At the start of the pandemic, companies across America were abruptly forced to send their employees home and quickly scramble to adjust to remote work. But even though new lender MortgageCountry had just begun operations, its president, Ira Brownstein, wasn’t worried.

Download the MortgageCountry case study

“You can be much more connected on a virtual basis and be much more productive, and we’re living proof—not by force, but by foresight,” Brownstein said.

The new company began accepting loan applications as most of the country was shutting down. And yet, with the help of DocMagic’s Total eClose and dynamic document generation solutions, MortgageCountry was able to implement an electronic workflow from start to finish in less than 30 days. 

MortgageCountry’s success has only continued since then:

• In its first month of accepting applications, it closed loans in an average of 13 days.
• It has partnered with the four largest financial institutions in the mortgage space—even though these institutions rarely partner with startups.
• It secured $35 million of mortgage credit facilities during an economic calamity, providing a runway to originate more than $700 million in annual mortgage originations.

How did MortgageCountry do it? In addition to their business model, they chose the right technology partners: DocMagic for document generation and eClosing, and LendingQB for its loan origination system (LOS) and point-of-sale system (POS).

This was key because MortgageCountry set up ambitious goals for onboarding and digital closings. A week before launch, they requested that all documents be digitally enabled and wanted their first closings to be hybrid and to close on a digital platform. DocMagic made it happen.

In retrospect, Brownstein admits he was taking a risk with such ambitious goals. “It was all new. I didn't come from an environment where we were closing loans digitally. We were closing loans the way most lenders close, with outdated wet signatures,” he said. “But I'm a big believer that you make a decision, do your due diligence, test your decision, and ensure that you mitigate risk, and we did that.”

To learn more about how MortgageCountry found success amid challenging economic conditions, download the free case study.

Related Content:

• The current state of eClosings: A Q&A with DocMagic's compliance chief (12/17/2020)
• Survey: Homebuyers adapt to eSignings, remote closings during pandemic (10/29/2020)
• Remote online notarization (RON) has several benefits beyond safety (10/22/2020)

Community State Bank, which has seven locations across southeast Wisconsin, has implemented DocMagic’s full suite of eClosing solutions and is now offering their customers a 100% digital mortgage process—something that’s key in the middle of a pandemic.

“During these times of uncertainty, it is extremely important that our team be able to adjust quickly in order to continue serving our customers safely,” said Scott Huedepohl, Community State Bank President and CEO. “We’re very honored to be able to provide both a high-tech experience, while still offering personalized service to guide our customers along the way.”

Community State Bank, founded in 1898, partnered with DocMagic to implement technology and help ensure the highest levels of customer safety during the pandemic. But in addition to safety, the bank also sought to offer borrowers a faster and more efficient loan process.

“By utilizing DocMagic, our mortgage team can now offer customers the option of signing mortgage documents electronically, from the moment they apply through closing,” said Community State Bank Vice President of Mortgage Operations Shakil Haider. 

Using the Total eClose platform, Community State Bank is also now offering remote online notarizations (RON), eNote generation, secure eVault storing capabilities, and direct connectivity to the MERS® eRegistry. Recently, MERS featured Community State Bank in its monthly newsletter, congratulating the lender for completing its integration. Community State Bank is, as of late November, one of just 74 originators integrated with the MERS eRegistry—nationwide.

“Community State Bank has put their customers’ needs at the forefront by implementing our automated, end-to-end lending platform,” said Dominic Iannitti, President and CEO at DocMagic. “We provide our clients with an agile and technology-forward mortgage process that ensures they can sustain and scale critical business processes.”

Customers have praised the new digital process. Gary Strand, who recently closed a mortgage with Community State Bank, noted, “Our experience was very simple from start to finish. Having the option to close our loan online shows they are willing to accommodate their customers’ needs and busy schedules while also keeping safety in mind during the pandemic.”

