Covid-19 process

BUYER OPTIONS

OPTION 1: CONTACTLESS IN-OFFICE CLOSING

Upon the client's arrival at any of our offices, they will be directed into a sanitized conference room and be seated at the far end of a conference table. The settlement attorney will then enter the room, sit 6' away at the opposite end of the table and conduct the closing wearing a mask. Or, if the client prefers, the documents will be waiting for the client in the conference room and the attorney will conduct the entire closing from an adjacent room via FaceTime.

 

OPTION 2: CURBSIDE CLOSING

On the day of settlement, the client will drive to any of our 6 office locations for a curbside closing. Upon arrival, the client will call the attorney, who will meet them at their car. A curbside closing can occur with car windows open or via speakerphone with windows shut. No hand-to-hand passing of IDs or paper files required. The client will take a photo of their ID and email it to the attorney, who will verify their identity and witness signatures from outside of the car with the windows closed. The attorney will remain on the phone to answer any questions until the signing is complete. Once the signing is complete, the attorney will take the documents to review and confirm all signatures were executed. The client will drive off without ever getting out of their car and having the least amount of contact with the attorney as possible. If/when the loan documents are available the day before closing, we will forward them to the client and schedule a pre-closing call with the settlement attorney to review documents.

 

OPTION 3: SIGN BY MOBILE NOTARY

The client can sign their closing documents at home with a mobile notary, subject to availability. BT&E will arrange for an independent mobile notary to travel to the client's home or office and sign all of the documents in person. The notary will deliver the originals to BT&E. The mobile notary charges $250 for signing. The fee will appear as a closing cost on the ALTA.

 

Please note that the mobile notary is not a BT&E employee or an attorney, and will not generally be able to answer specific questions about the content or meaning of the documents. This option should only be selected if the client is comfortable reviewing the documents in advance of the signing and speaking with a BT&E attorney by phone, prior to their signing there are any questions about the documents. We will do our best to get the loan documents from the lender the day before closing and forward them to the client. However, the ability to get the documents in advance is out of our control. Please let us know if you would like to use this service and we will check the notaries' availability. Please note that we will require the client to confirm via email that they have not tested positive for COVID-19 and do not have a fever or flu-like symptoms.

 

OPTION 4: CASH BUYERS- REMOTE ONLINE NOTARIZATION

An all-cash buyer can sign the documents electronically via a Remote Online Notary (RON) service. We will upload the documents to Pavaso, the RON platform, and schedule a time for the client to sign the documents via live online session with a BT&E attorney. We then automatically receive the notarized documents after the signing. There is no additional fee associated with the Pavaso signing. If you elect to sign your closing documents in this manner, please let us know and we will send you more specific instructions. Please note that Pavaso is not compatible with any mobile devices, including iPhones and iPads. The Client must have a laptop or desktop computer with Google Chrome and a camera.

 

OPTION 5: POWER OF ATTORNEY
(IF REQUESTED BY CLIENT AND ALLOWED BY CLIENT'S LENDER)

Prior to closing, the client will sign a Power of Attorney (“POA”) document appointing and authorizing a BT&E attorney to sign documents at closing on their behalf, in the following manner:

 

  • Step 1 - BT&E will prepare a Power of Attorney appointing a member of our staff to sign on the client's behalf after the client has approved the closing documents. This will be the only document that the client would have to ink-sign in front of a Notary. BT&E will secure the POA from the client by either arranging for a mobile notary to go to the client's home or by having the client sign the POA from their car, outside any BT&E office location, in the "Curbside" manner described above.

 

  • Step 2 - Once loan docs are finalized, a BT&E Attorney will perform an eClosing for the client using the familiar service, DocuSign. The client will review, complete, and digitally sign an internal copy of the loan docs with the help of a BT&E Attorney.

 

  • Step 3 - The BT&E Signing Agent will take care of the rest, signing the client-approved docs in ink, and then submit the ink-signed paper docs to the lender.

 

 

SELLER OPTIONS

OPTION 1: SIGN ELECTRONICALLY

A Seller can sign the documents electronically via a Remote Online Notary (RON) service. We will upload the documents to Pavaso, the RON platform, and schedule a time for the client to sign the documents via live online session with a BT&E attorney. We then automatically receive the notarized documents after the signing. There is no additional fee associated with the Pavaso signing. If you elect to sign your closing documents in this manner please let us know and we will send you more specific instructions. Please note that Pavaso is not compatible with any mobile devices, including iPhones and iPads. The client must have a laptop or desktop computer with Google Chrome and a camera.

 

OPTION 2: SIGN BY MOBILE NOTARY

Sellers can sign their closing documents at home with a mobile notary, subject to availability. BT&E will arrange for an independent mobile notary to travel to the client's home or office and sign all of the documents in person. The notary will deliver the originals to BT&E. The mobile notary charges $175 for signing. The fee will appear as a closing cost on the ALTA. Please note that the mobile notary is not a BT&E employee or an attorney, and will not generally be able to answer specific questions about the content or meaning of the documents. This option should only be selected if the client is comfortable reviewing the documents in advance of the signing and speaking with a BT&E attorney by phone, prior to their signing if there are any questions about the documents.

