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March 23, 2017

The 3 day right to rescind

Filed under: (4) Documents,Loan Signing 101 — admin @ 8:00 am

This article intends to clarify dating on the Notice of Right to Cancel or RTC.

A borrower went to confession

TOM: “Forgive me father for I have rescinded.”

PADRE: “Did you rescind in the 3 day period?”

TOM: “Yes, father.”

PADRE: “Then, it is okay in the eyes of the lord. 3 hail Mary’s.”

TOM: “It was in two days, so can you reduce my sentence to 2 hail Mary’s?”

When you get a non-commercial and non-investment personal refinance, traditionally you get three days to resind or cancel your loan. Counties these three days is a skill that Notaries need, but don’t always have. In the old days, and with certain lenders, the Notary is reponsible to write in the TRANSACTION DATE in a blank in the RTC.

The transaction date is the date when a notarization is done or when a loan is signed. Technically with Acknowledged signatures, the signature can be made previous to the Notarization. It might be five minutes previously or twenty years previous to the notarization. During loan signings, the documents are normally signed at the time of the loan signing and promptly notarized.

The signature date is normally the same as the transaction date, but not necessarily and is the date the person signed the document. Once again, in an Acknowledgment, that could come before the notarization if the borrower wishes to sign ahead of time, but at a loan signing is normally on the date of the loan signing.

The notarization date is the date when a document is notarized.

The recission date or deadline or last day to rescind is three days after the date of the signing not including Sundays or Federal hollidays or other days that the Lender allows.

Please note that business days only include Monday to Friday while days to rescind include Monday to Saturday not including Federal Holidays of which there are ten.

Let’s do some practice runs.

(1.) A loan is signed New Year’s eve on Friday the 31st. What is the last day to cancel your Refinance?
Sat would be New Year’s Day a Federal holiday. Sunday would be a Sunday and not counted. So, you would have… Mon, Tues, Wednesday would be the last day.

(2.) A loan is signed on Monday in April when there are no Federal holidays. The last day to cancel is… Tues, Weds, Thursday would be the last day.

(3.) A loan is signed on Sunday in April. The last day to cancel is… Mon, Tues, Wednesday would be the last day to cancel.

(4.) A loan is signed on Thursday in April. The last day to cancel is… Fri, Sat, skip Sunday and Monday would be the last day to cancel.

(5.) A loan is signed Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The last day to cancel would be… Fri, Sat, skip sunday and then Monday would be the last day to cancel UNLESS the Lender allows Friday as an arbitrary holiday (they can be generous if they like) in which case it would be… Sat, Mon, and Tuesday would be the last day to cancel. Whether Black Friday is considered a holiday or not is up to the Lender and they are 50/50 on this one. But, if they don’t specify, then it is considered a regular business day with exceptionally long lines!

Now boys and girls, we understand the RTC or Notice of Right to Cancel. We hope you are also aware of when the ten Federal holidays come. It is not a bad idea to have a Rescission Calendar. I heard that the NNA might have them, so get one that fits in your wallet.

What’s in YOUR wallet?

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October 16, 2014

The Right to Cancel done Wrong

Filed under: (4) Documents,Ken Edelstein,Popular on Facebook (A little) — Tags: , — admin @ 8:10 pm

The Right to Cancel done Wrong
It’s easy to make errors on the Right to Cancel, also known as the Right of Rescission form. Unfortunately this form must be free of errors prior to funding. There are several ways to make a mess of it. This entry will cover a few of the more common errors; I’m sure some creative notaries out there will comment on the aspects that I neglected to mention.

Perhaps the most blatant error is to have to applicant sign in the “I wish to Cancel” area and not on the “I received two copies” area. Sounds silly? But, it does happen. This is a real show stopper as escrow and lending are faced with a cancellation that they cannot ignore! You cannot just line thru to improper signature (redact/initial) and have them sign in the proper place, the page must be replaced and signed *only* in the proper place.

“Three Business Days” that’s the standard. But, like so many things that sound simple it has some not so obvious gotchas. Those three days, when crossing a Saturday, have different meanings to different lenders. Thus, that “right of rescission” calendar that you carry stands a good chance of being wrong. Some count Saturday as one of the three days, some don’t. Of course if it’s filled in, along with the correct signing date; no problem. But to be sure, when a Saturday is involved you have to ask the proper authority for them to supply the end date of the rescission period. Your calendar “might” be wrong!

