May 2020 - Page 3 of 3 - Notary Blog - Signing Tips, Marketing Tips, General Notary Advice - 123notary.com
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May 10, 2020

Notaries over 40 – a list of ten things that define your life

Filed under: General Stories — admin @ 9:42 am

I published another article called Notaries over 50. But, Notaries in their 40’s have issues too. Let’s look at those issues. Most Notaries are older people. That is why we do better on Facebook than Instagram, but that is a different issue. Notaries tend to be women, and tend to be in Real Estate or Lending. Roughly 90% of our Notaries are over 40. Here are some issues you might have in your 40’s if you are a Notary.

1. You burned out in your career and now you want a free-er lifestyle.

2. You are fine but your industry got burned out due to changes in interest rates or other uncontrollable events and decided to become a Notary.

3. Your kids graduated from High School, now you have some extra time and foolishly decided to become a Notary.

4. You got pregnant, and how you need a way to support your (illegitimate) children. oops. That is for Notaries in their 20’s — wrong article

5. Your friends either moved away, ignore you because they are devoted to their careers, or got married and focus on the family and never call you any more. Meanwhile your family is busy dying one by one and you feel more socially isolated than any other time in your life. God, being 40 something sucks!

6. You get a gallstone and seek help from a Chinese herbalist named Qiao. You can spell her name but not pronounce it unless you took high school Chinese and learned Pin Yin romanization.

7. You start getting dizzy for no reason and decide to drink more water.

8. You put more money in retirement than you spend having fun because having fun is no fun anymore now that all your friends have abandoned you.

9. You spend more time reading 123notary’s blog in hopes of enlightenment, entertainment and becoming a master of your craft.

10. You wish signing companies would pay you on time so you send threatening letters which works, but leaves you feeling empty inside thinking — why is life like this? Why can’t they just be decent human beings and pay me?

I hope you enjoyed my list of realistic things that happen as a Notary once you turn forty. Let me know if you have other things you would like to share. Perhaps I could use the comments to write another article.

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May 7, 2020

Oaths must be signed by the Notary

Filed under: Technical & Legal — admin @ 9:40 am

I read in page 28 of the California Notary handbook that Oaths must be signed by the Notary. How do you sign a verbal act? Jurats must be signed and have a form and place to sign. But, an Oath is a purely verbal act with no accompanying paperwork at least in California. I am stumped. Can someone explain what I am missing?

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May 6, 2020

Girls just want to have fun; Notaries just want to get paid;

Filed under: Business Tips — admin @ 9:39 am

I remember that Cyndi Lauper song from the 80’s – Girls, just want to have fun. It was popular at one time. But, during this decade, we have a different dilemma. Notaries just want to get paid. Why is it that so many Notaries don’t get paid? It is a question of doing your homework. There are various reasons why Notaries don’t get paid. Here are my points on the matter:

1. Notaries who lack experience are seen as less valuable to companies. They typically get paid last if there is a monetary constraint. This is especially true of Notaries who come across as unprofessional, whiny, or make mistakes. The way to remedy this situation is to be more professional and punctual rather than claiming to be as such. Additionally, getting more experience would help as well.

2. Research all companies you work for. If you think you can just blindly accept jobs from companies, I recommend thinking again. Roughly half of the companies out there do not pay on time, or sometimes at all. If you visit the various forums you can easily see who the good apples and bad apples are. You are not just comparing apples to apples — okay, bad example, you are just comparing apples to apples.

3. Have companies paypal you up front. After all, you are not in the finance business. You are not a lender. So, why should you extend credit to a complete stranger? Beginners may have trouble attracting people who will pay up front. But, you can reduce your fee to gain this privilege. It might be worth sacrificing a few bucks to avoid the hassle of chasing people around for petty cash and to avoid the risk of not getting paid at all.

4. Billing regularly and keeping good records is essential. If you go easy on people who owe you money, that will not get you paid.

5. Sending threatening letters to those who have owed you for more than 60 days makes sense. 123notary has a template of just such a letter in our resource page.

Summary
Getting paid is not a complicated art form. It is a matter of following some basic common sense protocol. I hope you learn this and make a habit out of it. Otherwise you might be on the hook for thousands.

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May 5, 2020

Squirrels and notes sections – they all look the same

Filed under: Your Notes Section — admin @ 9:39 am

I often wonder how squirrels tell each other apart. “Hey, who stole my acorn? Was it you?” I have this same mistake with Chinese girls. “Hi, Cindy.” “Like, I’m not Cindy.” “Oh… (pause) Awkward.”

But, people’s notes sections on the various notary directories look fairly generic as well. They talk about their NNA certification. They mention they are background screened but fail to say by whom. They mention they have E&O, but omit to say how much. And they mention that they “travel”, but don’t mention how far. A few mention that they will jump for clients, but once again leave out — how high.

Then there are those who brag about how dependable they are and how they have a .001% error rate. There is no point in mentioning any of this because anyone can claim this, but claiming it not only doesn’t make it true, but makes you look inexpensive and like a novice.

Can you make your notes section stand out? Can you put some cold hard information and something unique that makes you look different from the other Notaries jumping from branch to branch doing job after job? Take this seriously and put some time into it because uniqueness enhances your click ratio which translates into more work!

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May 4, 2020

Notary in Texas gives permission for someone to forge her signature?

Filed under: Technical & Legal — admin @ 9:38 am

I am reading an interesting article that states that an eNotary in Texas offered permission for another individual to forge her signature on an electronically filed Affidavit in Support of Defendant’s Motion for New Trial document. An email was the proof that the notary authorized permission to conduct this act of fraud. I wonder if there was an eJournal entry as evidence in this case too. Read the entire story below.

https://www.lmtonline.com/local/crime/article/Court-records-shed-light-on-Texas-Rangers-raid-15107655.php

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May 3, 2020

Colorado digital ID’s. Can other states accept them?

Filed under: Technical & Legal — admin @ 9:37 am

In Colorado, residents may use a digital ID that they display on their iPhone. Notaries in that state may accept that as an ID. But, in California and Ohio, they are also accepting this type of ID providing it has all of the required information such as serial number, physical description, signature, photo, etc. Interesting. The world is really changing. Soon, I might be able to get a digital cat and feed it digital food.

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May 2, 2020

Can you ask a borrower if they have been out of the country?

Filed under: General Stories — Tags: , , , — admin @ 6:19 am

Is it legal, ethical, or advisable to ask borrowers if they have been to a highly infected area recently such as Italy, Iran, China, South Korea, etc? Someone asked me this today. The answer is that you might get lenders mad at you.

The rate of infection in these countries is measured in infections per million and they are generally between 50 and 200 cases per million. So, being in these countries presents a very minuscule risk to the notary.

On the other hand, if a borrower exhibits Covid 19 type symptoms such as a dry cough, trouble breathing, etc., then you might be advised to stay away. I cannot advise on this as much of the transmission of Covid 19 happens with people who exhibit no symptoms.

Disinfecting the signing table, pens, cell phones, etc., makes a lot of sense. Having the signers wash hands thoroughly immediately before the signing is also a good idea. If they were a mask, that would be the icing on the cake.

I don’t know what you can ask or should ask without upsetting lenders and title companies. So, it might make sense to ask them.

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