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November 5, 2016

Affidavit of Citizenship

Filed under: Affidavits,Popular on Facebook (some) — Tags: — admin @ 9:52 am

What is an Affidavit of Citizenship?
The Affidavit of Citizenship is a common legal form that is required by immigration services in some cases. Many people need to get an Affidavit of Citizenship Notarized. This document is normally notarized using the Notary act called a Jurat which requires a sworn oath.

Terminology:

Jurat — a type of Notarization that involves a Sworn Oath where the Notary must sign before the Notary Public.
Affiant — the person or individual who swears under Oath perhaps before a Judge or Notary Public.
Affirmation — For those who do not believe in swearing under Oath, many states allow them to Affirm that information is correct while under Oath.
Oath — a solemn Notary act where the signer (who is also the Affiant) raises their right hand and swears under Oath to the truthfulness of the document, or just makes up their own Oath wording for a particular official purpose or commission.
Affidavit — a document (perhaps a legal document) which requires an Affiant to swear under Oath before a Notary to have it notarized.

Drafting an Affidavit of Citizenship
Most Notaries are not authorized to draft legal documents. It is prudent to contact an Attorney or or someone authorized to draft documents. If you appear before a Notary and ask for a notarized Affidavit of Citizenship, the Notary will ask you to present the document to him/her. If you don’t have a document and expect the Notary to write it, you are wasting the Notary’s time. It might not even be legal for a Notary to draft such a document as they are not an Attorney in most cases. So, have a professional draft up a quick document for you, perhaps at a low-cost legal center. After the document is complete — then contact a notary.

Notarizing an Affidavit of Citizenship
A sample wording for an Affidavit of Citizenship might be —

“I, Joe Smith solemnly swear that I am a citizen of the United States of America, so help me God.”
Signature of Affiant _____________________

The Notary could attach a Jurat certificate to the document with this statement. The Notary would ask the signer to raise his/her right hand and swear under Oath to the truthfulness of the statement. Then the Notary would fill in the Jurat form, sign it, and stamp it with his/her official Notary Seal. The Notary needs to be paid whatever the state regulated Notary fee is for a Jurat. Additionally, many Notaries engage in traveling Notary work and should be paid a travel fee, plus waiting time if applicable.

Can the Affidavit of Support be in Spanish?
Official legal documents filed in the United States should be written in English unless you have written permission to write it in Spanish or another language.

Giving Legal Advice
A non-Attorney may not give legal advice. Most Notaries are not Attorneys and therefore may not give legal advice. Additionally, Notaries Public are not authorized to assist in the immigration process or give advice regarding immigration. If you have a legal quesiton or an immigration question, do not ask a Notary, rather, ask an authorized person such as an immigration official, Attorney, or perhaps someone authorized in a legal support profession at a law office if applicable.

What are some other notarized immigration documents or regular documents?
The Affidavit of Support is another commonly notarized immigration document. It states that a particular individual will take care of the sponsored individual in financial and other ways. Basically, a family member can attempt to assist another family member enter the United States by signing an Affidavit of Support. In addition to immigration documents, it is common for Notaries to notarize permission for minors to travel outside of the United States with an adult. Deeds, contracts, Power of Attorney, other types of Affidavits, Name Affidavits, Titles, and other types of documents are regularly notarized as well.

Where can I find a Notary to notarize my Affidavit of Support?
Right here on 123notary.com’s advanced search page! You can find a Spanish speaking Notary by using the language filter on the upper right corner of the search results after you have searched by zip code.

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You might also like:

Modern Family – an affidavit of citizenship & affidavit of domicile notarized
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=10989

2011 version of Affidavit of Citizenship
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=2028

Index of information about documents
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20258

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September 19, 2016

Do you negotiate fees correctly over the phone?

Filed under: Marketing Articles,Popular on Facebook (A little),Popular on Linked In — Tags: , , — admin @ 8:54 pm

Most Notaries study from loan signing classes, but never study the art of negotiation. Negotiating is not hard, but it is an art. Turks, Persians and Indians seem to excel at this while Americans haven’t a clue. In negotiating Notary fees, the secret is to make sure the other person makes an offer first. If you offer first, it might be too low in which case you’ll lose money. Or it might be too high in which case they’ll think you are too expensive and might not want to bargain. If they offer first, you can raise the price by $15 or $20 and still be in their ballpark or just agree if they are being reasonable.

