October 2020 - Notary Blog - Signing Tips, Marketing Tips, General Notary Advice - 123notary.com
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October 31, 2020

Disney Notary World

Filed under: Best Humorous Posts,Popular on Facebook (shares),Popular on Facebook (some),Virtual Comedy Themes — Tags: , — admin @ 11:55 pm

Originally posted Dec 9, 2016.

If there were more Notaries in the United States, in addition to having lower rates due to increased competition, there would be a market for Disney Notary World!

Welcome to Disney Notary World
Start your tour by entering the park — get your ticket notarized. You could take the Notarial tram whose path is very twisty and turny as it is an exact giant replica of Mickey Mouse’s signature! Next, go to the haunted house for a signing. The problem is that the signers — are dead, or at least — they will be, and so will you!

Welcome to the Future
In the futuristic section there is a Robot that can notarize documents. He is trained to spot a fake ID faster than a human Notary. Warning, this means you might all be out of work, or have to carry a robot with you in your car.

Pirates of Pen Zance
Next, on to see the Pirates of Pen Zance. These pirates stole a gold pen from a very prominent Attorney Notary from the 1600’s and hid it in a cave in an island. But, everybody who came to find this pen ended up dead because of a curse. Can you find this pen?

Hyperspace Mountain
After that, get into a floating Notary seal, and go down hyperspace mountain until you go straight down into a pool of ink. Please leave all cellphones in a secure dry area.

War of Balloons
Fulfill your wildest fantasy. At this attraction you get to throw a water balloon at someone who works at a signing company who didn’t pay you. They will say, “The check is in the mail.” Then you throw a balloon. If you hit your target, you win a Daffy Duck doll and a giant check.

The Secretary of State
Bring your kids to this realistic Sec of State building. Wait in line (what else is new) and get your kids an official Disney Notary Commission and Notary Seal. They can get notarizing today! Just make sure they get proper ID and use the Disney Notary Journal,

Hall of Notaries
See photos and paintings of famous Notaries from history. You will find Notaries from Italy during the Renaissance, China, England, and other countries as well. You might even find yourself there. Don’t be surprised if you find Mickey Mouse in the hall of records as he was a Notary before he became a famous star. You have to start somewhere.

The Gift Store
For all of your unhappy customers who wrote a bad review about you claiming that if your tired of “Mickey Mouse Notarizations,” then don’t hire this Notary. You can get a Mickey Mouse doll with a notary seal, where you can get real Mickey Mouse Notarizations.

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You might also like:

Best virtual notary comedy compilation updated to 2018
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=17693

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

Zoo – Welcome to the Notary Zoo (popular)
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15994

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October 30, 2020

I dropped the documents!

Filed under: Business Tips — admin @ 10:14 pm

Anybody who is a loan signing Notary knows that they need to drop documents. We have written articles on this topic before, but it is a loaded topic.

You can claim that you dropped the documents. But, some Notaries are liars, and how can title know that you aren’t? Should they just take your word for it?

If you drop documents in a drop box, there is a small chance that it will get picked up late, or not at all. The courier assigned to pick up from that box might quit and a new person might take the job not knowing that they are to pick up from that box. People do screw up in real life. Your package could be sitting in that drop box for a week while FedEx figures it out although that is rare. But, it happened to me once! Once contents of a drop box got stolen according to a story from one of our Notaries. I only heard of that once. There is a 1 in 1000 chance that your drop box might not get picked up. If you do a lot of signings, that could cost you a client or get you in big trouble. Additionally there is no proof that you dropped it in a particular box and you might not even remember what box you dropped it in.

If you drop at a manned station, that is a better idea. The box in their office will always get picked up, and often at a slightly later time than the drop boxes on the road.

I highly recommend you get paperwork from FedEx stating that you dropped the package at a particular time and place. You might need that evidence if you get in trouble.

The bottom line is be prepared, think ahead, and have as much evidence for what you did correctly. It is just like keeping your journal correctly. It is rare that your journal will be checked, but when it happens (roughly 1 in 2000 jobs gets checked, so it will happen eventually to you.) you need to be prepared or you get in a lot of trouble. You could even get arrested.

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October 29, 2020

What documents can I notarize?

Filed under: Other Guest Bloggers — admin @ 8:52 am

What documents should I NOT notarize? (better idea for a title)

This is written about frequently but it does require repetition given the penalties associated with it and the # of requests received for unauthorized notarizations.

