With in-person events back in full swing, we’re excited to announce that DocMagic is hitting the road this fall and attending some of the mortgage industry’s biggest conferences! Check it out:

Sept. 27-28: HousingWire Annual (Frisco, Texas)

DocMagic will be a co-sponsor of the HousingWire Annual event. Several members of DocMagic’s eClosing Team, including Ron Carrillo, Michael Chaney and Leah Sommerville, will be in attendance.

We’ll also be presenting a live demo of our Total eClose solution, along with AutoPrep — our tool that can e-enable any document for paperless closings, even from third-party doc providers — on the main event stage in the Star Ballroom on Sept. 28 at 2:30 pm. Don’t miss it!

If you’re going to be at HousingWire Annual, come find our kiosk. Or better yet, set up a meeting by emailing Terry at tsmith@docmagic.com. 

Oct. 17-20: MBA Annual (San Diego, Calif.)

DocMagic will also be attending MBA Annual. Chris Lewis, our Director of Enterprise Solutions, will be there along with several members of our sales and implementation teams. You can read some of Chris’s analyses on the state of eClosing in the mortgage industry (here and here), previously published in MBA Newslink and The MORTGAGE BANKER magazine, respectively.

Come visit us at Booth 314. To set up a meeting with one of our eClosing experts at MBA Annual, email Terry at tsmith@docmagic.com. 

Dec. 14-16: National Mortgage News Digital (San Diego, Calif.)

In December we’ll be returning to San Diego for National Mortgage News Digital. Come visit our kiosk. We’ll also be presenting a live demo of our Total eClose solution, along with AutoPrep (our tool to e-enable any document for paperless closings, even from third-party doc providers). To schedule a meeting with a DocMagic representative at National Mortgage News Digital, just contact Terry!

Related Content:

• Did You Know: A basic hybrid eClosing is easier than you think? (9/15/2021)
• Ask the eClosing Team: Why are eNotes better than paper? (and other burning questions) (8/18/2021)
• 3 reasons why your post-closing department loves eClosings and eNotes (6/24/2021)

Before the pandemic, one of the major roadblocks to implementing eClosings was a lack of serious commitment. Companies talked the talk when it came to eMortgages, but in many instances the commitment was surface level at best. That all changed after COVID-19.

In 2020, with much of the country on lockdown or under stay-at-home orders — and with business threatening to grind to a halt — many mortgage companies finally decided it was time to seriously consider eClosings.

However, this decision to offer eClosings collides with the challenges of implementing them. The pandemic may have spurred lenders to consider eClosings, but many are unprepared for the reality of the road ahead of them. To get past this hurdle, lenders need to adopt the mindset that they will pursue electronic closings — whatever it takes.

Did You Know: A basic hybrid eClosing is easier than you think?

“No one can sit in a boardroom now and say they won’t do eClosings. They’d get fired,” said Brian D. Pannell, DocMagic's Chief eServices Executive. But much more common are the lenders who are enthusiastic when they start the process and then balk when they encounter difficulties. “There are people who come to the table and say, ‘I'm ready to do this,’ and then two weeks later say, ‘I didn't realize I had to do this much. I'm not ready to do this now.’”

Here’s a sampling of the obstacles that may sidetrack lenders who’ve made the decision to go “e”: They have to invest, sometimes heavily, in new systems; there is confusion over states’ varied eNotarization laws, including the temporary emergency orders; they may encounter resistance from secondary partners and investors; they want to offer eNotes but are confused about how to become a MERS eRegistry member, etc.

“When we talk to someone in the very beginning, we have to get them oriented toward the thought process that this has to be a commitment,” said Daniel McGrew, president and CEO of Elite Digital Advisors and the leader of DocMagic's eClosing team. He added that when he holds a best practices call with lenders who’ve decided to move forward, he informs them, “If your attitude today is, ‘we'll dip our toe in the water’ or ‘we'll just give this a try,’ you're setting yourself up for serious trouble. If the commitment's not there, this thing is going to fail.”

