What Is eClosing and How Is It Helping Home Buyers?

Mortgages are going digital. Here's what that means for you.

We're living in an increasingly digital world, and we can thank the pandemic in part for that. Over the course of the past two years, the number of consumers ordering goods online has exploded, so much so that many businesses are sinking resources into ramping up their digital offerings and focusing less on their physical stores. But these days, consumers can do more than just purchase apparel and groceries online -- they can also finalize a mortgage.

What are eClosings?

Traditionally, to close on a mortgage, you'd sit down in a room with a representative from your lending institution and sign paperwork. With an eClosing, all of that is done digitally. Rather than meet in person to finalize your mortgage, you arrange for a transfer of funds and sign all of your loan documents electronically.

EClosings largely came about during the pandemic, when it was less safe (or less appealing) to finalize mortgages in person. But given the benefits of eClosings, mortgage borrowers can now expect this option to exist beyond the pandemic.

The upside of eClosings

The primary benefit of going the eClosing route? A faster process. As Rajesh Bhat, CEO at Roostify, explains, "It takes about 30 days to originate a traditional mortgage, from initiating the application until the loan is closed. Digital home lending platforms, like Roostify, empower lenders to speed up this process by creating a simpler experience for borrowers and using data and AI to remove manual steps from the fulfillment process."

One big point of frustration among mortgage borrowers is that home loans can take a long time to close on. By offering eClosings, lenders can shorten that window. That's because eClosings are easier to coordinate and are less likely to result in missed work time. In fact, an independent study conducted recently by MarketWise Advisors, LLC found that lenders using ICE Mortgage Technology's eClose technology experienced significant time and cost savings.

In fact, Nancy Alley, Vice President of Product Strategy at ICE Mortgage Technology, is convinced that eClosings are here to stay. As she says, "Borrowers are demanding more digital options when it comes to their mortgage. Especially post pandemic, it's no longer a nice to have, it's an expectation."

It's also worth noting that eClosings can reduce the likelihood of errors during a mortgage closing, like missed signature pages. The result? Less hassle for buyers and lenders alike.

So how much time can an eClosing save borrowers? An independent study by MarketWise Advisors, LLC, found that eClosings took 70 minutes less per loan than traditional in-person closings. They also resulted in mortgages closing 2.3 days faster than with face-to-face closings.

But as eClosings become more widely adopted, those benefits could increase. Home buyers might shave even more time off of the closing process, and we could see digital mortgages close at an even faster pace compared to traditional ones.

Is an eClosing an option for you?

Whether you have health-related concerns related to the pandemic or simply want to eliminate scheduling constraints, it pays to close on your mortgage digitally if the option exists. Going this route could get you into your home a few days faster. And if you've been counting down the minutes till those keys land in your hands, that's a good thing.