Marcy’s Failure in Following Directions
Alternate Title: Why Marcy Wouldn’t Make a Good GPS; She Can’t Follow Directions!
Marcy yet again had another signing before she had finished her course. She knew it all now though. She found out what she had done wrong with the signature affidavit after calling Carmen. She knew not to have drinks on the table. She knew that the 1003 was always wrong. And she knew that Lenders always answer the phone, except during the critical moment when a borrower has a problem at the signing. So, what else could possibly go wrong?
MARCY: I keep making mistakes.
CLAUDIA: Well, I’m your friend, and I’m telling you — you’re going to just go out there, and keep working. You’ll get there.
MARCY: Thanks for the support. Without you I’d just sit home and mope. But, I probably wouldn’t get thrown in jail either.
CLAUDIA: You won’t get thrown in jail. Sued maybe, but not thrown in jail.
MARCY: Thanks… I’m going now… and I’ve learned my lesson the hard way for the third time now.
(at the signing)
MARCY: Hi, I’m Marcy, and I’ll be your notary for the evening.
CYNTHIA: Thanks for coming. Have you done this before? The last notary they sent had no experience.
MARCY: Well, I’ve done a few now, and I owe it all to my friend Claudia.
CYNTHIA: Oh good. So, you know what to watch out for.
MARCY: Yup. Take that glass of water OFF the table. That’s the worst thing to watch out for.
CYNTHIA: Okay, let me sign right here.
MARCY: You just cancelled your loan.
CYNTHIA: I did?
MARCY: Yes.. but, since I did my homework, I know what to do. I am going to go into your borrowers’ copies and get you a fresh Right to Cancel. Please sign right here. I’ll put my hand over where you are not supposed to sign so we don’t ruin this loan like the last.
CYNTHIA: The last?
MARCY: Well, the names didn’t match up and the Lender wasn’t answering his phone.
CYNTHIA: Oh, how confidence-inspiring. But, so far you have saved me from two huge blunders. Thanks!
(later on)
CYNTHIA: We are all done with the package except for this last document. The automatic payment disclosure. But, I won’t sign it without talking to my Lender. What now?
MARCY: Okay, let’s call. (ring-ring) As usual he isn’t there. Oh well. We can send in the rest of the paperwork and then send this one in once you’ve talked to the Lender.
CYNTHIA: I’m not sending anything in.
Marcy overlooked to read the loan instructions. To make this story interesting, Marcy was instructed to call Title, The Signing Company, Escrow, and the Lender if anything went wrong during the signing. She was to call all four numbers. If she had, the Escrow agent always worked late and had alternate numbers for the Lender. Additionally, she could answer even the most difficult questions about the automatic payment disclosure since she was an expert at the topic. But, once again Marcy screwed up. She didn’t follow directions. She didn’t even read it. What if the directions had told her to sign in green ink? How would she know if she didn’t read. Fortunately, this blunder didn’t cost the borrower her loan, and it was the borrower’s fault for being stubborn about sending in the documents. Marcy was only lightly reprimanded for this error.
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Point (11) Following Directions
Notaries are expected to follow directions. (But male Notaries will never ask for directions.) However, each signing company and each Lender wants something different. It can be hard to keep track of each person’s unique instructions. But, you can get fired if you don’t. So pay attention!
Example (a)
Chad was assigned to sign a loan. He was instructed to call the Lender if anything went wrong. The signer didn’t want to sign with their middle initial Z. So, Chad called the signing company and they said the borrower didn’t have to use the Z. So, they signed the loan and sent it back. Chad got fired the next day. Why? Because he was instructed to call the Lender if there was trouble, and nobody else. Chad didn’t follow directions. He insisted, “But, I always call the signing company if something goes wrong.” Don’t do what you always do, do what you are asked to do!
Example (b)
On another loan, Chad was instructed to use blue ink. Since the signing company expected Chad to not follow directions unless they put it in his face, they taped several blue pens to the first page of the loan package. It was blatantly obvious that they wanted the loan signed in blue, because it was for a Florida property. This time Chad followed directions.
