Good afternoon —
The news from the NS3 conference last week was largely positive for the title space, mostly because there seems to be real momentum around the SECURE Act. That federal law (if passed) would override state laws against RON and could kick off a true revolution in digital closings — finally!
ALTA President Bill Burding said he expects the SECURE Act to pass in the first half of 2022 and noted that MBA, NAR and ALTA have orchestrated a full-court press to see this accomplished. But even with a federal law, barriers to adoption remain.
Tim Anderson, executive vice president of eMortgage strategy at eVolve Mortgage Services, noted that one of the biggest questions is who will drive the change to complete digital closings — lenders, Realtors or title agents?
From Anderson's perspective, the real game-changer will be when a national lender knows at the time of application that they can offer a complete digital mortgage. Right now, that's impossible, as states — and even counties — operate on different guidelines. And right now there's also the question of which title and settlement companies at the local level are prepared to facilitate that closing. A federal law would make it beneficial for all parties to invest the time and effort into making a fully digital closing experience for the consumer — no easy task when there are dozens of different platforms and solutions that have to be integrated.
(Partnerships like the one announced today between Snapdocs and Notarize, see below, could help here.)
Speakers were quick to note that the opportunities for title and settlement would multiply with a federal law and a streamlined digital closing process. With the ability to close remotely and a standardized legal framework, companies can expand their service area into other states and regions without having a physical presence there.
Of course, there's a flip side to that opportunity, especially for smaller shops. The local advantage title companies have with lender and real estate partners in their community could be upended as larger players decide to take a bigger piece of a very juicy pie.
I would love to hear how your company is planning to be ready for the federal law on RON, or for the other ways the title and settlement space is likely to change next year. Send me an email on this or other topics at swheeler@housingwire.com.
Until next week —
Sarah Wheeler
HousingWire Editor in Chief
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