Each borrower is supposed to receive two *executed* copies of the RTC. They are not executed by merely being in the borrower document set. It is required that you “fish out” these pages and have the borrower(s) sign as received and the proper dates are on the top portion of the forms. You don’t do that? You have done many packages without a problem. Well, if you want to be a perfectionist, leave the borrower(s) executed copies (2). Often there will be only one RTC per borrower – so go the extra mile and be sure to return two executed per borrower with the docs.

Sometimes the signing gets pushed back a day or so. The RTC must be changed to reflect the new signing date and the correct end of the RTC. If there are preprinted entries they get a thin line thru them and the borrower initials the end of the line, not you! Then, the correct dates are entered, neatly please. The same procedure for the borrower copies. Two borrowers? You need to correct and have signed four forms. It’s a good idea to print a few spare forms…..

On rare occasions I have been asked to have the borrower(s) *only* initial the date areas that will need to be changed, with no dates entered. I do not feel comfortable with this. However, if you do this; be sure to do exactly the same process on the borrower(s) copy.

Often the “checklist” will mention the RTC but it will not be included in the package. It’s only relevant when the security for the loan is the borrower’s primary residence. Thus, if the property in question is for investment or a second home; there will be no applicable RTC forms.

Always pay extra close attention to the RTC, it’s a federally mandated form and must be perfect or you will get a request to visit the borrower again. This is the one case where you cannot swap out the borrower copy page to correct a flaw; as that page too must be perfect.

You might also like:

The 3 days to rescind
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19102

The 30 point course’s guide to the Right to Rescind
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14356

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

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July 22, 2021

How to find a Notary mentor

Filed under: General Stories — admin @ 3:59 am

Many Notaries ask me how to find a Notary mentor. I used to know people who did teaching and mentoring. But, they are all getting so old. I don’t know who to recommend. There are several issues here.

ISSUES WITH MENTORS

1. If you get a mentor who is near where you live, you represent competition for them. Even if they are the best in the world and you are brand new, you will eventually get better and take some market share from them.

2. If you get a mentor who is far, then how will you ever be able to meet with them?

3. Ideally, you want a mentor who is about an hour away so you are not in direct competition with them.

4. When I call people who are being mentored, whenever I ask about their skill set, they immediately tell me all about what their mentor knows and how great their mentor is. That is all very wonderful if I am going to hire their mentor, but not if I am going to hire the new Notary. Answer questions about you based on you. If you know nothing, be up front about that otherwise you would be a very slippery person who knows nothing vs. an honest straight forward person who knows nothing. People who hire notaries can see through all of this type of BS and none of us have patience for it or like it. Real answers to real questions please.

HOW TO FIND A MENTOR

NNA used to publish a list of mentors. I don’t know if they still know people who do this.

You can call the most experienced notaries on 123notary and see if any of them will help you. You could call local ones, or people far away with high placed listings.

The NNA claims that social media is a good place to find a Notary mentor. Facebook groups, forums, etc. I tend to agree with that idea. However, people who are busy and successful don’t always show their face on social media because they are too busy working so that they can keep being successful. Meanwhile, people who are not at all successful often spend all of their time on social media, sometimes bashing other people who spend their lives being productive (especially in the notary world.) Carmen and I are very familiar with that type of social media user.

Carol Ray knows many people in the business and might be able to help. She runs Notary2Pro which is an agency that trains Notaries.

Asking leaders of notary organizations (other than myself) might be a great idea. I know people who teach or used to teach, but I don’t know if they are mentors. I just emailed a few to ask if they do it or know anyone who does it. But, the various leaders of Notary organizations might know all sorts of people doing all sorts of things and there are many organizations out there.

HOW TO SCRUTINIZE A MENTOR

Not all people are experts at all things and not all experts are available or helpful. So, how do you find a good mentor? You could find someone 1000 miles away who is good at answering questions. But, that doesn’t help when you want to shadow someone. On a brighter note, if someone doesn’t want you shadowing them, they have to tell you to your face as you can’t “shadow ban” someone who is with you in person. You should ideally either have a company who can micromanage you and walk you through your first several signings, or find a local mentor you can tag along with for three to ten signings.

The mentor should know:
1. Local notary laws
2. Signing agent procedure
3. How to handle situations
4. How to explain the documents, initialing, the right to rescind, document recording, and basics about title, escrow, and lending.