On the other hand, if you want a reputation of charging fair fees for solid work, you can have a pricing formula based on time spent or even have fixed fees, or mileage fees. If you charge $110 per signing, that seems reasonable. They can always bargain you down to $85, and if it’s not too far, you might say yes and make some fast money.

I remember talking to a sub teacher who made $90 per day. Making $85 in two hours including driving and printing is better than $90 in a day. So, you are making more than teachers who are supposed to be the pillars of education in society today.

The other thing to remember is that you have to get your facts and terms straight before you quote a realistic price. If you don’t know how many pages, fax backs, signers, and notarizations there are, you might not give a true price. If you don’t know if the company is fibbing about the # of pages you’re in trouble too. If you don’t know if you get paid if the loan doesn’t fund, you’re in trouble too. Terms are as important as price or anything else. You can negotiate a $500 price, but if the loan doesn’t fund, you might get zilch.

So, put all the cards on the table before you quote your rate. You can quote first, or wait for them to make an offer. Additionally, most Notaries prefer phone offers to emails or texts because they can bargain more easily. You can bargain in any medium. Just state your rate and state your terms by text, email or phone. It is the same — just more delays in feedback.

You might also like:

A comprehensive guide to Notary pricing
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16504

Can you negotiate prices with SnapDocs?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16236

Negotiating with aggressive callers
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16278

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September 5, 2016

Experienced signers are being weeded out of the industry

Filed under: Marketing Articles,Popular on Facebook (comments),Popular on Facebook (some) — Tags: , , , — admin @ 9:37 am

In the old days, Notaries would make so much money. People could make $150 per signing if they had experience. $125 was a standard fee for Title companies. Unfortunately, even Title companies have lowered their fees to poverty level and hire beginners who fax back tons of pages so the Title company can quality check them. This is a sad state of affairs. But, honestly there is a shortage of qualified Notaries who can be trusted without all of the fax backs.

The problem is that for the few Notaries that are worth paying extra for, there is not enough business. You also cannot make your business model on hiring top notch Notaries since there are so few of them. A top notch Notary on 123notary merits about $110 to $125 per signing and are getting that in real life. There are about 2000 Notaries who are 123notary certified which demonstrates basic knowledge. There are about 250 who are Elite Certified which proves superior Notary skills and understanding. The elite certified Notaries are making the money, but the volume isn’t there. And as a result, many Notaries have dropped out of the profession. It is sad that some of the best Notaries dropped out and even sadder that they dropped out due to price competition.

So, inexperienced Notaries who work for $40 are being phased in while experts are leaving the field. I hope one day that this will change. Let’s pray!

On the other hand, Notaries with experience are weeding themselves off of the SnapDocs database. More and more Notaries are sick of the low-balling and cattle calls that go on over there. They are relying more on their long-term contacts, and other directories as a source of work.

(Added 1-01-2017)
With interest rates on the rise, business is likely to be slow in 2017. Goldman Sachs predicts a slow and steady rise in interest rates over the next year with a tenth of a percent average rise per quarter. This will be very bad for the Notary industry and I pray that we don’t lose our best members.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/here-are-goldmans-2017-forecasts-for-stocks-oil-and-more-in-one-chart-2016-11-18?link=sfmw_tw

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Organizing the table for efficiency
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=22245

Best blog articles for advanced Notaries
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14736

My interpretation of how the Notary industry went South
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16500

See our string of Snapdocs articles
http://blog.123notary.com/?tag=snapdocs

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September 3, 2016

URGENT – virus RANSOMWARE info

Filed under: Ken Edelstein,Popular on Linked In — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 12:42 am

URGENT – virus RANSOMWARE info

I just received, in the same day, 3 emails purporting to be from Amazon. The subject said that my package had been shipped. That’s strange; I’m not expecting anything from them. Of course it was a virus; and an especially nasty variant. Ransomware encrypts the contents of your hard drive and demands payment for the password to unlock the drive. If this hits you – you only have two options. Pay it ransom and “hope” they send you the password – and not ask for more money. Or, just wipe the drive and rebuild your system from “nothing”. Depending on the specific variant, the encryption can be done using either the AES 128-bit or RSA 2048-bit encryption algorithms – which are extremely difficult to break. Put in other words, unless you have the computing power of the CIA, you can’t break the code.

