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May 16, 2019

Notary Quiz of the day

Filed under: Humorous Posts — admin @ 11:30 am

Notaries hate being tested, but love reading Notary tests on blog entries for some reason. I’ll have to ask my psychic why that is. Maybe it is because they are not on the spot with this. Here is a fun quiz of the day.

1. Notaries notarize
(a) Documents
(b) People
(c) Signatures
(d) Signatures on Documents
(e) People’s signatures on documents.

2. Initials. If you initial a change on a loan document, where should the initial go?
(a) To the right of the crossed out text
(b) To the left of the crossed out test
(c) Above the crossed out text
(d) Anywhere around the crossed out text
(e) Below the crossed out text to the right.

The processor I used to work for did not want me to cross out the text, but initial below the text and below the right end of the text. The processing dept. would do the rest according to good old Emily. I wonder how she is.

3. What is the difference between a conflict of interest, interest, financial interest, and beneficial interest? This reminds me of the joke about the Mortgage Broker who left the industry in 2008 because he lost interest.

4. A Notary was asked to notarize a document with no signature line. What should the notary do?
(a) Ask the borrower to write in a signature line.
(b) Tell the borrower that he cannot notarize the document without a signature and signature line.
(c) Write in the signature line himself.
(d) Refuse to notarize the document.
(e) Call Carmen at 123notary and ask for help.

5. A Notary does a job for an old lady at a hospital notarizing a document. The notary asked the lady if she understood the document and she said yes. Two months later all parties were in court because the lady did not understand what she had signed. What should the notary have done?
(a) Ask the lady to paraphrase the document.
(b) Tell the lady how he went to the white house to visit President Johnson and see how she reacts.
(c) Stick to jail signings — they might be criminals, but at least they are in their right mind (whatever that means.)
(d) Start a conversation about current events to do a “reality test.”

6. A Notary was asked to notarize at the peace process. The Palestinians said you can’t have peace without a process. The Israelis said you can’t have peace without security. The Notary said you can’t have a notarization without a signature. After a long discussion, the Palestinians wanted to be acknowledged twice for one signature, Since the Israelis wouldn’t acknowledge the existence of their people, at least a Notary could acknowledge their signature twice to compensate. What is wrong with this picture?

(a) The Palestinians wanted to trade one Israeli signatures they had captive for two hundred Palestinian signatures as a peace initiative.
(b) The signer is the only one who can acknowledge a signature, not a Notary.
(c) An Israeli Notary will not acknowledge a Palestinian signature until they acknowledge the State of Israel’s signature.
(d) Yes, a single signature can be acknowledged multiple times, but it is the signer who does the acknowledging.

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March 15, 2019

Dr. Phil moderates dispute: Notaries vs. Signing Companies

Dr. PHIL: You have asked me to moderate your ongoing dispute between Notaries and signing companies. I hope that we will have a fruitful session and resolve some of your issues.

FRANK: Thank you Dr. Phil. We Notaries have been complaining for years about low-ball fees. We are sick of it and want to get paid what we deserve.

SAMANTHA: Thank you Dr. Phil. We signing companies used to have better quality Notaries to work for us. In the last several years, the quality keeps going down and down. We feel we shouldn’t have to pay much money to these Notaries who in our opinion, should not be commissioned in the first place.

FRANK: If you want better quality Notaries you are not going to get them based on what you pay.

SAMANTHA: Well, if you want more money, you won’t get it with your communication and notary skills.

Dr. PHIL: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? This conversation isn’t going anywhere. Now, Frank, I don’t know what your level of competency is as a Notary Public. If you want to get paid good money, you have to be good at what you do.

FRANK: Oh, I’m good at what I do.

SAMANTHA: No he’s not. He claims to be good at what he does. We tested him and he got 30% on our test which is so easy, high-school student could pass. We only hire him because the other Notaries are either just as bad, or charge a lot more.

Dr. PHIL: Too bad you don’t get paid for deluding yourself, you’re good at that. Now, you think you are good at what you do, but Samantha here has given you a standardized test and you failed. How can you call yourself a great Notary when you failed a very basic sounding standardized test?

FRANK: Well that’s because I’m anything but a standard Notary. And by the way, you’re just as bad as she is.

Dr. PHIL: Well, what do you think your average standard person is going to think if they know you failed your test?

FRANK: They’ll think I’m an idiot.

Dr. PHIL: So, do you think someone functioning at the level of an idiot deserves high pay? Do you think they deserve to be hired at all? Would you hire someone who failed a professional exam?