Since you presumably don’t know anything about signing work or situations, you can see if that person knows how to be a good notary at a minimum. But, you won’t know if they are a good signing agent since you don’t know what to ask them to verify that information. You can ask questions about various notary signing topics and see how thorough or intelligent the answers are. However if you are at the stage where you are ready for a mentor, YOU need to be an expert at your state notary law yourself. If you are going to use your stamp even once, you could end up in big trouble if you do something wrong — so know your stuff!

It would be a little like me hiring someone to be a rocket scientist — I wouldn’t know what to ask them since I know nothing about rocket science.

IF YOU ARE A MENTOR
If you actually are a mentor and are willing to deal with new people and their insecurities, you can respond to this blog post! Additionally, if you know where to find a mentor, shares your comments as well.

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April 12, 2021

10 things you need to know as a Signing Agent

Filed under: Best Practices — admin @ 7:28 am

Most people are confused when they begin their career as a Notary signing agent. They don’t know what they need to learn or do, or how to get clients. Those in the business for many years have the opposite problem. They think they know everything while they know very little — at least when I test them. Here is what I think Notaries should learn and how to learn it.

1. Be a good Notary. What does that entail?
You need to know the rules for each notary act and how to fill out forms. You also need to know how to administer Oaths correctly and few Notaries do this well or take it seriously. You can lose your commission if a judge finds out you didn’t give an Oath on any particular Affidavit, Jurat or sworn statement that you notarized. It is easy to learn how to do this, but few make it their business to know their job. Read your state’s notary manual regularly. You can also read blogs from NNA, 123notary or other Notary agencies. But, your state notary division is gospel, and the agencies are sometimes wrong — so treat their information as commentary. Keeping a journal is also imperative, because when you are in court, and 15% of serious Notaries end up before a judge sooner or later, your journal is your only evidence. The more thoroughly you keep your journal, the happier the judge will be with you. If you identify someone incorrectly or carelessly you might be empowering an imposter to steal a house from someone or commit fraud. We teach all of these points on our blog on Notary Public 101.

Summary of point 1.
Understanding All applicable Notary Acts, Identification procedures, Journal procedure, and Oaths are the bedrock of being a good Notary.

2. Understand The Right to Cancel
Residential owner occupied Refinances typically have a Right to Rescind document. Understanding how to date this document properly is not rocket science, but experienced Notaries flake and goof and get the dates wrong when I test them on a regular basis. It is not rocket sciencem, and no, the NASA website doesn’t cover this, it is a matter of counting to three and not counting Sundays or Federal Holidays.

3. Understand FAQ’s about loan signing.
When is my first payment due?
Where is my rate, APR?
Do I have a prepayment penalty and where is it?
Where are my closing costs and fees itemized?
Do I have to send a check or other documents not included in the package?
How long can I read my borrower’s copies before rescinding
How do I cancel my loan?

Many Notaries feel that they need to be experts at all of the documents. As a general rule, you should know the difference between the Correction Agreement LPOA and a Compliance Agreement, although there are so many variations in these documents that they are all different and you have to read each one — but, being familiar and knowledgeable about these document variations pays off as this is a FAQ that people are concerned about. Most loan signing courses go over this information and you should memorize this as people at signings will ask about it.

4. Understanding Reverse Mortgages, TRID, Helocs, Purchases, etc.
LSS’s course seems to do the best job teaching these types of loans (or documents) that are new in popularity over the last few years. Most signing courses were written ten or twenty years ago when Reverse Mortgages either didn’t exist or were not a popular item. Since as a Notary, you are not allowed to explain the terms of a person’s loan, but only allowed to help signers find information within the loan, it is NOT critical to understand these loans or documents, but make you look good if you did. So consider point four to be a plus, but not a necessity.

5. Explain or don’t explain
In our various blog courses we go over point by point what a Notary should explain or not explain. The 30 point course discusses this in detail. This is critical because otherwise you might get yourself in trouble talking about what you have no business of talking about. Or you might talk about something you know nothing about. Or, you might not answer a question which you should know the answer and express the answer about. Boy, this is complicated.

6. How to find new clients
There are many ways. We write about this in the marketing section of our blog, but you might have to scroll.

