East Texas Title has executed its first remote online closing in Texas since the state’s remote online notarization law went into effect.
The transaction, which was executed using NotaryCam’s eClose360 platform, was performed on behalf of a couple in Colorado, who were selling their property in Longview, Texas.
“We started conducting remote online closings on the seller’s side first because that was something, we could do immediately without having to wait for the lenders to be ready,” said Celia Flowers, owner of East Texas Title. “What was really important to us was to stop mailing documents because when you’re mailing documents to people, they can get lost. They might not sign in all the right places and then send back incorrectly executed documents, which really holds up the transaction. With remote online notarizations and closings, it’s instant, and the documents are signed correctly.”
In accordance with state regulations, documents were signed, notarized and made accessible to East Texas Title immediately, with the full transaction taking less than one hour.
“Historically, we would have had to ship the documents to sellers in Denver and then wait for them to return the documents before we could complete the closing. By closing remotely with NotaryCam, we were able to complete the seller’s side of the process the same day,” said Flowers. “The sellers thought it was great because they didn’t have to find a notary and could do it all online. The husband had some health issues, so it was nice that he was able to be comfortable at home. The wife came in just as we were starting because she didn’t have to leave work to go find a notary. For them, the convenience factor was a huge plus.”
Texas was the third state to permit notaries to perform remote online notarizations, which is a critical component to completing a remote closing. Also, Virginia, Montana, Nevada, Vermont, Minnesota, Michigan, Indiana, Tennessee and Ohio have all passed some form of remote online notification legislation.
Were the remote option not available, the sellers faced hundreds of dollars in extra expenses, and inconvenience, simply to complete the sale of their home.
“Remote online closings simply are not possible without remote online notarization, and we applaud these states in their foresight to allow their notaries to conduct these transactions not just within their individual jurisdictions, but worldwide,” said Rick Triola, founder of Notary Cam. “Given the size of the Texas real-estate market, the state’s adoption of remote online closings could prove to be a catalyst for more widespread adoption throughout the country.”
According to Notary Cam, it has completed 130, 000 transactions.