FRANK: Oh, well now that you put it that way. Hmmm. Well I thought I was good at what I did. I don’t get complaints?

Dr. PHIL: You have a complaint sitting right next to you. Do you think you’re being honest with yourself?

FRANK: In all honesty, yes… wait, can I start being honest now? Well at least I thought I was being honest with my self.

Dr. PHIL: The fact remains that you are not honest with yourself about how you are severely lacking in your knowledge of notary and signing basics. Those that hire you are not happy about that fact. They will never pay you much as long as you don’t live up to their expectations.

FRANK: What about my expectations?

SAMANTHA: We put up with this type of attitude to save $50 per signing. If we didn’t do that, we would not be able to turn a profit.

Dr. PHIL: Well you get what you pay for. Frank here is not living in reality and exhibits no willingness to learn his profession to the point where he seems hireable. Now, let me ask you a few questions Samantha. How often do the Notaries you hire make mistakes and what are the potential damages to your finances when they do make mistakes? Try to give me as many realistic scenarios as possible.

SAMANTHA: When we hire new Notaries, we screen them out first to get rid of the ones that sound really bad on the phone. The ones we hire, we encounter a 3% error rate, at least with the new hires.

Dr. PHIL: And what are the damages?

SAMANTHA: It’s really hard to say. Sometimes we have to resign. Other times we have to redraw documents. Once , a client lost his lock. But, in one isolated incident, an identity thief was notarized with a fake ID that a good Notary would have spotted. That cost us $20,000 and time in court.

Dr. PHIL: So, that sounds dangerous to me. What is the average cost of a notary mistake, all factors considered?

SAMANTHA: After doing the math, it looks like the average mistake might cost $400. Since mistakes only happen 3% of the time the cost per average job hiring questionable notaries might be $12. We are saving a lot more than $12 to hire cheaper Notaries so it seems worth it to me.

Dr. PHIL: What about the cost to your reputation and the risk of losing clients because you hire less than perfect Notaries?

SAMANTHA: That is always an issue, but since we clean up problems quickly, we haven’t lost more than a few clients. But, that does seem to be a bigger issue. How many Title Company clients have we lost due to the quality of the Notaries we have hired, and how many more would we retain or attract if we used better Notaries. It might be worth $30 extra to hire a better Notary.

FRANK: Now, I’m out of business for sure.

SAMANTHA: Unless you study. It wouldn’t kill you to crack a book.

FRANK: It might.

Dr. PHIL: It looks like we have had a good discussion here. I have learned something, and I think you, Samantha have learned more about the various factors in this complicated equation of who you hire, how much you pay them, and why. Now, Frank, have you also learned that you need to study more to be able to pass standardized tests to make a good impression on people who hire you?

FRANK: 123notary is the only entity who has quizzed me recently, and they are a directory. They don’t even hire people. I don’t think anyone else cares if I know anything, so why should I care?

Dr. PHIL: If you want to get more work at higher prices, you should care. I read an article that says that 123notary certified signers make $8 more per signing and get a heck of a lot more work.

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March 9, 2019

Why You Shouldn’t Use an Online Notary

Here we cover six important reasons for NOT using an online notary public.

We’re living in an era driven by technological advancements. Today, people are willing to use YouTube as a babysitter and tablets as their kids’ companions. Be it engaging games, interactive tools for education or workflow productivity, technology always lends a helping hand but this gives rise to a few questions: Does technology really help us? Does technology need to disrupt everything? How deep into our personal affairs should we let technology creep?

Here we cover six important reasons for NOT using an online notary public:

Far Less Secure than In-Person
Lack of personal appearance defeats the purpose of notarization. Period. How can a notary properly identify someone in the world of AI when they appear on a computer screen? Audio/Video can be made from anywhere through any means. As I write this article, I did a simple Google search for “video overlay app” and about 152 Million results popped up with detailed instructions.

Huge Potential for Fraud
Here’s the dirty secret that online notaries don’t want you to know. Online notary companies require you to upload a copy of your documents so that they can place their seal on them, you then download your “notarized” documents and print them out. But guess what? A copy of your most important legal documents are now somewhere on the online notary’s datacenter just waiting for a hacker to harvest them. And we all hear the same news story almost weekly, “XYC Company has had their data breached and millions of users data was compromised.” What if you were named the beneficiary in your late relatives estate documents that were notarized by an online notary, but all of a sudden, someone else shows up in court with a copy of those same documents but with their name on them as the beneficiary?!?!

Huge Potential for Identity Theft
Internet security is another big one. If you don’t have huge secure data servers processing the data you’re uploading to the online notary, your personal information (ie. your ID credentials and documents) are being thrown out onto the World Wide Web without recourse. Once that data is internet bound, there is no coming back from a potential cyber attack.

