A day after a Texas law authorizing webcam-based closings took effect, Stewart announced the completion of its first completely paperless, fully digital real estate transaction.
The transaction was completed by Stewart’s office in Katy, Texas, in coordination with Georgetown Mortgage LLC. All lender and title closing documents were executed electronically through Notarize’s closing portal.
“Completing our first remote, fully digital purchase transaction in Texas supports Stewart’s continued innovative and leading approach to improve the real estate transaction process,” Stewart CEO Matt Morris said in a release. “Given the increasingly busy and mobile nature of our customers, we continually look for ways to simplify the complex, and are committed to driving improvements to the process to enhance the customer experience in the manner that they are most comfortable with.”
In July, a Texas law authorizing webcam-based closings took effect.
“Online closings can’t happen in a vacuum: it requires trusted partners who are committed to innovation plus best-in-class technology to deliver an end-to-end paperless mortgage,” Notarize CEO Pat Kinsel said. “We strongly believe that buying and selling a home 100 percent online is the future, and we’re excited to power the very first online closing in Texas.”
“An in-person closing will always be an option for consumers, but the added convenience of closing anytime, anywhere will be a solution to a host of scenarios that will benefit our customers, regardless of their age or generational classification,” Georgetown Mortgage Chief Financial Officer Michael Jones said. “With today’s time constraints, spending several hours closing a home loan is absolutely inconvenient and unnecessary.”
Stewart Chief Information Officer Brad Rable said the underwriter is a leader in the Texas market regarding eClosings.
“Leveraging state-of-the-art technology allowed Stewart to serve our customers and fully support them in completing this transaction,” Rable said. “We want this to become a regular option for future closings because of the many advantages eClosing offers over the traditional paper-based system.”