Related Content:

• DocMagic, VirPack integrate platforms (10/1/2020)
• DocMagic teams up with Simplifile to facilitate eClosing adoption (7/27/2020)
• MortgageCountry closing loans in 13 days using DocMagic solutions (7/21/2020)

DocMagic is joining forces with Simplifile, a document collaboration and eRecording provider, to create new process efficiencies that will further digitaize the closing process.

The two companies’ technologies—which include DocMagic’s 100% paperless Total eClose™ platform and Simplifile’s eEligibility data for eNotarization acceptance—are combining to facilitate eClosing usage, instantly qualify eNotarizations by county, and automatically eRecord documents post-closing.

“This integration further streamlines the post-closing process by extending the eClosing process to include county recordings,” said Dominic Iannitti, DocMagic’s president and CEO. “Our partnership with Simplifile provides their vast network of more than 39,000 settlement agents with easy access to DocMagic’s Total eClose™ services.” 

Using Simplifile, settlement agents can seamlessly connect to all of DocMagic’s eClose-enabled lenders in one place to exchange documents, data, and closing logistics.

Additionally, loan closings implemented through Total eClose™ can now be automatically routed to the agent for eClosing coordination, streamlining access to the Total eClose™ room. The digital lift continues beyond the closing table with integrated eRecording in participating counties. Those recorded documents and the title policy are then returned electronically, along with associated recording metadata, to the lender.

“Process consistency is key to driving eClosing adoption with lender closing teams and settlement agents, regardless of what percentage of loans qualify to be closed digitally or where individual loans fall on the digital spectrum,” said Paul Clifford, president of Simplifile. “The combination of DocMagic’s proven eClosing technology and Simplifile’s settlement agent network creates a powerful foundation that enables lenders to scale their digital mortgage efforts as jurisdictional, and investor requirements allow and capture every drop of efficiency and cost-savings possible.”  

Simplifile is a part of ICE Mortgage Services, which applies technology and high-capacity infrastructure to make the mortgage process electronic and more efficient.

Related Content:

• MortgageCountry closing loans in 13 days using DocMagic solutions (7/21/2020)
• 3 reasons why DocMagic's document generation solution is so fast (7/15/2020)
• DocMagic offers free verson of its eSign technology for non-mortgage uses (6/1/2020)

During its first two months of lending, MortgageCountry has been closing loans in an average of 13 calendar days—setting a new standard for speed.

The new mortgage banker accomplished this feat with the help of DocMagic’s 100% digital e-enabled documents and Total eClose™ platform.

How they did it: Download the MortgageCountry case study

“DocMagic completely exceeded our expectations, helping us make our origination and closing process next-level efficient and creating a second-to-none closing experience for our clients,” said Sheila Salvitti, MortgageCountry’s director of communications and social media. “After seeing the level of perfection achieved, we knew we chose the right technology partner to realize our belief that the sky is the limit.”

The feeling was mutual. “It was a pleasure collaborating with the tech-savvy, forward-thinking team at MortgageCountry in a combined effort to master the eClosing process before they ever funded a single loan,” said Dominic Iannitti, DocMagic’s president and CEO. “The unprecedented success we had with the solution configuration, troubleshooting, and implementation of the platform helped set up MortgageCountry to be one of the most efficient independent mortgage bankers in the country."

Working with with DocMagic’s eClosing team, CountryMortgage was able to automate its entire eClose workflow from start to finish in less than 30 days. Salvitti said DocMagic tailored Total eClose™ to CountryMortgage’s business needs, helping them be “flawless from the start.”

Founded in 2019, MortgageCountry entered the industry with a mission to cut the cost of a mortgage by using forward-thinking technology and a re-engineered mortgage process. The company's unique business model includes the fact that it's run virtually via a 100% browser-based technology.

MortgageCountry identified that the primary reason for rising costs is the industry’s reliance on a large outside sales infrastructure, absorption of mortgage brokers, and corporate expenses throughout the banking industry. It aims to reverse this trend by partnering with the best technology partners to provide an intuitive and simple platform that meets clients everywhere and anywhere.

