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