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July 26, 2015

10 tight points on Loose certificates

Filed under: Comprehensive Guides,Notary Acts & Certificates,Popular on Linked In,Popular Overall — Tags: Acknowledgments, Certificates, jurats, loose certificates — admin @ 10:31 pm

I have not written about this topic for a long time because I take for granted that Notaries are experts on the topic. In real life, it is possible that many Notaries do not know how what to do with a loose certificate. So, here are the correct steps to take.

(1) Purchase Certificate Pads from the NNA
Why the NNA? In my experience, they are the best source of 1-stop shopping for Notary supplies. They have great journals and pads. You cannot attach a loose certificate if you don’t have one, so keep them in stock and guard them with your life. Your career as a Notary rests on having the correct forms. You need Acknowledgment Forms, Jurat forms, and perhaps Copy Certificate by Document Custodian forms. Make sure the wording is acceptable according to the current laws of your state!

(2) Keep the Pads in your Notary Bag
Having the right forms is no good if you don’t keep them with you. Clients don’t want to hear the old, “I left it at home” routine. It sounds like your dog ate it. We are not in junior high anymore! Keep your law primers, journal, pads, seal, and anything else you need on you at all times and remember to keep your journal and seal under lock and key when not in use!

(3) When to use Loose Acknowledgments
If you need to notarize a document and the document doesn’t have notorial wording, it is time to use a loose certificate! If a document has incorrect notary wording for your state, you need to consult your state laws to see if they will allow out of state wording. Most states will allow out of state wording providing that the wording isn’t substantially different. If the venue or the name of the signer(s) is wrong or has an extra signer, or leaves the name of a signer out — you might want to attach a loose form.

Also See: Do you Notarize loose certificates as a Notary?

(4) Fill Out the Form
Filling out forms is not rocket science, but more than 50% of notaries omit crossing out the he/she/they and the capacity(ies), etc. If Joe signed the document, then cross out the she/they unless you know more about Joe than we do. You might cross ou the (ies) too. Don’t forget to fill out the venue, stamp, and sign the form. If your state doesn’t require a stamp, consider moving to a better state!

(5) If the Glove Don’t Match, you Must Attach!
Certificate forms must be attached to corresponding documents by law in many states. This means by staple, otherwise it will most likely be detached which could lead to a lot of confusion and potentially to law suits. You should also indicate the document name, date and length on the certificate as well as any other pertinent and identifying information about the document just in case the certificate gets separated. Many Title companies detach certificates which is completely illegal, but they don’t care because they are above the law — or think they are — or never got caught — yet…

(6) NEVER Send a Loose Jurat in the Mail
You can go to jail and lose your commission if you send a loose certificate in the mail. Lenders often ask you to just send a loose “Jurat” in the mail if the one you sent is not acceptable for one reason or another. You can request that the original document is sent back to you. That way you can destroy the original Acknowledgment or Jurat and add another one and staple it to the document. If you send a loose one, it could be attached to a different document and used for fraud, and you might end up in court.

(7) Some People Create Their Own
Some notaries who are penny foolish create their own Acknowledgment pads. You could put company branding on it to gain attention for your company. Just make sure you don’t goof as this is a legal document.

(8) Thumbprints?
Most Notaries only put thumbprints in their journals if they thumbprint at all. But, the NNA’s certificates have, or used to have (I’ve been out of the loop for a while) room for thumbprints. It looks more official for really critical documents if you get that extra thumbprint. For documents going overseas, I recommend this as foreigners think you are the best Notary in town if you give thumbprints — and embossing looks really official too!

(9) Two Certificates?
Sometimes you might need to attach multiple certificates for a single document. This is fine. One for his, and one for hers. They might even be notarized at different times. The custodian or recipient of the document might or might not like that, but it is all perfectly legal! You might have a lot of staples if you attach them at different times, but that is how the Notary business works.

(10) Jurats with Oaths
Sometimes if you are administering an Oath on a short statement, you can write the statement right on the Jurat form. In this case, you don’t need to staple the form to a document as the form includes the contents of the document as well as the Notarization. Don’t forget to have them raise their right hands and swear under Oath!

You might also like:

2014 excerpts from great notes sections
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=13613

Sending loose certificates is illegal
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=2470

What goes where in your notes section?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=1076

What is so critical about crossing out he/she/they?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=22223

Can a notary sign on a different day?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=22084

Comments (7)

June 29, 2015

Unique phrases from the Ninja course

Filed under: Your Notes Section — Tags: Critical Documents, Unique Phrases — admin @ 11:04 pm

Here are examples of unique things our notaries have said:

(a) I specialize in services for high-profile figures and celebrities: confidentiality and respect for privacy.

(b) I’m the original mobile notary of Jefferson County.

(d) We work with a mobile laptop allowing us to perform your closing as though you were there–when you can’t be.

(e) I introduce the critical documents before the signing begins to make sure that we are all on the same page. (no pun intended)

(f) I am a bar tender turned notary public. Small talk & signings. I give feedback right away, and you will know within SECONDS if your line of credit is on the rocks. I’m experienced with every type of loan signing and have completed 5000 signings to date. All I need to know from you is — shaken or stirred?

(g) I am always happy and others tend to become happy when around me. My extensive signing experience allows me to know exactly how to handle any type of situation that comes up in a loan. I have seen it all from name discrepancies between documents & identifications, wrong figures in the HUD, unwilling spouses, you name it.

(h) I always place my clients’ interest before mine.