7. How to background screen clients
Not all clients are pleasant or pay on time. Use the 123notary or Notary Rotary forum to see which companies are worth working for. Please be informed that in the last two years there has been a drastic decline in forum commentary on our forum and on NotaryRotary’s, although theirs is much more well trafficked than ours. There is less quantity of reliable information about the various signing companies. But, still do your research.

8. How to collect from clients
Some people don’t pay on time, so you have to know how to keep records, how to bill people, and how to threaten them the right way if they keep you waiting for payment. We go over this in our courses.

9. Where to learn about general information
You should read the various blogs out there. NNA and 123notary have interesting blogs where you can learn and source information from antiquated entries on particular topics.

10. How to handle tricky situations
In Notary Public 101 we go over many sticky situations and explain how to think about them and how to handle them. Understanding this content makes you a more confident, trustworthy and safe Notary! It’s like a vaccine made out of knowledge!

Further Reading
As a general rule, I recommend getting certified by various entities, not just one. I recommend Notary Public 101 and the 30 Point Course in our blog as well as reading our blog articles about marketing and notarial issues in particular. LSS offers a very practical course that is more sensitive to what is going on in the industry now. Notary2Pro seems to churn out the best trained Notaries of any certification. 123notary has the hardest certification test and passing it will prove yourself better than the other certifications.

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February 22, 2021

Does my welcome call boost your confidence?

Filed under: Advertising — admin @ 4:12 am

When I make welcome calls, the purpose is to get your information straight, answer any questions you have, and to acquaint myself with you. Most people don’t like to talk much, and have very little input to give me. But, there are always a few who are bright and bushy-tailed and have lots of insecurities and questions about the industry.

I try to help people decide how much E&O to get, and whom to get it from. What certification course(s) to take and why. I recommend ours as well as other agencies — they get free sales work from me (how nice of me.) How to contact companies, how to get reviews, and what to think about as a new signing agent. I help with all of these things.

It is hard as a new signing agent. It is hard to have confidence when you really don’t know which end is up or what your end of the bargain is. The fact is that you don’t need to know much about the documents, but you do need to know how to market yourself and handle situations.

Basically, whatever they teach in certification courses is the opposite of what you need to know — not that I am knocking traditional knowledge. You need to know where basic information is in the documents — where the rate, APR, prepayment penalty, 1st payment due, fees, closing costs, etc. you need to know why the rate is lower than the APR and how to date the Right to Rescind. You need to know how to be a good Notary — that is a little harder. But, the hard part is how to get used and handle difficult companies. We teach this if you read our marketing materials in our blog.

I hope I can help you with your confidence. The honest truth is that knowledge and a little experience go a long way. So read our tutorials on the blog and study from various sources and be solid in what you know. I feel confidence in others when they are solid. You can feel confidence in yourself when you are solid.

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October 10, 2019

Stand up routine at a signing

Filed under: Humorous Posts — admin @ 11:23 pm

It started out being just a normal signing. But, the Notary was no ordinary Notary.

NOTARY: Hi, my name is Charles and I will be your signing agent this evening. If you have any questions during the signing process, please feel free to address those to me.

BORROWER: Sounds like a deal, Charles. We’ll conduct the signing in the dining room.

NOTARY: Great.

BORROWER: Would you like to sit down?

NOTARY: Oh, you see, my style of signings is more of a stand up signing.

BORROWER: Oh, yeah, I read in your reviews that you are a stand up guy. Now, I think I know what they meant.

NOTARY: Good one. I didn’t know my reviews said that. I thought it said that I showed up on time;

BORROWER: That was only for one signing, the one where you set your clocks back an hour in November. No wonder you were on time for the first time in your life.

NOTARY: That was low, but it works. Anyway. Let’s begin with the Deed of Trust. We need to initial each page.

BORROWER: Have you done this before, or do you consider this to be improv?

NOTARY: I did my routine once, but on a reverse mortgage, so I have to turn my jokes around for this type of signing.

BORROWER: Do you need to go back into the driveway and turn your car around too?

NOTARY: Not until the signing is over.

BORROWER: Good one! Okay, look. This is my initial initial.

NOTARY: Hey, not fair, you are funnier than me. Oh look, your APR is 6.2% — what a joke!

BORROWER: Uh oh, I could have you reported for kibbitzing on my loan. No commentary aloud — allowed.

NOTARY: Did you just make a word play? You are right, I have no place commenting on your loan, especially not satirically.

BORROWER: I didn’t shop around for this.

