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Table of Contents
Portals at the center of future closings
App technology convenient but an investment
Technology advancing mobile notaries, keeping them safe
Databases ensure HOAs arent left out
Tax estimation a growing part of compliance
Automation adoption growing
Whats your game plan for handling social media?
New technology needs new behaviors, Simplifile says
Are title plants still relevant?
Portals at the center of future closings
After almost one year of implementation of the TILA-
RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule, digital portals are
becoming a critical part of a compliant transaction. North
Middlesex Savings Bank Mortgage Loan Closer Debbie
Lizotte has been using DocMagics SmartCLOSE since
February for all its residential mortgages and shes a mostly
happy user.
North Middlesex already was using DocMagics POS
system for several years. Homebuyers can apply for a
mortgage online through the system. The information then
was populated into Encompass software. Last year, the
lender adopted the Mortgagebot LOS system for a more
seamless transition between the systems.
Last year in September, October, when the Closing
Disclosure came into play, we were introduced to the
SmartCLOSE piece of DocMagic, which allowed us to
communicate directly with our closing attorneys. It is a
great tool, Lizotte said. Its nice because we get to invite
our closing attorneys directly into the Closing Disclosure,
so we can view it in real time. I can talk to them on the
phone and we can review it together. If there are any
changes that need to be made between the two of us,
well make those changes.
A lot of her closing attorneys were familiar with the system
already from other lenders in the area, so there wasnt
much pushback. Not that the lender didnt see a few
hiccups, like most people, as they adapted to the new
technology.
We worked with Mortgagebot and DocMagic to make
our systems as clean and smooth as possible, Lizotte said.
Were working through a few kinks with the SmartCLOSE
system, but for the most part we have been able to work
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around those issues and been able to give an accurate
Closing Disclosure to our borrowers.
The feedback from the first year of implementation has
led to several upgrades to portals to improve language,
integrations and ease of use. SmartCLOSE, Closing
Insight and other industry portals were designed to help
interaction between lenders and providers, exchanging
fees and getting compliant figures and fees to present the
Closing Disclosure to the consumer.
We focus on providing tools that help lenders and
providers collaborate with the least amount of friction
as possible, said RealEC Client Delivery and Regulatory
Strategy Executive Gerardo Caceres, whose company
created Closing Insight. We had a great opportunity
for the first couple of months to see our product in
action. (We) received feedback from users on specific
areas where we can help bring additional efficiency and
simplicity to the process. We spent the better part of
2015 and the first quarter of 2016 making enhancements
directly tied to client feedback. The current version
being used by our clients is reflective of input we received
from lenders and providers.
Part of the feedback received was a lack of common
language between title agents.
Lingo between lenders and providers is somewhat
different so were looking for options to make fee
matching a little simpler. Merging that vocabulary between
the two industries was a little bit of a challenge, he said.
We worked on enhancements to help us do that.
Caceres went on to say portals and collaboration are
forcing the industry to have a common vocabulary. Once
lenders and providers speak the same language, it will pay
dividends in many areas over time.
DocMagics Director of eServices Tim Anderson
said the collaboration has been a work in progress,
but the vagueness of the TRID regulation also caused
some problems.
Theres been a lot of ambiguity out there regarding
interpreting some TRID rules and conditions and how to
apply, Anderson said. Until you start seeing fines being
assessed based on what you think is a compliant TRID
process until people are getting written up for fines on
how we did it, were not really going to know.
Also there has been a void in industry leadership behind
creating a best practices around the workflow itself,
according to Anderson, along with the piecemeal adoption
that has taken place. He said portals are designed to
provide a clear audit trail between the lender and its
providers, but when the system is only being used only
for the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure, instead of
the entire loan origination package, its not as effective.
When used properly, all documents and data should be
tracked from loan application to closing with a date and
time stamped audit trail accounting for all activity. This
includes documenting intent to proceed, any changes in
circumstances, borrower eConsent and receipt of delivery.
Thats the risk, he said. How do I know the last managing our process, Caceres said. Customer
version is the current version? Until you have these
systems truly live and interactive seamlessly two-way
integrated, youre still going to have these data latency
issues. When you deliver to Fannie and Freddie they
want to see a full audit trail.
However, that full adoption requires a culture change
in the industry. Caceres said both culture change and
management change will help drive adoption of these
portals.