(i) Former cop turned notary. I keep the clients at ease even in the most turbulent situations as that is part of my professional training. I understand all notary laws and loan signing procedures and give thorough descriptions of the documents before beginning the signing. I often ask, “Would you like to just begin the signing, or should I read you your rights… I mean go through the documents first?” Fingerprinting the borrowers is no problem either. I just tell them they are being booked. Call me for an arresting experience!

(j) I give each job 110% and my track record proves it.

(k) As a former bar tender, I have my own name for each type of signings. 1st & 2nd combos: I call them double mortgages. Then, there is the VA cocktail and the FHA spritzer. For a better rate on signings, call me during happy hour!

(l) I am a transplanted Native New Yorker with Southern charm.

(m) Technology is my soul. I am the notary of your choice. I think three steps ahead.

(n) With a background in stress management, I notarize accurately and in a relaxing manner.

(o) I continuously do on-line webinar education to stay abreast of the ongoing changes in the mortgage loan industry.

(p) Most of my business is repeat business. Many borrowers informed me that their signing with me was the easiest part of the loan process. Dozens of frustrated borrowers told me that if I had not been there, that they never would have completed the signing.

(q) We cover 19 counties in the mountains with two notaries two 4 wheel drive vehicles, both with GPS. We go places you don’t even know exist and get your loan closed!

(r) As a funeral home owner, I am used to somber occasions like loan signings. People enjoy my morbid sense of humor. Call me seven days a week, but not before 10 am, because I am not a “mourning” person.

(s) We are part vampire and never sleep. Call us for your late night signings. We’ll bring the Dixie cups for our night-cap after the signing is over.

You might also like:

Elite Certification will benefit you for the rest of your life
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20770

Studying to be elite certified is worth $533 per minute
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20774

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May 11, 2015

Here is an easy way to make $4000 more per year

Filed under: Marketing Articles,Popular on Facebook (very),Popular on Linked In — Tags: notaries, Notary, notary job — admin @ 12:36 pm

Most notaries are complaining that there is not enough work to go around. They are right — there isn’t. However, there are certain people who get most of the work when there is work. The trick is to become one of those people. The listings that get the most work have a few reviews from satisfied clients, a great notes section, a company name, high placement, and last but not least — 123notary certification.

But, I don’t “Need” your certification. I’m already “certified!”
Unfortunately for you, the people who use our site do not reward notaries for being NNA certified. This is not my decision, it is theirs. NNA certified notaries on 123notary get no more or no less business than any of our other notaries. However, those certified by 123notary get 78% more clicks and more than double (2.5x) the new jobs (generated from our site) than those who aren’t. More than double sounds good to me.

From 3 jobs per week to 3 jobs per day
A few years ago when the economy was better, one notary raved to us that the minute he passed our certification test, he went from getting three jobs per week to three jobs per day. That is phenomenal, and a true story. His luck was considerably better than most other notaries, but statistically, the other notaries did quite well too.

15-100 jobs a year is average
Although the industry is slow, notaries with a p#10 preferential spot on 123notary get around 15-100 jobs per year based on people who we talk to in those positions. Those who get less than that either have already dropped out or will soon drop out. Consider that you are on the low end of the totempole getting 15 jobs a year and our certification helps you get 36 jobs per year. You would be making an additional $2000 per year as a result of your two hours of effort studying and taking our test. That is $1000 per hour assuming you drop out after a single year.

How would the average notary benefit from 123notary certification?
Let’s assume that the average notary stays on 123notary for three years which is somewhat true. The actual number of years for paying listings is around that level although free listings sometimes get removed prematurely if they have bad stats. Let’s say that our average uncertified notary gets 30 jobs per year from our site. Getting certified would raise that total statistically to 75 jobs which is 45 additional jobs which would account for around $4000 extra income in a year. So, multiply three years by $4000 and you get $12000.

Your time is worth $6000 per hour studying for our cert test.
Over the life of your career, the average notary would get $12,000 more income as a result of passing our test which takes about two hours in study time, plus a 6.5 minute online test. Two hours of your time will net you $12,000 in the next several years. It is like a goose that lays golden eggs.

But, you are busy.
What else are you doing that is more important? Many notaries are too busy to do something worth $6000 per hour and get offended when I mention that what they are doing “might” be slightly less important or valuable than studying for our test. What are you doing and what is the value of that work?

Studying for our test: $6000 per hour in long term financial benefit (before expenses)
Doing a notary job: $15-40 per hour (after expenses)
Daydreaming: Zero
Going to a birthday party: Zero
Cleaning house: Zero
Browsing Facebook: Zero
Getting a neck tattoo: Varies

The bottom line is that you clutter your life with tasks which are not optimally valuable, so when an important task needs to be done, you simply don’t have time. My suggestion is that you schedule your other work around your important tasks, rather than putting off the important tasks, otherwise you’ll never get ahead. Schedule your study time in your calendar, make sure your passwords work, and just do it. It might be safer to schedule three non-consecutive days just in case you need more time or have technical difficulties.

