The Digital Reinvention
of the Mortgage

Take the home mortgage process online. With eMortgages, you can increase efficiency and reduce time to close — giving you a modern advantage in today’s increasingly digital world.

Now, with remote work and social distancing becoming more normalized, eMortgages offer an essential alternative to in-person closing.

Why eMortgage?

Lenders use eMortgage to better serve their customers. In today’s competitive mortgage market, eClosings and eMortgages can enable lenders to offer the digital convenience borrowers expect.

Click the icons on the right to explore the benefits of eMortgage.

  • Icon of a fast clock

    Speed

  • Icon of a computer

    Less Paper

  • Icon of two connected locations on a map

    Close Remotely

  • Icon of a checkmark

    Loan Quality

  • Icon of three arrows becoming one arrow

    Simplify Processes

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A faster, more transparent mortgage process

Borrowers can more easily review loan documents ahead of closing to create a more informative, efficient process.

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Less paper-intensive closings

This makes it easier for everyone involved to create, sign, and manage loan and mortgage documents — reducing turnaround time.

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Closings can happen anywhere

“With remote online notarization (RON), our client doesn’t have to coordinate their work schedule, their childcare schedule, or travel to attend the closing.”


— Dana Diesch, Title One

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Greater certainty of loan quality

EMortgage can reduce errors caused by missing documents or signatures.

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Potential to streamline processes

“As refinance volumes surged, we conducted an audit and found eMortgages were much faster than traditional paper mortgages. This freed up warehouse capacity and allowed us to originate more loans.”


— Bill Banfield, Rocket Mortgage, LLC

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You can't miss a signature when the software won't allow you to skip it."

— Bill Banfield, Chief Risk Officer and Executive Vice President of Capital Markets, Rocket Mortgage, LLC

Why now?

ENote volumes are on the rise as the industry moves toward fully digital mortgage solutions. In 2020, 462,671 eNotes were registered on the MERS® eRegistry. In 2021, there were already 498,925 eNotes registered by the end of October. 1

Click the icons on the right to learn more about three key market trends that have helped eMortgages grow.

  • Stakeholders

  • Alignment

  • Legal

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Stakeholder readiness

The eMortgage space now has far more:

  • Warehouse banks
  • Investors
  • Notaries/county recorders
  • Sub-servicers
  • Technology service providers
  • Settlement service providers

Early adopters have paved the way for entry for all industry stakeholder groups.

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Alignment & clarity

Efforts by industry groups and the GSEs have helped bring clarity and alignment to eMortgage processes.

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Legal infrastructure

ENotes are accepted in all 50 states. More than 25 states have adopted industry-modeled RON standards, and states are continuing to expand RON legislation.


Forty-eight states now accept some form of electronic notarization, and over 87% of the population has access to eRecording.

Woman looking at tablet
United States map, with those from which Fannie Mae accepts remote online notarization colored light blue; all other states are colored white

Fannie Mae accepts RON from this state

Fannie Mae does not currently accept RON from this state

The adoption of remote online notarization

Fannie Mae accepts remote online notarization (RON) deliveries from over 90% of states. Learn more

Fannie Mae accepts RON from this state

Fannie Mae does not currently accept RON from this state

Meet the experts

Learn how pioneers across the industry are making eMortgage work for them.

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Bill Banfield headshot

Bill Banfield
CRO & EVP, Capital Markets
Rocket Mortgage, LLC

“With the spread of COVID-19, clients requested online closings to ensure the safety of everyone involved. Rocket Mortgage scaled RON closings to meet demand and rolled out a “pre-sign” process — which allows clients to sign the non-notarized documents from their computer prior to meeting with closing agents. This reduces the number of documents left to sign at the closing table, limiting the amount of time spent meeting in person and delivering a better closing experience.”

“Satisfaction surveys consistently show that clients love RON. It’s fast and makes scheduling convenient.

Rocket Mortgage found that when every document is signed electronically, there are virtually zero post-close quality control findings. You can’t miss a signature when the software won’t allow you to skip it. With no paper documents to ship, you save money on courier fees and don’t have to wait for the mail to arrive.”

