Washington CU Adopts E-Closing for Mortgages

A central Washington credit union has adopted electronic closing for mortgages, a method that is quickly becoming a standard for lenders.

Solarity Credit Union of Yakima, Wash. ($813.8 million, 54,137 members) announced Tuesday that it is offering members what it calls its “eSigning Experience” to close a home loan remotely.

So far, Solarity has closed more than 100 home loans through the service, which uses an internet connection and a remote online notary. The entire process is completed virtually through video conferencing, allowing members to close from home, work or anywhere else.

A news release from Solarity said it began its digital transformation years earlier, and the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated its vision of delivering a start-to-finish online home loan experience. It posted a two-minute video to explain the benefits to members.

“Solarity strives to make our members’ lives better,” President/CEO Mina Worthington said. “We want to make the home loan experience — which is typically quite complex — as easy and reliable as possible. The home loan closing should be a celebration, not a hassle.”

Debbie Ingle, vice president of home loans, said closings previously could take hours, with borrowers signing mountains of paperwork with little time to prepare or review. As part of Solarity’s eSigning Experience, members receive the closing documents beforehand, which gives them more time to review the details and ask any clarifying questions.

“Our members love the opportunity to get questions answered and have open dialog during our video conference appointment,” Ingle said. “Time is precious, and our eSigning Experience provides members a convenient and easy way to close their home loan.”

During the eSigning Experience, the escrow company and real estate agent are invited to join the video conference with the online notary and borrower as they sign and notarize the documents. Borrowers are able to move through this process quickly by simply clicking through a file they’ve already reviewed.

Residential real estate is a huge part of Solarity. NCUA data showed it held $180.4 million in first mortgages on Dec. 31, accounting for a third of its total portfolio.

In the 12 months ending Dec. 31, Solarity closed 951 first mortgages worth $289.2 million, an amount that was 2.6% higher than in 2020. Total loan originations rose 1.1% to $346.7 million.

In December, North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine F. Marshall announced that Truliant Federal Credit Union of Winston-Salem, N.C. ($3.8 billion in assets, 286,276 members) had become the first North Carolina-based financial institution to complete a fully digital and fully remote electronic mortgage closing, or eClosing. It was the first North Carolina eClosing in which the buyer, notary and attorney were each in different physical locations.

The transaction included a paperless mortgage eClosing and also used the state’s temporary Emergency Video Notarization law. Previously, North Carolina notaries were required to provide final “wet ink” signatures in person with homebuyers.

North Carolina adopted the temporary Emergency Video Notarization law in 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic which enabled remote online notarization (RON). Previously, eNotaries were required to be present when eClosing documents were signed. The state has not enacted a permanent RON law, but one is currently under consideration by the General Assembly.