Oh, such drama — lies, deceit, treachery, and more. Yikes! Here are some things that Notaries BS about. See if you see your own behavior anywhere here and then fix it!

1. Experience
When I ask Notaries how many loans they have signed, the answer normally comes in years. That is a bait and switch. I ask one question I get an answer that is completely unrelated to the question. 16 years of notary experience doing one signing per year is not much which is why I want number of loans. But, when I ask a Notary on Monday how much experience they have and then again three months later, often the number goes down, not up. Doesn’t # of loans signed mathematically have to go up with experience? It is kind of like age, most people I know don’t get younger.

2. Familiarity with the docs
If you are so familiar, then why can’t you pass our certification test? You say that you are a Realtor and therefore you are familiar with loan documents, yet you can’t explain more than 20% of them. This is a snow job once again.

3. Bragging
If I ask a question, most Notaries have to answer the question and then insert a lot of unasked for additional information which just sounds cheap and cheesy. If you are from Wisconsin, I can understand cheesy, if you are French, then perhaps a Brie, and if you are from Nebraska I can understand corny. But, the rest of you have no excuse. Just answer questions as they were asked.

4. Saying you dropped the package.
Some Notaries claim to have dropped the package at one time when they really did not. Hmm.

5. Drama
Sometimes a borrower will be rude to the Notary and then the Notary will be rude back. When the complaint comes in, sometimes the Notary will discuss mainly all of the terrible things that the borrower did and not be honest about what they themselves did.

6. Certifications
Many Notaries who are not or who are no longer 123notary certified will say that they are in their profiles. Hmm. It’s hard to prove your 123notary certification when you don’t have the green icon, isn’t it?

7. Error Rate
Bragging about your 0% error rate is stupid, because anyone can claim it and there is no way to prove it. We all make mistakes. The same people who brag about their perfect performance are the ones who make spelling mistakes in their profile.

8. Vagueness about their Mortgage experience.
It is sometimes a bad thing to be a Mortgage Broker as that can indicate that you are a competitor. So, many just claim to have been in the Mortgage Industry for ten or twenty years. This is really beating around the bush. It is better to state what position you had or leave it out.

Summary
Notaries are notorious for snow jobs, smoke screens and all out blatant dishonesty. In a profession that is based on integrity this is really outlandish, but reality. Trying to pass yourself off as an expert when you know very little or hiding information about yourself is just not honest or straightforward. Very few Notaries can just stick to the facts, but those are the ones that buyers like. So, try to think of how they feel on the other side of the table.

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