Cultural adoption of the process is something were really
Escrow agent
Mortgage insurance
Notary
Lender Portal
Realtor
Closing attorney
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focused on, he said. We have had the opportunity to
be invited to our clients office and help them with their
adoption. You work with them, you get them prepared,
and then they start seeing the benefit themselves. Getting
them to realize that while it is different, but in and of itself
not wrong, it does offer significant operational gains.
TRID certainly pushed the industry to adopt portals, but
Anderson and Caceres say the UCD requirement will push
it even further into adoption. Caceres said, when UCD
is implemented, it will bring added attention to a more
digitized process. Anderson agreed. He said forcing more
and more of the data exchange and merging the data
between documents will be huge.
The Uniform Closing Data (UCD) requirement forces
you to share and collaborate with both the documents
and a data exchange between the lender and the title
system. The title system is the keeper of the seller CD.
The lender is going to produce the borrower CD. You
have to merge the XML of the two documents into some
type of online collaborative platform. The more these
systems can be more universally used for all data and all
docs, instead of just focusing on TRID, thats where we, in
the long run, were going to get adoption instead of this
piecemeal (approach) with only sharing two documents,
Anderson said.
As an industry, we have to get better at efficiently
expectations, regulatory requirements and the need for a
more efficient process will all be headed in one direction
automation. I think the whole electronic, digital experience
is an exciting aspect. It changes how lenders and providers
interact with each other, and with their Realtors. More and
more portals are the predominant way of doing business.
Lizotte agreed. Her advice? Be patient.
Im coming from the old school, she said. These
(portals) are a Godsend. It takes some getting used to. Be
patient to work through any kinks you may have.
Borrower
Recording
Appraisal Title
Agent
Doc prep
Verification
5
App technology convenient but
an investment
App technology has come to the housing industry. Two
recent examples include Close It! and Zoccam. In 2013
Federal Title and Escrow President Todd Ewing released
Close It!, an app providing closing costs to homebuyers
and net proceeds to the seller. In 2014, Ashley Cook,
founder/CEO of Zoccam, released an app enabling real
estate agents and buyers to send earnest money and the
contract to the title company.
Phones today are almost part of the person, to the
point where people are conducting business, whether it
be a conversation or doing something else, while doing
business on their phones, Cook said. Phones have
really become an extension of the self. Useful technology
and applications are right at the users fingertips. I think
it makes the world more productive and it can make life
more efficient.
Cook was inspired to create Zoccam while watching a
Dominos commercial. It was a black-and-white commercial,
with old phones ringing off the wall. The announcer asked,
Why order the old way, when you can order online?
Cook said a light bulb went off.
I said I have to run with this, she said. We can use
mobile remote deposit capture to capture checks and
send them to the title company. I got so excited about the
idea and just jumped off a cliff and ran with it. I didnt look
back. I said we have to do this. Its a no-brainer.
Two years later she said she can decompile code.
Its been a fun learning experience, but its also been a
great challenge, Cook said.
Ewing agreed. He said any title agent considering
developing an app better prepare for a large capital
expenditure.
You better be sure what youre producing is of value to
your referral sources or your client base, he said. Hold
focus groups. One of the things we did is host two sets
of focus groups for lenders and real estate agents. I think
there were 12 in the group each time. We asked, If you
had the ability to do this, instantly email this to your client,
is that something of value to you? Unanimously they said
yes, absolutely.
Since its launch, Close It! has been downloaded 20,000
times. It actually comes in two forms, the mobile
version for phones and tablets and a web version for
desktop computers. The mobile version is designed to
accommodate the on the road life of real estate agents.
Lenders are able to use the web version. Most of the
program was designed in-house, but the web version was
6 www.TheTitleReport.com
contracted out to a company in Virginia.
Zoccam also contracted out for development. Since it was
launched, a second version was developed, additional
features were added and it was integrated with RamQuest.
The technology, according to Cook, limits liability and
increases security in the transaction. When she reached
out to independent agents, they were eager to participate.
However, with the larger agents she said its been a
thorough year-long sale cycle.
Weve gone through all the security, vetting and
penetration tests to get them signed on, Cook said.
Ewings Close It! saw less resistance from the real estate
agent and lender community.