“To be successful in today’s fast-moving, rapidly changing lending landscape, implementing the right technology is business-critical to disrupt an industry plagued with good ideas but poor execution,” Salvitti said. “MortgageCountry has successfully delivered on our promise to make the client experience as simple, quick and easy as possible.”

MortgageCountry reported that its clients valued the fact they were able to receive the complete closing documents well ahead of the closing and could sign on their own time without a rigid schedule. Clients said the process was more comfortable than prior experiences because they were able to review and sign the closing documents without the pressure of someone looking over their shoulder.

To learn more about how MortgageCountry found success amid challenging economic conditions, check out our updated blog post, where you can download the free case study.

Related Content:

• 3 reasons why DocMagic's document generation solution is so fast (7/15/2020)
• DocMagic offers free verson of its eSign technology for non-mortgage uses (6/1/2020)
• New AutoPrep tech accepts docs from ANY provider for paperless eClosings (4/3/2020)

At DocMagic’s May 27 webinar, “Road-Tested eClosing Strategies for Today,” Ben Sherman, president of real estate recording services firm Synrgo, shared some surprising facts and numbers about county recorders and electronic closings.

First, what's eRecording?

eRecording is a method of electronically delivering documents to the county recorder. So instead of mailing or FedEx-ing a document package, you’re scanning it and sending an electronic version to the courthouse via the Internet.

County recorders' ability to eRecord depends on their software systems. eRecording can be completed in minutes or hours, instead of the days or weeks that it takes to manually record a paper document.

What does this have to do with RON?

Any lender that wants to close a loan using remote online notarization (RON) has to find a jurisdiction that allows eRecording (except for specific papering-out exception we'll get to later). “Otherwise, you can’t get that document on record there,” Sherman said.

Now for the numbers…

The U.S. has 3,143 counties, but 3,590 recording jurisdictions.

Why the disparity? Certain states have more jurisdictions than they have counties. Connecticut, for example, only has eight counties but has 169 townships, and each township has its own clerk that handles the land record system.

As of May 31, there are 2,161 jurisdictions that eRecord.

These counties represent about 90% of the U.S. population, according to the Property Records Industry Association, which maintains an exhaustive list of all counties that eRecord.

Out of the jurisdictions that do eRecord, some still don’t accept electronic deeds.

Sherman says about 1,600 to 1,700 jurisdictions don’t accept electronic deeds, and that overlaps with some that do accept eRecordings. He calculates that about 58 million people, or 18% of the U.S. population, reside within these non-electronic deed-accepting jurisdictions.

13 states allow non-eRecording jurisdictions to paper out electronic documents.

As of July 1, there are 11 states that allow recording entities to print out and scan a paper version of an electronic document for recordation — including a RON document. They are: Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. By Oct. 1, Maryland and Washington will also allow papering out.

“That’s really important because that pertains to 452 counties in those 13 states,” Sherman said. “That’s a lot of recording jurisdictions that you can actually still do RON transactions.”

There are 3 key reasons why more county recorders aren’t accepting RON documents.

• Money: The software systems needed to manage eRecordings could cost a jurisdiction tens of thousands just to get started. “Believe it or not, in the United States we have counties that still write in a book,” Sherman said.
• Security: People worry that eRecording has more exposure to fraud than manually submitting a document, but Sherman says it's actually safer. Unlike paper, eRecording leaves a traceable audit trail—you can track who submitted the document, when it was submitted, from which organization, etc.
• Inertia: People may find it hard to change the way they've been operating, said Mike Lyon, executive vice president at Nexsys Technologies, at the May 27 webinar. “So, even though it’s super inefficient ... it’s what we’ve been doing forever and therefore we’re going to keep on doing it until somebody tells us to do it different,” he said.

With the onset of the pandemic, though, the landscape has changed dramatically in favor of eClosings and eRecordings. “That inertia is kind of gone now," Lyon said. "The ball is rolling and … it’s rolling at the county recorder’s office as well."