 

Please let us know if you or your client would like to use this service and we will check the notaries' availability. Please note that we will require the client to confirm via email that they have not tested positive for COVID-19 and do not have a fever or flu-like symptoms.

 

OPTION 3: CONTACTLESS IN-OFFICE CLOSING

Upon the client's arrival at any of our offices, they will be directed into a sanitized conference room and be seated at the far end of a conference table. The settlement attorney will then enter the room, sit 6' away at the opposite end of the table and conduct the closing wearing a mask. Or, if the client prefers, the documents will be waiting for the client in the conference room and the attorney will conduct the entire closing from an adjacent room via FaceTime.

 

OPTION 4: CURBSIDE CLOSING

On the day of settlement, the Seller will drive to any of our 6 office locations for a curbside closing. Upon arrival, the client will call the attorney who will meet them at their car. A curbside closing can occur with car windows open or via speakerphone with windows shut. No hand-to-hand passing of IDs or paper files required. The client will take a photo of their ID and email it to the attorney who will verify their identity and witness their signatures from outside of the car with the windows closed. The attorney will remain on the phone to answer any questions until the client is done signing. Once the signing is complete, the attorney will take the documents to review and confirm all signatures were executed. The client will drive off without ever getting out of his/her car and having the least amount of contact with the attorney as possible.

 

 

CLIENTS REFINANCING

OPTION 1: CONTACTLESS IN-OFFICE CLOSING

Upon the client's arrival at any of our offices, they will be directed into a sanitized conference room and be seated at the far end of a conference table. The settlement attorney will then enter the room, sit 6' away at the opposite end of the table and conduct the closing wearing a mask. Or, if the client prefers, the documents will be waiting for the client in the conference room and the attorney will conduct the entire closing from an adjacent room via FaceTime.

 

OPTION 2: CURBSIDE CLOSING

On the day of settlement, the client will drive to any of our 6 office locations for a curbside closing. Upon arrival, the client will call the attorney, who will meet them at their car. A curbside closing can occur with car windows open or via speakerphone with windows shut. No hand-to-hand passing of IDs or paper files required. The client will take a photo of their ID and email it to the attorney, who will verify their identity and witness signatures from outside of the car with the windows closed. The attorney will remain on the phone to answer any questions until the signing is complete. Once the signing is complete, the attorney will take the documents to review and confirm all signatures were executed. The client will drive off without ever getting out of their car and having the least amount of contact with the attorney as possible. If/when the loan documents are available the day before closing, we will forward them to the client, and schedule a pre-closing call with the settlement attorney to review documents.

 

OPTION 3: SIGN BY MOBILE NOTARY

The client can sign their closing documents at home with a mobile notary, subject to availability. BT&E will arrange for an independent mobile notary to travel to the client's home or office and sign all of the documents in person. The notary will deliver the originals to BT&E. The mobile notary charges $250 for signing. The fee will appear as a closing cost on the ALTA.

 

Please note that the mobile notary is not a BT&E employee or an attorney, and will not generally be able to answer specific questions about the content or meaning of the documents. This option should only be selected if the client is comfortable reviewing the documents in advance of the signing and speaking with a BT&E attorney by phone, prior to their signing if there are any questions about the documents. We will do our best to get the loan documents from the lender the day before closing and forward them to the client. However, the ability to get the documents in advance is out of our control.

 

Please let us know if you would like to use this service and we will check the notaries' availability. Please note that we will require the client to confirm via email that they have not tested positive for COVID-19 and do not have a fever or flu-like symptoms.

 

OPTION 4: POWER OF ATTORNEY
(IF REQUESTED BY CLIENT AND ALLOWED BY CLIENT'S LENDER)

Prior to closing, the client will sign a Power of Attorney (“POA”) document appointing and authorizing a BT&E attorney to sign documents at closing on their behalf, in the following manner:

 

  • Step 1 - BT&E will prepare a Power of Attorney appointing a member of our staff to sign on the client's behalf after the client has approved the closing documents. This will be the only document that the client would have to ink-sign in front of a Notary. BT&E will secure the POA from the client by either arranging for a mobile notary to go to the client's home or by having the client sign the POA from their car, outside any BT&E office location, in the "Curbside" manner described above.

 

  • Step 2 - Once loan docs are finalized, a BT&E Attorney will perform an eClosing for the client using the familiar service, DocuSign. The client will review, complete, and digitally sign an internal copy of the loan docs with the help of a BT&E Attorney.

 

  • Step 3 - The BT&E Signing Agent will take care of the rest, signing the client-approved docs in ink, and then submit the ink-signed paper docs to the lender.