WILLS – Unless prepared or directed by an attorney, wills are generally witnessed by two disinterested independent third parties.

VITAL DOCUMENTS – Birth and Death Certificates and Marriage Certificates. The Secretary of State has specific laws preventing public Notaries from notarizing vital documents primarily because the Notary cannot verify the validity or authenticity of such a document. In cases such as this, the Notary needs to refer the client over to the agency who issued the document which in many cases is the County Recorder.

INCOMPLETE DOCUMENTS – A notary should not complete any documents that are fully completed at the time of notarization.

DOCUMENTS WHERE NOTARY IS AWARE THERE IS FALSE INFORMATION IN THE DOCUMENT – If you overhear conversation between people talking about the false information contained in the document they are signing, don’t notarize it. If you suspect that the person signing appears to be overly nervous or if it looks like someone else with a beneficial interest is forcing the person to sign the document, don’t notarize it. Always remember that the signer must sign the document willingly and present proper identification and must be able to communicate with the notary.

PERSON SIGNING CANNOT UNDERSTAND THE LANGUAGE IN WHICH THE NOTARY IS SPEAKING. You cannot use an interpreter because you don’t know what is being translated and if the translator has an interest in the transaction. Do not confuse this with notarizing a document in a Foreign Language. You can always notarize a foreign language document and don’t need to speak that language as long as the person signing can communicate with you in English or another common language in which both the notary and the signer can communicate.

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October 28, 2020

He took Jeremy’s advice and got new title companies

Filed under: Marketing Articles — admin @ 2:44 am

I am always pleased when I get positive feedback. A Notary in Northern California had a long pep talk and review session with me two years ago. After the pep talk he started studying a lot. He studied about 15 hours. I made him retake his certification test. I was tired of people who passed long time ago who were not sharp on their information any more. He failed his original recert test, but after the long period of studying got an A on the retake. He also redid his notes and started putting in some work to get reviews.

The result is that for the first time in years he started getting a lot of title company work. All of his extra consciousness, conscientiousness, and newly polished skills attracted more work on a tangible and also metaphysical basis. His old clients dried up for the most part due to the sluggishness in the industry. Without that new work, he would have been out of business. Thank God I believed in him and gave him a generous chunk of my time.

What do I have to do to get the rest of you to do some serious studying. Most of you think that studying is a joke, and that you don’t need to do it. But, to do well in this business you need to be serious and to be serious you need to study. Yes, you can learn on the job, but there are certain things you only learn from written materials in courses. Our certification keeps getting more and more cleaned up to the point that people are valuing it more and more. If you put some work in, you can benefit from having it. It is a lot of effort but worth it if you plan on being in business for the long run.

You might also like:

Your number of loans just went down?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21236

Do you invest in your notary business?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=22129

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October 27, 2020

Best kept Notary secrets

Filed under: Business Tips — admin @ 5:54 am

Every profession has secrets, but what are the best secrets a Notary could know?

1. Getting reviews on your listing will more than double your new calls.

2. If the ID has a shorter name variation than the docs do, you can put that same shorter name variation on the Acknowledgment and notarize.

3. If you are notarizing John and Sally and the acknowledgment is prefilled, but Sally can’t make it — pick a new loose acknowledgment from your back and start over.

4. You can get free courses on the 123notary.com blog. Email us if you can’t find them.

5. Carmen knows how to make $200 in less than an hour doing Notary work. Can you figure out how she does it?

6. Answering questions the way they were asked instead of trying to bombard the caller with unwanted self-promotion gives a good impression.

7. Check your email, phone and texts all the time or you will get left behind in this ADD millennial culture.

8. If you can print in your car you will save so much time driving back home.

9. Don’t offer credit to companies who are not reputable and limit credit to those who are trustworthy or you will eventually get strung along.

10. Don’t hate the portal – hate the game!

You might also like:

Do you take control at a signing?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21104

Elite Certification will benefit you for the rest of your life
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20770

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October 26, 2020

California Assembly Bill 5 (2019) and how it affects Notaries

Filed under: California_Notary — admin @ 9:10 am

Someone emailed me about Assembly Bill 5 which is a California law currently. This bill limits the use of classifying subcontractors as independent contractors rather than classifying them as employees.

Employees are entitled to more labor protections such as sick leave, minimum wage, unemployment, workman’s comp, and more.