“You can’t snap your fingers and turn on RON. There is a lot of technical work to ensure a seamless user experience and reliable flow of documents after the closing.”

Dana Diesch headshot

Dana Diesch
VP of Sales/Marketing
Title One

“We’ve always strived to be technically advanced — whether with security, technology, or what’s next in the market. When remote online notarization came to Minnesota, Title One immediately asked, what would it take to do this and do it right?”

“With online notarization, you can close from anywhere, anytime, whatever is convenient for you — and on any kind of device that has video capability. Buyers, sellers, and borrowers alike are asking us about RON.”

“We’re not running up against any buyers, sellers, or borrowers who are resistant to doing it — it’s more a matter of whether their transaction qualifies or if the other title company approves receiving electronically signed documents.”

“We want all of our customers — agents, consumers, loan officers, lenders — to reach out to us and let us help guide them through the experience we’ve had so they can get the answers they need. We also have resources like Fannie Mae and other technology solution providers, who can provide additional resources.”

Eileen Albus headshot

Eileen Albus
Director
Bank of America Merrill Lynch

“We have good relationships with our clients. They were coming to us needing warehouse financing for eNotes, and we wanted to make sure we could be the first to deliver them.”

“What I see from our clients are the speed and efficiencies that make the eNote process better. It’s not just about what the consumer, lender, or warehouse bank experiences. The data efficiencies created by eNotes are going to translate to servicing and securitizations as well — covering the whole mortgage process.”

“There aren’t shortcuts in this process. All critical details and reporting have got to be there.

The key was to replicate the paper world as close as possible. It was the easiest way to explain it to the different groups within the bank. ENotes can be sold to investors or pooled and go into securities.”

EJ Vick headshot

EJ Vick
Real Estate Broker & CDPE
John L. Scott Enumclaw

“With eClosings, it’s easier for homebuyers to go over all the numbers and any discrepancies beforehand. That has been phenomenal … they can digest those things, call their lender, and those questions are often remedied before we ever get to the signing table. Getting that clarity upfront with eClosing has been life changing.”

“I had a homebuyer not that long ago that used eClosing. When we were at the signing table, they were just so happy that they had already gotten to process everything in the documents and didn’t have that shock factor at the table. They specifically told me they loved it.”

“There’s always going to be some relationship that gets lost whenever you’re doing anything electronically, but in the case of eClosings, I think the benefits outweigh that. In this busy industry, it’s necessary to get things done. I think eClosings and eMortgage are great, and I’m very much a fan.”

Bill Banfield headshot

Lender
Bill Banfield
CRO & EVP, Capital Markets
Rocket Mortgage, LLC

Dana Diesch headshot

Title Company
Dana Diesch
VP of Sales/Marketing
Title One

Eileen Albus headshot

Warehouse Bank
Eileen Albus
Director
Bank of America Merrill Lynch

EJ Vick headshot

Real Estate Broker
EJ Vick
Real Estate Broker & CDPE
John L. Scott Enumclaw

What's next?

We expect eMortgage to continue to grow as:

Online application

41% OF CONSUMERS would prefer to complete their mortgage or rental application online.2

Process streamlining

41% OF LENDERS say that business streamlining is a top priority to maintain or improve competitiveness.3

Consumer technology

31% OF LENDERS say that consumer-facing technology is a top priority to maintain or improve competitiveness.3

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This is the future for closings. We believe, in the next three to five years, this is the direction which the industry will take.”

— Dana Diesch, VP of Sales/Marketing, Title One

Fannie Mae supports full eClosings, hybrid eClosings, and full eClosings using RON. Visit our website to learn more.

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References

1 MERS® May 2021 eMortgage Insider Newsletter

2 "COVID-19: The Need for Consumer Outreach and Home Purchase/Financing Digitization" National Housing Survey® Fannie Mae August 12, 2020

3 "Mortgage Lenders Cite Business Process Streamlining and Talent Management as Top Business Priorities” Q2 2021 Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey® (MLSS) Fannie Mae July 12, 2021