Another state is allowing home buyers and sellers to bypass having to be present at the closing table. Iowa this week becomes the latest state to allow fully digital closings for mortgage transactions, allowing 100% of the closing process to go digital. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed an electronic notary law, SF 475, into effect on Monday.
Fully digital closings are gradually growing in the housing industry. But many state restrictions still surround electronic notaries. Iowa is the 10th state this year to pass a remote online notarization bill. A total of 18 states now allow notaries to perform remote notarizations, according to Notarize, an electronic notarization provider.
In 2018, more than 60 percent of real estate professionals surveyed by the National Association of REALTORS® and Notarize reported a closing that had been delayed or canceled due to one of the parties not being present.
The company Notarize allows consumers to have their documents notarized via webcam. Notarize was part of the 2017 Reach Accelerator program through Second Century Ventures, a strategic investment arm of NAR that mentors startup firms and offers them wide exposure within the real estate industry. Notarize recently published an e-book for real estate professionals, The Instant Mortgage: How to Achieve Better Closings, On-Demand, which includes details of how some lenders are funding a loan in just two hours, 100 percent electronically.
Source: “Iowa Signs Law to Enable eClosings for Mortgages,” HousingWire (April 30, 2019)
