Mortgage Application Process Now Paperless with Electronic Signing of 4506-T
Montreal, QC, November 27, 2012 – With the IRS enabling its 4506-T form to be electronically signed and submitted as part of the mortgage application process as of January 7, 2013, banks and mortgage originators of every size can benefit from a dramatically improved customer experience. Previously, the 4506-T, which is required for income verification in the mortgage application process through the release of tax return information, had to be wet-signed, mailed to a processing vendor, submitted to the IRS, processed and returned to the mortgage lender to then be attached, filed and stored with the consumer application. This major initiative from the IRS and its impact on the mortgage industry will be touched on in an upcoming presentation at the Mortgage Technology conference on IT and Legal Best Practices in E-Signatures, presented by Silanis and counsel from BuckleySandler LLP.
When electronic signing of the 4506-T comes into effect, companies like Signature Mortgage, which is already using Silanis’ electronic signatures to complete all other documents within a mortgage application, will be able to keep the entire process electronic. “It’s like the Holy Grail,” said Bob Catlin, President of Signature Mortgage. “The 4506-T was the only document missing in the mortgage document set and now we’ll be able to get through an application 100 percent electronically without the added challenge and inconvenience of processing this one piece of the application manually,” continued Catlin.
Many banks and mortgage originators have resisted adding electronic signature capabilities to their mortgage process due to the 4506-T form having to be manually processed. “The requirement of a manual signature on the IRS 4506-T was the last significant impediment to a truly all-electronic mortgage application process,” said David Whitaker, counsel for BuckleySandler LLP. “With its new guidance, the IRS has made it possible for the 4506-T to be electronically originated, signed and transmitted, while providing controls to assure that the signer has been properly authenticated and the electronic signature can be reliably attributed to the signer,” continued Whitaker. This new ability to sign the 4506-T electronically leaves financial organizations without reason to delay the adoption of a secure, compliant and convenient process and technology that is e-signatures.
Silanis Vice President Michael Laurie believes the impact on the electronic signature industry will be substantial. “The fact that the IRS is now accepting electronic signatures demonstrates how an increasing number of government and standards organizations are executing paperless processing initiatives,” said Laurie. “This initiative shows that e-signatures have become mainstream,” continued Laurie.
About Silanis
Silanis is the most widely used e-signature solution in the world, responsible for processing more than 600 million documents annually. Founded in 1992, Silanis’ solutions e-Sign Enterprise and e-SignLive enable thousands of organizations, including four of the top 10 North American banks, eight of the top 15 insurance companies and the entire US Army to accelerate business transactions, improve customer experience and reduce costs while improving compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. Silanis provides the most flexible deployment options with its on-premise, cloud and SaaS e-signature solutions, eliminating manual, paper-based processing and enabling e-commerce and e-government transactions to be electronically executed from start to finish.