Mid America Closes Its First Mortgage with an Electronic Note

August 11, 2016

Mid America Mortgage Inc. announced it completed its first e-closing and e-note through its retail origination channel. The company plans to expand e-closing to all of its retail business, executing e-notes and utilizing electronic documents where allowed by local jurisdiction.

“Mid America’s vision for its future is to conduct eClosings with eNotes for all loans across all origination channels,” said Jeff Bode, owner and CEO of Mid America Mortgage. “Furthermore, this strategy aligns Mid America with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s initiatives, as the CFPB has signaled its position that eClosing should be an option for all borrowers.”

In September 2015, Mid America announced it would leverage technology from DocMagic and eSignSystems, in addition to its proprietary loan origination system Mortgage Machine, as the foundation of its e-mortgage platform.

In addition to enabling greater efficiency and cost savings, e-closing also offers demonstrable benefits to Mid America borrowers and its closing agents, according to Bode.

“From my perspective, the great thing about e-closing is, after the list of documents to sign is cleared, we know we have a properly executed closing set. Plus, we didn’t have to scan or ship the documents after closing, which is a huge time- and money-saver,” said Lisa Helmbrecht, branch manager and escrow officer with Homeland Title Company, who was the closing agent for the transaction.

In addition to its warehouse partners, Mid America has also been working closely with MERSCORP Holdings  and Fannie Mae on its e-note strategy.

“MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. is pleased to see Mid America Mortgage in production with eNotes,” said Katie Paolangeli, vice president of, eCommerce & Industry Initiatives with MERSCORP Holdings. “Their integration effort showcases what a lender, vendor and investor can accomplish when everyone is working toward the same goal. This is an important step for them, and for the industry.”

“Fannie Mae is proud to support Mid America in its eMortgage efforts,” said Jennifer Parker, eMortgage manager at Fannie Mae. “Mid America is leading the charge for many in the industry by breaking down barriers to entry and showing that e-mortgages are possible. Ultimately, we know that e-mortgages will benefit borrowers and create many efficiencies in the loan manufacturing process. This is the future, and the future is now.”

Later this summer, Mid America plans to launch e-closing for its mini-correspondent business. Eligible loan programs will include:

  • Conventional loans
  • FHA loans
  • VA loans
  • Section 184 (Native American) loans.

According to Mid America Mortgage, e-notes will be executed where jurisdiction and program rules allow. Notes for government-sponsored loan programs, as well as home equity loans originated in Texas, cannot be e-signed at this time. In addition, documents will be e-notarized except in jurisdictions where deeds and warranties do not allow for the use of an e-notary.

“Historically, warehouse lenders have been the less than enthusiastic about e-warehousing, but the tide seems to be turning,” Bode said. “Several banks have expressed their desire to participate in e-warehousing. Once we get the program up and running, our goal is to purchase loans closed electronically from participating lenders’ warehouse lines within two business days of funding.”


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