Weve been at the forefront on the technology side of
things, he said. About 15 years ago we introduced to the
real estate agent community and lenders in our area our
online quote calculator. We already had a good reputation
before we launched the app. I think they embraced it more
than they would have otherwise. (Real estate) agents are
looking for tools to provide to their clients, whether its a
seller net sheet or the Buy It! on the closing side. Theyre a
little further advanced than title agents I have to say. I hate
to say it, but its true.
As the apps became more popular, Cook and Ewing said
overtures to private-label the apps began to come in.
Ewing has a licensing agreement with a large multiple
listing service, but said he would entertain a licensing
agreement with title companies who arent in competition
with Federal Title.
Cook had a different opinion.
Every title company wants to have their own application
specific to their company. While I understand that, I think
we have to consider the user, she said. If you have a
Realtor that is going to be using the application in a real
estate transaction, they are not going to want to download
5-10 different apps for each title company they close out
of. What does the user need and want?
We are truly independent, meaning we do not, nor
have we ever, participated in affiliated business
arrangements or marketing service agreements. We
have to produce products like this and create the buzz
in the community, Ewing said. We appeal to the
consumers. Were trying to attract the eyeballs of
homebuyers and sellers.
Technology advancing mobile notaries,
keeping them safe
Mobile notaries have many definitions in the title insurance
industry. For some it means they travel to closings outside
of banks, title offices and related locations to a location
convenient for the homebuyer. For others it refers to those
who conduct remote notarizations. Three companies who
are offering these services discussed how technology is
affecting their business.
Recent regulations faced by the title industry havent
quite trickled down to their notary partners yet. However,
knowing data security is a priority, many have taken steps
to improve their processes to protect the consumers
information. Many mobile notaries are certified through
the National Notary Association (NNA), are required to
carry E&O insurance, and some are required to have their
title producers license to do real estate closings. But rules
vary state to state and customer to customer.
Instructions can vary with who you work for and who your
customer is, Professional Notary Services Marcy Tiberio
said. Sometimes we get over-direction and sometimes we
dont get enough direction. While we do not allow notaries
to take pictures of IDs with their cell phones, there are a lot
of title companies and signing companies out there saying,
if you want to work for me you have to take a picture of
the ID with your cell phone. Its difficult for the notaries
because they know its wrong, but its difficult to say no
because they need the work.
Over the past year, Professional Notary Services has
changed its email server, its notary software and website
to ensure security standards were in place and revamped
its agreement with its notaries to include more privacy,
security and direction. Notaries have to produce the
proper credentials and submit to annual background
checks. The company also began using encrypted email
and a platform for secure document upload and retrieval.
Sunshine Notaries President Herbert Willis says his
company doesnt email documents at all.
You have to authenticate yourself on our website
and then download the documents from our website,
he said. Theres an identity theft prevention program
all of our notaries have to go through. The program lays
out how long you hold onto documents, how you digitally
shred them. You dont leave documents in your car. We
follow the guidelines the Signing Professionals Workgroup
puts out.
When notaries conduct a remote notarization, Notarize
CEO Pat Kinsel and COO Adam Pase said there is an
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even higher level of security.
The standard for identity verification in a remote
notarization is actually much higher, Pase said. We put
all of our customers through a process called knowledge-
based authentication. They have to answer challenge
questions based on their credit history and bank account
information. We also, through software, have tools we
can give to notaries to verify that the ID itself is valid
and not a fake ID. We run a forensic software analysis on
each drivers license. The notary also visually confirms the
person sitting in front of them is who they say they are.
The video recording and the record then are stored for at
least five years under Virginia statute. Pase said in the case
of a mortgage, the record is stored for five years beyond
the life of the loan.
Beyond data safety, there is the safety of the mobile notary
to consider. Instead of going into a title office or bank
outfitted with security mechanisms and witnesses, these
signing professionals are entering peoples homes or
workplaces, often alone. Real estate agents have put safety
measures in place for the same reason.
This is another area where the technology behind remote
notarizations is practical, because the notary is behind a
computer screen and not in the same physical location
as the signer. Pase said notaries often are asked to go to
places where its not the safest experience for them to
meet in someones home, or in an undisclosed location.
The National Notary Association did a study surveying
how many notaries felt threatened or unsafe in the context
of a signing. It was over 25 percent, Pase said.
We follow up with each of our signing agents two hours
after the signing, Willis said. Its for their safety. We
"The standard for identity
verification in a remote
notarization is actually much
higher."