It Costs More
In the State of California, notaries may charge a fee of $15 per signature notarized. Online notaries charge almost twice that at $25 per signature notarized. If you have multiple documents with multiple signers, you’re going to spend a whole lot more with an online notary than with a local notary whom you actually get to meet in person and shake hands with. “Shop Local” also applies to notaries.

You Might Need a Do-Over
The receiving party may not accept an out of state notary seal. A little known fact is that it’s up to the receiving party to decide if they will accept the notarization or not. Online notaries only exist in VA, TX and NV at the moment and the receiving party doesn’t have to accept an out of state seal, particularly if the receiving party is a state government agency. You’ll then need to spend more money getting your document re-notarized by a local notary in your home state.

Unemployment
How are local notaries supposed to make a living? Currently there are approximately 164,000 notaries in California. Now, we have a huge corporate company coming into CA (with the infrastructure already in place) and swallowing up notary jobs leaving thousands out of work. Imagine how hard it will be to find a notary if notaries have been replaced by an app but you can’t get an internet connection!

Conclusion
Technology has brought radical changes to our lives. But, we will end up having more disadvantages than advantages if our society overuses technology. What’s your take on this? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.

Author: Matt G Miller
Contributing Writer: Kyle Eisenberg
I was given permission to publish this article by Matt Miller although it looks like it had already been published on his personal blog.

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January 29, 2019

Can a Notary go to jail for Notary fraud?

Can a Notary go to jail for Notary fraud?
Can a Notary go to prison for Notary fraud?

Notaries very rarely end up in jail. There are many illegal things that Notaries to almost daily. However, the law seems to rarely catch up with them unless a crime is committed where there are damages. Additionally, if the crime was committed with intent to steal, embezzle, or harm someone, the Notary would be in a lot worse trouble.

Notaries typically do not administer Oaths for Jurats. Those that do, typically administer an Oath in my opinion incorrectly. I test Notaries regularly and this is how I know. It is illegal to sign a Jurat that makes you claim that you supervised an Oath when in fact you did not. That might be considered perjury, although I am not an Attorney and cannot say with any certainty. However, Notaries very rarely get in trouble for omissions in their duty.

The only time I have heard of a Notary going to jail was one who assisted in fraud involving real property. The Notary falsified paperwork, probably Deeds of some sort and helped someone steal someone else’s property. That Notary got put away for a long time.

However, Notaries end up in court regularly for things that signers did fraudulently. Some signers alter documents after they were notarized. Other signers committed identity fraud. Once in a while, someone will forge a notary seal and pretend to be a particular Notary. It is common those these acts of fraud to result in a Notary being supoenaed to court or at least being investigated.

So, unless a Notary does something intentionally to cause financial harm to another person, it is unlikely that they will end up in jail — but, then.. who knows…

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Penalties for Notary misconduct, fraud and failure of duty
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January 18, 2019

Notary Etiquette 104 — Miscellaneous

Filed under: Etiquette — Tags: — admin @ 10:32 pm

MISCELLANEOUS NOTARY ETIQUETTE TIPS
Return to Table of Contents for – Notary Etiquette 104

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1. Don’t sell people’s signatures or personal information.
It is bad manners and possibly illegal, and definitely unethical to sell or distribute anyone’s private information.

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2. Don’t second guess family relationships.
I once thought the wife was the guy’s mother. Oops!

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3. Handling criticism
Notaries can get very rude or defensive if criticized. The psychology of a Notary is one who claims they know everything when in reality they typically know about 30% of what they need to know and manage to get by with this sub-minimal knowledge. If you make a mistake and someone calls you out on it, don’t argue, just try to understand what you did wrong or allegedly did wrong and learn from that experience. I sometimes quiz Notaries by phone and they get very hostile when I tell them they made a mistake. You won’t learn to be smarter or impress your clients by getting belligerent when criticized — treat it like a learning experience and it might just better you.

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4. When to call the Lender
Some Notaries will call the lender if they don’t know if they should sneeze or not. Calling the lender can end up in a forty minute phone call. You will have trouble getting out of the house where the signing takes place if you call the lender. So, only call if you absolutely have to. In the 30 point course on our blog we have a chapter all about when to call the lender and when not to.

