Posted by CH2inCA on 10/25/11 1:47pm
Msg #401628

NEW? E-Closing?

Sounds familiar; is this the same as what some SA's are already doing?



http://realestate.msn.com/goodbye-paper-hello-e-closings

Reply by Jessica Ward on 10/25/11 2:44pm
Msg #401643

I'm doing E-closings, but they do have paper docs with them

A lot fewer signatures on the disclosures and junk docs, but still, DOT, TIL, HUD and a few more are signed with ink.

Reply by MichiganAl on 10/25/11 3:20pm
Msg #401651

Nah. I read the article a few weeks ago. Just a re-hash of the same existing technology. It's the same old hype we've been hearing for the last decade. Nothing new.

Reply by RickG/CA on 10/25/11 3:32pm
Msg #401653

Re: so I shouldn't ditch the paper/printer/fax and invest

in a high quality laptop and aircard just yet?

Reply by Sha/CA on 10/25/11 4:48pm
Msg #401670

Hardly NEW!! E-Closing?

I just canceled my broadband air card. I found it did not pay for itself. Others who have posted here have said the same thing. Use the orange button! It may be better foryou, but I still don't think it has caught on enough yet. And, it hadn't saved any time, IMO, maybe took even longer.

Reply by OnTheDot_CO on 10/25/11 5:10pm
Msg #401672

Re: Hardly NEW!! E-Closing?

I have an android phone which allows me to Hotspot or tether to the phone. So far my cellphone carrier does not charge extra.

Reply by Jessica Ward on 10/25/11 5:28pm
Msg #401673

I do e-closes, but even with markup, not worth it

I charge substantially more than my regular fee to e-close. I use my iPhone to hotspot, and my old laptop to conduct the closing. I do 3-6 e-closings per month and they are NOT worth it IMO, I only do it for regular clients.

When this laptop dies, I won't replace it, and I will stop doing e-closes I think. Simply not worth it.

There are a number of problems with it.
1. Inevitably the e-close appointment is way out in the boonies where even my reliable mobile signal either slows down or gets sketchy.

2. For some reason the vast majority of the time, the e-close is assigned to a borrower who is quite elderly, and not only doesn't have computer skills, but has difficulty reading the documents on the screen.

3. I've had a huge amount of damage to equipment. I once had an e-close at the home of a hoarder. everything was covered in 2+ inches of cat hair and dust. The static in the room was awful. As I plugged in a power cable (this lady was going through documents so slowly my battery couldn't keep up), my power transformer exploded--no damage to borrower's house. (The computer shop says it is a result of too much static in the environment!)

4. VERY frequently (including my e-close today) docs are sent late, or the incorrect borrower (paper docs might come through, but the e-close docs get sent to another closer, and you get someone else's documents).

5. The E-close secure website is overloaded or malfunctioning, kicking the user out and forcing a new secure connection, plus identity verification after each document.

6. Borrower's names are misspelled on the digital docs and can't be remedied.

7. Technical support not available after 5pm EST

8. "Down for scheduled maintenance" (which inevitably the TC didn't know about).

9. Most borrowers that I meet simply are not comfortable with the e-sign process, and don't like it.

Reply by Jessica Ward on 10/25/11 5:29pm
Msg #401674

And they don't save much paper.

The one I've got today is 63 pages of paper, versus 130 or so if it were a paper closing. Not an earth-shattering difference IMO.