NOTARY: It’s okay. The 30 years you are paying 6.2% instead of 6.1% will probably only cost you $40,000 and I’m sure the ten hours you saved by not shopping around is worth more than $40,000, right?

BORROWER: Grumble. You are so fired, but thanks.

NOTARY : On the other hand, rates just went up, so you probably lost your lock, and the financial institution you borrowed from is one of the best and gives competitive rates, so you did okay. I just said what I said in jest.

BORROWER: Hey, you just made a word play with the just and the jest. Was that a soliloquy?

NOTARY: No, you are just being silly-oquy. Now, let’s look at the HUD or the Closing Disclosure. Hmm, it says the Notary fee is $300. Guess how much of that I get?

BORROWER: Umm, the whole thing?

NOTARY: You missed your calling in life — you should have been a comedian. No, I get $60 which covers my gas, printing, other auto expenses, and a happy meal.

BORROWER: Reminds me of the time I went on a rick-shaw ride in India. The guy wanted 70 rupees and I offered him 60. He said, “Hey buddy, the price if imported whiskey is not going down — 70, no discounts.”

NOTARY: How comforting. That reminds me of the Arabian signer I had who told me all about his harem. He had four Saudi girls, two African girls, but wanted a blonde. So, he went to all types of trouble to coerce a blonde to live with him in his palace. He finally got a girl named Christina to be part of his harem. He said, “Once I had a blonde blue eyed lady as part of my harem — Christina. She always used to talk back to me… I found it so (pause) refreshing. After three months I had to send her back to the states. I will never forget my little Christina.”

BORROWER: You know how it is for people in third world countries. I think there is an expression about white girls (or guys) — Once you’ve had vanilla, you’ll love like a chinchilla, sipping sarsparilla, on a beach on the coast of Manila.

NOTARY: That must be a come back to — once you’ve had black, ain’t no turning back.

BORROWER: Something like that, although yours is more imaginative especially with the chinchilla. Do they have chinchillas in the Philippines?

NOTARY: Not sure, I think they are cute little creatures who live in the Andes. Okay, now to the Right to Rescind. Forgive me father, for I have rescinded.

BORROWER: Oh, that’s an old one. I’ve heard that many times from all of the past Notaries I’ve met.

NOTARY: I know, sounds like something they would say on late night television on Craig Ferguson’s show. Okay, you can cancel by email, fax, or in writing.

BORROWER: I don’t have a fax.

NOTARY: Well then better make sure you really want this loan!

BORROWER: I think I want it. But, I do have email.

NOTARY: Better print out the email and the send date so you have proof that you sent it. You know how these banks are.

BORROWER: Okay, I signed here. Are you going to acknowledge my signature.

NOTARY: No, you are.

BORROWER: So, let me get this straight. I acknowledge my own signature, and then you are the one who gets paid.

NOTARY: As I said before — you’re in the wrong profession.

BORROWER: I’m beginning to think you are right.

NOTARY: Now, on to the signature affidavit. You have to swear that you signed it.

BORROWER: Okay, (raising his right hand) I swear.

NOTARY: But, you haven’t signed it yet.

BORROWER: Oh yeah.

NOTARY: Thank God you’re not a Notary, missing a signature like that — otherwise you’d really be in the wrong profession! That’s not only careless what you did, but illegal — 5 years.

BORROWER: Five years for a little joke?

NOTARY: That was under Oath with a public official — me.

BORROWER: Good God, I’ll stick to jokes about the APR from now on. Did you hear about the APR that wanted to go onto the next stage in life? He became a BPR.

NOTARY: Bad one. Boo. I got one. How do you define the APR to a non-borrowing spouse?

BORROWER: You mention it deducts many of the fees and closing costs before doing the calculation? That’s not funny.

NOTARY: It is with your loan. Have you seen the appraisal fee — that’s insane!

BORROWER: You’re fired… again. Except I can’t fire you because you have something on me — that damn Oath I took. My pre-signature Oath.

NOTARY: Those pre-signature Oaths will get you every time. I call them pre-sigs. Happens all the time. Borrowers will swear to anything, they think it’s cool.

BORROWER: Now to do the Jurat. You need to watch me sign in your presence for one of these according to what I read in Jeremy’s course. Are you watching? I’m signing now, keep looking…. I saw you look away… Keep looking.

NOTARY: Are you even watching what you are signing, or are you just watching me?