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5. Is it rude to ask for a thumbprint?
This is a topic of debate and even hostility with the Notaries. For your safety you need to take thumbprints. But, many Notaries think that it is not only unnecessary but bad to take a thumbprint because what if you offend someone? I am more concerned with what happens if an imposter drains the equity in someone’s house, the Notary ends up in court for two months without pay, and someone goes to jail. To me that scenario weights a lot more heavily than if someone is offended because you ask them for a journal thumbprint. If the FBI is investigating you because you notarized an identity thief, the falsified information, fake name, fake ID, and fake serial number from the ID will lead the FBI nowhere and they can name you as a suspect in a conspiracy and you could end up in huge trouble. A thumbprint could save your life, so take it seriously.

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6. The document is not in English
You need to refer to your state’s notary laws. Many states will allow you to notarize a document in a foreign language providing the signer understands what they are signing. If you are going to upset someone by saying no to a transaction, make sure you have the right to turn down the transaction before you ruin their day.

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7. Notarizing the elderly
If you are notarizing people who are very old, or in a hospital, ask them some polite questions about current events. Make sure they know who they are, what the document means, and if they know who is in the White House these days. Some people are out of it, so find a nice way to drill them a little bit.

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8. Rude posts on social media
If you think that nobody is reading your social media posts, think again. There are a lot of very hostile and psychotic Notaries out there who are bashing all types of Notary companies including our own. This is rude and belligerent behavior. Many title companies will not hire Notaries who are involved in this type of behavior.

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9. Being obstinate about answering questions.
When companies ask Notaries Notary questions, many Notaries do not want to answer. They feel they are professionals and therefore should not be questioned. The sad reality is that most Notaries do not have a solid notary knowledge and that is why those questions are a necessity. So, be polite and just answer a few questions without trying to wiggle out of it.

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10. Answer emails and phone messages fast.
Keeping people waiting is very rude. Try to get back to people as soon as possible.

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December 30, 2018

When are you required by law to do Oaths?

As we all know, state notary laws differ from state to state. Since I live in California, it is difficult for me to know what all the Notary laws are in other states. Sometimes I create a chart as a cheat sheet to know which states require certain things and which ones don’t. However, every state I have read about (I read handbooks for all states so you will have a problem fooling me — they are all online except for NC if I remember correctly) requires Oaths and has Oaths in the handbook as an official duty of a Notary Public. So, I am going to write some quiz pointers about Oaths below.

1. Oaths are an official Notary act in all states.
If I am wrong, show me your state notary handbook and show me the omission of Oaths.

2. Affirmations are an official Notary act in almost all states…
Or perhaps, now they are in all states. Not sure…

3. If you see the words — SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN (or affirmed) TO BEFORE ME BY…
This is Oath documentation verbiage. It is NOT the Oath itself, but the documentation that you administered an Oath or perhaps Affirmation. If you sign a form stating the above verbiage and do not administer an Oath, you have just committed fraud on a Notarial certificate which is a crime. I am not sure what type of crime it is, but it might be fraud, or even perjury which is a Federal crime punishable by up to five years in jail per infraction. Gulp. Please consult an Attorney to see what type of crime he/she thinks it is as my opinion is a layperson opinion and not legal advice.

4. My state doesn’t require Oaths.
I hear this every day. Your state DOES require Oaths, however your state doesn’t require you to read the handbook that says you have Oaths as an official duty. Moreover, your state doesn’t explain how to administer an Oath or WHEN to administer an Oath. I can blame your state, but this is also your fault if you go through life engaging in criminal negligence because you did not bother to learn when and how to administer Oaths.

5. We don’t do Oaths in my state.
Some people claim that Oaths might be an official Notary act in their state, but that it is never done. This is also not true. Carmen (who does sales for 123notary) does loan signings for out of state documents all the time and every single package has at least one Oath that is part of a JURAT.

6. If you see the word AFFIDAVIT in the title of a document.
The word Affidavit customarily means that the document is to be sworn to before a state official commissioned with the capacity to administer Oaths such as a Judge, Notary Public, Justice of the Peace, etc. If you see the word Affidavit, it is possible, although unlikely that you will execute an Acknowledged signature on that form. 99% or more of the time you will execute a Jurat, and Jurats by definition require the signer to sign (subscribe) in front of you and swear under Oath as to the truthfulness of the document.

7. Are you swearing to the identity of the signer, the signature or the truthfulness of the document.
Many Notaries administer Oaths to me over the phone on quizzes and make me repeat my name several times. However, the Oath for a document is regarding whether or not the document is true or not, and NOT to my identity. However, if the document makes me specifically swear to my name or name variations then I would have to swear to my identity. Additionally, an Oath on a document does not require the Affiant (signer) to swear to whether or not they signed it or whether or not they signed it on their own free will unless their state specifically requires it or unless the cheat sheet for the Oath requires it. As a general rule, an Oath on a document must be regarding the truthfulness of the document as the primary focus. Any other considerations are secondary or perhaps not necessary or perhaps should be left out.