Adam Pase,
COO, Notarize
7
know where theyre at in that time frame. But in 11 years
we have not had an issue of that nature. If we dont hear
from a notary after a signing after so many hours we report
that to the police.
Technology not only has helped keep the notaries and the
information theyre responsible for safe, but also brought
efficiencies and time savings to the process.
Tiberio is in the process of adopting eSigning capabilities.
She said she has done several in the past, but then
demand died down.
I know some lenders are working with DocMagic and it
looks as though it is starting to ramp up, she said. We
are vetting our notaries to see how many notaries have
already done them, how many are proficient and how
many would really want to do it. Were in the early stages
of the process.
I think that is our next step before remote notarizations,
she continued. I think the idea of electronic notarizations
really is a benefit to everyone. I think its great for signers
who are elderly or disabled; signing those 100 or 200
pages is difficult for some people. I think were in the age
where people are more technology savvy. Theyre banking
online. Theyre buying online. I think its an easier sell than
maybe it was 10-15 years ago.
Pase said customers expect this type of technical option to
be available.
People expect to be able to conduct these types of
transactions from their phone or their computer, he
said. Theyre already participating in court hearings,
telemedicine, banking and all sorts of important
transactions conducted online and via video conference
technology. Technology has finally caught up with what the
consumers expectations.
Remote notarizations currently are permitted only in
Montana and Virginia, meaning the notary has be located
in one of those states, but can conduct transactions for
8 www.TheTitleReport.com
buyers anywhere. This can be especially valuable for
businesses. Kinsel said businesses were asking for a digital
solution to notaries because of the inefficiencies and time-
consuming process of printing out hundreds of pages at a
time for each transaction.
Earlier this summer, Notarize launched Notarize
for Business, a business portal designed to help
businesses send documents to their customers to
instantly annotate, sign and notarize from anywhere
using a mobile device or computer. The notary is
on-demand at any time of day, no matter the day.
The transaction is recorded and the parties are sent
a video of the transaction upon completion.
We hear from the business community it has tremendous
efficiency opportunities, tremendous improvements from
a chain of custody standpoint, Kinsel said. We had 100
companies register in the first week of operations. We see
this as the wave of the future. Consumers expect to be
able to do this. Businesses do as well and really expect the
efficiencies of an end-to-end solution.
However, there are still some reservations on a full
adoption of the technology. Tiberio, who is located in
New York, cannot have her notaries conduct remote
notarizations yet. When asked whether she would pursue
them if the laws changed, she said would have to take
a close look at the laws behind it and what kind of
protections were in place for the consumer and the notary.
A lot of notaries struggle with the concept of not having
the individual in front us, she said. I think its wonderful
for those that are doing it. For those overseas and our
military, I think its a great concept.
We thought eSignings would pick up, Willis said. You
would think that we would be doing 50 percent eSignings
and 50 percent paper signings, but thats just not
happening yet. Its few and far between. Five years from
now, I think the landscape is going to change. I think it will
move towards remote notarizations. Technology is able to
authenticate a user.
Databases ensure HOAs aren't left out
Homeowner associations (HOAs) and condo-owner
associations (COAs) are becoming more prevalent in the
housing market, according to Chronos Solutions Senior
Vice President Operations HOA Solutions Duke Odom and
Cypress Data Services President David Slachter, leading to
more technical solutions.
Slachter was doing title examinations for REOs and
foreclosures when he noticed HOAs and COAs were
being left out of the foreclosure process. Examiners were
unaware they existed becoming an expensive mistake for
the law firm he was working with at the time. His work is
based in Florida, a judicial foreclosure state.
In order to foreclose property, you have to file a
lawsuit, he said. You have to join in the foreclosure, as a
defendant, anybody who has an interest in that property,
the owners of the property, the mortgage holders and
anybody who may have a judgement or lien or inferior
interest such as homeowners associations (that havent
been paid).
When youre doing a closing, the processor needs
to know not only which associations apply to that
property, he continued. They need to know how
to contact the association so they can get a proper
estoppel. Theres no science to this because theres
no central database.
He began putting together a database of all HOAs and
COAs in Florida (www.HOAProject.com). When that
proved an overwhelming task for one person, he opened
it up to everyone to use for free in exchange for filling any
informational gaps they may find.