BORROWER: Oh, you are … what a scribble. I signed that? I should have been paying attention.

NOTARY: Correction, you should have been witnessing your own signature instead of trying to witness me witnessing your signature.

BORROWER: Once again, I’m in the wrong profession, but thank God I’m not a Notary.

NOTARY: Exactly. Jokes aside — yes! Okay.. got one. What did the Notary say to the borrower?

BORROWER: Umm. Sign here?

NOTARY: No, he said, “Sign exactly as your name appears on title.”

BORROWER: That sounds about right, but isn’t funny. What if the borrower is irate about their APR?

NOTARY: That’s more along the lines of where you get to the punch line. Or getting thrown down a flight of stairs.

BORROWER: Ouch. Did that really happen?

NOTARY: It’s all documented in Jeremy’s blog — real story, and that’s no joke. Now let’s look at the 1003.

BORROWER: Page three says, “This page intentionally left blank.” sounds like a Seinfeld situation. It’s more like a joke than a real loan document.

NOTARY: That’s the irony. It looks like a joke, but it actually isn’t a joke.

BORROWER: That’s kind of like most of your jokes in reverse. They sound like jokes, but they aren’t funny.

NOTARY: You laughed, so they are funny, at least to you.

BORROWER: You got me on that one just like my Lender got me on the APR.

NOTARY: Now it is time to do journal thumbprints. I need three thumbprints, one here, one here, and one here — one for each entry.

BORROWER: Here you go.

NOTARY: So, how would you rate the signing overall — jokes aside?

BORROWER: I would give it three thumbs, but not three thumbs up. Three thumbs horizontally.

NOTARY: Not sure if that constitutes an official rating, but it will have to do.

You might also like:

Index of best comedy posts from 2015
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20295

The Mayan rescission calendar
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15096

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October 7, 2019

How often do you do a clean up job because Notary #1 botched the signing?

Filed under: Business Tips — admin @ 11:21 pm

Most of the more experienced Notaries out there have done clean up signings. It is amazing to see what types of errors the initial Notaries made. Forgetting to have borrowers sign, forgetting to have acknowledgment wording, or forgetting to cross out the pronouns. Sometimes it is missing initials, or missing pages. Many Notaries do not know how to date a Right to Rescind, and I find this out when I test them.

No wonder so many companies want you to fax every page to them. There are so many careless and sloppy Notaries out there. Notaries used to do better on my testing 15 years ago. Things have gone downhill and so have fees. This gives more work for people I call, “The cleaners” — sounds mafia.

What are the sloppiest errors you have seen while doing a clean up job?

You might also like

A Los Angeles detective seizes two journals and complains about a thumbprint
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=22237

13 ways to get sued as a notary
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19614

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January 15, 2019

Notary Etiquette 104 — Confirming the Signing & At the Signing

Filed under: Etiquette — Tags: , , — admin @ 10:28 pm

CONFIRMING THE SIGNING & AT THE SIGNING
Return to Table of Contents for – Notary Etiquette 104

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1. Call to confirm the signing.
First introduce yourself on the confirmation call. Then go over all pertinent points. Make sure the ID proves the name on the documents and that all the signers will be there. You should also verify that there is a clean table to sign on. You should go over how long the signing should take, if there is anything going back to the document custodian and if they have used morphine or Jack Daniels within several hours of the signing. Nothing beats a sober signer or a well-organized Notary Public.

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2. Introduce yourself at the door.
It is good to mention that you are Joe the signing agent and that it is your job to facilitate the signing. Mention that they can address all of your questions to you, but that you cannot answer specific questions about their loan, but only general questions about loan documents and Notary procedure.

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3. Small talk is good.
People like a friendly Notary who can talk about small talk. But, avoid any topics that could be controversial such as gender issues, sex, guns, and how born-again Christians should have a second birth certificate for when they were born the second time.

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4. Don’t discuss guns and religion.
Unless you are notarizing the Obamas, don’t bring up Joe the plumber, or religion. But, if you are notarizing the head of the NRA then you might reconsider guns. If you ask him to shoot you an email, don’t be surprised if he asks what you want him to shoot it with! Yee-haw!!!

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5. Don’t park in the driveway.
The driveway is for the residents to park in, not you. You are their humble servant who parks on the street (sorry).

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6. Call if you’re going to be late.
If you are going to be late, call and let them know ahead of time rather than keeping people hanging.