Related Content:

• RON update: Lots of forward momentum—but also a setback (6/26/2020)
• 3 reasons why underwriters haven't jumped on the RON bandwagon (6/24/2020)
• RON vs. RIN: Why you should know the difference (6/10/2020)

DocMagic has improved the process for for settlement agents to link up with notary providers to complete an eNotarization—especially a remote online notarization (RON) that allows signers and notaries to meet in virtually. The change is crucial in the current COVID-19 climate.

The recent updates to DocMagic’s Settlement Agent Portal helps settlement service providers streamline the eSigning process for borrowers. These functions are part of DocMagic’s Total eClose™ platform, which provides a wide variety of digital eClosing experiences.

Settlement service providers can already use the Settlement Agent Portal to conduct a variety of transactions as part of the closing event. These transactions include adding additional participants (e.g. sellers and witnesses), adding and e-enabling title documents, and reviewing the closing document package to ensure all acknowledgeable annotations are present prior to eClosing.

Now, agents also can select their preferred eNotary Provider and eNotarization method: “In Person” or “Remote Online.”

To learn more about Remote Online Notarization (RON) in the age of COVID-19, sign up for our webinar on April 29.

Once they make their selection, the chosen notary will contact all of the closing package’s participants (borrowers, loan originators, settlement agencies, etc.) to inform them what technical requirements they need (such as browser support, video camera access, internet speed, etc.) in order to conduct the eNotarization. This pre-evaluation of the end users’ technical capabilities helps ensure a fluid eClosing process, especially if the closing will be conducted via RON, which requires specific audiovisual technology.

Another update expedites the final stages of the closing process. When it’s time to close, the agent simply clicks on the “Ready to Close” button, which triggers a notification to the selected notary provider that the package has been finalized. This notification allows the notary provider to contact all participants and prepare a notary for closing.

Those aren’t the only DocMagic improvements to the workflow. Other changes include:

• The Agent Portal’s Participants section has been re-designed to easily associate a notary for each signer and display each participant’s most recent status.
• The Agent Portal now gives the settlement agent access to inspect the generated package documents and add additional annotations if missing.
• When new documents that require notarization are added to the package, the settlement agent can add notary signatures and seals to those documents and assign them to a particular participant.

Settlement service providers play a crucial role in the closing process; with these changes, DocMagic hopes to make their workflow a little smoother.

Related Content:

• DocMagic Gets Lenders Started With eClosing (9/27/2019)

eClosing just got a lot easier because DocMagic’s new AutoPrep technology can convert ANY document from ANY lender into a compliant e-enabled document that’s ready for electronic signature inside our eClosing platform.

One of the drivers behind the development of AutoPrep was a 2019 independent technology survey of the mortgage industry conducted by STRATMOR. It ranked DocMagic’s Total eClose™ solution as the No. 1 eClosing platform for market share, overall satisfaction, and Lender Loyalty Score®. 

We felt that it was critical for us to be able to work with any lender to ingest any document—and that’s exactly what AutoPrep does, allowing our Total eClose™ platform to accept documents, even non-e-enabled documents, from any source.

How does AutoPrep work?

This technology can transform any standard document or PDF, even partially e-enabled ones, into a fully e-enabled document in seconds. It uses artificial intelligence, OCR, and machine learning technologies to scan and parse documents, locate all signature and notary regions, and then electronically tag them for eClosing. As a result, lenders can use loan documents produced by virtually any document provider with our Total eClose™ platform.

AutoPrep can also:

• Learn the nuances of specific documents and adjust accordingly going forward.
• Identify whether signatures are improperly placed or missing.
• Find e-tags placed by other providers.
• Read documents that have been partially, but not fully, converted into e-enabled documents.

In addition, AutoPrep can identify situations that are outside the norm and flag documents for personnel, saving them the time and trouble of having to comb over every page of a document package.

While eClosings are known to be more efficient and compliant, they aren’t nearly as common in the mortgage industry as they should be. One reason is because some lenders are tied to systems that don’t produce e-enabled documents. With AutoPrep, we’re pleased to say that roadblock is removed.

