| Find a Notary in Cookeville, Tennessee | | Welcome to the Find a Notary signing agent archive for Cookeville, Tennessee, where you can find a qualified notary to assist with a loan signing or any other notarization allowed by law. Notary public profiles in this archive were current as of 12/19/2007. | | |  | Find a Notary in Cookeville, TN
Go Back to Tennessee Index | | | County list: according to our records, Cookeville is in or near the following county(ies):
Putnam, Cumberland, DeKalb, Fentress, Jackson, Overton, Smith, White | | | | INSTRUCTIONS: To view detailed profiles, click the Find a Notary tab and enter the ZIP Code of the profile you are interested in viewing. Click Search. Locate your notary in the search results. | | |
 | Search in ZIP Code: 38501 |  |  Over 1,000 successful signings, including Reverse Mortgages! Providing EXPERIENCED, friendly, confidential, meticulous, knowledgable and ethical mobile notary services in the Putnam, Jackson, Overton, White, DeKalb, Cumberland, Macon, Clay and Smith counties of Middle Tennessee since 1995. Fair and reasonable fees for different counties are based on travel time AND difficulty. References gladly provided upon request. Formerly legal assistant/secretary/bookkeeper and Notary Public in small NY law firm (1977-1994); TN resident and Notary Public since 1995. That's 30 years as a Notary Public - 18 as Legal Assistant plus 12 as Mobile Notary. State does background check prior to issuing commission; Bond and EandO provider Western Surety requires background check prior to issuing policy. Also available to attend foreclosure sales and place bids on behalf of the foreclosing party. Avoid any hint of impropriety or conflict of interest by sending a disinterested party (me) instead! Also experienced in some types of Field Inspections - just ask. |
| | | This profile was last updated on 12/8/2007 8:42:00 AM. | | | 24 Hr Service: Yes | | | Has Laser Printer: Yes | | | Home Inspections: Yes | | |
Recent Notary Talk Threads Authored by this Notary: | | | Stickies - free virtual Post-it note software - I use it
Posted by Sharon Taylor at 11/27/2007 8:38:00 AM | http://www.zhornsoftware.co.uk/stickies/index.html
I have been using the freeware Stickies for nearly a year now, and it's great. A quick download and install, and you can then put little yellow virtual "Post-it notes" on your monitor. Much better than a string around the finger. LOL
We finally got our two desktop computers back and both the desktops and the laptop networked in on a secure wireless router, so I'm busy installing all the essential programs onto the desktop computers again. Stickies is on my "essentials" list, not only because it's free but also because it's good. Some of you might not know about it, so I just wanted to share.
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| | | | | The latest FAAS email - comments, please
Posted by Sharon Taylor at 11/13/2007 3:31:00 PM | I haven't worked for FAAS in ages - as I recall, one reason was they kept lowering their fees. Anyway, I got the following email today:
Dear First American Signature Services Signing Professional:
As you are by now aware we rolled out our new vendor.fassnotary.com production
platform three weeks ago. Since that time, we have received a high volume of calls
from vendors asking questions about how to navigate through our new site. This
information was presented in the user manual we had sent earlier. We would though
like to offer a training workshop to help you gain comfort with our new system for
any who are interested. If so, please simply email Amanda Worthington at
aworthington@firstam.com and she will send you an invitation for upcoming classes.
We do strongly encourage you to use vendor.fassnotary.com to obtain your signing
confirmations, manage the orders on your schedule and status out orders when they
are completed. Further all FASS Quality Issues must be managed through
vendor.fassnotary.com site. We will not accept calls or emails to question or
dispute FASS Quality Issues. This will offer an efficient means for communicating
with our FASS team and various customers. It will also help to avoid frustrating
long call wait times during peak volume periods while still providing documentation
to support any and all actions you take and your timely communications/notifications
to FASS.
Thank you for your continued commitment to First American Signature Services.
Should you have any questions surrounding training, please email
aworthington@firstam.com. (All other questions should continue to be directed to
First American Signature Services at fass1@firstam.com or 888-270-3630.) We look
forward to your response!
Sincerely,
Tish Bush
Daily Operations & Vendor Manager
Phone: (888) 270-3630
Fass1@firstam.com
Amanda Worthington
Training Manager
Phone: (714) 250-4006
aworthington@firstam.com
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| | | | | Cell phone reception boosters - here's a website
Posted by Sharon Taylor at 10/7/2007 8:22:00 AM | This site was given to me by the tech guy at Verizon, who said he could not recommend it officially as a Verizon rep, but he had heard good reports from quite a few customers who had purchased from the site.