Additionally, this committed mindset needs to come from the top. “Regardless of who initiated the change, at the end of the day you must have executive sponsorship,” Pannell said. “Otherwise, organizations may reach the end of the implementation process only to find that even the pandemic couldn’t accelerate adoption and their company is only eClosing one or two loans a month. Then the executives will ask, ‘Why did we do this?’ Companies need a sustained strategy.”

The commitment needs to be there especially if the initial eClosings don’t go well. McGrew recalls one credit union that began implementing eClosings in 2020. Their very first eClosing, undertaken to great fanfare with high-level executives participating, ended up lasting almost two hours because the notary was completely new to the process.

That could have been a “one-and-done” situation, McGrew noted. However, the credit union was undeterred, learned some lessons from the mishap, and pressed on with electronic closes. By the end of 2020, the lender ended up closing almost 90 eNotes — with a lot more planned for 2021.

Pannell worked with a Midwestern bank that took an aggressive approach, insisting forcefully that all their stakeholders and partners get on board. “It was an uncomfortable change for a lot of people, but the bank made them do it,” Pannell said. The result? “They’re killing it right now.”

Another key reason why lenders must be prepared to push past any obstacles: Borrowers today are demanding some form of eClosing. In the past, they were content to follow the lender’s lead when it came to closings. However, amid the pandemic, borrowers have a new risk tolerance — and in many cases, that tolerance doesn’t allow for a traditional closing that involves a large stack of papers and a drawn-out, in-person signing. They want the safety of a quick or remote closing.

Additionally, borrowers have gotten used to the convenience of an Amazon-type experience, where they order something and it arrives almost immediately.

As a result, lenders need to have more flexibility when it comes to borrowers who want an eClosing on their terms. Since the pandemic, Pannell has gotten calls from lenders requesting help in the evenings, sometimes as late at 10 p.m. — while they were in the middle of conducting a RON closing. When asked why the ceremony was happening so late, lenders would answer, “This is the window the borrowers have.”

“So now lenders have to make themselves and their support staff more available. It’s no longer a world of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. office hours,” Pannell said. “Lenders are at the beck and call of the borrower now. You’re going to work some unique scenarios, and you have to be committed to that. You have to know that this is the new norm.”

To learn about four other key hurdles to eClosing implementation — and how to overcome them — download the full white paper here.

Related Content:

• Ask the eClosing Team: Why are eNotes better than paper? (and other burning questions) (8/18/2021)
• Did You Know: You can get all your eClosing needs met by one vendor? (6/16/2021)
• Ask the eClosing Team: What steps should lenders take to get set up for eClosing? (6/2/2021)

For many lenders used to a paper-based mortgage process, an electronic closing may feel out of reach. Why? “The county recorder won’t accept it.” “My investors won’t purchase it.” “I can’t change my processes.”

And of course, “It’s too difficult to implement.”

Except it isn’t.

While eNotes and eNotarization do require more time and effort, a basic eSign hybrid — in which borrowers can electronically sign all of the closing documents, with the exception of the note and recordable documents — is very simple to set up. Lenders who are already using DocMagic’s doc gen solution, in fact, can be enabled for eSign hybrids (also known as Hybrid #1) in as little as 24 hours. 

“As soon as you say ‘eClose,’ a lot of clients say, ‘We can't do that. We can't do an eNote. We can't do eNotary,’” said Aimee Eyre, a sales executive at DocMagic. “But eSign hybrids don’t require a big implementation.”

This type of hybrid closing allows borrowers to preview all of their documents ahead of the closing; switches the majority of documents from paper to digital; and reduces a prolonged, drawn-out ceremony to a matter of minutes. Crucially, it’s also accepted by every investor and county recorder in the country. The more complicated pieces of the closing, the note and deed, are still wet-ink signed and can undergo traditional in-person notarization.

During the pandemic, eSign hybrids shot up in popularity as many lenders set up a drive-thru closing system to allow for shorter and mostly socially distanced closings from the safety of a car.