8. Why Oath cheat sheets are dangerous
If you do not know the legal requirements of an Oath on a document in your state, you might not administer a passable Oath if you read off the cheat sheet. In my opinion which is based on logic, but not on law, an Oath on a document must be about the truthfulness of the document. If your cheat sheet for an Oath says, “Do you solemnly swear you signed this document.” — that would lead to an incomplete notarization because you never swore to the truthfulness of the document.

9. I don’t do Oaths, I only do Refinances.
Newsflash — Every refinance I have ever seen has at least one Oath. If there is an Affidavit such as a signature affidavit, identity affidavit, or occupancy affidavit, customarily there will be an Oath. If you do Refinances, you are required to do Oaths as part of fulfilling the statements on the Jurat certificate(s).

10. Oaths on oral statements or without Jurats
You might be asked to give an Oath on an oral statement. There might not be any paperwork involved other than your journal. You need to read up on how to do this. You might also be asked to give an Oath on a document that does not have a Jurat. You would have to ad-lib to come up with verbiage so practice on random documents to get the feel of it.

11. Remote court attendance.
Florida state allows certain witnesses to appear in court by phone. A Notary must swear them in from their remote location. This type of Oath requires the Notary to look at their ID, read it to the judge and do the TV court Oath of how you swear to tell the truth, whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God.

12. Penalties for wrong or omitted Oaths.
Notaries rarely get in trouble for omitting a required Oath or refusing to administer an Oath. But, there are times when they do. Here are the things that could happen to you. Why take chances? It is like leaving your door unlocked.

(a.) REVOKED COMMISSION — Your commission could be revoked. I heard of several Notaries in Oklahoma who did not administer Oaths on loan documents.

(b.) OVERTURNED LOANS — The loan that had documents with required Oaths could be overturned by a Judge if they find out that the Notary did not administer an Oath.

(c.) GETTING SUED — The Notary could get sued by the Lender because there will be serious financial damages for the Lender because the Notary omitted a legally required Oath. Damages might be $20,000 or more if you get caught. People don’t get caught often — but when they do…

(d.) FINES — Certain states fine Notaries for misconduct and omissions. Failing to administer a required Oath in California used to have a $750 fine per incident. Now, it might be $1500. I am not sure of the exact fine, but it should be in that neighborhood.

(e.) JAIL — I have heard, and this may or may not be true, that making a false statement about an Oath on a certificate is perjury. The penalty for perjury is a jail sentence of up to five years per incident. So, you could end up in jail if the Feds or your state start checking up on Notaries to see if they are administering Oaths. They are not checking up now, but they could start any time.

(f.) LOSE LISTING — 123notary sometimes removes people for disciplinary reasons. If we find out that you do not obey Notary laws, we normally steer you to some educational materials. But, if you have a complete disregard for law, order, and common decency, you could lose your listing. We normally as a handful of Notary questions and will accept a very low average since most Notaries do not know their stuff. However, if you score under 50% on our quiz whether oral or written, you will most likely be in trouble with us. Although we are not commissioned to enforce laws, I do enforce who I list and that is my right and authority as owner of this site.

SUMMARY
Although Notaries only get in trouble for not administering an Oath once in a blue moon, it is illegal not to fulfill your duties as a Notary Public, and it only takes minutes to read up on when and how to administer Oaths. There is no reason for this type of blatant negligence and criminal behavior. So, please become an expert at administering Oaths. Your first step should be to read your state handbook and see what they say about Oaths. They probably do not do a complete job of teaching it which is part of the problem. The NNA and 123notary have materials as well, and you could consult an Attorney. Although Oath procedure is not taught properly by the states (not even California) you are still legally required to give Oaths and give logical and correct sounding Oaths.

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Oaths – How Notaries completely screw them up!
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Oaths and the art if improvisation
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Notary Public 101 – Oaths, Affirmations, Jurats & Acknowledgments
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December 18, 2018

Beginner Notaries 103 — Gaining Industry Knowledge

Filed under: Technical & Legal — admin @ 12:52 pm

Gaining Industry Knowledge
Return to Table of Contents – Beginner Notaries 103

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There are many ways to learn about this business. Here are our suggestions.

1. Technical information
For technical notary knowledge, your state is the authority. NNA is often a good source of information on notary law, but your state is the final authority. Refer to your handbook regularly so you can be an expert at your state’s notary laws and practices.

