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November 18, 2021

Notary almost loses commission over botched Oath

Filed under: Notary Mistakes — admin @ 8:50 am

A Notary in Maine was talking to me a while back. She said that she gave an Oath rather than giving a choice of an Oath or Affirmation. The Maine Secretary of State threatened to take her notary commission away if she made that mistake again.

I learned this because I gave her a phone quiz. I asked her to give me an Oath for a document that said, “I love starbucks double shot” (which incidentally is not sold in stores currently due to supply chain issues.)

She offered me a choice of an Oath or Affirmation after I had requested an Oath. That is similar to a customer ordering coffee, and then the waiter asking if he wants coffee or tea. He just said that he wanted COFFEE.

The signer has the legal right to choose the Notary act, not the Notary. So, if someone chooses an Oath, then give them their Oath. Most signers are clueless and don’t know what to choose – in that case, offer them a choice.

Would you like an Oath or Affirmation?
Affirmation

Would you like cream or sugar in your affirmation?
Soy milk please.

See how easy that was.

What most people do, including in court these days is to say, “Do you solemnly swear or affirm that…..” This verbiage includes both acts in one, so you don’t have to offer a choice. However, if someone asks for an Oath, and then you say, “Swear or affirm” you are overriding their choice of an Oath, and still offering them a choice after they very clearly made their choice.

But, take this seriously, because if you goof, you could lose your commission.

SUMMARY
1. Give the signer a choice of notary acts if they haven’t chosen.
2. Don’t override their choice if they already chose.
3. Bring soy creamer just in case.

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August 8, 2021

Memorial of Carmen Towles, former salesperson for 123notary

Filed under: General Stories — admin @ 6:42 am

CARMEN’S DEATH
Carmen Towles passed away in July of 2020. I found out on July 25th from a client. I believe she passed away on the 24th, but I see other conflicting reports on Notary Rotary saying it happened two weeks before that. The last time I talked to Carmen was on June 29th when she was released from the hospital. She was able to talk but wasn’t making logical sense. She couldn’t remember if she had a gall stone or a kidney stone. I think you would remember that.

Carmen died of Pancreatic cancer, but had a gall bladder infection too. She never told me about the cancer, perhaps because she didn’t want me to worry. I think it would have been better if she had told me so I could plan ahead.

OUR HISTORY TOGETHER
In any case, Carmen and I worked together for 17 years since 2003. I remember the first time I met her at the entrance to our complex. I was selling her a course book. She was very talkative, inquisitive, and sharp. She kept calling me to ask questions and became very knowledgeable as a signing agent. Carmen claimed she took the NNA course, but that it did not make her feel confident enough to go out and do real signing work. After she mastered our 123notary course, she felt she got a practical road map of what to do and how to handle situations. As time went on, I begged her to work for me. She initially didn’t want to. It took a few years to get her to work full time. After she got used to it, signings slowed down, and she became hooked on 123. She did the new sales and renewals and was very possessive about the work.

CARMEN AS A MENTOR
Carmen was an excellent mentor to many of our Notaries. She taught them the twists and turns of what can happen at signings and with the various companies who hire Notaries. She kept many out of trouble and inspired all. She had real charisma, pizzazz, combined with a deep and pragmatic knowledge of Notary law and signing competency. Nobody else combined her flamboyance and knowledge. None of the other Notary companies have anyone even half as good as she was.

CARMEN’S INPUT
Carmen helped me put together a new over the phone test content as well as a new course which is on the blog and free — Notary Public 101. We wanted to emphasize what gets Notaries in trouble, so they can stay out of trouble. The other courses taught information which was about loan documents which is fine, but you don’t normally get in trouble for not understanding the documents, you get in trouble for notary mistakes or mishandling situations.

OUR LOSS
The Notaries are very sad that Carmen is gone. There will never be another Carmen. I am sad that I never got to say goodbye. I didn’t think she would pass away so fast. I thought she had another year where she would function at half speed. But, I can communicate easily with spirits, so I have had a few simple dialogues with Carmen.

JEREMY: How are things in the brighter world?
CARMEN: I’m getting a lot of rest.

JEREMY: What will I do without you?
CARMEN: Oh, don’t worry about it.

