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Game Changer for Remote Real Estate Closings: Remote Online Notarization Morphs into Remote Ink Notarization

Game Changer for Remote Real Estate Closings: Remote Online Notarization Morphs into Remote Ink Notarization

Just a few days ago, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Attorneys Title Insurance Fund and Old Republic Insurance Company along, with other underwriters following suit, decided that they would allow for Florida Remote Online Notaries to notarize both electronic and wet-ink closing documents remotely through a Remote Online Notarization (“RON”) provider. This approval now paves the way for both buyers and sellers of Florida real estate to be able to sign paper closing documents that need to be notarized without having the necessity of strangers coming into their home or, in the alternative, going to a conference room with other people to execute these documents. These types of closings are called Remote Ink Notarization or RIN for short.

RON: Pushback and Moving Forward

Up until now, most banks and lenders were not fully participating in Remote Online Notarization because they wanted to have the original promissory note  executed by the borrower on paper with a pen, otherwise known as a wet-ink document. Thus, there was little buy-in from the banking industry on approving the use of a RON closing. That caused great consternation in the real estate closing community because it put buyers, sellers, title companies, and Realtors at risk because they would still need to get together in person to execute certain loan documents at a formal closing.

The same problem held true for mortgages as mortgages typically need to be notarized as well as witnessed. Many banks were not accepting electronically executed mortgages and also wanted wet-ink executed mortgages.

The Remote Online Notarization process was only established to create documents that can be executed electronically by using an audio-visual communications program online that can record the execution of said documents and verify the identity of the parties executing them. The big breakthrough, however, is that certain underwriters, and probably soon all title underwriters, will allow for the execution of both traditional paper documents and duplicate electronic documents where the the Remote Online Notary can then virtually notarize the electronic documents and subsequently notarize the original paper documents.

RON⇒RIN

That is a game changer and will allow for RON closings to morph into RIN closings. Remote Ink Notarization will likely become the ubiquitous procedure that is used for all closings during the pandemic; and, in all likelihood, on a going-forward basis.

As you all know our law firm Oppenheim Law and its sister company Weston Title & Escrow have been involved in the real estate closing process for over 30 years are fully prepared to assist you in notarizing any and all documents remotely through RON or RIN. Call us at (954) 384-6114 or email us online here: Contact Us if you need RON or RIN.

Our objective is to keep you and our staff safe, and always try to exceed your expectations.

From the Trenches,

Roy Oppenheim

 

Tags: Remote Ink Notarization, remote online notarization

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