Stavvy had the pleasure of sitting down with one of our customers, Home Surety Title, to discuss their experience using our eClosing solution for real estate title closing. Learn how Home Surety Title uses the platform, the benefits to their business and clients, and hear about some interesting closing experiences powered by remote online notarization (RON).
Home Surety Title offers eClosing with RON in Tennessee
Stavvy: Let’s start with introductions. Tell us who you are and what you do at Home Surety Title.
Kelly Peevyhouse, Staff Attorney (KP): I'm one of the staff attorneys here at Home Surety Title and I’m also one of the online notaries. I’m involved in the title work, meaning I review title requests and handle client questions and contract issues. I'm physically present for in-person closing and some online closing as well. I've been with the company for about six years.
Eric Alsobrook, Attorney and Pre-Closer (EA): I’m also a staff attorney here. I do a lot of the pre-closing, or title curative stuff on the front end, as we get everything ready for closing. We have three RON notaries but Kelly and I do the bulk of, if not all of, the RON closings. We are the primary users of Stavvy. I’ve been at Home Surety Title for three years.
Stavvy: Tell us about Home Surety Title.
KP: Home Surety Title’s owner-operator, Jeff McEvoy, started the business over 20 years ago and we have offices in Memphis, TN and Southaven, MS. We also partner with attorneys in Germantown, TN and Jackson, TN, which widens our reach. For now, we use RON to close properties statewide in Tennessee and are waiting for Mississippi to become a remote online notarization state.
Stavvy: How did Home Surety Title become a Stavvy customer? How did you first become aware of our electronic closing solution?
EA: My understanding is that we were just waiting for Stavvy to go live. We became a customer the moment you rolled out a contract and got underwriter approval. We already knew and trusted members of the Stavvy team, so we were ready to try it out as soon as we could.
Stavvy makes it easy to keep eClosing all in one platform
Stavvy: How are you using Stavvy for real estate title closing, particularly in the context of eSignature and RON?
EA: I use the eSign portion more often, particularly when we have ancillary documents that need to be signed and not notarized. RON doesn’t fit every closing for every customer, but we use it as often as we can. We have an entire base set of documents that are custom-geared for RON closing.
Stavvy: Are there other RON solutions or eSign tools that you're using, or do you try to keep everything on one eClosing platform for simplicity's sake?
KP: For a while, we were set up on several different platforms. While we still have access to other platforms, we do try to keep it to one because every platform has different requirements. For the most part, we try to put everything through Stavvy. To be honest, Eric likes Stavvy best, and he does most of them, so that's one of the reasons.
Stavvy: Based on your experience, who is the ideal user of eClosing?
EA: The ideal user is a tech-savvy professional who is buying real estate in cash. I recently performed a RON transaction with a cash buyer in Tokyo who asked, “How do we do this in Tokyo?” I said, “Let’s get you on a RON.” He was in his mid-40s and worked in IT for the US Government. He thought it was very easy.
KP: For those that are less tech-savvy, I’ve had customers make an appointment with their real estate agents to perform the eClosing at their office in case they need help with the tech portion. And that's been very helpful for transactions with users that need additional support.
Stavvy: Any unusual closing stories? Are there any real-life stories that you've encountered of someone in extenuating circumstances that prohibit them from closing in person?
KP: We've had customers close in all different geographical locations, from China to Panama. It can be challenging when someone is in a foreign country and doesn't understand that a solid internet connection is critical. So a lot of it comes down to having a clear conversation on the front end about technical requirements.
EA: I did one closing with a client in the Navy who was on a boat out at sea. We had to wait until he pulled into port, where he went into a fast food restaurant to conduct the closing using its WiFi network. And then I had a customer who, when her camera went live, had tin foil in her hair. She was getting her hair colored in a salon while eClosing on her property.
eClosing with RON saves time and money for Home Surety Title
Stavvy: Let’s talk about benefits. What are some of the benefits of digital closing for you as a business? Does it make doing business with you more attractive?
EA: eClosing saves time and money because, in theory, we don't have to send a courier to provide originals, use FedEx, or wait until we have the seller docs back to proceed. Digital closing can facilitate funding when we're getting down to closing, swapping, and funding the transaction. We’re then able to pass those savings on to the buyer or the seller, although the majority of the RONs that we do are seller-side. By using RON, we don't have to charge the full price and wait. We can charge a lower price and save time with RON.
For example, there are times when I'll use RON for a power of attorney because I don't want to wait for one to come back when we're up against the clock. It's easier to charge the fee and have it immediately so we're ready for closing the next day. That's a huge convenience because you don't have to postpone closing while you wait on a power of attorney.
Stavvy: And how about benefits for your customers? Is there any feedback you’ve received from them?
KP: People would rather use digital closing because it's just more convenient. Even when using a mobile notary, people can still be hesitant to meet a stranger in person. They can use eClosing on their own time and if anything changes, it's much easier to change a digital meeting than it is to change a physical location with a notary. If there are any price changes or amendments made at the last minute, it's just a matter of someone in our office updating the documents which we can do easily. And I would say that even if we have agents who don't use the RON component, it’s a good selling point that we have the ability and flexibility to offer it.
Stavvy: Have you been able to quantify the time-saving or cost-saving benefits of using digital closing software?
EA: We haven't conducted an official analysis, but courier fees are approximately $25 between different offices. So even digitizing that part of the process saves time and money. On average, eClosing can save at least $50 per transaction plus the two days we no longer have to wait for originals to come back.
Stavvy eClosing support team provides "extra peace of mind"
Stavvy: How has your experience been with Stavvy from an eClosing customer service perspective?
EA: I haven't had many issues, but when there are, you all have been great about it.
KP: The chat support feature is fantastic and very helpful. In comparison to other providers we used, there was no support system like there is at Stavvy. I know I can reach out to someone the moment something is going wrong and get help right away. I always get a response from the chat within a couple of minutes. Having the chat and someone who can start assisting me almost immediately is very helpful. Clients know when there’s an issue because we’re on the closing live. So I can tell them that I'm connected with a support expert who is working on it for extra peace of mind.
Stavvy: Are there any final thoughts that you want to share with us? Is there anything pertinent to your overall experience with Stavvy that you’d like to give feedback on?
KP: It’s typically very easy for clients to use and understand. Having experienced different platforms, yours is definitely one of the easiest to use.