JEREMY: Do you have to wear face masks up there?
CARMEN: Ha ha…. no!!!

LIFE WITHOUT CARMEN
So, now I have to do all of Carmen’s work. I call all of the renewal people. It wouldn’t take that long except that the higher level people like to chat. Many of our higher level people have been with us for years, in some cases up to 20 years, and they have stories from long back. The bigger issue is not having to do her work. I am missing the new calls because I am not prepared to answer the phone all the time. I am not sure how I will hire someone new who will be acceptable and who will last.

And third, I miss Carmen because she is like a family member to me. She understood me well, and had very sensible advice for me about all of my issues. I didn’t necessarily agree with all of her advice, but most of it was good. I am very sad, lonely and don’t know what to expect of the future. The future doesn’t look very bright now, but you never know. I am going to try out several new ladies who seem promising.

With all of the bad vibes in the atmosphere due to the Covid19 issue, riots, and political upheaval, it seemed like the devil made his rounds to disrupt many cities, many lives, many political issues, etc. First there were Covid19 shutdowns which took away our rights. 80% of what I could do outside of the house was shut down or disappeared. Then the devil came to my neighborhood with the riots. A month later my site went down for a week. Actually that was done by angels for my protection, but felt like the devil was somehow involved. And then my site went back up, Carmen became incapacitated and then died shortly after. So much grief in just five months. No wonder I feel more depressed than I have felt in years.

Carmen was always there, usually answered the phone, only went on one quick vacation that I knew about which was a cruise in Mexico. But, she kept her phone with her so she was accessible. She even did phone duty while she was on Jury Duty. She was always there, and now she will never be there again.

I will have my psychic contact Carmen in the brighter world to see if she has anything she wants to tell the Notaries. My ability for spirit communication is okay for very quick questions and answers but not good enough for conversations. So, we will leave this up to Walter who is an expert.

Incoming phone communication to 123notary is basically almost impossible now. I answer some of my incoming calls. but, I really can’t get more than 10%. If you want to reach me fast, just use the email form on 123epayment.com. I am very slow by info@123notary.com, so if you are in a hurry, 123epayment.com is a little faster.

So for now, that is all I can say.

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July 14, 2021

How valuable are the various types of notary knowledge?

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 3:19 am

Notaries these days who invest in Notary education study all types of topics. Some study Notary basics, others study TRID, Reverse Mortgages, Helocs, situational knowledge, elite knowledge, or just plain signing agent knowledge. Marketing skills are also taught by many agencies. So, which skills are the most valuable?

As a signing agent, companies typically babysit you unless you are very advanced and work purely for title companies. If you make mistakes, that is very unprofessional, but they generally catch you before it is too late due to the scan backs and fax backs. Notaries do not get complaints about errors on our site these days. When they do get complaints it is because they are rude or don’t show up, don’t return phone calls, or don’t get documents back on time.

So, let me make a pecking order of Notary skills in an order that makes logical sense to me.

Notary knowledge
If you don’t know how to be a solid Notary, you are endangering the public as well as yourself and leaving yourself open to legal liability. A mistake identifying someone, or filling out your journal can lead to a lawsuit, or lack of evidence in a legal proceeding. That is very serious and can ruin not only you, but all who are involved in a transaction with you. Failing to properly administer an Oath (when required) can lead to the termination of your commission if you ever get caught and is considered Perjury which is a Federal crime! If you don’t fill out forms properly or follow Notary law and procedure, you can ruin your life. So, Notary knowledge is the highest priority as a Notary Signing Agent and THAT is why we teach the finer points at no cost in Notary Public 101 on the blog.

Signing Agent knowledge
Knowing how to initial, date a right to cancel, and understanding the basic documents in a home-owner Refinances are skills that you will need to use a lot. You can ruin a signing if you miss signatures or initials, or put wrong dates on documents. Signing Agent skills seems to be a definite #2 in the pecking order of what you should study.

Marketing
If you know your basics, but don’t know how to attract work, you might get a few jobs here and there, but won’t have a side career of any scope. Learning Notary marketing is easy because there are good teachers everywhere. 123notary and LSS do a nice job teaching notary marketing. Some of the knowledge is available in our loan signing course and a lot more is on the blog in the marketing category on the right.

