The small drama of a mortgage closing is that everybody wants the same ending, and everybody brings different paperwork. The lender has its documents. The settlement agent has another set. A seller’s attorney may contribute more. Somewhere in that pile sits the signature somebody still needs. The buyer, meanwhile, would quite reasonably like the keys.
- eMortgageLaw became eClosePlus in April 2020.
- Its pitch: prepare closing documents from different providers for electronic signing.
- Customers can choose hybrid, in-person electronic or remote closing options.
That pile is the place to begin understanding eMortgageLaw, the business now called eClosePlus. Electronic signatures are the visible trick. Getting documents from separate organizations through one usable closing process is the more interesting job. A beautiful signing screen has limited value if the right form never reaches it.
The signature is only the beginning
On April 2, 2020, eMortgageLaw announced its new name. The explanation was refreshingly literal: eClosePlus better reflected its specialization in digital closings for the mortgage and title industries. Allan Polunsky was identified as CEO. The announcement described an internet-delivered software business serving lenders, settlement agents and borrowers, with options extending from hybrid signing to remote online notarization.
Its connection to mortgage law helps explain the focus. Polunsky Beitel Green describes eClosePlus as a product it uses internally and makes available to certain outside clients. This is software operating close to the people who prepare and review closing documents. The awkward cases are part of the working day.
Keep the documents. Change the handoff.
The company calls its approach document-agnostic. In plain English, the document does not have to originate in one favored system. Its AutoTag technology is described as recognizing, categorizing, bookmarking and preparing forms from different sources. The promise is attractive because a closing already depends on several organizations. Making them all produce paperwork the same way would add another negotiation.
There is a revealing qualification in the company’s FAQ: implementation includes learning the customer’s documents and teaching the system where to place tags. The automation comes with preparation. For a lender considering the product, that makes a representative collection of real forms more useful than a demonstration built entirely from tidy examples.
Consider another detail: replacing a document. eClosePlus says customers can submit the changed document or group of documents without sending the whole package again. That sounds minor until one imagines doing the same correction repeatedly across a busy lending operation. The attraction is less repetition, for both the employee handling the file and the borrower receiving it.
The useful halfway house
Digital closing is a menu. The company’s July 2020 product explainer describes eClosePlusExpress as a hybrid approach: eligible documents can be signed electronically ahead of the appointment, while other documents remain for an in-person signing. eClosePlusComplete adds a fully digital file, including a SMART Note, eVault storage and automatic MERS registration. RON adds remote notarization.
These choices matter because the signing method and the location of the notary are separate questions. A closing can involve electronic documents while the borrower and notary still meet. A hybrid transaction can retain ink signatures. Calling everything “online” conceals decisions that the people arranging the closing still have to make.
The pandemic sharpened that distinction. In its April 2020 social-distancing article, the company recommended beginning with hybrid closings. It said Express could be implemented in days, while eliminating person-to-person contact through RON would take additional weeks. Those were historical company estimates. The practical idea remains useful: make an achievable change before asking every participant to change everything.
The work after the signature
The product also tries to move uncertainty earlier. Borrowers can see closing documents before the appointment. Company materials describe reminders and visibility into signing progress; a concierge is accessible during viewing and signing. For the borrower, this means an opportunity to ask questions before the moment when everyone is waiting for a signature.
“is that it?”
A borrower reaction reported by James M, a loan officer, in a company-published testimonial.
That reaction is useful evidence of the experience the company wants to sell. It is a testimonial, not a timing study. Another published customer account describes less post-closing work. The operational question is whether early signing and required fields actually reduce follow-up on the lender’s own loans. Appointment length alone cannot answer it.
The market is crowded with recognizable alternatives, including DocMagic, Pavaso, Snapdocs and ICE Mortgage Technology. Freddie Mac’s directory lists eClosePlus too, with an important distinction: its eNote and eVault capabilities carry an asterisk indicating availability through partnerships. Depending on the arrangement, separate contracts may be involved. The whole chain deserves attention when assessing cost and implementation.
The cost calculation therefore reaches beyond a software fee. A lender should account for document setup, staff training, support and any partner services required for its chosen closing method. Savings would come from work actually removed: fewer paper deliveries, less checking and fewer corrections. A shorter appointment with unchanged preparation would be a different economic result from a closing that also reduces back-office effort.
A small thing worth copying
There is a sensible purchasing test here. Use actual document packages. Include an unfamiliar form and a late replacement. Measure staff review time as well as signing time. Check which participants and downstream systems can accept the proposed route. A fully remote workflow depends on more than the signing application; the wider transaction must support it.
The lesson extends beyond mortgages. Keep the parts people already know how to use, then improve the handoff that makes them wait. eMortgageLaw’s successor has made that its commercial proposition: documents from different places, a choice of closing methods, and fewer reasons to start over. The buyer still wants the keys. The software earns its keep by helping the paperwork get out of the way.