It is instructive to think about how – through the years – companies acquired innovative technology while failing to change the processes surrounding it to take full advantage of its capabilities.
This occurred with the advent of the first steam powered car, which was a horse carriage with an engine attached to it. Or factories which, in transitioning from steam engines to electric power, simply replaced one for the other and retained all of the same shafts, belts and pulleys to do the work. Back in the day, they called it “electrification without transformation.”
In both cases, it took decades for design and process to catch up with modern technology.
Which is exactly where we are in the trajectory of the title insurance industry:
- A wealth of recent technology with minimal process change
- An endless array of new legal requirements appended to existing workflows
- Increasing security demands with a patchwork of defenses tacked on to existing fortifications
- Traditional office space that fails to accommodate current needs
With all of the latent technological potential out there, might the successful title agency of the future carve a new pathway that positions itself as the hub of the real estate transaction by creating new systems and connectivity that is less patchwork and more well-reasoned, inclusive and supportive of all the service providers in the queue?
RON and the Title Office of the Future
The advent and proliferation of remote online notarization (RON) could be the impetus of a title agency rethinking and retooling its operations for this future vision. As we continue to incorporate an increasingly complex technology infrastructure into the process of buying, funding and closing real estate purchases, how will it all funnel into the RON closing in a more seamless way?
And for the COO who manages the office space, does the proliferation of RON completely eliminate the need for the closing rooms that have historically been a core element of the title office? Or will the use of that space merely be retooled to accommodate a different approach entirely to the provision of title, escrow and closing services?
The agencies who will be most successful in positioning for the future are those who take the time to analyze their business practices in a wholistic way and redefine every aspect of how the title, escrow and closing process operates, not just within the context of technology, but also in the context of the social relationships that drive the real estate transaction itself.
And as an addendum to that, how might the title office space itself change in the future to accommodate a transformed work structure that can be accomplished remotely while still staying in physical proximation to the real estate agents, loan officers, homebuyers, sellers and service providers?
Building and maintaining strong relationships to support the successful journey of the real estate transaction has always been a fundamental, though often unseen and unheralded, aspect of the title insurance industry and one which should be strengthened in this technological era, not abandoned.
At FAN and Closing Suite, we are avid champions of eClosings with RON, offering this service as well as additional resources to help you grow your agency. Contact us today to learn about how we can assist you with eClosings with RON, municipal lien searches, HOA estoppels, mortgage payoff ordering and tracking, mobile home title services and more.