Solutions to this problem are beginning to pop up around
the industry. A Chronos Solutions whitepaper, Successful
Loan Origination for Condominium Borrowers, published
in July said lenders are reaching out to service providers
for new products to make their lives easier, increase
profitability and ensure compliance.
One area that we are seeing important changes in right
now is the condominium market, the whitepaper said.
We have identified a number of trends that suggest
condo lending will be an increasingly important product
line for mortgage originators.
The first trend noted was the downsizing by baby
boomers. The paper said this generation is moving
to smaller, affordable accommodations. Millennials
are slower to move into single-family homes than
previous generations. Instead they are opting for
low-maintenance condos.
10
If both older homeowners and younger first-time
homebuyers are eyeing the condo market, you can be
sure it will become very lucrative for the lenders that learn
to specialize in this niche, the whitepaper stated.
Eighty percent of the single-family homes being built
right now are falling into an HOA, according to Odom.
Some cover 200 homes, some just six. There are more
than 350,000 HOAs in the country more than 40,000
in Florida alone.
The prevalence of HOAs can be daunting but thats not
what makes these issues complicated. Condominiums
are individual units that cant be separated from the
surrounding units. This increases the risk for investors
because it makes certain options more difficult in the case
of borrower default, according to the whitepaper.
In an effort to mitigate these higher risks, investors
have created their own complex sets of requirements
for condo loan approval, stated the paper. This leaves
todays lenders in a difficult situation. They want to take
advantage of the coming increase in condo lending,
but they are not staffed adequately to meet the
information needs of the investors that will provide
liquidity for those loans.
Odom said the company works on behalf of servicers,
banks, investors and title companies, to help them mitigate
that risk to determine the level of delinquency, whether
properties are subject to HOA dues and even help
negotiate a reduction on its clients behalf if necessary.
One of the primary products for title companies, according
to Odom, is a resale certification where Chronos would
ensure everything is cured to make the title conveyable. It
provides all the HOA dues delinquency information to the
title companies. It also offers its Condo Package Retrieval
solutions, which provides lenders with all the required
documents from condo associations and HOAs at one time
in one document stack. This kind of technology helps to
qualify the property not the borrower for a loan.
The condo issue is more complex because when
youre qualifying for a condo, youre not only qualifying
the borrower, youre qualifying the property. Depending
on the lender, it has to make sure the property is up
to standards as far as being lendable, Odom said.
We have to do due diligence to make sure the
property qualifies.
Chronos does this by making thousands of phone calls per
day to HOAs, to property management companies, to title
companies, to attorney networks in cases where accounts
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have to go collections for the lenders and title companies
seeking delinquency information.
Condominium lending is not the right niche for every
Tax estimation a growing part of compliance
Two companies have recently revamped their tax
estimation technology because of client demand. Black
Knight Financial Services Property Tax Shield suite of
products now provides information for property taxes from
application through closing. The products support title
companies and loan originators.
The timing is good and the market is good, Director
for Property Tax Matt Reilly said. Weve been working
with originators, and there are needs that keep popping
up over and over again when you talk to them as it
relates to what theyre trying to get done. They want to
optimize the borrower experience. They want to make
sure the borrower has a good experience with them at
origination.
Mortgage Market Leader for Black Knight Julian Grey said
in the announcement lenders no longer can disclose a
zero amount or make an approximate guess for property
tax amounts and update it later. They need accurate tax
bill information from a reliable source.
Its not just a tool to meet TRID, Reilly said. It does
support TRID guidelines. It also helps streamline the
application to close process. Theyre getting the data
in front of them. Theyre not having to go to multiple
resources to get this data. It takes a lot of pressure off
the loan officer to try and get all this information from
dispersant resources.
CoreLogics focus for its newly launched Property Tax
Estimator is on both the origination and the servicing
sides of the loan industry. CoreLogic Vice President
Kirk Randlett said the demand for more accurate tax
information is on the rise. Up until recently, CoreLogic was
offering InstantData a tool providing the accurate amount
of taxes due on a piece of property. Clients wanted a more
accurate picture of what the taxes are going to be.
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lender, but those that prepare now to specialize
in loan products will see increased loan volume
in the future and for a long period of time, the
paper stated.
