One reason participants in a real estate transaction might want to use a notary who is physically present is greater certainty, especially in the case of purchases. Imagine it's a table-funded state. Today Ted is selling to Nancy, and Nancy has her U-Haul truck with all her worldly possessions in the bank parking lot, ready to move in immediately after the signing. The day after tomorrow Ted is using the money from this sale to purchase his new home 2000 miles away. And everything hinges on whether Ted can remember his phone number from 15 years ago, as interpreted by some anonymous computer database.
All involved might not want to risk whether Ted can answer the knowledge-based identity proofing questions. Ted knows he has a valid passport, and knows that's adequate proof of his identity under his state notary laws. He knows the name in his passport is leter-for-letter identical to the name on the deed he will sign. Why take a chance on surprise questions from a computer? |