Regular readers know that I have been a computer person all my life, really. My personal PC has many layers of defenses. Think of a castle: high walls, archers on the ramparts, a moat, alligators in the moat, you get the idea. Well, my system has 9 layers of defenses, and those emails were not caught till layer 7. They should have never been forwarded by my Internet Service Provider – but they were. You, yes YOU need to learn how to protect yourself – or – eventually pay the consequences. I have discussed PC protection in prior blogs and will not rehash, but rather present some new material.

With the assumption that you have a decent anti-virus program, AND it automatically keeps itself current by downloading updates – at least daily; AND you have a backup methodology – read on. Wow, that was a long sentence even for me; but those two are the most important things you can do.

Next, you need to understand that some types of attachments can be nasty. Most of the time, there might be exceptions; good old .doc files are safe, as are .txt – most of the time. Some types are poison, the very commonly sent .js or java script is the classic virus spreader. The one that attacked me was .docm that little M at the end is really, really, nasty. It stands for document with a Macro (executable code that can do ** anything ** to your computer) – just by opening it with your word processing program. Now that’s really sneaky. The little “built in” macro does not actually scramble your computer, it needs help. So, it contacts the “mother ship” and downloads the real ransomware – slick, efficient, and deadly.

To protect yourself – DO NOT BE CURIOUS. Just delete the email, I’m good with computers, I know enough to not open emails that are unexpected – NEVER. Next, make sure your PC is set to show you the file extension. When you look at the attachment does it say ClosingDocs or ClosingDocs.PDF? Learn how to configure your PC to show the “file type” – and change it to show the complete file name. Be aware that some will have, to fool you, multiple “file type” such as ClosingDocs.pdf.js – if you are not configured to see the complete file name it will appear without the final extension of .js – make sure to do this. You should not ever “hide” the file extension – there is NO good reason – it’s commonly the default to make the files look “simpler” to the casual user. Check to see if your word processor supports prohibiting some “file types” – if so configure it to either not allow .js .docm (and many others, find out which) – or to at the very least to ask you “are you sure you want to open this type of file”.

Malware that simply destroys your computer is certainly still being created by sick puppies. This up and coming threat of ransomware is growing – they can, and do receive money from their victims. When you pay, usually via money wire to an offshore location – they may or may not “honor” their commitment. Again: anti-virus up to date, regular backups, file extensions displayed, and never click a link or open an email unless you are very, very sure what it is; and/or where you are going. You probably do thousands of clicks a month – it only takes one DUMB one to literally put you in a world of grief. Don’t be curious!

You might also like:

Apps that Notaries have never heard of
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16311

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May 9, 2016

Best Marketing Resources for Notaries

Filed under: Marketing Articles,Popular on Facebook (shares),Popular on Facebook (some) — Tags: , , , , , , , — admin @ 3:19 am

Are you a mobile Notary? Do you want to expand your business? It’s hard to get a lot of Notary business, especially in this economy. However, if you play your cards right, you can do amazingly well. Here are some of our best marketing articles for the new or veteran Notary to get ahead.

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ACTIVE MARKETING
Please consider that you need ACTIVE marketing as well as PASSIVE marketing. Active marketing involves contacting signing and title companies one by one in addition to Attorneys, hospitals, and anyone else you wish to work for. Active marketing will be more labor intensive in the beginning of your career as you do not start out by being on any organization’s list. However, once you are on the lists of at least 200 companies, then you will most likely be spending more of your time working and less of your time looking for work.

Also Read: How to start a successful mobile notary business from scratch
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=13340

Getting on board with Title & Signing Companies
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14851

Dormant Contacts
Even after you are on the list of a company, you still need to contact them from time to time to just let them know you exist and want to work. We suggest that when Notary business is slow in the beginning of the month you schedule time to call your contacts who are dormant in hopes that they might actually use you one day.