Specialty Skills
It is always good to learn more. Being TRID trained, or trained in reverse signings is great. But, that is the last step in my opinion. It impresses clients when you go above and beyond in your training. It shows motivation and effort and makes them more likely to hire you. But, learn the other stuff first as that is a lot more critical for basic survival.

How many certifications should I get?
The more the merrier. If you advertise with us, you should consider ours. If you are a paid member, we sometimes offer to test you by phone at no cost if you study from Notary Public 101, but we get very few takers. Our test is the hardest in the industry and our teaching materials are the most practical — and NOT the most expensive. We have the least expensive certification compared to the big players!

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June 18, 2021

12 ways to negatively advertise yourself and fail as a mobile notary

Filed under: Advertising — admin @ 8:51 am

Notaries hire us to advertise them and promote them by virtue of listing them. But, many notaries do counterproductive things with their advertising. Let’s take a closer look.

YOUR BUSINESS NAME
1. Have a generic sounding business name like “Nationwide Notary Service” , “Statewide Signing Service”, or “Illinois Notary Service.” You will get confused with a lot of others and not stand out. Or just don’t have a business name at all.

REVIEWS
2. Don’t ask for reviews — ever… And make sure your work isn’t that great, which will alleviate the risk of getting a positive review. Or you could try to get negative reviews.

PHONE ETIQUETTE
3. Never answer your phone, and if you do, make sure to have screaming kids in the background, try to sound muffled, don’t speak into the phone, and don’t be polite. Never announce who you are when you answer your phone — make them guess.

4. Give roundabout answers to questions via phone and insert lots of unasked for information which you think makes you look knowledgeable, but to them makes you look like an annoying novice who won’t stop talking.

YOUR NOTES SECTION
5. Use baseless cliche adjectives to describe yourself like “responsible” and “reliable”

6. Leave your notes section blank on your 123notary listing profile.

7. Ramble on and on in your notes section without letting people know your credentials or what you know how to do.

YOUR PROFILE
8. Don’t fill in your # of loans signed on your profile. Let people guess and when they ask, say, “lots” rather than giving them actual tangible information such as an actual number.

9. Only work two days a week, and only three hours on each day.

10. Only serve your home county and refuse to go anywhere else for any price.

KNOWLEDGE & CERTIFICATIONS

11. Don’t get any. Or at a minimum, don’t get certified by any agency with tough testing standards. Why bother?

12. Make sure you don’t know your notary knowledge at all. That way you can ensure that you will make Notary mistakes, get in lots of trouble and lose clients.

SUMMARY
If you follow all of my tips, I guarantee that you will do really poorly in your business unless you have a very loyal following already. On the other hand, do the opposite, and you might do well. In addition to these tips, if you send back packages late, or in incomplete form, and speak in a rude way to clients, that will enhance your ability to fail in business. Once again, do the opposite and you might succeed.

I wrote this article in jest, but the reality is that most Notaries are not doing everything, or even half of everything they need to do to succeed. Making it as a mobile notary is not a matter of luck. There is a checklist of things you need to do: Notes, Reviews, Certifications, Notes, Business Name, Phone Etiquette, Notary Skills, etc.

The good news is that we have many articles and even free courses on our blog for ALL of these points. And you can become an expert with n

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May 18, 2021

Notary Motivational Speaker

Filed under: Humorous Posts — admin @ 12:32 am

There are a few people in particular Notary agencies who do a certain degree of motivational speaking for Notaries. Normally they do this for the purpose of sales, or in my case to get you to study harder and write more in your notes sections. But, what if there were someone who specialized in Notarial motivational speaking? What would his name be? How about Chad Robbins, and we can pretend he is a distant cousin of my favorite motivational speaker Tony Robbins.

Chad never did well in school, or anything else he tried. He was failing in life. The only thing he had in his favor was that he was motivated, and could get other people motivated. He was at a job interview, and there were twelve others in the waiting room. He got them all pumped up for the interview, so that one of them got the job, but he did not. He couldn’t figure out what to do with his life. Years went by doing dead end jobs. He languished in despair, contemplated suicide, and moped around. Finally, out of the blue, someone came to him and said, “Why don’t you become a motivational speaker for Notaries?” He said, “Great, but what’s a Notary?” So, he took the 123notary certification course after becoming a Notary and signed up on 123notary.com — at least in the story he did. He learned from Jeremy how to motivate Notaries to greatness and decided to work with that and expand upon it. He became the greatest Notary motivational speaker ever.