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7. Don’t rush the borrowers.
On the other hand, if you have another appointment to go to, let them know when you have to depart. If you are under a time crunch, you can discuss their right to rescind if applicable and remind them that they have borrower copies.

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8. No drinks on the table
Drinks can spill, so unless you want your Deed of Trust drenched, keep the drinks on a chair or a separate table — no exceptions.

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9. Know when to call the Lender.
If the borrower asks questions, you need to know in advance which questions you can answer and which questions to refer to the Lender. You should have the phone numbers for Title, the lender, and any other relevant party. You can answer questions about what information is where in the documents as well as Notary questions. You should not answer questions specific to their loan.

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10. Middle initials
If the signer doesn’t want to sign with their middle initial, politely tell them that they need to sign the way their name reads on title otherwise their loan might not fund.

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11. How long to wait for return calls
If you try to reach one of the contact people for the loan such as Title, Loan Officer, Lender, etc., and they do not answer, try to give them a reasonable amount of time to respond. Twenty minutes to an hour seems reasonable.

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12. Dress for success.
People get very put off if you do not dress like a business professional. Business casual or business formal is fine. Avoid jeans and definitely don’t wear flip flops, shorts, bathing suits, heavy makeup, short skirts, or night club apparel. Signers get in trouble all the time for not dressing for success.

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13. Don’t bring your kids.
Believe it or not, some Notaries will bring their family to the signing. This is very intrusive and rude. Either keep your family at home, or in the car, but don’t bring them to the signing.

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14. Don’t complain.
Don’t tell the customers how bad certain signing companies are or who didn’t pay you. Keep your personal business personal. It makes a terrible impression if you talk about this stuff.

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15. Don’t give opinions about the loan.
The worst thing a Notary can do is to give an opinion, especially a negative opinion about a loan. You can get fired, blacklisted or even sued because of this. Some borrowers might cancel their loan because you told them they were getting ripped off.

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16. Following instructions
If you were asked to sign in blue, then sign in blue. If you were asked to start at page four, just do it, don’t explain or make excuses, just follow instructions. If you are asked to fax back page 1 to 28, don’t complain, just do it.

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17. If you make a mistake
If you make a mistake as a Notary, you might have to go back out there and fix the mistake. So, don’t keep people waiting. Go back out there and clean up after yourself.

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18. The grace period
As a Notary, you might be asked to answer emails after a job is done. There might be a problem, error, or just an inquiry. If you don’t answer your email or phone because you are on vacation or just don’t feel like it, that can cause a big problem.

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April 2, 2018

Scenarios: The Frank camping trip question

Filed under: Loan Signing 101 — admin @ 12:17 am

Frank does a loan signing on Monday and drops the package in the drop box at 3pm, calls in the tracking number and then wants to go camping. How many days should Frank wait before embarking on his camping trip and why?

I think that Frank should wait until he confirms with the Lender that the package has been looked over in its entirety, or until the rescission date, before going camping. If there is any issue, they might need Frank’s immediate communication and cooperation. Notaries who are not responsive after signings get regular complaints on our review system.

But, let’s review why you should wait and how long you should wait.
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1. Camping = not responding to emails = complaints
The most common source of complaints in our review system is due to Notaries who are either rude, make Notary mistakes or are unresponsive after a job has been completed. Sometimes the Notary forgets to send the documents in, and sometimes they just don’t answer their email when there is an issue or question with the documents that were sent in. If you don’t respond, you get complaints. If you are camping, you might not be in a position to answer emails quickly and might not have internet access.

A lot of wise guy Notaries say that they would take their laptop camping and that they only go to a camping spot where there is internet. I think these Notaries are personalizing the question rather than answering it based on general sense which dictates that camping spots are normally out of circulation and that the question is not about THEIR camping spot, but about camping spots in general.
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2. Types of issues
If you hand in loan documents, there might be several types of issues.

(a) A missing document. Perhaps Title never included it in the package, but you will be questioned and blamed if it does not come back to them.
(b) A missing signature or initial. This one is your fault and it will come back to you within a day of receiving the documents.
(c) Recording issues normally happen after day five and are rare. Your stamp’s impression might be too light or some arbitrary and nitpicky complaint about your seal could happen. You cannot hold yourself hostage forever, so focus on more common issues.
(d) Fedex was delayed for some reason. If so, you get called and you have to answer questions about where you dropped the package, when you dropped it, what the tracking number is, whether you gave it to a person or put it in a box, etc.
(e) A missing check or document that was to come from the borrower and be included in the package.
(f) A redraw and resign. Perhaps the borrower decides they want to change something about the loan and there needs to be a resign. This happens from time to time and you will get called if it does.
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3. Timeline
If there is a problem with a loan, it is unclear how fast you will find out about it. Here is my approximation of a timeline.