Requirements for work
* Certain big title companies like Chicago Title require 500,000 E&O Insurance
* Other title companies want 100,000 E&O
* Some Notaries show off by having a million in E&O which is expensive and makes you a target for lawsuits.
* Others want a current background check from a reputable vendor such as the NNA or Sterling, but not necessarily from the other vendors.
* Some want vast experience as a Notary while others prefer beginners who will work for cheap. If you work for companies that hire beginners they will micromanage you. If you are tired of being micromanaged, try to work directly for companies that hire experienced and reliable Notaries.

Is an NNA background check really necessary to get work?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=10385

Certifications
Many companies like it when Notaries are certified. But, there are many vendors offering certification and which one is the best? NNA certification is the most widespread and widely recognized in the industry. But, on 123notary, people looking to hire Notaries pick 123notary certified members more then twice as often as they pick Notaries who aren’t. My suggestion is to be certified by three or more agencies — that way you’ve covered all of the bases and will make quite an impression.

Printers
As a Notary, you should have a fast and reliable printer and perhaps a backup printer. Dual tray laser printers are the standard tool of seasoned Notaries. Single tray printers might be okay if you have software to figure out what size paper is for which document. Some Notaries print everything on legal although some Lenders might not appreciate that.

Professional Dress
Business casual is the official dress code for Notaries. No shorts, flip flops, tank tops, jeans or torn clothing please.

Low-Ball Offers
As a Notary, you will receive a lot of low-ball offers. Notaries complain endlessly about this. If you are not an experienced Notary, low-ball offers might be your ticket to getting experience. Personally, I feel that new Notaries do not merit high paying Notary jobs and should work for low fees. However, once you have educated yourself in the “art of the signing” and have paid your dues by accumulating an experience of more than 2000 loans, you should get paid at least an average of $110 per signing otherwise something is very wrong. The economy does change over time and wages change too, so be flexible and work for whatever people will pay you.

Related Content: Low-Ball Signing Companies? How to get biz directly from Title
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14950

Cattle Call Notary Offers
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=9841

Setting Prices
Notaries need to be flexible and realistic about what they charge. Some Notaries are too snobby to take low paying jobs and end up starving. Other Notaries take too many low paying jobs and miss out on the good jobs because they are too busy working for peanuts and then spending their profits on gas, toner, paper, and other expenses. You need a sophisticated model for pricing that incorporates the time of the month (month-end is busier and should be more expensive) distance, timing, traffic, and how many pages the job will be.

* Base your prices on how long you estimate a job to take including traffic.
* Lower your prices at the beginning of the month when business is slow
* Expect to be paid poorly until you have at least 1000 loans signed
* To get paid well, you need a constant supply of regular clients who pay well which you accumulate over time
* You need to advertise heavily to get a constant supply of new clients in hopes that some will become regulars.
* You need to be on time, be nice, not make mistakes and get docs back on time to get rehired.
* Base job time on the name lf the Lender as packages from particular banks are normally a particular (+/-) number of pages and then factor in traffic on the route you’ll take at that particular time of the day, night or weekend.

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PASSIVE MARKETING
Passive marketing involves advertising on directories. Once your ad is out there, companies can find you. However, not all advertisements attract the same amount of business, and not all Notary directories are equal. Online yellow pages are yet another way to advertise as well as Google local, however we do not know much about the results of such advertising. Passive marketing is very powerful as you get motivated buyers calling you when they really need something done. However, most Notaries are neglectful in the creation and maintenance of their advertisements and do not get the full potential of their investment. A good Notary profile has reviews from satisfied clients, certifications, and a powerful and well organized notes section. You need to do everything right to maximize your results.

Where to advertise
123notary, Notary Rotary, Notary Cafe, and Signingagent.com are the four most powerful players in the Notary advertising business — in that order. You should advertise on all four with a paid listing. 123notary offers high placed listings. We suggest that you pass our certification before investing in a high placed listing. High placed listings get you more business as well as better quality (and better paying) Title company jobs — and it means that you will be seen first before people start scrolling deep and shopping around.

How to create an amazing notes section
We have written many articles on this overlooked topic which you should read and study. If you want to get ahead, become an expert at the art of the notes section. Companies read what you have to say about yourself, and if you have very little to say, or just a bunch of fluff, you are not likely to get hired. Notaries who do well have thorough and factual information about themselves that is neatly organized into paragraphs. They cover their areas of expertise, certifications, professional memberships, equipment, notes about what is unique about how they handle business, segments on their professional history before they were a Notary particularly if it has some sort of business or Mortgage related relevance, and more.

