Late last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association sent a letter to Bob Ryan, acting commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration, urging that FHA permit the use of e-signatures for all mortgage forms required by the agency.

“E-signatures will reduce the volume of lost paperwork, reduce signature fraud, reduce the time required to close a loan, and may lead to lower borrower costs,” the MBA letter states. “To address these issues affecting the ability of individuals to purchase a home, MBA requests that FHA forthwith implement a revised policy accepting the use of e-signatures on all of its loan documents.”

With much of the loan application and underwriting process already making use of automated systems and technology, MBA says, it is time for the transition to e-signing. Further, “FHA’s acceptance of e-signatures would align the agency with other government entities, most notably Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have been accepting electronic signatures on loan documents for several years.”

Last April, FHA announced it would begin accepting e-signatures for third-party documents originated and signed outside of the lender’s control, such as real estate contracts.

View the MBA letter.

Written by Elizabeth Ecker