Companies such as Lyft, DoorDash, and Uber agreed to spend millions for a ballot initiative to oppose this bill.

As most bills that are socialist in nature, the premise is to “help” workers. But, the result is to make it very expensive and cumbersome to hire local workers. The advent of unions made it prohibitively expensive to hire domestic workers which resulted in lots of outsourcing. In the long run the unions did more harm than good for the workers. Assembly Bill 5 results in compromising American freedoms such as the right to form your own agreements and contracts with paid help. Many companies with particular business models will no longer have the freedom to decide whether to hire someone as a contractor or employee and face the risk of being penalized by the state.

So, how does this affect mobile notaries? Mobile notaries must now pass a strict level of qualifications to be considered independent contractors. They must meet all three conditions.

1. The worker is free from the control and direction of the hiring party in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of such work and in fact
2. The worker performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business
3. The worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as the work performed for the hiring entity

COMMENTARY
Title companies that hire notaries often hire more experienced notaries who do not need any hand holding. However signing companies are famous for micromanaging notaries, telling them what to do and how to do it, and requiring lots of fax backs. Signing companies are violating stipulation #1 in the list of requirements of having independent contractors. Additionally, signing agents, do signing work which is not outside the usual course of what a signing company does. That is their main type of work and not something outsourced like accounting or computer repair. As far as condition #3, most Notaries do Notary related work for many different hiring parties, so although they may or may not pass condition #1, definitely don’t pass #2, the will pass condition #3.

SUMMARY
Will this mean that Notaries in California can no longer function as signing agents without being put on payroll? Would this be good or bad? I think it is a disaster and this bill is another milestone in the end of American freedom and the onset of socialism or communism in America (boo). But, what if signing companies outside of California hire signing agents within California? Can the state of California still sue them or penalize them for not following local rules? Maybe companies will have to hire full time and part time on-call employees to do their bidding. There is a company in Missouri that already does this on their own free will — notice that I said free will. Forcing this business model on companies is just not nice. It might also be disastrous for the directory business.

On a brighter note, maybe most signing agents and signing companies will ignore this rule and not get into trouble. After all, to enforce this rule requires attorneys and they do not work for cheap.

Personally I feel this bill is intrusive, a violation of our freedoms, and counterproductive. It will lead to a lot of unemployment, poverty and misery all under the guise of wanting to make downtrodden people’s lives better by having lots of artificial restrictions on employment.

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October 25, 2020

10 things Notaries can do to screw up a notarization

Filed under: Comprehensive Guides,Humorous Posts,Other Guest Bloggers,Popular on Facebook (A little) — Tags: — admin @ 11:17 pm

Originally published Nov 18, 2016.

1. When walking into a house where the borrower’s have large dogs, remember to not wear a suit of meat, as you will most likely get mauled ferociously

2. Always remember to have a small spare small container of vicks vapor rub, use just a little bit when entering the domicile of a hoarder or, of the special person who hasn’t figured out how to connect their ostomy bag

3. Under no circumstance should you ever bring your 175 lb ferocious rottweiler to a mobile appointment and let them attack your customer.

4. If you’re trying to conserve paper and think it is prudent to duplex (print on both sides), please don’t use that copy for the borrower’s to sign.

5. It’s common sense that if you don’t have your own solution, to print docs as in your own printer, don’t go into the borrower’s home and ask to use their printer to print their docs, and even more especially so, if they happen to be the respective secretary of state in your jurisdiction… remember to swear them in.

6. Body modification is great, and it is completely fine if you want to be an individual…. but if you look like you just bought the hardware section at home depot and affixed it to your face, maybe that isn’t the best way to impress a perspective client….

7. Always remember, the set of documents that the borrower’s signed, is the one you’re supposed to send back to the title company, If you have sent back the blank copy to the title company, you might not get away with stating you used invisible ink.

8. Always be prepared for almost every scenario, make sure you have extra stamp pads for when the ink starts to fade, blue or black pens depending on your jurisdiction, a writing or signature guide for the nearly blind or elderly goes a long way and you can be certain they’ll sign in the right spot. if you have a mobile printer, extra toner and always have extra paper.

9. If you plan on adding a piece of new technology to your equipment list, make sure to test it, find the faults, search the solutions, before you bring it out on the street. Also, before you go out for the day that your devices have a full charge. It’s great if you have a mobile scanner, but if something goes wrong, as things do… its even better if you have a solution or back up plan in place.