Everything you need to know about writing a good notes section
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16074

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

Being 24 hours helps a lot
If you want to get more business, offer service to more counties, and during more hours. It is just common sense — do the math. Some Notaries only want to service their home county during their “flexible” hours of 9-5 while others are 24 hours and cover eighteen counties. If you need to sleep, then limit your hours from 6am to midnight, but the more flexible you are, the more business you can accumulate.

Reviews are essential
We have written many blog entries on reviews and are publishing a comprehensive guide to reviews as well around the same time I publish this article. The important concepts to remember are:

* Six reviews will double your new business from our site
* After you have six reviews you will get a small marginal benefit from each additional review
* Well written reviews count more
* Don’t get multiple reviews the same day or it looks like you wrote them yourself
* Reviews that are three or more years old do not benefit you much, so always get new reviews.
* You might need to ask ten people to get a single review, but it’s worth it.
* Signing & Title companies are horrible about writing reviews since everybody bugs them to do it
* Individuals are easier to get reviews from, so do some jobs for individuals
* Ask for a review when someone compliments you on your work otherwise don’t ask.
* Email requests for reviews in addition to asking in person. Email them a LINK to your review page. That will take the work out of trying to find the page which I assure you people don’t have the time or patience to do.

Related Reading: A comprehensive guide to reviews
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16290

Company Names
It will help you to have a company name in the long run. But, think long and hard about what you name your Notary business. Names with geographical significance are recommended. Names with notorial or Mortgage significance might be good. General business names that are not relevant to this industry might not be ideal.

Choosing a name for your business license
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=7103

Keep your information up to date
Many Notaries create a listing and forget about it. Your listing is like a plant — it needs to be watered and trimmed from time to time otherwise it will wither. Login to your listing every few months, we require it, and it is good for the popularity of your listing. Browsers can see the date you last logged in. If you login more regularly you’ll attract browsers that care about how well you maintain your listing. After all, if you neglect your listing, you might neglect their loan! Update your # of signings and touch up your notes section regularly with anything new that you learned or any new way you have of expressing yourself. You can also email us for free help with your notes section — and yes, we do free notary notes makeovers.

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ADDITIONAL READING

General Marketing

Long term marketing plans
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15793

I signed up with 200 companies only to get work twice
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15445

Notary Advertising

Unique notary notes phrases from the Ninja course
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14690

7 ways to use Facebook to market your notary services
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=5396

Pricing & Income

$40 for a signing 72 miles away?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14959

What is the difference between getting 16 clicks per day & 100+?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=13185

How much more does a 123notary certified signer make?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15392

Here is another way to make $4000 more per year
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14162

Is $75 enough to print 2 sets of docs & do faxbacks?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=10369

He made $35,000 a month his first year in business
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=3894

Other

Which tasks can you do which are worth $1000 per minute?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=4113

123notary behind the scenes
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=2499

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March 8, 2016

The Ones That Got Away

Filed under: Ken Edelstein — Tags: , — admin @ 5:53 am

The Ones That Got Away
It happens to all of us. We put time and effort into establishing an assignment, then it goes poof. Did we do something wrong? Possibly. If someone is fishing for the absolute lowest price for the “equivalent” of what you do; that may or may not be you. But the amount of your fee is not the central theme of this installment. It is the non-price issues that will be explored. So, assuming your fee is reasonable to the caller; why did that one get away?

Excluding walk in situations; virtually all of our notary assignments are initiated by phone or email. Some contacts are doomed from the start. Case in point: this evening I had a caller that needed two signatures notarized. It was for a “kiddie fly” (what I call the notarized authorization statement often required from parents for children to leave the USA). Both had good ID. One of the parents would be present; the other was far away. The flight was for 6AM tomorrow. “I have the ID of my partner and you can speak to and see them via picture phone”. Not an option in NY, personal appearance is always required. Add a bit of pressure: “Unless you do this the kid’s vacation with the grandparents will be ruined, we can’t reschedule and the tickets are non-refundable”. Nope.

