North Carolina’s first-ever Remote Online Notarization mortgage was completed on Friday through the combined efforts of Quicken Loans, Amrock, and real estate law firm Brady & Kosofsky. After North Carolina’s recent passage of the Emergency Video Notarization bill, the state moved forward with the extension of RONs.
“The passage of the temporary Emergency Video Notarization law was paramount to ensuring vital real estate and business transactions could move forward, while also considering the health and safety of all involved,” said Elaine Marshal, secretary of state for North Carolina. “I commend Quicken Loans and Amrock for taking this major step forward here in North Carolina.”
Jaime Kosofsky, partner and executive vice president of business development and compliance for Brady & Kosofsky, and the closing agent on the loan, stated the bill’s passage did not come easily.
Kosofsky, who also sits on the North Carolina Department of Secretary of State eClosing Advisory Board, said together with the North Carolina Association of Realtors, the Land Title Association, the state’s Chamber of Commerce and the Mortgage Bankers of the Carolinas, a push for an executive order was pushed back by the governor, who insisted that it be a statute instead.
“Finally, I feel like we were all on the same page and Secretary Marshall actually gave us no resistance whatsoever. Because she felt that this is what North Carolina needed right now. It was getting dangerous, but we were able to do it, and it worked out great,” Kosofsky said.
In 2019, Quicken Loans became the first mortgage lender to offer eClosings in all 50 states, however, RON legislation varies across the country as some orders call for temporary relief to in-person notarizations while others are permanently enacted.
North Carolina’s first RON eClosing was completed for a Quicken Loans team member living in Asheville.
“RON is a convenience in normal circumstances, but it has become a necessity in these unprecedented times of social distancing as we focus on our clients’ health and safety,” said Jay Farner, CEO of Quicken Loans. “Pioneering this technology in North Carolina was a priority for Rocket Mortgage. We are consistently driving digital solutions to antiquated problems and we continue our mission to have RON adopted in all 50 states.”