CHAD: Working on that notes section will reward you for the rest of your career.

NOTARY: I know, I know, I know.

CHAD: What are you doing that is more important than creating that benefit for yourself which will probably translate into tens of thousands in extra revenue over the next ten years.

NOTARY: I have to clean the house and I have an assignment tomorrow.

CHAD: Will the assignment pay you $10,000?

NOTARY: No, of course not. They don’t pay enough. I’m only getting $60 if they pay me.

CHAD: If I had $1000 in my right hand that you could have if you wrote a good notes section and $20 in my left hand that I would just give you now, which would you take.

NOTARY: That’s easy, the $20 in the left hand so I would have time to do my crummy $60 signing tomorrow.

CHAD: You are a difficult case. It only takes a few hours of reading and modifying your notes to have a listing that stands out. If you don’t, you might get ignored and not even be able to survive in the Notary business.

NOTARY: Motivating with fear. Okay, you win. I’ll postpone the laundry, but if I get another $60 signing, I’ll take it before I complete my notes so that I have something to whine about.

CHAD: Good. Read the “Your notes section” category in the 123notary blog for tips and take notes. With your experience of 500 loans signed you will have something to talk about for sure.

——– (end of scene)

CHAD: Linda, you are a new Notary, but you have no certifications. How will you stand out with potential clients?

LINDA: Oh, I’m certified by the State of New Hampshire.

CHAD: That’s not a certification, that is a commission. Getting a loan signing certification from one or more of the three best programs will help attract serious clients. It takes some work, but that work is what is going to jump start your career.

LINDA: I don’t have time. I have a $40 signing tomorrow. They are ripping me off.

CHAD: With no certifications and no experience you are lucky that people are even giving you a chance. The time you invest in Notary education will come back to you for the rest of your career. It only takes an hour per day for a month or two and you can be solid in your knowledge. That normally translates into an average increase of revenue per signing and also a lot more signings.

LINDA: I’ll wait until I’m really bored and then I’ll think about it.

CHAD: Older Notaries who don’t have credentials get used because of name recognition. They have been in the game for years. But, newer Notaries have no credibility at all. Let’s look at the search results on 123notary. Look, see Susie, she has four certifications as a signing agent, is a member of five Notary organizations, wrote a very comprehensive and well organized notes section and has a registered company name. Look at her, and then look at your notes section with your one liner that says, “Hi, my name is Linda. I am a Notary. I will travel. Call me first.” Why would anyone call you, when Suzie looks ten times as good as you.

LINDA: Oh my God, I never saw it that way. You win. I’ll buy the LLS, Notary2Pro and 123notary certifications and start studying. I will not be outdone by another woman!

CHAD: And remember — you need to be PASSIONATE about whatever you are doing. Live with ENTHUSIASM (raises fist in the air.)

LINDA: With me it’s not about passion. It’s about one-up-man-ship. I can’t stand the idea that someone else looks better than me. I’ll outdress her too. You’ll see. What does she wear?

CHAD: It says business casual.

LINDA: Well then I’ll wear fancier business casual or business formal. She will have something to worry about now.

CHAD: I’m not sure what I did. But, I hit the right button by mistake. Motivational speaking is all about pressing people’s emotional buttons. Greed, fear, revenge, passion, one-up-woman-ship, desire, vision, etc. Some people are more noble in their aspirations while others are more jealous, but I’ll get results any way I can.

BOTTOM LINE
If you write a thorough notes section on your listing, ask for help from Jeremy proofreading it, and get a few certifications, you will look really good to the clients. Get a few reviews as well from clients even if they found you somewhere else. The time you invest in bettering your listing could be worth more than $1000 per hour in long term benefits because you might keep your listing for ten years and reap the benefits every day for those ten years which can add up.

It is worth it to sacrifice less critical short term things you want to do for long term goals of studying, and refining your marketing presence. It doesn’t take that much time. If you compare it to the time you invested in high school or college, this is nothing, but the payback is often huge.