Today I also had a “got away” that greatly pleased me. The request was from a distant county, with high tolls and heavy traffic. I goofed. I quoted a fee too low for the effort, I’m sure that pleased them greatly. The assignment was to go there, notarize, return to Manhattan, process an Apostille; then bring the completed job back to the distant location. Making it worse, the initial meeting time would have me traveling in the worst part of rush hour. The delivery trip would have been almost as bad. The good news: we had a conceptual agreement that would be confirmed with a follow up call with exact specifications. They never called back! Hooray.

Both of the above, thankfully, were resolved in the initial contact. Sometimes there are many, many contacts that also result in nothing. I’m starting to feel like a car salesman with an indecisive buyer. Unchecked this can go to ridiculous extremes. Some go back and forth, asking one at a time of their many questions. During slack times I have gone along with these charades. One actually constituted over twenty emails. It appeared that the contact was “pumping” me for procedural information and wished to do it themselves. I don’t like that, certainly not a bit at a time.

There are also requests from the land of Oz. These are the ones that ask for the notary to have supernatural powers. Can you be in my office within the next ten minutes? How come you don’t have an office; isn’t every notary supposed to have one open till 11PM? Please prepare the necessary documents for my divorce in Latvia, in both English and Latvian. Why would 25 notarizations cost more than one, you are already here? Can you open your office a few hours early, as I am working the early shift? The bank notary does it for nothing, what’s so special about you?

It’s silly to lament “the ones that got away”. Of course there are exceptional circumstances that require empathy and “over the top” professionalism – but they are rare. We should limit our acceptance to practical assignments; certainly only legal ones. Many have lampooned the low baller; with their tiny offerings. But, equally, perhaps even more important is the amount of effort that you will have to put into the project. Most charge an additional fee to fax. That usually involves a trip home to the scanner, only afterward can it be shipped. Consider all aspects of the request, even if the dollars are high. Will you get out of it more than you put into it?

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You might also like:

Don’t call title or borrower?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15066

A comprehensive guide to Notary Pricing
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16504

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February 15, 2016

If you contact Title companies directly, what do they want?

Filed under: Marketing Articles,Popular on Facebook (A little),Popular on Linked In,Popular on Twitter — Tags: , , — admin @ 6:29 am

Notaries don’t always know what to furnish a company with. They approach us by emailing their E&O, and all sorts of stuff we don’t want. I used to contact Title companies and here is what they most commonly want.

A Rate Sheet
If you have a quick flyer with your rates, areas you cover, and quick notes on your experience, types of loans you know how to sign, and your contact info, that will go over well.

Speak with Confidence
Don’t be afraid of Title companies. They aren’t monsters. They are just monstrously busy and they escape from their busy prison like bats out of hell at the end of the day. It is difficult to get the same rep twice as they are always busy and will only treat you like a priority if they actually need you or if they are really bored.

Have at least 1000 Signings
I would recommend getting your basic experience working for the signing companies who you dislike the most. Yes, the low-ballers with the fax backs and annoying micromanaging techniques. At 123notary, we quiz Notaries over the phone and the ones with less than 5000 signings normally are not so informed about basic loan signing techniques and facts. I would recommend waiting until you have at least one or two thousand signings and two or three official certifications from different agencies before calling the Title companies directly.

Notaries Bearing Gifts
Old school Notaries often bring donuts, bagels, and small gifts. To stick positively in someone’s mind, small gifts help. If you want to get exotic and give Chinese moon cakes, Arabic baklava, or Indian kulfi, that is good too assuming your gifts are appreciated.

What do they Really Want?
Girls just want to have fun
Title company reps just want to go home.
I’m going to sleep now.
Good night!

You might also like:

Everything you need to know about writing a great notes section
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16074

I just got two jobs & they found me on 123notary. What now?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15857

He took Jeremy’s advice and got new title companies
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=22277

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February 8, 2016

Snapdocs, this is what we’ve learned about their Notaries

Filed under: Advertising,Marketing Articles,Popular on Facebook (very),Popular on Twitter,Popular Overall — Tags: , , , — admin @ 6:24 am

I recently visited Snapdocs to see how good their Notaries are. I called a dozen or so to sort of dip my toe in the water so to speak. Here are some quick facts based on my experience:

1. Snapdocs mostly brand new Notaries. New Notaries are often very enthusiastic and excited about learning.

2. The # of signings listed on Snapdocs is not an accurate number. It reflects how many loans were signed through their affiliation with Snapdocs and not in total.