You might also like:

Elite certification will benefit you for the rest of your life
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Compilation of certification posts
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NNA signers who failed our test
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=892

Comments (3)

April 22, 2015

Point (28-30) Beneficial Interest; Negligence; E&O;

Filed under: (2) Technical and Legal — Tags: 30 point course — admin @ 10:53 pm

Marcy had to go back to the hospital to notarize Esmerelda, the old lady who could barely talk. Her family assured Marcy that it would be okay this time. Marcy wanted her travel fee in cash at the door. She explained that if the signer was not fit to be notarized, she would legally have to decline notarization, but didn’t want to have any issue getting her travel fee should she decline. A month back, she drove an hour to a jail, waited for another hour only to be told that the inmate had been moved. The client who met her there didn’t want to pay a travel fee because Marcy “didn’t do anything.” Additionally, Marcy would have a beneficial interest in getting the document signed if she didn’t collect her travel fee at the door. She would want it to be signed so she could collect her $30. In any case, they paid Marcy her travel fee. Esmerelda was able to communicate and actually did understand the document. She summarized it. Marcy was able to do the Signature by X procedure and get her notarized that evening.

An hour after the hospital notarization, Marcy had a loan signing. At the signing, the borrower asked about the pre-payment penalty. Marcy found it in a snap since she had been studying what information is in what document (like all good Notaries should.) But, Marcy started to read the pre-payment penalty to the borrower and even explain what the terms of that part of the agreement meant. Marcy had overstepped her bounds. She knew she couldn’t give legal advice, but she wasn’t aware that explaining a prepayment penalty could be construed as legal advice. Luckily for Marcy, the Lender gave her a quick lecture on not giving legal advice, and Marcy was very careful from that moment onwards.

After Marcy’s two jobs, she came home only to find Patricia waiting for her on the front porch. Patricia had something urgent to tell her. One of Patricia’s other friends who was a Notary was getting sued, and her E&O insurance wouldn’t help. Marcy asked why. Patricia said that the error was not a Notary error, and that E&O only insures you against Notary errors or omissions. It was the Lender who made an error, and the borrower was suing everyone in sight. Even the Notary who had nothing to do with it. It would have cost this Notary $30,000 in legal fees to defend herself from this angry borrower. Then Patricia told Marcy what a Hold Harmless Agreement is. The Lender has their documents, but if you make the borrower sign a Hold Harmless, that can prevent them from suing the Notary as they agree not to hold the Notary responsible should anything go wrong with their loan. Patricia was a great source of knowledge tonight. So, Marcy consulted an Attorney and got a quick Hold Harmless Agreement written out, and she kept a stack of them in her car so she would be sure to have one for every loan signing form that day forward. She didn’t want to end up like that other Notary! Good God!

Point (28) Beneficial Interest
It is illegal to notarize a document that you have a Beneficial Interest in. But, what constitutes Beneficial Interest? If you or a close family member is named in the document as someone who will receive money, or privileges, then you could be said to have Beneficial Interest. If you would gain in any way from the document being signed, you have Beneficial Interest.

One interesting twist on this concept is that Notaries who get a travel fee don’t always collect the fee in advance. If you are in front of the signer who doesn’t have proper ID, and they ask you to notarize them anyway or you won’t get your travel fee, then you have Beneficial Interest. You won’t get your $35 if you don’t comply with their illegal requests. As a Notary, you are expected to uphold the law, and if your travel fee rests on you bending the law for someone, you are not only encouraging yourself to do something questionable, but you have Beneficial Interest in the document being signed which is purely illegal.

Financial Interest means that you will benefit financially from a document being signed, while Beneficial Interest means that you will benefit in one way or the other — perhaps financially, or perhaps in some other way.

Point (29) Negligence
What constitutes Notary negligence?

Failure to administer an Oath
Failure to take a thumbprint in your journal for a deed or Power of Attorney
Failure to identify the signers
Failure to inspect signatures
Failure to make sure signer signs in front of you for a Jurat
Failure to completely fill out a journal entry

Point (30) E&O insurance

Many companies want to hire Notaries with E&O insurance. It makes the Notary look more professional and covered. In real life, it protects you only from honest mistakes on notarizations. Most of what you are doing involves overseeing large business deals that get sent back to the lender via courier. Most of the problems you could encounter might include signing the wrong way (even though it might be notarized correctly), getting documents back late, a missing bank check, cross-outs, no-shows, or other mistakes. Notary errors on notarized documents might account only for 25% of the problems that occur in signings that could lead to damages.

If the Lender makes a mistake that causes the borrower damages, you could get sued, and E&O will not cover you since YOU were not the one who made a mistake AND because it is not a Notary mistake. One of our Notaries dropped out because she got sued for more than $100,000, because of some fraud that the Lender was accused of committing. The borrower was so angry that they want to sue everyone in sight regardless of fault. Unbelievable!
–
Additionally, in 2013 Notaries who had enormous E&O packages were being sued on a regular basis. You are like a guy in a Mercedes driving around a slum. You have the word “Target” written on your forehead and taped to your back. Sooner or later you will get mugged. Think like a Ninja. You don’t get mugged — you mug THEM!

My advice is to think carefully before investing in a handsome E&O package. If it will land you a good account with Chicago Title, then do it. Otherwise, it might make sense to have a smaller E&O premium and have all of your borrowers, Lenders and signing companies sign a HOLD HARMLESS agreement. The agreement should be drafted by an Attorney and could state that if there are any damages by negligence or omissions by the Notary, that you (the Borrower or Signer) will not hold the Notary responsible.

You might also like:

30 Point Course Table of Contents
http://blog.123notary.com/?cat=3442

The 30 Point Course Final Quiz – Jeopardy!
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14557

Posts about E&O Insurance
http://blog.123notary.com/?tag=eo-insurance

Help, I’m being sued, and E&O insurance won’t help!
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=3570

Comments (0)

March 29, 2015

Point (14) Explain or Don’t Explain? Marcy Hires a Babysitter

Filed under: Loan Signing 101,Popular on Facebook (some),Popular on Twitter 2014 & 2015 — Tags: 30 point course — admin @ 9:37 pm

Poor Marcy needed a babysitter. She called one of her regulars named Amy. Amy was a nice girl from the neighborhood. Marcy’s husband was getting on her case about spending too much money on babysitters.

HUSBAND: Why are you running all around town chasing notary jobs when you should be watching our kid?

MARCY: I’m trying to create a career so we’ll have a better future.

HUSBAND: Our future’s just fine. You just stay here, and we’ll make it. We made it so far.

MARCY: I’m tired of just sitting around the house. I’ve done a few dozen signings, and I’m getting the hang of it. There’s money in this!

HUSBAND: Okay, but I don’t like it. I have to work late and our baby will be all alone with a complete stranger!

MARCY: Oh, It’ll be okay.

HUSBAND: I hope you are making more than $20, because that’s what the babysitter is charging us.

MARCY: If I get paid I will.

HUSBAND: IF you get paid? What kind of business is this? I’m putting my foot down! I bet Patricia down the street talked you into this.

MARCY: I already have the appointment and Amy is coming over.

AMY: Hi, I’m here. But, one small thing.

MARCY: Anything.

AMY: I need to have someone come over while you’re gone. Only for a minute. Will that be okay?

MARCY: Well sure. But, who is it?

AMY: It’s for business. It’s not a friend.

MARCY: What kind of business? And at your age? Business?

AMY: Hmmm. To explain or not to explain. I would feel more comfortable not talking about it.

MARCY: Well, if you are having someone come to my house while I’m not here, I need to know who it is.

AMY: Well, it is sort of a guy who helps with paperwork. He stamps stuff…

MARCY: Is he a Notary?

AMY: Oh my God! How did you know?

MARCY: I’m also a Notary, and I’m going out to an assignment right now. I can notarize you for free when I come back.

AMY: Well, it’s kind of private. I’m not sure I want you to see the paperwork.

MARCY: Private? How private are we talking? Something you don’t want your mom to know?

AMY: If she finds out, I’m grounded for life.

MARCY: So, you’re in trouble? And you’re babysitting my kid? What kind of trouble?

AMY: Oh, it won’t affect you. It’s just for a test.

MARCY: Test? Are you on drugs? Or… Oh no.

AMY: I missed my period last month.

MARCY: Oh. I understand. You teenagers need to be more careful. Boys aren’t a game. You can ruin your entire life in an instant!

AMY: I know that now.

MARCY: Okay, you can have whomever you want notarize you, but no boys coming over here tonight or any night. Got it?

AMY: I understand. I’m glad I explained it to you.

MARCY: If you can’t explain, you have nobody to help you. But, if I can’t explain something. I just call the Lender!

Point (14) When to explain and when not to explain

The points in this section are not too much different from point 13. But, we will go into more detail here. The main point is that general questions about loan documents are for the Notary to explain if your state laws allow for that. Specific questions about the loan require you to call the Lender or Title company.

What should the Notary do under these situations?

(1) Where is my prepayment penalty explained?
Show the borrower the correct page where the information is located.

(2) Why is my prepayment penalty so unfair?
Call the Lender or refer the borrower to the Lender.

(3) What is my loan amount?
Refer the borrower to a document that has this information.

(4) I thought my loan amount was $365,000 and now it is $390,000 with fees. I had no idea it would be so high.
Show them the HUD, and then perhaps call the Lender.

(5) I am supposed to sign my name as Theo T Tango, but my ID only says T Tango, what do I do?
Unfortunately, the Lender can’t help with Notary law issues as they will most likely encourage you to break the law in order to get the loan signed. Try to find a legal way to get the loan signed. Call the Lender if you want to know about using the Signature Affidavit though.

(6) Where is my APR?
Show them the Truth in Lending Disclosure

(7) I was told my APR would be 4.6%, but it is 4.7%
Call the Lender

(8) The signer wants to introduce you to their girlfriend
Politely say hi

(9) The signer wants their girlfriend to join you at the signing — naked
Call the Lender!!!

You might also like:
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http://blog.123notary.com/?cat=3442

30 Point Course (15) The Prepayment Penalty
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14447

Loan signing process & Pitfalls: explain the documents, not the loan
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=2780

Comments (0)

March 27, 2015

Notary Etiquette from Atheist to Zombie

Filed under: Comprehensive Guides,Etiquette,Humorous Posts — Tags: etiquette, Notarize, Notarizing, Notarizing an Athiest, Notarizing Assassins, Notary, Notary Etiquette — admin @ 6:41 am

AKA: How to be polite when you’re in Affix!

Atheist etiquette
If you are notarizing an Atheist and he/she sneezes, don’t say God bless you.

Don’t sell people’s signatures
If you are notarizing a celebrity — Don’t rip out the portion of your journal with their autograph on it and sell it on ebay. That is considered to be bad manners in certain circles and is also a violation of notary law! Don’t sell your roommate’s notary seal on ebay either.

Don’t second guess family relations.
If you notarize who you think is the guy’s mother, but the woman is the guy’s wife, keep it to yourself. I once asked a guy, if I was going to notarize his mother, then he said, “That’s my wife.” — awkward… Oh, and don’t ask people if they are lesbian lovers even if you are asked to notarized an affidavit of domicile. Let them volunteer that information if they care to do so.

Guns & Religion
If you bring a gun to a signing, don’t talk about other loaded subjects like religion. On the other hand, if you go to a signing in a church, circumvent the issue of circumcision. If the phone rings during a Church signing, if it ain’t Jesus, don’t answer it.

If you are doing a signing for a hunter, should you bring up guns?
It’s worth a shot!

Tips for Notarizing Assassins
Avoid asking an assassin any direct questions such as, “What do you do?” Rather, ask more roundabout open ended questions, such as, “Have you done anything interesting recently with your career?” After all, if their deeds were done in some African country, they can speak freely in the United States about it with no fear of an awkward moment at a party.
If you make a mistake notarizing an assassin, don’t say, “SHOOT!”
If you are doing a signing for an assassin, make sure you include their middle name in the document.
I once asked an assassin, what is the difference between a murder and an assassination — where do you draw the line?

Loud televisions
Instead of bluntly asking someone to turn the TV down, you can say, “It’s very hard to hear you — did you say you liked your rate, or that you were having trouble staying awake?”
If you are mumbling under your breath, “What an idiot” in the context of asking someone to turn their TV down: make sure you say that with a safe margin of error before they actually turn the TV down.
If an elderly relative is watching a loud television. Politely let them know that you don’t want to let them know that you don’t want to become as deaf as they evidently are.

Notary Notes Sections
Rather than write the regular stuff in your notes section, you could write, “I will never insult the borrower, and I have a policy against parking in people’s lawns.”

Going to the bathroom in an outhouse
Notaries should never make a signer feel uncomfortable about having an outhouse. You should gracefully address the issue, but only if you actually are forced by natural causes to use that infrastructure. “I just loved the quarter moon in your outhouse, how quaint.”
“I just loved the latest issue of Outhouse & Gardens that I read while I was doing my business.”

Signings with beautiful women
If they ask you to do a Deed, it will be far more disappointing than doing “The Deed.”

Tips for Notarizing Zombies
It is considered bad manners for the notary to participate in the chanting, especially after they bring out the dead chicken, unless given express permission, otherwise it might cancel out the curse. Never tell a zombie that they look deathly ill — rather, tell them that they look deathly well. If you are having a zombie swear to the authenticity of a curse, it might be wiser to have the swear to a written version of the curse verbiage rather than to have them do a completely sworn Oath (otherwise you might become cursed or start hearing voices.) If asked to notarize a zombie’s death certificate, rather than claiming that it is against notary law to do so, ask them, “Which one?”

Popular Zombie Documents
It is common to have a formal Affidavit of transfer of Custodianship of Soul. This is where the zombie officially grants Power of Attorney to the “Bokor” or sorceror to have full control over their soul and body (or what’s left of it.) Please be advised that many zombies only have half a soul.

If a zombie commits perjury, it is punishable by life in prison. But, it is not stipulated which soul will inhabit the body during the sentence.

You might also like:

Borrower etiquette from A to Z
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=2995

Notary etiquette from A to Z
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Comments (2)

March 22, 2015

Point (13) Call The Lender? Finding the Prepayment Penalty

Filed under: Loan Signing 101,Popular on Facebook (shares),Popular on Facebook (some) — Tags: 30 point course, Call the Lender, Deed, Rate — admin @ 10:20 pm

Marcy had been studying up. She didn’t want to make a fool of herself anymore. She went to her next signing prepared.

MARCY: Hi, I’m Marcy, and I’ll be your Signing Agent tonight.

GLORIA: Oh wonderful. It is so nice to see a well prepared Notary.

MARCY: We can start here with the Deed of Trust and I’ll explain the documents as we go along unless you want to start with the HUD and work our way back.

GLORIA: Oh, very sophisticated. You sound like one of those really experienced Notaries who has signed 3000+ loans and advertises on 123notary.com.

MARCY: Well, I’ve signed about 20 by now, and I’m only 2980 short of 3000. I am working on the 123notary course, but haven’t finished it yet, but I’m almost there.

GLORIA: Great. The Deed is fine, the Note is fine, now, why is my APR higher than my Rate in my Note?

MARCY: I just studied this… I know the answer. The APR is the annual percentage relationship between the payments and the amount borrowed, minus the fees. This rate is often used to compare the different loans borrowers have to choose from. The APR is almost always higher than the rate. The rate, on the other hand, is a monthly percentage relationship between the payments and the total amount borrowed, including fees.

GLORIA: Wow, very professional. You are even better prepared than the notaries who signed 3000 loans. They just told me, “It is the cost of the loan expressed as a percentage rate.” Your answer was so professional.

MARCY: I spent two hours memorizing it and I practice daily so I won’t look like a fool.

GLORIA: Oh, no, you don’t. I’m going to tell your boss that you are the best Notary I’ve ever had, and we refinance every five years. Now, where is my prepayment penalty?

MARCY: Oh, just look on the Truth in Lending.

GLORIA: Okay… It says that I will, won’t or might have a prepayment penalty. I’ve gotten more decisive answers from a magic 8 ball. Can you do any better than this?

MARCY: Oh, hmm. I thought it was there. Do you want to call the Lender?

GLORIA: Sorry to lecture you after I complimented you, but aren’t YOU supposed to know this?

MARCY: We could call the magic 8 ball? Better yet, let’s call the Lender.

(ring-ring)

FRANK: Yeah, Frank here.

MARCY: You are the first Lender in human history to actually answer his phone.

FRANK: Glad to be of help.

MARCY: Your customer wants to know what the terms of her prepayment penalty would be.

FRANK: You mean my BORROWER. Never call them customers. Gloria DiStefano. She doesn’t have one.

MARCY: Where is that documented – In the Prepayment Rider?

FRANK: No, if there is no prepayment penalty, then there definitely won’t be a rider. Check the Note. Anything else?

MARCY: We’re good. That was fast. 45 seconds exactly not that I’m counting.

GLORIA: I’m on it. I thought we went over the Note. I guess I skimmed it too fast. Here it is. It says I don’t have a prepayment penalty. Great. I’ll pay the whole thing off tomorrow. That was easy.

MARCY: Sorry, I’ll study harder. But, I am doing so much better than three weeks ago when I first started. I hadn’t a clue then, but now I get most of the questions correct.

GLORIA: That’s good, but you need to get ALL of the questions correctly and handle all situations like a pro if you want my business!

MARCY: Sadly, you are right. I’ll finish my course and review it regularly. I might even take a few other courses too.

Point (13) Calling the Lender
Notaries are often confused about when to call the Lender. Some Notaries are over-confident and never want to call the Lender while other Notaries call whenever the borrower sneezes. A high quality Notary knows when to call the Lender and when not to bother the Lender. You have to understand many of the common situations that arise when you have a small problem. If you call the Lender, leave a message, and wait 20 minutes and then call again. Call other entities related to the loan too if you can, such as the Signing Company, Escrow, Title, etc. If the Lender does answer, the borrower might talk to them for 45 minutes while you are running late to an appointment. You will save a lot of time and aggravation if you ONLY call the Lender when you absolutely need to.

The 1003
The 1003 Universal Residential Loan Application is the one document that is universally wrong. There are always mistakes on everybody’s 1003. I’m not sure if there is a law requiring it to always be wrong, but it seems like there is some sort of cosmic law mandating that. Since the 1003, and the Good Faith Estimate are not final documents, don’t worry too much about it. Just make sure that the HUD Settlement Statement is correct, otherwise you’ll have to redraw your loan!

The APR
Many borrowers ask why the APR is higher than the Rate. If you study and rehearse explaining the APR, you can save yourself the time and aggravation of calling the Lender only to find out they are not able to answer their phone. The borrower will feel a lot better, and you will have one less problem at your signing.

The Prepayment Penalty
Borrowers ask about their Prepayment Penalty all the time. Look for it either in the Note, or the Prepayment Rider if there is one (and once in a while there is) The borrower can read the terms themselves instead of being frustrated that they can’t find it.

Letter of Instructions
Consult the letter of instructions before beginning any loan. That way you will know what to do if there is a problem. There might even be phone numbers in the instructions.

Specific Questions
If a borrower asks a question that is specific to their loan, call the lender. If they ask a general question about what information is in what loan document, you should know. Study up!

The RTC
What if the borrower signs in the wrong place on the Right to Cancel? Just go to the borrowers’ copies and get a fresh copy. You just saved yourself a lengthy discussion with the Lender.

Errors on Certificates
If there is an error on a Notary certificate, this is purely for the Notary to resolve. Don’t get the Lender involved in your job as you should know your job.

When is my first payment due?
Look in the TIL, HUD, Payment Coupon, but don’t call the Lender unless you have to.

Power of Attorney Signings
Call the Lender regardless. Even if you know exactly how to sign, call the Lender to confirm. Power of Attorney signings are rejected 70% of the time in my experience even if they are done correctly.

If the names printed on the documents are spelled wrong
If there are any problems with names of signers on the documents, you should call the Lender. If the ID doesn’t match the borrower’s name printed on the document, you have a problem. The Lender might not care about what Notary law says, but does want to get the loan signed. If the signer is not comfortable signing the way their name is typed on the document, the loan will probably not fund otherwise, but you can call the Lender or read our section about the Signature Affidavit.

Missing docs or docs the borrower won’t sign
If you are missing any of the loan documents that normally appear in a package, sign the ones that are there, send them back, and call the Lender immediately upon discovery that you are missing a document. Or, if a borrower won’t sign a particular document, call the Lender. You can send it back unsigned at the top of the stack. Or, if the borrower wants to keep it and send it back after talking to the Lender, that is another common option.

You might also like:

30 Point Course Table of Contents
http://blog.123notary.com/?cat=3442

30 Point Course (14) Explain or Don’t Explain
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14440

Industry standards in the Notary business
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=4370

Comments (3)

March 2, 2015

2014 excerpts from great notes sections

Filed under: Popular on Linked In,Your Notes Section — Tags: Notary Notes — admin @ 3:21 am

Here are some of the most interesting excerpts from notes sections on 123notary.com that I found in 2014. If you want to nominate other excerpts, I can add them after the fact!

(1) Look at all the services this notary advertises. He/She/They must be smart!
I have served XYZ County notarizing: commercial and residential loans, reverse mortgages, first and second mortgages, refinances, helocs, medical records, foreign adoptions, power of attorney, and so on. Apostille, authentication and certification services are also available.

(2) Check out the client list this notary has!
My clients range from attorneys, hospice, social workers, inmates, bail bonds, doctors and hospital patients.

(3) Here is a thorough notary
I stay in constant contact with whomever hires me, keeping them updated immediately upon receiving documents, contacting the signers, completing the assignment and supplying tracking numbers when documents are dropped off.