2. Industry information
You can learn a lot by reading what people are talking about on Notary discussion groups. Keep in mind that you don’t know how smart or correct some of these Notaries are. Many are seasoned Notaries who know this business inside out while others are a bunch of hostile complainers who are not good Notaries. Don’t take anything you read as gospel, but just as input that might be informative or even useful.

3. Signing Companies
Once again, to learn which signing companies are popular with others, forums and lists of signing companies with reviews as the place to go and 123notary and Notary Rotary have this type of lists with ratings.
http://www.123notary.com/signco.asp

4. Mentors
Many Notaries find a mentor, or someone experienced that they can ask questions to. Carmen at 123notary is very helpful about answering questions by phone and Jeremy answers questions by email. We are here to help. But, you can ask around and try to find a mentor as well. It would be nice if you can reward them for helping them because they deserve something if they are boosting your career.

5. Courses
We discussed courses before in one of the previous chapters. 123notary has free courses right on the blog which are actually almost as good as a paid course. You can learn a lot about loan documents, loan signing, and dealing with real life scenarios in our courses. Visit our blog and look at the categories on the right to find some of our courses and compilations and other sections.
http://blog.123notary.com

6. Real Life Scenarios
Knowing notary and document knowledge is not enough. Knowing how to handle real life snags and situations can save you from court cases and a lot of grief. We have a page on Notary Public 101 in our blog called Real Life Scenarios. I highly recommend this page.

Notary Public 101 — Real Life Notary Scenarios

7. Experience
Just by doing a lot of work and keeping your eyes open you can learn a lot about this business. Those Notaries who are like a sponge seem to absorb a lot of knowledge. Those who just know enough to get by seldom learn much.

8. Talk to people who hire you
If you talk to Lenders, Settlement Agents, Escrow Agents, etc., you might learn a lot about this business. You could learn about the Escrow process, recording process, what can go wrong if you put your initial in the wrong place, what can go wrong if you identify someone incorrectly, and more. There is so much to know about this business, and the people who hire you are sometimes a wonderful source of endless knowledge — and sometimes they are unfriendly jerks who won’t tell you anything. But, let’s focus on the positive and you will be surprised how much you can learn.

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December 16, 2018

Beginner Notaries 103 — What beginners need to know

Filed under: Popular on Twitter,Technical & Legal — admin @ 12:44 pm

Return to Table of Contents – Beginner Notaries 103

As a beginner Notary, there is a lot you need to know. Many things that experienced Notaries take for granted might take you a year or two to find out. Here are some quick pointers that might be valuable.

1. Your Listing’s Performance.
Listings on 123notary for new Notaries can give you miracle performance. However, no matter how much you pay for a listing on 123notary, the listing will not perform well unless you have a good notes section, reviews, and it helps a lot if you are 123notary certified (especially for newer Notaries.)

2. Your Profile’s Notes Section
Listings that lack a good notes section typically get ignored as that is the first piece of information that companies look for when they are hiring. If your notes are blank, short, or incomplete, your incoming phone log from companies will be equally blank. People want to get a sense of who you are, your professional background, and your skills before they invest in a phone call. Additionally, notes sections with spelling or grammar mistakes will be a huge issue for title companies who will bypass you if they have any cause for concern. 123notary’s blog has an entire section on how to write a great notes section with dozens of unique articles.

3. Notary Reviews
Reviews are your ticket to success. Never mind how great you say you are, talk is cheap if you are complimenting yourself. But, what your customers, especially title companies say about you really matters to those thinking of hiring you. 123notary has many articles about how to get reviews, so I suggest becoming an expert on the topic.

4. Reading Suggestions
Notaries should ideally read Notary blogs, forums, visit the NNA & 123notary Facebook groups (but not the private groups), newsletters, courses, handbooks, and anything else that could be considered helpful. Getting Notary advice from semi-unemployed Notaries who frequent Facebook is a very poor idea. Get your official Notary advice only from your state Notary division and no other source otherwise you might be very sorry.

Smart Notaries and dumb notaries alike realize that they need to spend time reading to keep up. Smart Notaries get courses from helpful companies and improve their skill sets. Smart Notaries also read what other Notaries say about various signing companies as some signing companies are not the best bet to work for. Dumb Notaries spend their time gossiping with other disgruntled Notaries on various private Facebook groups that generally engage in a lot of complaining and bashing. These dumb Notaries are also dumb enough to get Notary advice from Notaries on these groups who don’t know what they are doing. It is a perfect example of what Jesus said about the blind leading the blind. Get your notary advice from your state notary division. If you get any notary advice from any other source, cross check it with your state. We teach general notary concepts here at 123notary, but we cannot say with any certainty of our principles apply to your state.