Day of the signing — the loan gets signed and dropped in a drop box hopefully at a manned Fedex station or other courier station or box. If the package gets dropped after the cut off, it doesn’t get picked up until the next day or early evening.

Day 1 — An overnighted package might be received on this day, the day after the signing which I call Day one since the day of the signing doesn’t count as a day in the rescission calendar. You might hear from someone on this day if there is a problem, but it is more likely you will hear from someone on day two.

Day 2 — A 2 day air package or delayed overnight package will probably arrive on this day. Just because the Lender received the package doesn’t mean they looked at it in its entirety yet. It might be sitting on their desk. You are likely to hear from someone on day two, but not necessarily.

Day 3 — By this day, the package will most likely be received and looked over. But, a few stragglers might still not have looked over everything and the secretary might still have the package in a pile on her desk.
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Day 4 — By now, the right to rescind is probably over or will be over by midnight if there was a Sunday or Federal Holiday within the four calendar days. It is probably safe to go camping now.
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Day 5 — If there are recording issues, those might surface after day five, but are rare, so don’t lose sleep over them.

4. When is it safe to go camping?
If you alert your client in writing before the signing happens saying that you are out of circulation and that if there is a problem, you are on your own — you still might get blamed, but at least you put the alert in writing.

I would wait until day four to go camping OR call the Lender and make sure he/she has looked over the entire package before going camping. Sending the package by fax and having them inspect it the afternoon you completed the package is yet another option if they are available to inspect it. Most issues come to surface on day two or day three, so by day four you are likely to be off the hook. Check your emails once a day anyway just to be a good service provider.

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March 31, 2018

Scenarios. The Chad question revisited

Filed under: Loan Signing 101 — admin @ 12:18 am

When I ask the Chad question to Notaries, I reword it sometimes to give some diversity the question (If wanted diversity why am I using a name like “Chad?”) The main point of the question is that I give instructions, divert the conversation with some other commentary about the situation, and then put the Notary in a situation where they will have to regurgitate the instructions.

Instructions:
Chad says, “If there is a problem, call me and only me. If I don’t answer, send me an email.” (Sometimes I say text or leave a message.)

You get to the signing. Jesse is the signer. You arrive at 11am. Jesse signs half the documents, but refuses to sign the flood disclosure until he can talk to someone. You call Chad. Chad does not answer. What do you do now?

Wrong Answers

1. You complete the signing and inform the borrower about their three day right to rescind. Of course, not all signings are refinances on personal properties, so there might not be a right to rescind. Commentary: This is not a bad way to proceed, but it is not following directions. Chad will fire you.

2. You call Title because that is what you normally do and it makes sense. Commentary: Yes, that makes sense and ordinarily you should call all contacts that you can call. However, your instructions were to call Chad and only Chad. Chad will fire you if you divert from exact instructions.

3. You leave the signing. Commentary: Bad idea. You need to give Chad a little time to get back to you. How much time is reasonable can vary. I would allow sixty minutes total for an appointment as a general rule. I would allow twenty minutes for a call back as a general rule. Give Chad a chance to call you back, and send him that email and leave a text too.

Correct Answer
Chad asked you to send him an email, so send him an email and do not call anyone else because he is the one paying you and told you not to. Doing what you are told will gain you many repeat clients. Disobeying them the minute they ask you to do something that you do not normally do, or something that doesn’t make sense to you, can get you fired. Just because an instruction doesn’t make sense to you doesn’t mean it does not make sense to the person giving it to you. If you don’t like an instruction, take that up with your boss at the moment the instruction is given, and not at the moment you wish to disobey the instruction. However, if Chad tells you to do something illegal as a Notary, you cannot and should not obey him. A Notary obeys the law first and then their client. If there is a conflict of interest between client and law, side with the law. If there is a conflict between client and best practices, side with best practices as a safety precaution for the Notary.

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Marcy overlooks the instructions in the 30 point course.
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The green pen question revisited.
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20146

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