TORRANCE, Calif., Nov. 5, 2019—DocMagic, Inc., the premier provider of fully-compliant loan document preparation, regulatory compliance and comprehensive eMortgage services, announced that its Total eClose™ platform is the eClosing leader based on market share, overall satisfaction and lender loyalty in STRATMOR Group’s 2019 Mortgage Technology Insight Study.

“STRATMOR’s study places DocMagic as the eClosing leader, with more than 52.4 percent of the market comprised of banks, credit unions, and independent mortgage bankers,” said Dominic Iannitti, president and CEO of DocMagic. “We’re thrilled to have our customers rank us so highly in a study by an organization as reliable and respected as STRATMOR.”

DocMagic also led eClosing providers in overall satisfaction ratings and STRATMOR’s coveted Lender Loyalty Score® analysis, which the study states is based on lender satisfaction and intent to continue using the technology.

A second DocMagic technology, the company’s document generation solution, also holds the highest market share in its category. Together, Total eClose and DocMagic’s dynamic document generation can provide lenders with 100 percent paperless eClosings.

According to STRATMOR Group, this year’s study was based on responses from 250 mortgage professionals representing 209 unique lenders. The 2019 survey represents 29 percent of the mortgage market and draws in part upon 2017 HMDA data to maximize accuracy. STRATMOR defines eClosing technology as a system that allows lenders to deliver fully digital and also hybrid eClosings through a central platform. STRATMOR concluded that “eClosing represents a significant ROI opportunity for lenders to automate.”

DocMagic’s Total eClose platform is a comprehensive solution that delivers a completely paperless workflow and seamlessly integrates every component of the closing process. It includes a robust eDocument library with integrated eSign technology; the MISMO Category One SMARTDoc® eNote; eNotary technology for all 50 states; direct connectivity to the MERS® eRegistry; GSE-certified eVault storage for one year; secure and compliant investor delivery; and a complete audit trail for proof of compliance.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                Persons interested in learning more about the industry’s leading eClosing platform can contact sales@docmagic.com.

About STRATMOR Group:

Founded in 1985, STRATMOR Group has, since inception, focused exclusively on making the mortgage business better for lenders and the borrowers they serve. Today, STRATMOR is a data-driven advisory that guides lenders and vendor clients alike to make smart strategic decisions, solve complex challenges, streamline operations, improve profitability and accelerate growth. For more information, visit https://www.stratmorgroup.com/.

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., March, 25 2019—NotaryCam®, the leader in online notarization solutions, today announced that eMortgage pioneer Mid America Mortgage is now using the firm’s integration with DocMagic, Inc., the premier provider of fully-compliant loan document preparation, regulatory compliance and comprehensive eMortgage services, to conduct remote online notarizations (RONs) through DocMagic’s Total eClose™ platform. Mid America will leverage the integration throughout its retail, correspondent and wholesale channels.

“Since 2016, Mid America’s strategy has been ‘digital first.’ As a result, we have been able to condense our application-to-closing time down to just two weeks and our closing ceremony to 30 minutes or less with our digital mortgage product Click n’ Close,” said Mid America Owner and CEO Jeff Bode. “RON allows us to double down on our closing efficiency while also providing additional convenience to our customers. The addition of NotaryCam’s remote notary services through our established eClosing partner DocMagic enables us to extend the value we’ve experienced to date through our digital mortgage strategy.”

To date, NotaryCam has conducted more than 160,000 RON transactions for individuals located in all 50 states and 90 countries. Thanks to RON bills that have been passed by multiple states, Texas included, NotaryCam’s team of highly trained and experienced notaries are able to remotely eNotarize mortgage loan documents or other paperwork for individuals across the country using NotaryCam’s secure, easy-to-use platform. The system does not restrict the number of participants that can join a RON ceremony, allowing all relevant parties to participate in the transaction.

“Until recently, mortgage closings still required participants to physically congregate in a single location to complete the transaction. Today, RON enables lenders and settlement agents to eliminate the closing table without losing the personal connection of the closing ceremony,” said NotaryCam Founder and CEO Rick Triola. “The value of the convenience that RON provides cannot be overstated, and it would behoove mortgage and settlement professionals to incorporate RON into their existing closing process.”