3. Many of the numbers I called on Snapdocs were disconnected

4. Many of the Notaries on Snapdocs do not answer their phone.

5. Most of the Notaries on Snapdocs are not listed on other Notary directories which is refreshing.

6. Information on profiles on Snapdocs is very limited

7. Snapdocs has a very good document downloading system and we’ve heard they have a good loan assignment dispatch system as well.

8. Snapdocs is very popular and has thousands of Notaries on their site which is unusual for such a new notary directory (except for the new directories that copied all of our listings and then went out of business.)

I don’t know if I would recommend for or against Snapdocs, but they are the only Notary directory that has caught on since 123notary became popular in 2002 — and that is exciting! Let’s see where their newly found success takes them.

You might also like:

More on Snapdocs, the Uber of the Notary industry
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16236

Has anyone used Snapdocs?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15831

State of the Notary Industry Union Address
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16244

October Signing Company Gossip
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15327

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November 26, 2015

The Stolen Loan Package

Filed under: General Stories,Popular on Facebook (A little),Popular Overall — Tags: , — admin @ 8:58 am

Very rarely do we hear of loan packages getting stolen, but it does happen. One of my assistants was on the phone with a client who told her a horror story. Normally, we think that Fedex drop boxes are for dropping packages. However, if you read our blog article entitled, “Don’t Put the Fedex in the Drop Box” you will know better. Aparantly, the Notary put several packages in various drop boxes. Two made it where they were supposed to go while one got stolen. Someone got into one of the Fedex boxes and stole the contents. We heard that the combination for the drop boxes was the same for drop boxes in particular areas. I heard that after the theft happened, that unique combinations were created for all drop boxes on the same routes, etc. I cannot guarantee that I have my facts correct as this is all one big story I heard from someone — but, it’s an interesting and dramatic story.

Take your Fedexes to staffed locations if you value your career!

You might also like:

Should you send the Fedex right away?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16166

Don’t put the Fedex in the drop box
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=2831

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June 20, 2015

Un-TIL they make the change! — CFPB’s New Mortgage Disclosure Rule

Filed under: Technical & Legal — Tags: , , , — admin @ 10:22 am

Know Before You Owe!
“The CFPB will be issuing a proposed amendment to delay the effective date of the Know Before You Owe rule until October 1, 2015.”
You can owe without knowing for the time being!

Currently, loan document packages include a Truth in Lending and often a Good Faith Estimate. The problem is that these documents are confusing. The Good Faith Estimate, TIL and HUD-1 have overlapping information and it is often hard to know which document has the final information unless you are a seasoned Notary.

The New Document will be Called “The Loan Estimate.”
This document will cover the loan amount, interest rate, monthly principal & interest, prepayment penalty info, balloon payment info, estimated monthly payments, tax, insurance, closing costs, and more.
http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201311_cfpb_kbyo_loan-estimate.pdf

The APR Revisited
In addition to starting the APR on page three, there will be yet another figure to make Notaries crazy called the TIP which is the Total Interest Percentage which reflects the total amount of interest you will pay over the life of the loan as a percentage of the loan amount.

Other Considerations
Late payment fees, servicing, assumption, and appraisal costs will also be covered in this new and exciting document.

Is Change Good?
Honestly, this new document is somewhat of a combination of the HUD-1 and the TIL with some elaborations and improvements. I believe it is not necessary to create a new name for a document. In my opinion, this information would be better off added to existing documents so that Notaries and borrowers don’t get any more confused than they already are.

What Do Notaries Think?
Deb on LinkedIn feels that this new document will make life simpler.
Wendell on LinkedIn feels that the new forms are not any more complicated than the forms they replace.
Linda on LinkedIn feels the new forms will help Notaries as borrowers will have the chance to look the form over and learn the facts before the signing.
Kelly states that there will be a complete process change for loans in the industry and it will be more than just one new form.
https://www.linkedin.com/grp/post/4139192-6014441719272067073?trk=groups-post-b-all-cmnts

You might also like:

Technical Points for Notaries
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14492

TRID information courtesy of Carmen
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18932

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