Both sides of the house, origination and servicing, care
what they (the taxes) are today. They also need to know
what the taxes will move up to with a new property
owner, Randlett said. Thats what the difference is
between InstantData and Property Tax Estimator. It will
give you that current property tax picture, but also based
on the sales price you give me, Its going to calculate the
future value of that property from a real estate property tax
standpoint and the expected tax.
These types of tools can be especially useful in
states such as California. According to Reilly, taxes
can increase from one owner to the next dramatically.
Tools now are designed to be aware of these type
of circumstances and adjust to project future tax increases
accordingly.
Randlett said there are approximately 21,000 tax collectors
spanning all 50 states. Many of them make their data
available on their websites, but there isnt one standard
interface.
"You have to have a lot of
tribal or regional knowledge
of how to go and get that
information."
Kirk Randlett,
Vice President, CoreLogic
11
You have to have a lot of tribal or regional knowledge
of how to go and get that information, he said. There
are also a lot of places where that information is not
available electronically. The only way you can get it is
the old-fashioned way of calling collectors and townships.
Theres a variety of ways to collect the information, and
I think people are looking for a more streamlined way
to do it.
Reilly said using multiple sources to gather this information
can lead to inconsistent results.
Theyre looking for more consistent information
through the process, and originators are trying to figure
out how to best meet those standards and thats whats
Automation adoption growing
Curt Szymanski, president of WINDWARD Consulting, a
ResWare reseller, saw the need for automation in the title
industry when he started WINDWARD 14 years ago.
When I first got started there wasnt much automation
at all, he said. There was title software, title product
software, escrow software and creating the commitment,
HUD, HUD-1, policy, and other general docs. It was basic
stuff in there. There really wasnt a concept of workflow.
Holler Law Firm President George Holler agreed.
There really werent a lot of products designed specifically
for title agents, he said. Primarily people built their own
systems. There was a lot of proprietary stuff, or a lot of co-
opting existing management solutions into this business.
When I started, I built an Access database with Microsoft
Word mail merge; I used an Excel spreadsheet for HUDs.
I used to integrate that with QuickBooks. Thats how
rudimentary it was at the time.
In 2009 Holler began using ResWare. It was the first time
he was able to customize automation for his organization.
He adopted a new business model in 2009, which required
the use of the technology.
I started serving national title agencies strictly. I stopped
doing lender work. I stopped doing Realtor work. We just
service national title agencies, he said. I knew the only
way to work with them was to collaborate via the web. I
knew they were not going to let me into their system. The
only system at the time that would allow them to be let
into mine was ResWare.
I think a lot of times an industry provider creates
something and the industry looks at it and adopts it.
Everyone has to get on board and move the process
12
creating this market and the new need for it,
he said.
Theres a high level of interest in this type of technology
because of the needs for accurate information and a
positive borrower experience from that loan application
going forward, according to Randlett. The technology is
designed for convenience and to work with technology
already in the marketplace.
This space is always evolving. Its always changing,
Reilly said. Were always evolving and changing with
it. Ive been around for 10 years and we keep getting
better at our jobs. The data keeps getting better. I think
its evolving and will continue to get better.
forward or theyre going to continue to lose business.
According to Szymanski, there are levels of adoption when
it comes to technology. The first is the mavericks, who
immediately adopt new technology. The second is the
early adopters, who use it themselves after the mavericks
have adopted. Then there are the technology copycats.
I think right now were moving into that third stage, he
said. They wait for the first guys to do it, then they do it.
Youre starting to see it (automation) proliferate out to the
masses. Youre starting to see what I dreamed about 10-15
years ago come to fruition. A lot of the underwriters and
national, regional and state-leading title agents are finding
it is absolutely imperative to use technology and workflow
and automation to basically run their businesses.
Holler Law Firm not only uses ResWare, but also RynohLive
for account reconciliation, finding mismatches and errors,
and for trust accounting. The firm is integrated with its
bank for direct wiring, it uses TitleHound for verification of
title rates and Ernst Publishing for verification of recording
charges.
Once you get the automation bug, it just consumes you,
Holler said. I spend nights awake in bed thinking how we
can eliminate steps. It becomes a culture as a company to
say if we are doing it in 10 steps, maybe we can do it in
five. You look at the tiny steps in your process and say how
can we make this more streamlined. Its just a culture.