Example (c)
In our next example, Chad was instructed to leave a message for the Lender if anything went wrong during the signing.
Chad did a signing for Alex. The signing went well except that Alex didn’t like the HUD. Chad tried to call the Lender that night, but the Lender didn’t answer. So, Chad had Alex sign it anyway, and Chad held on to the documents so that he could reach the Lender the next day. The documents never arrived on time and Alex lost his loan. What did Chad do wrong?
Chad was supposed to leave a message. However, Chad only called the Lender, and gave up when the Lender didn’t answer. Chad never actually left a message. The next thing Chad did wrong was to hold the HUD. If Alex didn’t like the HUD, Alex should hold on to it, not the Notary. Next, Chad should have sent the documents that were signed back to the Lender or Title without delay. Chad forgot to call the Lender the next day because he had eight signings, and the documents never got back on time. The moral of the story is to follow directions to a T and to get the documents back on time.
Example (d)
Korey hires a notary to do a signing for Joe Shmoe. Korey tells the Chad notary that if there is a problem, the notary should call him, and only him, at this one number — otherwise the notary is fired. The notary goes to the signing and finds out that the borrower is named as a seller in the XYZ document. The notary calls Korey and gets, “Hi, this is Korey, I am not here right now…”.
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Q. What should the notary do now?
(a) Convince the borrower to sign and explain the right to cancel
(b) Tell the borrower that if he doesn’t sign, he won’t get his loan
(c) Cancel the signing
(d) Continue the signing
(e) Leave a message
(f) Call the Title Company
(g) Call the signing company
Only 10% get this question correct. The correct answer is to leave a message. You were not instructed to do anything other than that. After you leave a message, you might consider the other options, but leave a message first as that is what you were instructed to do.
Example (e)
The signing company tells Chad to go to the signing and call them when he is parked outside the house. So, Chad goes to the house, parks, goes inside, sits down at the dining room table, and then calls the signing company. Chad didn’t listen!
Example (f)
A Notary’s seal didn’t come out clearly. Title calls him and asks him to send a loose certificate in the mail. The Notary refuses. Did the Notary fail to follow instructions? The answer is that the Notary is obeying a higher authority which is the Secretary of State, which in most states if not all states, forbids Notaries from sending loose certificates that are not stapled to the original document as they might be used for fraud. However, the Notary could request that the original document & certificate be returned to him. The Notary could then destroy the original certificate (by shredding perhaps) and then create another certificate, staple it and send it back without seeing the signer. This would be legal as the certificate section is not required by law to be completed at the time of the notarization, and because the original was destroyed leaving only one certificate per notarization.
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Signing Stream makes notaries sign a contract that they won’t write anything on forums
Signing Stream is a signing company that is written about from time to time on our forum. On our list of signing companies, the reviews of this company are more negative than they are positive. But, what is unusual is that this company has a contract that forbids the notaries from writing anything electronically about their company. As you know, many notaries enjoy posting on our forum as well as on Notary Rotary’s forum. Posting on forums is how notaries learn critical information about signing companies as well as how they share information with other notaries. It seems like this company wants to tie the notary’s hands and put them in a bind.
One notary told me that they don’t always get documents in time from Signing Stream and don’t always get paid on time. But, she also said that she knows other notaries who are always paid on time by them. So, it looks as if you need to be popular or lucky to get paid on time on a regular basis. I also heard that they don’t want to hear about payment inquiries until the payment is at least sixty days due. I can understand that they don’t want to be badgered and hounded by a bunch of broke notaries, but sixty days? I think that forty-five days is more reasonable. After all, notaries have a legitimate right to know if they will have any food on the table.
My question is: should notaries be willing to work for any company that prohibits them from publishing their opinion on a forum? Such terms seem very unreasonable and very questionable. I think this would be a good Facebook discussion!
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