5. Experience Counts
Signing and especially Title companies typically do not want to hire someone with less than two years of experience unless they are confident about that person’s knowledge. If you have an escrow background or are certified by 123notary, that will help compensate for your lack of experience. Knowing your documents inside out will help as well which would be a side effect of our certification.

6. Low-Ball Signing Companies
Companies that hire newer signing agents are generally not fun to work for. They require fax backs, micromanage, pay poorly and might nag you a lot. They have to, otherwise they would not be able to hire beginners and provide a high level of accuracy to their clients. So, expect to be treated like a child. Once you get some experience under your belt, you might be able to start accumulating title company clients little by little. On our blog we publish a list of companies that will hire beginners. You should talk to every company on that list.

7. Getting Title Company Work
Migrating from signing companies to working for title companies (who usually pay more, but how much more depends on how the industry is doing) is something people do as they gain experience, knowledge and skill. However, most Notaries cannot work purely for title companies after two years. It sometimes takes many more years before all of your clients are high paying wonderful clients who you love working for. So, there will be a lot of paying your dues.

8. Notary Etiquette
Most Notaries do not have good phone answering skills, nor do they have good communication skills. Having good Notary etiquette and good business skills can help you succeed. If your business skills are not completely up to par, it might be good to read our articles about etiquette and brush up. Answering the phone stating your name is a first. Answering questions the way they were asked without rambling on and on matters too. Accepting instruction from others and not engaging in bragging or whining matters a lot as well. Good etiquette will make you popular with all parties.

9. Notary Education
All Notaries need to study up and be experts at their state’s notary laws. But, knowing how to handle situations, and knowing your documents matters just as much. Reading blogs is a good way to keep informed, but there is no substitute for taking actual classes. For newer Notaries, passing our certification test is a great way to gain credibility as well.

10. Risks and Liability
It is risky being a Notary. 15% of our long term full-time Notaries have been to court at least once generally as a witness. A few Notaries even get sued or end up in legal trouble that can cost them big bucks. It behooves you to keep good records and follow Notary law to a T. Understanding Notary law is not enough. You need to know how to explain to clients what you can and cannot do as well as explain to a judge why you did what you did in a particular situation. One lady turned down a Notarization on correct grounds, got sued and lost because she could not communicate clearly to the judge what her reason was for declining the notarization. You also need to have direct communication with all signers and make sure people are aware of what they are signing, particularly if they are elderly. The Notary does not need to understand the documents, but the signers do, otherwise you might end up in court.

11. Your Attitude
Most Notaries have the attitude that they already know it all and there is nothing more that they need to know. Those who are NNA certified think of themselves as blessings to the industry. The fact is that those who have passed NNA’s test typically get very poor grades on our test. There is always more to learn in this business. It is best to stay open, assume that you do not know everything, and accept criticism from those in hiring capacities or those who run Notary agencies (like me.) You will be more popular with all parties involved if you are open to suggestion and take guidance from those who are a lot more experienced and knowledgeable than you are.

12. Advertising on 123notary.
Companies that pay well love 123notary. However, they typically only hire from the top of the list. If you are not in the top three or top five, you will probably only hear from companies that don’t pay that well. Top spots are not always available, so what should you do? Get the best spot you can, and then try to pass our certification, write a good notes section, and keep getting reviews. That way if a better spot opens up, I will be likely to give it to you rather than someone else. I give open spots to the most qualified member downline, so while you are waiting, try to work on your merit, so that you get the promotion!

13. Marketing Plan
Do you have a marketing plan? Many Notaries just wing it. That is not advisable. We suggest having a definitive, well thought out written plan. You can discuss that plan with others too for suggestions.

14. 123notary is here to help.
Smart Notaries come to us with questions, or ask for help with their notes section. We are here as a resource and much of our help is completely free. Dumb Notaries complain that we scrutinize them to maintain our standards, but smart Notaries take advantage of our free assistance. In the long run, which type of Notary do you think gets ahead?

15. Researching Signing Companies
Not all signing companies are good bets to work for. Read about them in the various forums to get more info. Additionally, Notary Rotary has something called Signing Central where you can look up ratings for the various signing companies. 123notary has a list of signing companies with reviews.

Good luck, and I hope you enjoy this short course.

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October 21, 2018

Index of best comedy posts from 2015 to present.