For DocMagic’s doc gen customers, adding on eSign hybrid capability is easy; it can be set up within 24 hours and clients can begin testing it out with their teams and settlement agents. “It’s just a matter of a couple of clicks,” said Darlyn Buthsombat, a DocMagic account executive. “We’ve already done the work on the backend; we already know which forms are e-enabled and what type of eClosing it is.”

Additionally, lenders have plenty of flexibility with such hybrids, which can be implemented for specific investors, states or loan programs.

For a new customer, the onboarding time frame is closer to 30 to 90 days, depending on the size of the company and if they have special requests, as new lenders first need to be set up for processing documents.

For most lenders, there’s one main roadblock to implementing an eSign hybrid: “It’s an operational change. When I speak with a customer, that's their only resistance — it's just a big change to how they do things,” Buthsombat said.

“But there shouldn't be anything that's stopping lenders from doing this type of hybrid because it's really easy,” she continued. “It's a win-win situation for all parties: the lender, the selling agent and the borrower.”

DocMagic’s Sales Team can be reached at sales@docmagic.com.

Related Content:

• Did You Know: You can cut out the middleman and draw your own docs? (6/30/2021)
• Did You Know: You can get all your eClosing needs met by one vendor? (6/16/2021)
• Ask the eClosing Team: What steps should lenders take to get set up for eClosing? (6/2/2021)

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) (collectively, the “Agencies”) recently entered into a collaborative agreement regarding the enforcement of fair housing and fair lending requirements.

The Agencies published a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that formalizes the sharing of information, resources, coordination of existing and potential investigations, and ongoing monitoring of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the 11 Federal Home Loan Banks (collectively, the “Enterprises”) regulated by FHFA.

HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge said that the agreement between the Agencies “is an important and historic step to advance and strengthen the enforcement of our nation’s fair housing and fair lending requirements.”

The MOU provides that communication will be organized by liaisons from each agency who will arrange meetings to share information and discuss coordinated efforts on fair housing and fair lending matters related to the Enterprises. Each agency will provide the other with a periodic digest of information on complaints accepted for filing under the Fair Housing Act or consumer complaints that may constitute a violation of the Fair Housing Act.

The MOU states that the purpose of the agreement is to promote an interagency coordination that enhances oversight of the Enterprises, while reducing duplicate enforcement efforts by the Agencies. In addition to compliance reviews, the Agencies will coordinate activities related to fair lending examinations and review of the Enterprises’ underwriting and appraisal guidelines.

The MOU provides that information shared between the Agencies can be classified as confidential and names Data Custodians that are responsible for safeguarding the information and meeting the requirements of sharing data under the agreement. 

The MOU is set to continue through Dec. 31, 2025, at which time the Agencies may renew the agreement, let it expire, or create a new agreement. Either agency can terminate the MOU at any time by providing a 30-day written notice to the other agency.

Related Content:

• Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announce changes to uniform instruments (8/11/2021)
• FHFA to eliminate the adverse market refinance fee (8/4/2021)
• CFPB report finds several mortgage-related violations in 2020 (7/20/2021)

DocMagic has earned a spot on this year’s prestigious Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in the U.S.

“DocMagic has been a market leader for years, so lenders naturally turn to us first when they want to elevate their processes or need to adapt to new circumstances, and that’s exactly what’s happened since the start of the pandemic,” said Dominic Iannitti, president and CEO of DocMagic. “We’re proud of our market strength, which is demonstrated in our three-year growth rate.”

The Inc. 5000 ranks companies by overall revenue growth over a three-year period. Over the last three years, DocMagic tallied a growth rate of 67%, due in large part to a dramatic increase in lender adoption of its single-source Total eClose solution.

“The 2021 Inc. 5000 list feels like one of the most important rosters of companies ever compiled,” said Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc. “Building one of the fastest-growing companies in America in any year is a remarkable achievement. Building one in the crisis we’ve lived through is just plain amazing. This kind of accomplishment comes with hard work, smart pivots, great leadership, and the help of a whole lot of people.”