10. There is no ten. (sorry) I guess we screwed up!

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You might also like:

10 risks to being a mobile notary public
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19459

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

Family guy – Peter joins ISIS by mistake & needs a notarized conversion
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=10507

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October 24, 2020

Ways to get arrested as a Notary Public

Filed under: Humorous Posts — admin @ 5:48 am

Originally posted in 2019

Many people think that being a Notary is a fun and easy way to make a few extra dollars. But, it can be dangerous and dramatic as well. Notaries do get arrested — not that often, but it happens.

1. Commit fraud involving real property
You will probably be looking at jail time if you commit fraud or falsify a notary certificate that has to do with a deed affecting real property.

2. Get in a physical altercation with a borrower
If the borrower yells at you and you punch them out, you might get arrested.

3. Get in an altercation with a family member or your daughter’s boyfriend
One Notary did this, the police were called, and this person had their commission revoked due to a felony conviction. It all happened so suddenly too.

4. Notarize someone who used a false ID and falsified thumbprints by using crazy glue on his thumb.
You will probably end up in court and might be investigated for conspiracy to commit fraud.

5. Drive too fast to a notary appointment.
Were you going 90 in a 30 mile an hour district because you were late to a signing because your printer got stuck on page three? You might get locked up for that.

6. Fail to keep journal entries or fail to keep them correctly.
Okay, you might not get arrested for this, but you might get your commission cancelled, revoked, or end up investigated in court where you will have no evidence. As a Notary, your journal is your only evidence in court because how can you honestly remember what you did three years ago when you probably had thousands of appointments that year?

7. Sell someone’s personal information
You might learn a whole lot about someone based on their information on the 1003. But, don’t share that with others otherwise you might get in trouble. Remember — that information is confidential.

8. Get caught snooping around someone’s house if you arrive before they get back from work.
Yes, the neighbors might call the police and you might get in trouble. On the other hand, if you did not engage in breaking and entering, you are probably okay.

9. Run over the borrower in the driveway
You might get arrested for that. It could be considered a hate crime if you hate your job. On the other hand, you could explain that you hate signing companies, not signers and the judge would probably understand.

10. Steal oxy-codene from the borrowers.
One Notary had to go to the bathroom. They did more than just urinate there. They walked out of that house with a lot of prescription medicine which doesn’t come cheap. It is hard to prove if you stole it, but that is one crime that 123notary is aware of.

11. Arrive drunk at a signing
Some signers arrive drunk or high at a signing. That is a way to get locked up as well as get fired. You could also dress like you are going to a club or going to the beach and you might get fired, but probably wouldn’t get locked up.

You might also like:

Notary arrested for stealing spices from borrowers
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20799

A forged notary seal ends someone up with a prison sentence
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21355

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October 23, 2020

123notary Elite Certification Study Guide

Filed under: Loan Signing 101 — Tags: , — admin @ 12:24 am

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ELITE CERTIFICATION

To get elite certification, you need to do well on the regular certification topics, and then know a lot more. Here are the items we quiz about for elite certification. We test by phone for the elite, and if you study hard and know your basic documents, scenarios, and Notary knowledge plus the content on this page, you could pass.

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Documents you have to understand intimately

Recorded Documents
Riders
Subordination Agreement
Residency Affidavit
Owners Affidavit
Deed of Reconveyance
Deed of Trust
CD & HUD-1
Please read the details of the required documents. Read more…

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Procedures or Acts to Understand

Signature by X or Mark — read more…
Apostilles and Authentications — read more…

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Other Terms or Information
Please click on the links below to get detailed information on the following points.

The term Elizor — read points 23 on this link. An Elizor is a court appointed official that can sign over property when the owner refuses to cooperate in court.

