Over the last nine months, COVID-19 has upended the world. Title companies are no exception. With interest rates at record lows, people are buying homes like hotcakes, and never mind the pandemic. Title companies have traditionally stayed in the background during a closing. Now, they’re in the forefront, and their mission is to execute a…
The coronavirus has impacted everything. The title insurance industry is no exception. Like everyone else, title insurance companies are wondering where the road ahead is going. Historically, hazard insurance premiums and losses have been highly correlated with economic activity. This is particularly true for title insurance companies where losses are highly correlated with the real…
The novel coronavirus has turned the 2020 real estate market into uncharted territory. The topsy-turvy industry has been impacted by record-low interest rates, shelter in place mandates, social distancing protocols and working from home. People are leaving the big cities behind and getting ridiculously good deals on homes in smaller communities. The challenge has been…
Financial and real estate service companies use notarial services to protect business transactions against fraud in many respects. Signing agents verify individuals identity through identification cards and signatures that match to prevent identity theft that undermine transactions and result in title insurance claims and other consequences. In recent years and during COVID, these critical services…
Anyone planning to buy a house should prepare for a relay race. So says David Watts, a notary public in Vancouver, British Columbia. Watts is the vice president of the Society of Notaries Public of B.C. (SNPBC) and has worked as a notary since 2006. According to Watts, the first lap of the race involves…
As you look to create a compliant notarization, you should keep up to date on the laws in your state. This is particularly important as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause related changes to occur much more quickly than would have otherwise been the case. Is a Personal Appearance Required? It has been commonly required…
A Paramount Duty It is the duty of every notary public to ensure that he or she does not discriminate based on religious, cultural or gender affiliations against individuals requesting services. However, sticking to this rule can be difficult when someone is wearing a facial covering. This could be the case for women who wear…
Research shows that loan officers’ attendance at mortgage closings has a direct effect on borrower satisfaction. Although COVID-19 has changed the way people meet, the mortgage closing is still an important part of the borrower’s experience. Whether the meeting happens remotely or in-person, creating a positive closing experience should be a top priority for loan…
Wet vs Dry – We are not Talking about Surfing Wet purchases customarily mean that all monies are collected and disbursed at closing. This is sometimes referred to as “table funding”. Dry purchases mean that all monies are collected and disbursed after closing by some previously agreed to arrangement. With the COVID-19 pandemic, many changes…
Temporary authorizations for remote ink-signed notarizations (RINs) have been issued by several states following the initial authorization issued in New York by executive order on March 19, 2020. RINs are designed to expedite transactions that require a notary while protecting the participants from COVID-19. With RINs, notaries can perform their services on paper documents using…
Remote online notarization (RON) is a service that states have implemented to expedite transactions like loan closings during the COVID-19 emergency. If you are a notary, you can perform RONs if they are legal in your state. If your state has not authorized RONs or has yet to implement RON best practices, then you cannot…
Remote online notarization technology, or RON, was on the horizon long before COVID-19 disrupted the way people live and work. The pandemic impacted businesses in unprecedented ways, so maintaining operational capacity is a high priority. Governments at the state and federal levels are now considering remote notarization to reduce the risk of new COVID-19 infections.…
