Months after partnering up as part of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) pilot eClosing program [1], real estate tech firm Pavaso [2] and Utah-based lender Mountain America Credit Union [3] announced that they have successfully pared the mortgage closing process down to a matter of minutes.
Collaborating with Mountain America and several title companies, Pavaso says it has implemented two digital closing solutions, each built on top of its own platform and designed to "fill critical gaps that previously kept eClosings from wide-spread adoption in the marketplace."
The first solution, Digital Close, allows all closing participants—including consumers—to collaborate and complete tasks in a workflow manner. It also includes educational materials to review prior to closing and records which documents and materials were viewed and acknowledged by the borrower, thus getting them more engaged.
The second solution, Signing Table, is a Windows 8 application accessed by everyone at the closing table. With "click to sign" functionality and quality control mechanisms, it aims to reduce errors and improve mortgage quality.
Since the launch of the two solutions, Pavaso and Mountain America say more than half of their closings have occurred in less than 30 minutes, and two have happened in less than half that time.
"It's incredible," said Amy Moser, VP of mortgage services at Mountain America. "We had to verify the times with the escrow officers because we didn't believe it at first. Digital closings are proving that secure delivery of documents prior to closing is not only convenient to our members, but extremely effective."
With nearly half a year left until integrated mortgage disclosure rules go into effect, Pavaso and Mountain America say the platform and new solutions prove that the mortgage industry is capable of modernizing and throwing out the old, inefficient processes in a compliant, consumer-friendly way.
Mark McElroy, president and CEO of Pavaso, said the digital closing solutions are just the beginning.
"We're looking forward to a very successful relationship with Mountain America," McElroy said. "Especially since we've only scratched the surface of what the platform can do for them. When the first mortgage closed on the platform with them, we knew it was the moment that this industry's future started."
He continued, "It's only one step for a lender, but a quantum leap for an entire industry."