Filed under: Best Humorous Posts — admin @ 11:49 pm

THESE POSTS ARE IN ORDER OF QUALITY AND POPULARITY

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COMPILATION

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Best Virtual Notary Comedy Compliation!
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15957

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NEW

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George Lopez Notary Public
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19889

Psych Notary Episode
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19397

Vietnam War Notaries — A POA for a POW.
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19445

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POPULAR

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Notaries in cars getting coffee
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18945

Disney Notary World
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18880

Jane the Virgin Notary
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14899

Trump – Making American Notaries Great Again
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=17023

Black Notaries vs. White Notaries: The Notary Manual (link a string)
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19322

How Carmen dealt with some Alt-Right customers
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19092

Notary with Tourettes Syndrome
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18999

The Noterator
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19116

Sharktank — self driving Notary
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19104

Notary Hell — yeah, but it’s a dry heat
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=13196

Notary aptitude test 2
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=17065

A Notary from Florida travels to India
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19636

Shark Tank — 123notary wants to sell 10% of its shares
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16021

Are you a Yes-tary or a No-tary?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16626

Shark Tank — Notary Escrow Pal
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16009

Can I bring my 12 year old to a signing?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15885

How Notary work is similar to online dating!
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15763

Welcome to the Notary Zoo!
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15994

You know you’re a Notary when…
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16038

Notary Ed similar to Driver’s Education
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19132

Notary Psychic Tarot Card Reading
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19126

Flashpoint — Notary job for a hostage with a multimillion dollar contract
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18798

Noternity Court
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14091

Notary space station — in space, nobody can hear you sign!
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18920

The Notary Train
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18928

Honey, you can kiss my app!
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14902

Can you sign in your sleep? What would that be like?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18874

A new acknowledgment form for transgender people
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19658

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September 22, 2018

Compilation of Stories on the blog categorized.

Filed under: Compilations,Stories — Tags: — admin @ 8:19 am

Here is a more organized way to reference Notary Stories.

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TOP
Notary airport
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=17062

Racial issues at a signing
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19220

I’d rather stop being a notary than carry a gun
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15896

The Notary union raises it’s rates and alienates notaries!
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19648

Notary STARBUCKS – charging for waiting time while sipping Sumatra
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18926

Carlette’s Signing Story
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19020

The sexting notary
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19727

What are Jeremy’s favorite blog entries?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18837

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DRAMA

Why Notaries don’t last
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=4087

Notarizing for an adoption
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=3267

Artificially inflated rates at a signing
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16128

We are a notary directory and therefore should not discuss certain topics
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20073

The signer who passed out and slid under the table
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15810

Two guys with the same name; One cashed the other guy’s check!
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16102

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CRIME & DANGER (physical or financial)

Murder in a building a week before the signing
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19272

Notarizing a kidnapper
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=676

One of our notaries helped put three dangerous felons away!
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19471

Reverse Blackmail at a notary signing
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=7071

Stealing a business name
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=2660

The Notary Police
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19702

We caught some frauds who stole credit info at a hotel
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20090

Have you ever been tempted not to go into a borrower’s house?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15369

The Notary, The Mafia & The Fedex Drop Box
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=6867

A Notary gets sued and E&O won’t help out!
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=2910

Notary in Louisiana murdered in home invasion
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=925

Compilation of mafia related posts
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20352

Two Notaries with the same name
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19100

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GENERAL STORIES

The Notary union raises it’s rates and alienates notaries!
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19648

Notary STARBUCKS – charging for waiting time while sipping Sumatra
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18926

Carlette’s Signing Story
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19020

What is your favorite notary password?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19224

A notary complains about the instructions
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19733

The stolen loan package
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15395

Demographics in the notary business
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15359

A Notary finds a document notarized by Jeremy in 2001
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19338

Why you don’t want to be a notary in NW New Mexico
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18972

Notary university
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=17039

Notary Jury Duty
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15838

Don’t ask don’t tell
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=17037

The notary corporation
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=17032

If you can notarize here, you can notarize anywhere!
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16998

Here is how your home will be drained of its equity
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18924

I’ve been doing this 20 years
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19910

How Piano lessons changed my life
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19891

I have a dream
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19207

The Notary Model
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19286

The Frustrating 4 hour signing
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15760

Welcome to the notary casino
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15255

Notarizing a tax preparer
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15014

I was forced to forge my own signature in India
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20036

A Notary was in court due to a suspicious marriage
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20034

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123NOTARY

My best 100 days and Carmen’s worst
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20030

All about 123notary

All About 123notary

2016 timeline – a year in review

2016 Notary Timeline – a year in review

Jeremy’s bucket list

Jeremy’s bucket list

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