Uniform Closing Instructions and Pre-Good Faith Estimate Can Transform Real Estate Closings Says ClosingCorp CEO Tony Farwell

Uniform instructions for real estate closing services that mandate standardized procedures among service providers and create the potential for a pre-Good Faith Estimate will lay the foundation for a consumer-friendly e-marketplace that will transform real estate closings," said Tony Farwell, CEO of ClosingCorp, at the Tech 09 conference sponsored by the Mortgage Bankers Association of America.

Farwell said most lenders, settlement services and other closing providers are not yet ready to leverage the Internet. Their business processes, the number of people involved in the process... all that is wrong for running an e-business. "The eClosing is about rebuilding the closing process...and the organization from the ground up," he said.

"A number of factors are hastening the standardization of real estate closing instructions and the adoption of electronic closing services," he said. These include the widespread use of the Internet, more Internet-savvy young home buyers, the adoption of Internet technology by real estate agents, and changes in Federal regulations that mandate more accurate "good faith estimates" while encouraging consumers to shop for closing services.

"With the exception of selection and qualification for a mortgage, consumers currently tend to be removed from choosing their closing service providers. But a new paradigm is emerging with electronic access to information from closing providers, which will facilitate consumer involvement and introduce a new degree of transparency to the entire process. Real estate professionals also will make extensive use of information in the eClosing environment to better serve their clients," Farwell said.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), American Land Title Association (ALTA) and The American Escrow Association (AEA) are finalizing standards for Uniform Closing Instructions that are critical for eMortgages and eClosings. This will further empower consumers to select their closing services while helping drive down mortgage and settlement processing costs.

ClosingCorp is the parent of Closing.com, the most comprehensive source for real estate closing services on the Web. The Company also provides lenders, mortgage brokers, and other professionals with its SmartGFE services that allow them to create preliminary closing cost estimates as well as Good Faith Estimates.