EDITOR'S NOTE: For all ATG updates related to this topic, see COVID-19 Updates.

ATG Agents in Illinois and Wisconsin

ATG COVID-19 Update #18: Safely Handling Seller Documents and Conducting Closings

We applaud our agents for doing all they can to keep clients safe—and ATG is here to help! We recognize that every transaction and every client is different. We have multiple solutions available to handle seller documents when ATG is the settlement agent. After your closing is scheduled with ATG, we will contact you to discuss the following options so we can determine what works best for you and your clients.

Pre-Sign Seller Documents, Return via Prepaid Label – We have always accepted pre-signed seller documents. To make the process easier while we navigate the COVID-19 crisis, we are happy to provide you with a return label prior to the closing.

ATG Carhop Closings – Our Carhop Closings limit person-to-person contact and ensure your clients’ health and safety. Carhop Closings are available in all ATG offices in suburban Chicago, NLT offices in Belvidere, Crystal Lake, and Rockford; downstate offices in Champaign and Metro East; and our Wisconsin office in Waukesha. The offices are staffed with Closers and Notaries who can assist with required wet ink signatures on documents – while you or your clients stay safely in your cars. Here’s how it works:

1. Schedule your ATG Carhop Closing the same way as any other ATG closing.
2. Send us your seller documents by secure email.
3. Stay comfortably in your vehicle! When the seller arrives at the ATG or NLT office, parties should stay in their vehicle and call the phone number provided at the time the closing was scheduled.
4. Our Closer or Notary will deliver printed documents to the seller’s vehicle.
5. Sellers provide valid ID, sign documents, and hand them back to the Closer for notarization.
6. During the closing, the Closer will email you the final ALTA Settlement Statement and Seller CD for approval and signature via DocuSign.
7. If the sellers sign during the closing, they are welcome to wait in the car until the appropriate time for signing.

Electronic Signing Options

Take Advantage of Electronic Signing with DocuSign – If ATG is the settlement agent:

• We are happy to send all title company seller-side documents, along with any other documents you have (i.e., the ones that do not need to be notarized) via DocuSign for clients to execute electronically.
• We will include you (the seller attorney) on the email so you can see the documents your client will be signing electronically.

Use Remote Online Notarization (RON) for Transactions in Illinois and Wisconsin – RON is an option for seller documents:

• The ATG-approved platforms for RON are Notarize, NotaryCam, Pavaso, or Nexsys.
• RON is in use in Wisconsin (see ATG COVID-19 Update #8). The platforms do not yet have Illinois notaries, which is a requirement of Governor Pritzker’s COVID-19 Executive Order No. 12 for using RON pursuant to the Executive Order. However, ATG is accepting the notarizations by those platforms that are conducted by out of state notaries pursuant to existing authority in Section 20 of the Conveyances Act. 765 ILCS 5/20.
• ATG currently handles seller transactions with Notarize.
• This option is available in any Illinois county that will accept RON-executed deeds.
• Your clients will be able to execute documents electronically and have them notarized during an online video session with a notary from Notarize.
• Once the documents are electronically signed and notarized, ATG will get them to the Closer.
• During the closing, the Closer will email you the final ALTA Settlement Statement and Seller CD for approval and signature via DocuSign.
• A $99 notary fee will be added to the Settlement Statement to cover the cost of the online notary session.
• ATG will send the seller proceeds by wire or overnight delivery.
• ATG will send agents’ fees by overnight delivery.

Please Contact Us with any questions or concerns about any of our procedures. Keep checking your email and our COVID-19 Updates web page for updated information. We appreciate your business and ongoing support.

Christine Sparks
ATG Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer