Our friend Marcy had screwed up a few signings by now. But, she wouldn’t give up. She was determined. She was unfortunately determined to go out there because her friends told her to have confidence and go out there. What she really needed to do is more studying before she screwed up anyone else’s loan. Maybe after this screw up she’ll hit the books before she accumulates some more bad karma.
ROCHESTER: Hi, you must be Marcy, the Notary.
MARCY: Sure, yes, just call me Marcy. Oh, that’s what you called me. Yes, I usually go by Marcy.
ROCHESTER: So, can I offer you a glass of orange juice before the signing?
MARCY: Yes, that would be wonderful. But, we’ll put it on a separate table or chair. I don’t want to tell you what happened at Starbucks a few days ago.
ROCHESTER: Oh, I love Starbucks. How could anything go wrong there?
MARCY: Oh boy. Let’s not talk about it. Let’s just make sure nothing goes wrong here.
ROCHESTER: Nothing can go wrong. I went over all the numbers with my Lender this morning. Just relax.
MARCY: Okay, no surprises then. Here are the documents. Let’s sign away.
ROCHESTER: Okay, hmmm. Uh-oh. My name.
MARCY: Your name? Your name is Rochester Smith.
ROCHESTER: That’s the whole thing. The docs have my name as Rochester T Smith. I never sign that way.
MARCY: No problem, I have the Lender’s phone number on speed dial, and your ID has your name as… uh-oh!!! (ring-ring) hmmm, he doesn’t seem to be picking up. Typical Lender. Always there to sell you a loan, but never there when you’re at the signing and something goes wrong. I think we need a 3-way appointment next time to make sure they are available. I’ll just leave a message.
ROCHESTER: Well, I can’t sign like this. I never sign with my middle initial.
MARCY: I can’t notarize you with the middle initial anyway since it is not on your ID.
ROCHESTER: Well, we’ll have to end the signing then. I’m so sorry Marcy.
MARCY: Oh, it’s okay.
Little did Marcy know that she could use the Signature Affidavit and AKA statement to write in all of Rochester’s name variations including the one without the middle initial. They could sign the docs as one of the variations such as printed on his ID, and the loan would go through unless the Lender objected. Lender’s often plan on selling the loan, so they don’t want too many (or any) discrepencies. Since Rochester wouldn’t be able to get another ID, the Lender wouldn’t have too much choice in the matter other than to forfeit the loan after his many hours of involvement. Once again, Marcy ruined another loan because she didn’t do her homework. Sounds like some of the notaries on 123notary who didn’t want to take additional certification courses and tests because they didn’t “need” to. Oh well. Perhaps it is really the Lender’s fault for choosing an untested Notary.
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Point (10) The Signature Affidavit and AKA Statement
Signature Affidavit
There are many variations to this one. Here are some other names: Name Affidavit, Signature Affidavit and AKA Statement, Signature Name Affidavit, etc. These documents are often sworn oaths; if so, make sure to have the borrower(s) raise their right hand and swear to the correctness of the document or whatever the document asks them to swear to. This document is the one where people have to, or are allowed to, list all of their names including previous names from a long time back.
Generally, the name that the borrower is using in all of the documents appears on the top of the page; they have to sign to the right of that. Then, if they have name variations, those will be listed below. The printed name variations are usually on the left while the borrowers should sign to the right. The spelling of the names on the forms are not always correct. The names are obtained from credit reports that, at times, have the names misspelled. Keep your eyes open. Be sure that the borrower signs the variations exactly as they are spelled. Watch them like a hawk. Borrowers always screw this document up. If the names are not their real names, explain to them that the information came from credit reports. The data entry clerks who work at the credit bureau don’t always have good spelling skills. However on this particular document, the borrower has to sign exactly the way the misspelled name is anyway.
Notarizing the Signature Affidavit
This document is almost always notarized. Be careful doing your acknowledgment wording. If the person has one or more name variations, then the wording should be as follows (this is the California wording, it may not apply in other states, and I’ll skip the beginning wording):
The person(s) [cross out the ‘s’] whose name(s) [don’t cross this ‘s’ out although it is a habit] is/are [cross out the ‘is’] subscribed to the within instrument and acknowledged to me that ——— by his/her/their signature(s) [keep the ‘s’] ——-
It is difficult to remember how to fill out the wording for a single person with multiple names. Please refer to the Signature Affidavit in the sample document section to see how the wording is done.
The most important fact about the Signature Affidavit: If a borrower insists on signing in a way that is different from the name printed on the documents, the loan will often (not always, but often) still go through if that name they are using during the signing shows up in the Signature Affidavit. As always, ask the Lender before you use any name variation that is different from what is printed on the signature area of the documents. But, if the Lender doesn’t answer their phone — and they often don’t, then you are forced to use the skills you learned by learning the ropes! Just be sure not to hang yourself with one.
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You might also like:
The 30 Point Course Table of Contents
http://blog.123notary.com/?cat=3442
30 Point Course (11) Following Directions
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14379
The Signature Affidavit
http://blog.123notary.com/?s=signature+affidavit
The Signature Name Affidavit: Not a substitute for an ID
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=3823
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Can you notarize a signature in Chinese or another alphabet?
What if the signer signs in Chinese characters or hyroglyphics?
I once had a signer who wanted to sign in Chinese. It is prudent for a Notary to check the signature on a signer’s ID and make sure it matches the signature on the document. Otherwise, you might suspect fraud. But, is it legal to notarize a signature in Chinese? On your Notary certificate you have to write the person’s name in English.
My logic is that many English language signatures are incomprehensible scribbles. So, what’s the difference between an American scribble and a Chinese scribble? You can’t make sense of either one. The signer’s name was something like John C Wang and he had three corresponding Chinese characters. He claimed that scribble #1 represented the John and the next one the C, etc. I was unclear about the law in this case, but his signature matched his ID which is why I let him do it this way as matching signatures are a requirement for prudent Notarization.
But, on another occassion I was asked to teleport back into time to notarize in hyroglyphics at a pyramid. The provided a time machine and gallactic portal. I went back into time (air conditioning not included) and got to the site where they needed a notary. We spent an hour drinking tea, making small talk and negotiating my fee. They talked me out of a travel fee since they provided the travel arrangements. I also didn’t want to negotiate too hard as I didn’t want them to get mad at me otherwise I might not have a trip back to 2016. So, we sat down at the signing table, saw the guy’s ID, etc.
NOTARY: For security, may I know your mummy’s maiden name?
KING TUT: Which one?
NOTARY: Okay, please sign the journal
KING TUT: Okay…
NOTARY: Oh, forgot. I’m not allowed to Notarize hyrogliphics.
KING TUT: But, this is how I sign! And by the way, you are out of your jurisdiction, and your commission is not current here as it hasn’t been originated for another 5000 years.
NOTARY: Hmmm, good point. But, the pistachios were good and I enjoyed the time machine so it wasn’t a complete waste of time — or reverse time as the case may be.
KING TUT: Okay, how about I get into the time machine with you, go to California in 2016 where you are commissioned, and make up some English language name.
NOTARY: That might work. But you need an ID from a government that has a photo and physical description.
KING TUT: No problem, I’ll just go down to the DMV and pick one up.
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You might also like:
Where can I find a Chinese speaking notary?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=1640
Notary procedure for Affidavit of Support documents
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=1421
How do I get a foreign language document notarized?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18788
Notarizing your foreign language document! (Ken’s guide)
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=2768
General notary public information
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20075