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May 12, 2021

The Notary Banquet

Filed under: Humorous Posts — admin @ 12:17 pm

Welcome to the Notary banquet where diets are vanquished and appetites are satisfied every time. They have dishes named after types of loan signings. Let’s see what they have to offer.

Squid Ink Pasta
If you like the 1sts enough, you can have a 2nd, or a piggy back (combination loan) by combining the 1st and 2nd together and adding prosciutto. And yes, the ink comes out of a pretend notary seal.

Seal Kabob
I guess these are endangered species and they say, “ar ar ar” quite well, but for blogging purposes they taste great with light mediteranean seasoning. I wonder what seal tastes like. I bet it tastes like eel and rhymes with eel too. Maybe they should make sushi out of it.

Hybrid Plates
Surf and turf, steak and shrimp, this is what we call a hybrid.

eSigning dish
You eat a small plate but have to order with a signature pad. It’s one of those things millennials like that the rest of us might not like.

sHELoCs
Instead of HELoC, there is sHELoCs with angel hair pasta that looks like her locks.

Conventional
Tired of unconventional fusion cuisine? Try something conventional like chicken fried steak or apple pie.

FHA
Fries, Hamburger and Acorn Squash. This delicacy will entice your taste buds.

Reverse
I’m not sure how this would work. Would your server approach you walking backwards, or would we do a film shot of this scene and then play it backwards. Perhaps you would eat it backwards — hold that thought, no, bad idea.

Purchases
Just pay after you’re done eating.

Construction
The cake is built in pieces kind of like a prefab. So they construct it before you. If you don’t like it then get a demolition loan for your cake or a remodeling loan.

Time Shares
How often do you do time shares? When I have time. You can share food, but can you share time while eating food? I guess you could let the person next to you eat off your plate for 30 seconds if you know them well and trust them. This is a weird blog article even for me.

1031 Exchange
Yet another bizarre dessert idea of cake carved into the shape of the numbers 1031. Anthony Fauci would like it because he is all about “the numbers” and “the science.”

The Covid Cake
You have to stay six feet away from it and eat it taking your mask off in between bites. Of course, then you get germs on your mask which you can’t do either. So you are stuck.

I-9
The staff made a mistake and brought a K-9 (they were off by two letters) who went around sniffing everything and eating food that fell on the floor. So, he served his purpose. Then he found marijuana on one of the guest and drama ensued.

RON
Using this technology for dining, a person in Dubai can enjoy the banquet you are having right here in the Westchester district of Los Angeles. I’m not sure how that is possible. I don’t think you need to ID them virtually to eat a meal though.

Foreclosures
If you didn’t finish all of your courses, I guess the staff would have to foreclose on you and take everything away after a period of time.

Thank you for enduring my off sense of humor. I haven’t wr

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April 18, 2021

Ooops! Errors that Notaries make that courses don’t cover

Filed under: Technical & Legal — admin @ 8:06 am

Here are a few dumb mistakes Notaries make that courses might not address.

1. Missing signatures, dates or initials.

2. Sending the package back to the wrong Mortgage company.

3. Forgetting to send the package and finding it in your trunk three days after the fact only to find out that the borrower lost their lock as a result.

4. Forgetting to confirm the appointment and finding nobody home when you get to the destination.

5. Not making sure all signing parties are there only to find out that the wife is at work an hour away.

6. Not printing out the whole package.

7. Not having the correct printing or downloading software downloaded.

8. Telling the signer you will be there in 10 minutes and then showing up two hours later with some lame excuse

9. Answering all questions with a snow job trying to cover up the fact that you are new and know almost nothing. This just makes you look annoying in addition to being new. At least you could be a straight forward new person with dignity.

10. Not reading the directions sheet (if there is one) at the top of the package. You could get fired for that.

Common mistakes the borrowers make include letting their cat or dog scratch you or bite you. when they put their dog on the other side of a closed door, have you ever noticed that door always seems to open several minutes later only to create a scene? Some borrowers also read forever and didn’t go over the critical facts with their lenders. Other borrowers don’t have a table to sign on — and that is a serious issue.

