The American Land Title Association (ALTA) is commending the Department of the Treasury’s effort to enhance the electronic closing and recording process.
Treasury officials consulted with ALTA in preparing the report, which identifies market hurdles while offering recommendations to improve closings and recordings.
“We thank Treasury for listening and including information in the report provided by ALTA,” Cynthia Blair, ALTA’s president-elect and founding partner of the law firm Blair Cato Pickren Casterline LLC., said. “We appreciate Treasury’s thoughtful approach, understanding the hurdles that exist in the market and for providing recommendations to improve electronic recordings and closings. As digital closings continue to evolve, ALTA and its members will continue to lead the effort to improve the closing experience for consumers.”
Blair said finding the right balance between convenience, security and risk are issues that must be considered in building a road to smarter closings.
Treasury officials said they are encouraging states to pursue legislation recognizing remote online notarizations and all counties to implement technology that accepts electronic recordings.
“As more transactions are handled electronically, we must still ensure that documents are validly executed and in a recordable format,” Blair said. “To ensure that the title insurance and settlement industry can protect property rights, we need to have a reliable land records system that is free of any contamination of unlawfully executed and/or recorded documents.”