DocuSign, provider of e-signature and digital transaction management services, is enhancing its platform with eMortgage, a service that allows lenders and title companies to complete a mortgage 100 percent digitally, the company recently announced. eMortgage is the latest in DocuSign’s expanding ‘lead to close’ strategy for the real estate industry, announced by chairman and CEO Keith Krach earlier this year.
“DocuSign’s vision is to make the home-buying process fully digital, from lead to close,” says George Gerstenfeld, general manager, Global Real Estate Solutions at DocuSign. “DocuSign has transformed several aspects of home-buying, but enabling a seamless, digital mortgage remained a paper-burdened experience for homebuyers and sellers. Today’s expanded investments in eNotary demonstrate our commitment to making a completely paperless eMortgage reality.
“This is against the backdrop of the real estate industry’s widespread adoption of DocuSign, and is helping to add more than 130,000 new users to the DocuSign Global Trust Network every day,” Gerstenfeld says. “eMortgage is a natural next step to simplifying the end-to-end experience.”
The platform enhancements ensure that in-person eNotarizations can now be performed via DocuSign in Florida and Washington (in addition to North Carolina, which has been available since 2014). It is also expected that more than ten other states could be added before the end of the year. With eNotary, there is no need to print, scan or mail closing documents—all actions can be performed within the DocuSign platform, including applying a seal and exporting a notary log.
Reflecting the potential for the DocuSign platform to help speed the adoption of the broader eMortgage process, the company (with eOriginal as a partner) is seeking certification as an official Fannie Mae eMortgage Technology Service Provider. Certification is expected by the end of year.
“Fannie Mae is pleased that DocuSign is undergoing technical compliance testing with us for delivery of eMortgage loans, and is seeking approval to join our eMortgage Technology Service Provider listing,” says Cindy McKissock, vice president of Customer Digital Experience, Fannie Mae. “Supporting our customers’ transition to digital closings is a priority for us—and we expect DocuSign’s platform to help remove barriers and obstacles to the adoption of eNotes, thereby increasing usage across the industry.”
“Today, lenders and title companies tend to rely on paper or hybrid processes to complete loans,” says DocuSign Chief Product Officer Ron Hirson. “We are supporting our real estate customers…by delivering new eNotary and eNote features to our DTM platform—that helps more organizations move to a paperless process that is fully auditable, less prone to errors, and results in faster closings.”
The platform enhancements are slated to come to market towards the end of the year.
For more information, please visit www.docusign.com.