(4) Look at the long list of docs this guy does!
* Durable Power of Attorney/Healthcare Advance Directives
* Business/Personal contracts and agreements
* Credit Checks
* Landlord/Tenant issues and resolutions
* Collections
* Identity Restoration of Your Good Name
Legal Plans for:
* Estate Planning
* Consumer Finance
* Bankruptcy (Chapter 7,11, 13)
* Corporations (S corp. or C corp., LLC, or Non Profit)
* Unlawful Detainer
* Small Claims
* Divorces
* Child Custody/Child Support
* Name Changes
* Real Estate (contracts, deeds, quitclaims, foreclosure)
* Wage Garnishments (Disputes)
* Summons & Complaints
* Civil Suits (Being sued or sue someone)
& plus those not listed

(5) Give a call and your signing will go off without a hitch! LAX FedEx location late night drop 8pm.

(6) Don’t Move I’ll Be Right There! Fidelity National Title and First American Title approved Notary

(7) My motto is “Never say NO to a signing”.

(8) I give a one line explanation of every single document in the package.

(9) I specialize in last minute signings & off-hour signings

(10) Getting married or need a passport?
Services performed: PTT’s, PAP’s, POA’s, Acknowledgements, Jurats, Subscribing Witness, Copy Certifications, Affidavits, Trusts, Quit Claim Deeds, Refinance, Purchase, HELOC, Reverse Mortgage, Witness Only, Debt Settlement Agent, Notary & CPR Certifications, Pass Port Photos, LiveScan Fingerprinting, Field Inspection, Process Servier, and Weddings.

(11) This is my second career, after retiring in 2005, to fight a long and draining battle (18 surgeries) with Pancreatic Cancer, I am one of 4%, that survive this deadly cancer. Given a second chance at life, I decided doing nothing was not an option

(12) A former stripper decided to go into eSignings and offer “Laptop signings” (sorry for the bad joke)

(13) I am the only Mobile Notary in (name of city) with an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau

(14) In addition to notarization’s I have conducted over 1,000 field service inspections: door knocks, merchant/site/business verifications, asset/collateral/lease inspections, and commercial loss control inspections.

(15) My references include Bank of America, Discover, Well Fargo, Quicken, Citi and many others. With all my career life spent in customer service, I know people! I will treat you and your clients with respect and honor, because that’s how I would want to be treated.

(16) I’m a transplanted New Yorker with Southern Charm. When your closing is crucial, you can count on me to be there on time and conduct the signing just as you would, if you could.

(17) 1500 loans signed; We cover 19 counties in the Western NC mountains with two notaries two 4wd drive vehicles, both with GPS. We go places you don’t even know are places and get your loan closed!

(18) Have something that’s a little “outside the box”? Strange hour? Specific or unusual instructions? Signer w/ special needs or requests? Not a problem, I can, and do handle it with no muss, no fuss, and no drama from the outset. I do it right the first time.

You might also like:

2011 excerpts from great notes sections
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=1043

Unique Phrases from the Ninja Course
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14690

Comments (0)

February 15, 2015

Point (1) Deed of Trust; Story: Marcy Becomes a Notary!

Filed under: (2) Technical and Legal — Tags: 30 point course, Deed of Trust, Housewife becomes a Notary — admin @ 5:38 am

Marcy the housewife becomes a Notary!

Marcy was a normal Midwestern housewife. She enjoyed all of the normal aspects of life. She had a small child, her first. She enjoyed the local festivals, corn mazes, county fairs, and married life as well. But, her family seemed to always be behind the eight-ball financially. What was Marcy to do? She tried temping for a while, but that didn’t pan out. Then, she tried being a substitute teacher since she liked kids, but the assignments weren’t regular enough. She had tried all her options and couldn’t think of anything else to do. So, she went next door to Patricia’s house to see if Patricia had any helpful words. Patricia was known in the neighborhood as the go to person if you had a problem. She could help anyone out of any slump and knew the right thing to say in any situation. Marcy picked the wrong day to go to Patricia for help. Of all the days in the year, this was the worst possible day.

Marcy went over and knocked on the door. Patricia answered, but said she was waiting for someone. Then, a nicely dressed guy showed up with a briefcase. What could he be here for thought Marcy? “Oh, this is the mobile notary for my loan documents,” announced Patricia. Marcy said, “Okay, I’ll bother you another time.” Patricia asked her to come back the next day.

Marcy returned the next day. Patricia had only one thing to say: “You could totally do this!” “Do what?” “Be a mobile notary — you’d love it!” “I would?” “Yup!” It is odd how people become mobile notaries. It often happens when they or a friend have a loan that needs to get signed. Then the career opportunity light bulb flashes in their head, and the rest is history.

Marcy marched down to the county recorder’s office, filled out the paperwork, waited a few weeks to get her commission, seal, journal and forms, and she was in business! She was officially a state commissioned Notary Public and a mobile notary because she drove to her appointments. Just one small thing… She didn’t have any appointments. So Marcy went back to Patricia again to ask for help. Patricia suggested calling the notary who had helped them. Maybe he would know how to get work. Except they would be competition for him. Oooh. A touchy subject. Should they call? I guess it couldn’t hurt. In the worst case scenario, he would just decline to help them. After talking to Tom, he recommended calling 123notary and Notary Rotary. Those were the two most reputable sources of notary work at the time. That sounded easy enough. So, Marcy got herself listed on 123notary.com and the calls started coming in. (Obviously Marcy didn’t show up in 2014 because not so many calls came in that year!)