The benefit of automation is it takes less brainpower to
complete a transaction, and the human element can be
utilized for high-level customer service. Remembering
each regulation involved in a closing transaction, and the
idiosyncrasies of each product for each client in each state,
can be overwhelming and the process is vulnerable to
www.TheTitleReport.com
mistakes. The creation of virtual assembly lines makes
the process much more efficient, according to Szymanski.
It takes you away from trying to memorize all this stuff
or do it using the human brain, he said. I can get the
program to trigger step A to trigger step B to trigger step
C which triggers an email which triggers an event that
goes to RealEC.
Were not building widgets. Were not building cars.
Were not building physical objects, he continued.
The things we build are commitments, policies and loan
documents. We produce emails, we produce faxes. We
produce notifications. Its virtually tracking the process
from A to Z and producing our company widgets of the
title industry.
There are many facets to automation, according to
Szymanski. Theres workflow automation, which creates a
repeatable process triggering specific things as part of a
virtual assembly line/action list. Theres also the integration
side of automation.
There needs to be a way for all the third-party vendors
to integrate with the major software providers like
ResWare, RamQuest and SoftPro, he said. Because
there are a small number of companies out there with
the predominant market share, it makes sense to connect
to those vendors. For example, if I wanted to do an
eRecording, ResWare could trigger the adding of Simplifile
or ePN to the file and then it would know that a specific
action could trigger something specific to that vendor.
The merging and synergy between automation and
systems integration can be very helpful, according to
Holler Law Firm Chief Operating Officer Josh Dorsey.
What's your game plan for handling
social media?
The Title Report recently hosted Social Media
Game Plan, a webinar featuring North American
Title Insurance Co. Vice President, National Sales
Manager Rich Griffin and Meridian Title Director of
www.OctoberStore.com
In the past people really thought of those as two separate
and distinct things with independent value, he said.
Both useful, but in different ways. Integration has been
used as a tool for third-party relationships, vendors and
other systems. The data they would be pushing would be
notes and documents. The more sophisticated integrations
would push real data automation was more of an internal
solution for companies to increase efficiency in their
production. I think people are (now) seeing those two
things, automation and integration as working together
and seeing, more clearly, how those two things can benefit
one another.
I see automation helping good people and good
companies excel, he continued. The automation
allows us to become more efficient. Were able to
have a high-quality core staff focused on more complex
tasks. Theres a lot more risk when youre producing
everything manually.
"Once you get the automation
bug, it just consumes you.
I spend nights awake in
bed thinking how we can
eliminate steps."
George Holler,
President, Holler Law Firm
Strategic Media Initiatives Kathy Riland-Hinton.
Social media techniques have matured in recent
years, and all types of businesses are using social
13
platforms to strengthen existing relationships and build
new ones.
According to our speakers, when it comes to social
media, one size does not fit all. Your social media
strategy has to be designed specifically for your
organization.
The first step is to determine what youre trying to
accomplish.
Perhaps you want to use social media to raise
awareness of your organization, to increase leads
or to create brand loyalty.
Next you have to determine who will be your voice.
New technology needs new behaviors,
Simplifile says
In its second whitepaper this summer, Simplifile said the
adoption of new technology requires buy-in from the
human element to be effective. The authors of New
technology requires new behaviors said to make the
most of the capital investment in technology, organizations
should see technology adoption as a change management
process. They outlined five critical steps to managing this
change.
Change management is a systematic approach to dealing
with change that considers both organizational and
individual needs to define and implement the procedures
that accompany change, the paper stated.
According to the whitepaper, to facilitate a successful
technology implementation, organizations should appoint
an executive sponsor; explain the reason for the change,
including expected benefits and potential consequences
of failure, to the entire team; teach employees how to use
the technology and set deadlines for individual adoption;
recruit technology champions to lead by example and
serve as subject matter experts; and set objectives to hold
the team accountable.
14
Will one person be responsible for all postings? What
account will you tie your platforms to? What if that
employee leaves?
According to our speakers, one third of your time should
be promoting your business, one third on personal
interactions to develop the brand image and one third on
sharing industry content.
Finally create the plan, evaluate your results and modify
as needed.
For more information from our speakers, purchase the
Social Media Game Plan from the October Store:
http://www.octoberstore.com/Social_Media_Game_Plan_
Webinar_p/orw082416.htm.
