major step toward electronic closings when the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws proposed the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA). This established a model state law recognizing the validity of electronic documents and signatures. In case you have forgotten how long ago that was, the average monthly rent was $645, SpongeBob SquarePants made its cartoon debut and we spent most of the year fretting that Y2K was going to wipe us all off the digital map.

In the decade following these events, we inched ever-so-slowly to digital closings with the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, recognizing the validity of e-signatures on a federal level in 2000; the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act, addressing the issue of county recorders’ acceptance of electronic documents in 2004. In 2010, the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts tackled the final piece of the digital closings puzzle: e-notarization. It has been nearly another decade, and we’re still not there. But as you will see from our Engagement Lab, digital closings are finally within our grasp.

Digital closings are possible, but what do you need to make it possible? We will tackle the questions on your mind, beginning with: “Where do I start?” In our open forum, we can discuss everything from the equipment you need, to buy-in from you team, to lender acceptance, to E&O insurance, to what in the world does credential analysis actually mean? Our rapidly changing digital world includes IPEN and RON, and we will talk about what they are and how you can implement them. Digital closings ARE possible, and we will help get you started.

Danielle L. Kaiser NTP, regional underwriting counsel for North American Title Insurance Co., will lead a discussion about the realities of implementing digital closing technology into your operation during the session “Everything You Wanted to Know About Digital Closings, But Were Afraid to Ask” at ALTA ONE in Austin, Texas. Click here to register.