Marcy purchased the 123notary loan signing course. She didn’t study it that hard in the beginning, because she didn’t realize how important the information in it was. She decided to learn the hard way. You’ll see when you read the stories of all the trouble she got herself into.

Point (1) The Deed of Trust — Quick Facts!

(1) The Deed of Trust is the security instrument. BTW: The term Instrument means document.

(2) The Deed of Trust must be notarized. Make sure you have thumbprints in your journal for any deed.

(3) The Deed of Trust is recorded with the county recorder of the county where the property is located. The people at the County Recorders Office can often be picky and will not tolerate: cross-outs, smudgy or light seal impressions, or incomplete notarizations. Some recorders are pickier than others, so assume that they will all be very picky. If your notarization is rejected by the County Clerk, someone will have to notarize it all over again, and the borrower could experience a costly delay in their loan.

(4) As a general rule, the borrower must sign the Deed of Trust as their name appears on Title. If you use a Signature Affidavit, you might be able to have them sign in a different way, although the loan might be rejected by the Lender, in which case you might have to start all over again after a redraw.

(5) It is often required for the borrower to initial each page of the Deed of Trust

(6) The Deed of Trust is referred to as The Mortgage in many states, which is similar in essence, although there are some legal differences between the two documents which we will not discuss here.

The Deed of Trust states:

(a) The loan amount

(b) Who the lender is (and their contact information)

(d) The location and description of the property.

(e) When the loan matures (or when the loan expires: e.g., 05-31-2031)

(f) Who the trustors and trustees are

(g) The loan is secured by the property.

(h) A Description of the Property

The Deed of Trust also mentions that the borrower has to pay taxes, principle, interest, late charges, etc. It doesn’t list figures other than the loan amount, but those will be in the note and/or other documents. Deeds of trust usually range from being 2 to 30 pages. Various other terms and explanations are in this instrument, however, those terms are not of much importance to the Signing Agent.

Riders. The Deed of Trust could come with various riders. We will not discuss the riders in this section since they are numerous and self explanitory. There are little check boxes in the Deed of Trust that will indicate which riders would be included.

You might also like:
30 Point Course Table of Contents
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14233

Point (2) The Note
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14270

Deed of Trust (glossary entry)
http://www.123notary.com/deed-of-trust.asp

Comments (2)

30 Point Test Course Book: Synopsis

Filed under: 30 Point Course,Popular on Facebook (shares),Popular on Facebook (very),Popular on Linked In — Tags: 30 point course — admin @ 5:21 am

30 Points in Your Favor!
The 30 point course book is yet another certification course offered by 123notary.com. But, this one is different. Our original certification course was a very dryly written quick course designed to teach notaries basic competency in loan signing. Our Elite course was written in late 2012 and was designed to teach very sophisticated aspects of doing business as a mobile notary such as communication, marketing, hiring others, and the finer aspects of notary and signing agent work. This new 30 point course will have some elements from both of these previously written courses, but will focus only on the technical aspects of notary and signing agent work of all levels ranging from basic to very advanced. Also, be sure to read about the new loan document which goes over facts and figures about the loan called, “The Loan Estimate” which is similar in information to the TIL & HUD-1.

Required additional reading

Best blog articles for advanced Notaries – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14736
Mobile Offices from A to Z – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=535
Signing Agent Best Practices – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=4315
The Prepayment Penalty – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=4429
The Loan Estimate (New) – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15437

Table of Contents

Page Titles

Each post about the 30 point course will have a story and several points which could make the titles appear a bit long.
Titles might look like this:
Point (13) The Automatic Payment Disclosure; Story: Marcy’s Babysitter

Use this link to see all published posts in a string in reverse order:
http://blog.123notary.com/?tag=30-point-course

How is it different from the Elite course?
The Elite certification course was designed to get its students an upper arm in the notary business. It was designed to help them be a pro at negotiation, growing their business, and handling difficult strategic situations. The overall aim of the course was to help them make more money, grow their business, and gain attention from having the Yellow Elite Certification Icon next to their name on the search results. Notaries who passed are far more intelligent, sophisticated, and get a lot more work than their competitors in high spots on 123notary who lack the Elite designation. Based on my personal experience, I would vouch for the fact that a 123notary Elite signer has quadruple the signing agent knowledge as an uncertified signer. Although they don’t know everything, the depth and breadth of their knowledge is quite noticeable if you talk shop with them for more than a few minutes.

This 30 point course is only designed to teach notaries how to deal with technical situations like a pro, but not designed to help them get rich (although more knowledge never hurts). If you do well on the 30 point test, you can consider taking our Elite course. It will be easy for you if you got a high score on the 30 point test.

Summary of the 30 point course
The 30 point course will cover a wide range of notary and signing agent technical topics including following directions, best practices, understanding what information is where in the documents and more. Additionally, we added some entertaining stories to help make the text more enjoyable for the reader. There will be many stories which are designed to drive certain technical facts home in a pleasant and absorbing way.

Please Note
Not all of the questions covered in the 30 point test are taught in this course. Please rely on your personal experience as a notary to answer test questions not addressed in this course.

You might also like:

What’s the difference between 16 clicks a month and 100 on 123notary?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=13185

From 3 jobs a week to 3 jobs a day!
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=3940

A detailed look at the Ninja course
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=4621

Interview with a Title company
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=3724

Comments (4)

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