Total eClose is DocMagic’s comprehensive end-to-end eClosing solution. The integration with NotaryCam, which was first announced in September 2018, allows Mid America Mortgage and Click n’ Close to eNotarize documents remotely using NotaryCam’s RON service, eliminating the need for home buyers and sellers to physically appear before a notary to wet-sign loan documents.

“We continue to focus on implementing seamless digital closing solutions for our customers,” stated Dominic Iannitti, president and CEO of DocMagic. “Mid America’s accelerated processes highlight the benefits DocMagic delivers for both lenders and borrowers. The added efficiency of NotaryCam’s RON solution is the logical next step and a key component to achieving 100% paperless eClosing transactions.”

Lender achieves full eClosing benefits, faster and more reliably, as the result of DocMagic’s consultative implementation process, single-source platform, and intuitive UI

Torrance, Calif. and Salt Lake City, Dec, Dec. 19, 2018—Annual CUNA Lending Council Conference - DocMagic, Inc., the premier provider of fully-compliant loan document preparation, regulatory compliance and comprehensive eMortgage services, and QRL Financial Services (QRL), and SecurityNational Mortgage Corporation (SNMC), an independent national mortgage banker, jointly announced that they successfully rolled out DocMagic’s comprehensive Total eClose™ platform.

Since rolling out Total eClose in September, SNMC has reduced borrower time at the closing table to as little as 15 minutes, and become one of the first national lenders to offer a true eClosing solution that involves no paper whatsoever. It has dramatically sped up the closing process, ensuring accuracy and loan quality, and delivering newfound efficiencies for borrowers, notaries and settlement providers. Total eClose enables SNMC’s customers to preview documents prior to closing, eSign all documents, and complete both remote and in-person eNotarizations. As a result, SNMC is now positioned to capture more market share, reduce operational costs, expedite closing times and elevate the borrower experience.

“Our goal was to perfect a completely digital eClosing process, not to be just another lender offering a basic hybrid closing,” said Steve Johnson, president of SNMC. “Achieving our goal required a powerful end-to-end technology, a perfectly executed seamless implementation, and an intuitive interface that everyone—staff, settlement service providers and borrowers—could use immediately, without a steep learning curve. We got that and more with DocMagic. Plus, the DocMagic implementation team was with us all the way. We never had to worry about a thing.”

The two companies approached the project as partners to ensure swift adoption and a quick understanding of the new workflow-driven eClosing process for both SNMC’s staff and customers. DocMagic worked hand-in-hand with the lender, leveraging its vast eMortgage expertise to help sculpt a unique strategy and a successful go-to-market launch. Unlike other document and eClosing solution providers, DocMagic takes an ultra hands-on approach to implementations, from developing the project roadmap, to training all parties—such as staff, title agents and notaries—to synchronized testing of each facet of the Total eClose platform.

“Our implementation teams function like expert consultants—we work very closely with each client, guiding them literally every step of the way,” said Dominic Iannitti, president and CEO of DocMagic. “There is a huge number of moving pieces in an eClosing solution. As a single source solution, we have intricate knowledge of every one of them, so there are none of the issues that plague other providers—not only immediately after the implementation, but over the long haul as well. In contrast, lenders who choose incomplete or cobbled-together eClosing technologies may have to hit the restart button within 12 to 18 months and search for a comprehensive solution.”

DocMagic is a recognized eClosing pioneer, and has been a part of virtually every state-first eClosing in the U.S.

“We’re pleased to work with companies like SecurityNational Mortgage that truly understand the value of implementing a 100 percent paperless eClosing process,” said Iannitti. “They have taken a leadership position in facilitating eClosings and are ready for an inflow of new business that will be conducted very efficiently.”

DocMagic’s comprehensive suite of eSolutions and eServices also includes SMARTDocs, eNotes capability, eVault technology, eWarehouse lending, and even loan servicing.