{"id":1002,"date":"2020-09-28T06:00:07","date_gmt":"2020-09-28T10:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/?p=1002"},"modified":"2024-04-25T23:20:29","modified_gmt":"2024-04-26T03:20:29","slug":"modernizing-an-archaic-notary-system-for-real-estate-documents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/modernizing-an-archaic-notary-system-for-real-estate-documents\/","title":{"rendered":"Modernizing an Archaic Notary System for Real Estate Documents"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The notary seal and signature make the transfer of a home\nofficial. A notary readies the property deed for recording with the county for\nall the world to see. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notarizing a document means witnessing a signature,\nand verifying that the right person signed a document, knowingly and voluntarily.\nYet bad actors can, and often do, turn up at the recorder\u2019s office with bad\ndeeds, wrecking the rightful homeowners\u2019 lives. The notary system is vulnerable.\nIs it obsolete? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider a squatter in San Antonio who, in 2019, faked a notary seal to \u201cverify\u201d the signatures of a long-dead couple. The point of this was to file a fraudulent general warranty deed<\/a> and thereby sell the property to an investor. The squatter botched not just one but both<\/em> of the deceased owners\u2019 names \u2014 but also got away with filing a corrective deed for the property. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, abuse happens right under the notaries\u2019 noses. In a September 2019 article in The National Notary<\/em> magazine titled Loose Notary Seals Sink Deals<\/a>, Michael Closen writes about the ease with which a notary\u2019s tools, if not properly kept in locked drawers or filing cabinets, are deliberately misused in office settings. Lawyers or co-workers can just grab and use notaries\u2019 seals and journals. Seals that have expired sometimes show in thrift shops, or in online marketplaces. An expired seal is attractive to a fraudster who knows how to fake signatures and backdate documents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, notaries themselves are only human. They can\u00a0fail to fail to detect fakes<\/a> when checking document signers\u2019 ID cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three Technologies: eRecording, eNotarization, and Remote Online\nNotarization<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s electronic notarization and recording technology deters\nfraud. Someone trying to manipulate the technology would leave a digital\nfootprint that was never a factor in the traditional method. If some aspect of\nthe document authentication process is challenged later, every facet of the\nverification and recording can now be digitally traced. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The coronavirus pandemic served as a catalyst for a quick shift\nto three remote technologies in many states, counties, and cities. The\nimmediate pain point was the inconvenience of doing business during\nhealth-related shutdowns. In March 2020, people were having trouble contacting\ndeed recorders and completing transactions. And they asked: Why can\u2019t the signing\nand recording of paperwork be done from anywhere? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They can be, where electronic and remote notarizations\nbecome accepted practices. And they will become accepted, when they are\nunderstood as safe and secure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Popping Up Everywhere: eRecording<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As we\u2019ve reported previously, Cook County, Illinois<\/a> led the pack, proving the feasibility of remote deed recording. In March 2020, it issued an announcement that deed recording would continue despite physical office closures. Settlement agents could file legal instruments that follow the county guidelines by way of\u00a0eRecording<\/a>. Taking a similar tack, Sarasota County\u00a0deployed\u00a0eRecording for deeds and other real estate documents<\/a>. And so on. Very soon, this will be standard. In 2020, Kentucky joined 48 other states<\/a> and adopted eRecording for real estate documents. (Vermont was the last holdout.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A More Gradual Entrance: eNotarization and Remote Online Notarization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Recording is one thing; notarization is another. There are\ntwo types of electronic notarization:<\/p>\n\n\n\n