(STERLING HEIGHTS, MI) – Michigan-based home lender Mortgage 1 Inc. is proud to announce the completion of their first-ever Remote Online Notary (RON) closing, a breakthrough in mortgage processing that makes home buying faster and hassle-free.

As opposed to traditional mortgage closings in which everyone meets around a table, a RON closing does not require an in-person meeting. Everything is done remotely.

Mortgage 1 is one of the first Michigan mortgage lenders to provide RON closings.

“RON closings are the way of the future. They offer convenience, security and privacy. They can’t be beat.”

– Mark Workens, Mortgage 1 CEO

Mortgage 1 RON Is the Ideal Mortgage Closing Solution 

The Mortgage 1 RON closing took place in November 2022.

The circumstances were ideal. The purchase involved two buyers. They were siblings. They were co-signing on the loan. One sibling lives in Michigan; the other lives in California. Bringing them together for a traditional closing would have been inconvenient, costly, and time consuming. It would have meant one of the borrowers getting on a plane.

That’s where Mortgage 1 RON was the perfect solution. It allowed everything to be done remotely without the expense and delays of travel or sending documents via US mail.

Workens and his team spent months building the framework for RON closings. This purchase presented the ideal scenario.  “This is what RON closings are made for,” he says. “The technology saves borrowers time and convenience.”

Traditional Closing vs. Hybrid Closing vs. RON Closing

To appreciate the benefits of RON, it helps to understand the evolution of mortgage closings.

In a traditional mortgage closing, all parties get together on an assigned day to sign paperwork. The closing usually takes place at the title company offices. Buyers are in one conference room.  Sellers are in their own conference room. The title officer and notary go back-and-forth getting signatures. In the end, all the paperwork is packaged into two sets, one for buyers and one for sellers. The process takes hours.

In a hybrid eclosing, technology is used to shorten the process. In a hybrid closing, buyers sign the majority of their paperwork electronically ahead of time using apps like Mortgage 1’s Pro SNAP and Fast Pass. On closing day, everyone meets in-person with a notary to sign documents that require notarization. Hybrid closings take 30 minutes of in-person meetings. Approximately 50% of Mortgage 1’s closings are hybrid.

In a RON closing, there is no need to meet. Everything happens electronically. Everything is paperless. The notary uses tools built into the RON platform to remotely verify the identity of the signers and perform the notarial ceremony. The notary applies an electronic notarial certificate and the RON platform tamper seals the digital documents.

Details of RON Closings from Mortgage 1 

Presently, RON closings are available to Mortgage 1 customers in Michigan. Eventually, the feature will be available to customers in all states Mortgage 1 operates.

Since 2018, Michigan has allowed for Remote Online Notary (RON) closings Michigan allows commissioned Notaries to perform electronic and remote online notarizations, as long as both authorizations are on file with the Secretary of State along with the necessary technology vendor information.

To learn more about RON closings from Mortgage 1, visit mortgageone.com or call 866-532-0550.