Explaining beneficial & financial interest. A Notary may not have beneficial interest or financial interest in anything he is notarizing. A beneficial interest could be construed as …

Federal Holidays in chronological order (memorize these). Let’s start with New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day …

Fraud Prevention & types of fraud that happen in the Notary world. Falsified identification, incorrect dates on certificates, using someone else’s Notary seal …

Authority – Who has the highest level of authority if there is a question about a notary act or document at a signing? The Notary is the authority as to how a notary transaction happens, but…

Annual Percentage Rate — a detailed understanding is required. The APR is based on the amount borrower after certain (but not all) fees and closing costs have been deducted, and expressed as a …

Pros & Cons: — Adding an Acknowledgment rather than fixing the original. if there is a mistake on a preprinted form. It is cleaner to add a new form, but there can be recording fee issues involved…

What to do if John & Sally’s names are inscribed in an Acknowledgment by the Lender and Sally can’t make it. — Cross out or add a new form? This is similar to the last point, but there are some extra snags…

Handling name variations and discrepencies such as: ID Name, vs. Typed Name, Signature on Doc, and Name on Ack. Relationship between these names if they don’t exactly match. The main thing is to obey the law first…

Understanding dates such as: Transaction Dates, Signature Dates, Rescission Dates, and Document Dates… A transaction date is the same as a signature date, but a document date is arbitrarily chosen, but by whom?

Loan Signing FAQ’s that Borrowers ask. FAQ’s have been greatly reduced by Lenders being required to explain documents to the borrowers in advance. But, you still might be asked why the APR is …

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October 22, 2020

10 reasons to get a high placed listing on 123notary

Filed under: Advertising — admin @ 9:30 am

Many Notaries go for top listings on 123notary despite the high price because they know it generates jobs. However, many Notaries prefer the free listings because they don’t want to pay for performance. Here are some reasons that might sway your opinion on paying for a higher spot on 123notary.

1. Title companies prefer the top several notaries on 123notary.
Title assumes that the top several notaries are better quality on 123notary. This might have to do with the fact that we use an algorithm to filter out those with low overall scores from being high on the list. Title is picking up on that fact, and that has been the case for years. Title companies that pay well rarely look far down the list for Notaries.

2. Get seen
People higher on the list get seen more than those down the list. People shopping for price might go all the way down the list to look for a notary, but those who pay well do not generally have to look far. Paying a few hundred to be high on the list can pay off fast especially when business is good.

3. Get paid more per signing
Those listed higher on the list generally get paid more per signing. People who low-ball often hire from lower on the list or go to SnapDocs, or NotaryRotary.

4. Get more clicks and overall calls.
If you are high on the list, you will get many more clicks and calls than those down the list. You will get more jobs than with an identical listing down the list. Being high on the list doesn’t guarantee jobs, but it makes you in people’s face and impossible to miss.

5. Don’t get overlooked
Most people who use 123notary start at the top and keep calling until they find someone who can do the job for a reasonable price. If you are at the bottom of the list, you might never get called except for jobs that are late at night, far away, or don’t pay well. Although you never know.

6. Get respect
People assume you are a better quality notary when you are at the top of 123notary.com. Our site has a reputation for having good notaries, especially at the top of the list.

7. Get high placement in neighboring counties
Only a high spot on 123notary will get you higher placement (above the free listings at least) in adjascent counties at no extra cost. Some Notaries get heavy call volume from neighboring areas as well as from their home area.

8. Have a guarantee of where you will show up on the list.
Regular, preferential and free listings do not guarantee you where you will show up. They are just levels. Preferential means you are above regular, and regular means you are above free. It doesn’t guarantee a particular placement. Being a p20 guaranatees you top placement on your county page. We cannot guarantee zip results due to the unpredictable overlap, but overlap only happens if someone is near you, but on the other side of a county line.

9. Have a guarantee you won’t be removed
Free listings do not get always get reminders to login and can be removed on a whim by 123notary staff. High placed paid listings get reminders to login and you will not be removed unless you ignore a lot of reminders to login by email and phone. In fact, with most top placements, I login for them (shhh, don’t tell anyone.)

10. Get customer service
If you are a free listing, you get minimal if any customer service from us. But, high placed listings get not only password assistance, but get help with their notes section, marketing advice, and lots of hand holding from Jeremy and Carmen. If you want to be cared for and get high quality help from people who have been in the business for 22 years, a top listing is a cost efficient way to get that.

NOTE
High placed listings perform well if they have a few reviews from satisfied clients as well as a thorough and well written notes section. If you leave your listing stripped down, you might not get your money’s worth. 123notary is in the business of getting renewals and repeat business, so we strongly suggest that you ask for our help and suggestions as to how to make the most of your listing. That way you will get more work and be very likely to renew with us which is what we depend on for our long term survival. Getting 123notary certification is another strong plus for your listing and you can email us to learn more about that.

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