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NEW YORK CITY- Real estate board of New York President Jim Whelan and New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo have signed an Executive Order allowing notaries to act as a signatory, although they are are not in the physical location of a paper-work signing. This is an action to facilitate the process of closing sales remotely amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has to lead to a national shutdown, forcing citizens into social isolation.

"This will greatly aid business transactions in New York state, including real estate closings, loans, and for all legal documents. Before this Executive Order, notaries had to sign in person, which was nearly impossible due to the crisis.  This arrested many business transactions across the state," said Warburg real estate broker Jason Haber in a prepared statement. 

Executive Order 202.7 regarding notaries includes the below:

Any notarial act that is required under New York State law is authorized to be performed utilizing audio-video technology provided that the following conditions are met:

• The person seeking the Notary's services, if not personally known to the Notary, must present valid photo ID to the Notary during the video conference, not merely transmit it prior to or after;

• The video conference must allow for direct interaction between the person and the Notary (e.g. no pre-recorded videos of the person signing);

• The person must affirmatively represent that he or she is physically situated in the State of New York;

• The person must transmit by fax or electronic means a legible copy of the signed document directly to the Notary on the same date it was signed;

• The Notary may notarize the transmitted copy of the document and transmit the same back to the person; and

• The Notary may repeat the notarization of the original signed document as of the date of execution provided the Notary receives such original signed document together with the electronically notarized copy within thirty days after the date of execution.