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.

By Tim Anderson

For years a core group of us has been telling the industry that it’s time to get the paper out of our systems. We’ve performed studies that show paper is more expensive, that it takes more time to process, is usually missing pages or signatures, or gets lost. It took the foreclosure crisis to really bring home to the industry the negative implications of lost or incomplete documents. After billions of dollars in settlements to federal regulators and attorneys, it looks like our industry is finally ready to say goodbye to paper forever, or at least a majority of it.

Press Release:
Unrivaled industry eSigning adoption among mortgage clients fuels transaction spike

TORRANCE, Calif., May 11, 2015 -- DocMagic, Inc., the premier provider of fully-compliant loan document preparation, compliance, eSign and eDelivery solutions, announced today that its eSign platforms have now processed more than 100 million mortgage-related eSignature transactions. 

"We are very pleased with the sheer number of eSignatures that we are seeing executed among our client base," said Dominic Iannitti, president and CEO of DocMagic. "This is positive news for the mortgage industry as a whole. In previous years, eSign adoption was much lower among lenders working with borrowers. We have always encouraged clients to take advantage of our eSigning technology; this impressive number of transactions certainly reflects that."

By Melanie Feliciano
ESRA Executive Board Member; and
Chief Legal Officer,
DocMagic, Inc.

I'm proud to be an executive board member of the Electronic Signature and Records Association (ESRA). Today I am sharing with you that eSignRecords2014, formerly the E-Signatures Conference, is taking place November 12-13 in New York City.

ESRA's annual conference serves as a platform for a wide variety of consumers, government entities and technology providers as well as organizations across several industries to share common goals, objective ideas, strategies and effective practices.

We will introduce a newly enriched and expanded program making this year a "must attend" event for both new and former attendees. I encourage you to join me and our fellow colleagues in the heart of Manhattan's Financial District to gain insight into emerging technologies, consumer engagement, contemporary industry practices, legal and regulatory matters, and evolving government trends.

By Tim Anderson

On Wednesday, April 8 I received an official invitation to attend the CFPB hosted panel discussion on looking at better ways to improve the closing process at CFPB’s HQ office in DC. As I was sitting listening to all the government agencies sign-on in support of this initiative, I was having a sort of surreal out of body experience. It was June 28, 2002 when FannieMae published bulletin 02-08 announcing they would now begin purchasing this thing called SMART Doc eNotes. It was then that I became a bonifide convert and believer that this was going to revolutionize the way we do business and went in search of a doc company to develop and offer the solution.

What I didn’t know at that time was just how long this was going to take. During the meeting, Ann Epstein, Director of Change Management at Freddie Mac jokingly quipped, “eMortgage adoption has only been three to five years away for some time now” which was an insider joke since that line has been used and quoted so many times over the years. The real joke being we just didn’t know which three- to five-year period this actually was going to become a reality. Well, after twelve years of talking and promoting this, last Wednesday was the culmination of what I thought at times was a singular effort to evangelize and educate people on a better way to do business. I oftentimes felt like Don Quixote casting stones at windmills. As I expressed my joy to some of the other “old timers” who were in the room and drank the cool-aid early, “I’m just happy to be around to see it finally happen!”

Press Release:
First FHA loan closed electronically, all but the note generated and signed electronically

TORRANCE, Calif.—March 17, 2014—DocMagic, Inc., the leading provider of fully-compliant loan document preparation, compliance, eSign and eDelivery solutions for the mortgage industry, announced today that its eSign compliant loan documents were chosen by Stewart Title® and Mountain America Credit Union to complete the industry’s first ever eClosing of an FHA loan, in conjunction with Stewart’s eClosingRoom®. DocMagic is the exclusive licensee of patent rights that enable its eSign technology.

FHA’s recent announcement supports the ability to eSign all documents with the exception of the note. The announcement states that the agency will begin accepting electronically signed notes by the end of the year.

“eSign has never just been about the upfront disclosures,” said Tim Anderson, director of eServices for DocMagic. “That’s where we started and we’ve done that for a long time now. Our ability to use this technology to help lenders realize a fully paperless mortgage is the real story here. There really is no excuse now not to provide this service to borrowers, who have been demanding it for some time.”

October signals the beginning of the fall conference season in the mortgage business.

Press Release
Lenders that sell their production to the bank can now use DocMagic for eDisclosure, eSign

DocMagic, Inc., the leading provider of fully-compliant loan document preparation, compliance and eDelivery solutions for the mortgage industry, announced today that it has been approved by Fifth Third Mortgage Company, a subsidiary of Fifth Third Bank, as an eDelivery and eSignature vendor for correspondent lenders who sell their production to the bank.

“We’re delighted by this approval and expect this to open up potential relationships between our existing clients and Fifth Third’s correspondent division,” said Tim Anderson, director of eServices for DocMagic. “This will also create opportunities for existing Fifth Third correspondents to take advantage of DocMagic’s free eSign technology and our industry-leading compliance services.”

Now that IRS guidelines allow the 4506-T form to be signed electronically, it’s never been quicker or easier to get your borrower’s income verified.

DocMagic’s eSign technology delivers fully compliant electronic signatures for the 4506-T. Bundled with the initial disclosure package, or served-up separately, the eSigned 4506-T is just one more way that DocMagic’s technology solutions and compliance expertise can increase your efficiency, putting you on the leading edge of the ever-changing lending industry.

DocMagic handles the details of compliance with state and federal law ensuring that 4506-T forms meet all current regulations. DocMagic’s eSigned 4506-T includes an attached certificate that complies with all IRS requirements from initial authentication and consent, to providing a tamper-proof seal.