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April 13, 2021

The “It can be more but not less” rule

Filed under: Technical & Legal — Tags: — admin @ 6:26 am

Don’t learn this rule. It is interpreted backwards as often as it is interpreted correctly, or scrambled completely.

BAD RULE: “It can be more but not less” rule.
APPLICATION: You can SIGN more but not less…
QUESTION: More but not less than WHAT?
More but not less than what it says on the ID or the document?

This stupid quick rule does not elaborate what you can sign more than and also misses a very critical point. If you cannot prove the name on the document using a photo ID, then you are taking a huge risk as a Notary.

Different states have different standards for identification. Georgia requires you to look at the ID but doesn’t mention whether the ID should match (might be outdated information, but that was what I read a few years ago.) California requires the name on the document to be proven based on the ID and also requires thumbprints for powers of attorney and deeds affecting real property (smart move.) But, regardless of the state, taking precautions and keeping thorough records can keep you out of court and shorten the length of investigations.

BAD RULE: “You can always sign more.”
QUESTION: More than WHAT?
Don’t use rules that leave ambiguities otherwise you will miss critical points due to an omission in the logical process.

JEREMY’S RULE: “The ID must prove the name on the document.”
Interpretation: The name on the ID can be matching and identical or matching but longer than the name typed in the signature section of the document. Additionally, the name you put in the Acknowledgment section should be provable based on the ID. It is possible to put a shorter name on the Acknowledgement than the name signed or printed on the document.

Example.
If the ID says John Smith
But, the document printed name says John W Smith
You could notarize this person as John Smith even if the person signs John W Smith.
Would the title company get mad at you? Would the county recorder record the notarization? Not sure, but at least you would not be breaking notary law by notarizing this way!

JEREMY’S RULE #2: “You can sign more than how the name is printed in the signature section, but not less.”
COMMENT: This is a more elaborate and thorough version of the more but not less rule. If you memorize incomplete rules, you will make logic mistakes and could end up in court as a consequence. It doesn’t happen often, but it could eventually. Why take chances and why be a bad notary? Understand all of the aspects of notarization and yes — it is a lot more complicated than you thought and requires intricate thinking.

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March 14, 2021

A review from a client that the Notary thought was low-brow

Filed under: Reviews — admin @ 4:42 am

A very educated Notary got a review from a client that said, “Patty rocks.” She wanted the review removed. I told her that the review was good. It was written in the language of a real person. Not all of us are university professors who use the queen’s English. Some of us use high-brow English, and others are more informal. The point is that the review was enthusiastic and real. And in real life, some of our clients might have an education not in excess of a Harvard Professor — or perhaps more than some.

So, accept the language they use, even a few spelling mistakes. The point is that the public needs to know that people like you and trust you. A Notary with no reviews has very little credibility.

In my opinion, your certifications mean more than reviews, but for the clients, the reviews mean more than the certifications. Certifications are given by impartial agencies who judge you based on your knowledge. Clients judge you based on if they like you and had a good experience. They are both important. But, some people fake reviews. It is not so easy to fake a certification. But, in any case, popularity trumps — so show the world that you have some!

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January 14, 2021

Notaries in cars drinking coffee and ID-ing people

Filed under: General Stories — admin @ 1:12 pm

More on the Notaries in cars issue. If you do a signing where the borrower hands over some signed documents through your car window, not only is that very unprofessional, but it is hard to do notary work without some sort of table. Things can get lost or fall.

You need to see all signers face to face, even if it is outside. You need to look at them and their ID, and then write down the particulars of their ID in your journal assuming your state or your conscience makes you keep one. If you don’t get a clear look face to face at all signers concerned, you are not doing your job.

It is easy to make mistakes or miss things if you are working in an unsuitable environment. Working on a trunk is more like a desk and you might be more in command of the process. You can have a done pile and an undone pile if you work on a trunk. There is plenty of room and it is a flat surface. Assuming the wind doesn’t blow you are good.

Personally, for such an involved signing such as a loan signing, if the borrower is too squeamish to let you inside, I would cancel the signing. It is just not professional to sign in your car. And once again, confirm the signing before you go and make sure they are not sick or squeamish. It makes more sense to wear a mask and sit six or more feet away from them and do your best to make the process smooth.

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