For technology to deliver its promised benefits
whether thats reduced costs, increased productivity,
or better customer service the human element must
be considered, the paper stated. When technology
initiatives fail, its often because the people most
impacted by the technology feel threatened by it.
Too often, the finger is pointed at the technology
itself, when in reality a lack of engagement with the
technology is the real culprit.
The executive sponsor, if it is not the CEO, should be
another senior leader with a vested interest in the
projects success who has the authority to secure the
resources needed for a successful adoption, according
to the authors. Employees want to hear from an
experienced leader at the top of the organization.
If its not important to the boss, why should it be
important to anyone else?
Its also important employees understand why the
change is being made and the potential costs of failure.
The paper states the executive sponsor should articulate
the competitive advantages of the new technology,
www.TheTitleReport.com
connecting those advantages to larger company goals as
well as tangible employee benefits whenever possible.
Resources should also be allocated to conduct
mandatory training and provide job aids that explain
how to use the technology, the paper stated.
Give direct comparisons between old state and
new state processes.
The authors said expectations for individual adoption need
to be clearly communicated.
Address barriers and address them explicitly, the paper
stated. For example, tell employees in advance what
they should do if they get stuck; make it clear that simply
Are title plants still relevant?
An essential tool for title insurance agents has been the
electronic title plant. There are many companies and
sources that have property information, but the electronic
title plant has provided searchable, indexed and secure
information for property research.Two of the large title
plant providers spoke about the industry and the future.
A title plant is a highly organized database and usually
theyre built with a lot of checks and quality controls, so
when someone is researching a property, the title plant is
going to be much less prone to human error, RedVision
CEO Brian Twibell said. Theres a cost benefit (and) its
much easier to get a hold of records related to a property
if youre using a plant.
The technology available for integrations is making
the data gathered from these plants more accessible.
DataTrace Vice President of Business Development
Michael Armstrong said the company is connecting
directly to SoftPro and ResWare and enhancing its rules
engine to feed into other platforms.
The new platforms are capable of it (integrating),
Armstrong said. He said that he believes people are
becoming more savvy when it comes to applying rules
to title plant chains, allowing them to improve their
efficiencies and cut down on labor and sometimes errors in
their products.
A rule would be a technical formula that says, for example,
for this specific product type, I need to pull the latest
grant deed on the property, the latest mortgage and any
supporting documents to that mortgage. Armstrong said
people are writing these types of rules because they are
being provided by XML data.
NextAce is a huge user of title plant data. CEO Don
www.OctoberStore.com
reverting to the old way is not acceptable.
Then choose champions to help the employees
implement the new technology. Recruit volunteers
or assign this role to top performers, long-tenured
employees or those who have demonstrated an
interest in the project. These champions should be
recognized and rewarded visibly.
Finally, set objectives and hold the team accountable.
Initiatives with excellent change management are
six times more likely to meet their objectives than
those with poor change management, the paper
stated.
Cantral said where title plants only keyed (provided) five or
six fields in the past, now theyre keying a whole bunch of
other fields.
I think they are being asked for more information,
he said. Theyre looking to expand the uses of
that information. It makes sense to key as much as
is useable.
And the integrations were critical for access, according
to Cantral.
The ability to tie directly into that title plant has been a
big area where improvement was needed, he said. The
computers are talking to each other now and deciphering
all that information.
Of course, with more information and access comes a
greater responsibility for risk management. Data Traces
data entry and quality control operations went through
the ISO process and earned ISO 27001:9001 certification
earlier this year. Although the company hasnt received
a direct request or requirement for this certification from
a customer yet, Armstrong said he and his team wanted
to embrace the mindset of constant improvement. He
said this certification is representative of the companys
ongoing commitment to enhance the services and support
provided to its customers.
RedVision passed the SOC 2 audit, has employees
backgrounds checked and maintains a large E&O policy.
No one mandated it, but we started to see the trend,
Twibell said.
Subscribers can read the full story at
http://www.thetitlereport.com/TTR/Articles/67754.aspx
15
CHANGES
EVERYTHING
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industry software solution offers so much in one, integrated .NET package.

Workow process automation with Action Lists, dynamic Transactional

Robotics, and e-mail & fax server integration; vendor & AfBA partner

management and coordination; web-based transaction management;

document management; title, escrow, and closing production; auditing,

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unsurpassed list of advanced paperless ofce features make ResWare

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