In the last 18 months, as lenders faced unprecedented challenges amid the pandemic, they increasingly turned to DocMagic’s digital mortgage advisory services, remote implementation model, and strategic approach to automating new workflows. DocMagic’s subject matter expertise and Total eClose platform helped numerous lenders successfully meet the many demands of a rapidly changing, high-volume market.

“Early on, we invested heavily in R&D to engineer the right blend of digital mortgage and eClosing technologies,” Iannitti said. “DocMagic’s ongoing growth reflects the diligent work and unwavering efforts of our entire company. We’re honored to be named to the 2021 Inc. 5000 list among so many innovative and accomplished companies.”

The first Inc. 5000 list was produced in 1982. Intuit, Dell, LinkedIn, Zillow, Zappos, Microsoft and Patagonia are among the companies that first gained national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000.

Related Content:

• DocMagic's Leah Sommerville wins inaugural NextGen Leader Award (4/29/2021)
• DocMagic named to HousingWire's Tech100 list for 8th straight year (3/11/2021)
• Brian D. Pannell honored with HousingWire's 2020 Tech Trendsetters Award (12/4/2020)

On July 7, 2021, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs) announced changes to all uniform instruments, except those being retired — including notes, riders, security instruments, addenda and special-purpose documents.

Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's websites will continue to provide both the current versions of the uniform instruments and the updated versions, which have a July 2021 footer date. The announcements provide that the updated uniform instruments may be used now but will only be mandatory for loans with a note date on or after the effective date of Jan. 1, 2023. An 18-month transition period was provided to allow the industry time to prepare for the transition.

The updated uniform instruments cannot be used in any combination with earlier versions. For instance, if a July 2021 security instrument is used, the applicable July 2021 note must also be used.

Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide Update (SEL-2021-06) states that the changes to the uniform instruments were made to “enhance clarity and usability.” Fannie Mae has posted the updated versions of the documents and a Uniform Instrument Update Fact Sheet to their web page. The fact sheet states that the updates are the result of a comprehensive review in collaboration with Freddie Mac.  

Freddie Mac has a new 2021 Uniform Instruments web page which provides a list of affected documents and authorized changes. The Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide also includes the updates in Exhibit 4A and 5A. The prior Exhibits 4 and 5 will be retired after the new effective date.

DocMagic is currently reviewing changes to the new uniform instruments and will provide additional information regarding a timeline for implementation in a future update.

Related Content:

• FHFA to eliminate the adverse market refinance fee (8/4/2021)
• CFPB report finds several mortgage-related violations in 2020 (7/20/2021)
• FHFA director replaced following Supreme Court decision (7/6/2021)

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that the Adverse Market Refinance Fee of 50 basis points (0.500%) will be eliminated for loans delivered to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs), effective Aug. 1, 2021.

As previously reported by DocMagic, the Adverse Market Refinance Fee was announced in August 2020 and implemented by the GSEs for most refinance mortgages above $125,000 in December 2020. The GSEs advised at the time that the new fee was necessary to manage risks and forecasted losses that would result from the COVID-19 pandemic.  

However, the pandemic did not bring about the losses that were expected as the GSEs have continued to post gains throughout the pandemic. Also, in April 2021, the GSEs reported that the COVID-19 forbearance rate was down to 2%, from a high of approximately 5% in mid-2020. The FHFA announcement states that the “COVID-19 policies reduced the impact of the pandemic and were effective enough to warrant an early conclusion of the Adverse Market Refinance Fee.”

FHFA’s recently appointed Acting Director, Sandra L. Thompson, stated that “the COVID-19 pandemic financially exacerbated America’s affordable housing crisis. Eliminating the Adverse Market Refinance Fee will help families take advantage of the low-rate environment to save more money.”

Related Content:

• CFPB report finds several mortgage-related violations in 2020 (7/20/2021)
• FHFA director replaced following Supreme Court decision (7/6/2021)
• GSE guidance for revised General QM definition (6/7/2021)