Go to www.wilsonelectronics.com for cell phone reception boosters.
I plan to call them this week and see what they recommend to help me with the poor reception at my home. |
| | | | | need all-in-one dual tray printer advice for Vista OS
Posted by Sharon Taylor at 9/28/2007 7:26:00 PM | My beloved HP7310 4-way all-in-one printer died immediately after I set it up on our new laptop that has Vista Ultimate. I was running it on our desktop that had XP Professional OS, and it ran fine. When I had a repairman look at the HP7310, and we suspected that trying to download and install drivers for Vista confused and confounded the internal OS for the printer since it was working perfectly before and had all kinds of error messages and problems immediately afterward.
Anyway, I want a 4-way all-in-one printer to use with the laptop and also with both our desktops once we get those back. The desktops will continue to run XP Professional, not Vista.
I just bit the bullet and bought an HP Officejet 7780 inkjet because it has two paper trays and because it is both USB and wireless compatible AND because the box said it was Vista compatible. It prints, copies, scans and faxes. The faxing is a very important feature, and I figured with the two trays, I could set it up to detect the size paper needed for an incoming fax and pull the paper from the correct tray.
First, it turns out the CD in the box is only good for OS up to XP, not Vista. I've downloaded and am installing the Vista drivers from the HP website and crossing my fingers they will work.
Second, I did a bit of checking of reviews on some websites, and this machine gets very mixed reviews, especially when used with Vista. AND apparently it will not do the fax paper size detection I wanted. Apparently it will only pull paper from tray one, period.
Sooooooo, is anyone using a good 4-way all-in-one inkjet (print, copy, scan, fax) with dual trays that works smoothly with Vista as well as XP and that will allow you to set it up to detect the paper size of an incoming fax and pull paper from either tray so you can have letter in Tray 1 and legal in Tray 2??????
My laser printer is an HP LaerJet 1300, and thankfully it works with both XP and Vista without a problem. I'm stymied for a good inkjet all-in-one though and would appreciate advice and reports on what you all use.
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| | | | | Marketing questions - not good; notary questions - good
Posted by Sharon Taylor at 9/16/2007 8:53:00 AM | I don't mind at all if anyone asks a question about how to do something relative to a closing activity. It has been sad to see some posters slam a new mobile notary for asking for clarification or advice about something to do with documents or conducting a closing. Those are legitimate questions that deserve appropriate kind answers, I think.
The one type of question that I feel most experienced notaries do and should object to is the type that asks "How do I find companies who will hire me? Who do you work for? Tell me all about how to contact the companies you work for so I can work for them too. Oh, just because I might be in your areas of coverage, surely there's plenty of work to go around (NNA said so), and you can use the competition, especially since I have no idea of what a fair and reasonable fee should be so I'll be charging a lot less than you and take all the assignments you might have gotten, oh and I'll be doing this on my lunch hour or after I'm done with my real job since this is just something I'm doing to earn a little extra money, and (shhhhh, I won't be claiming it on my income tax return either, hey it's not that much anyway), and you should give me every bit of information you have on how to get started in this business with no effort on my part to research and dig out the information for myself."
You get the point. As has been said many times before, there are not an infinite number of closings. If an area typically has, for example, 100 closings a month, and there are 5 notaries in that area doing those closings, then adding another notary to the pile DOES NOT magically increase the number of closings available. Divide 100 by 5 and then divide 100 by 6 - it makes a big difference in the income of the 5 original notaries when another notary comes on the scene. The 5 original notaries surely have a right to tell the 6th notary "No, we're not going to tell you all about who we work for so you can contact those companies and take assignments we would have gotten. If you want the fees we would have gotten, then you'll have to work for them."
We are salespeople selling ourselves and our services. Yet we are chastized and castigated for not handing over our best customers and leads to new salespeople entering the field!!!!!!!
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| | | | | Help - using Vista Ultimate & HP1300 - docs centering
Posted by Sharon Taylor at 9/4/2007 5:49:00 PM | I'm using my new laptop which has Vista Ultimate, and my printer is my old reliable HP1300. Adobe is 7.0 version. I haven't had this problem before and am at a loss as to the problem.
The docs are a mix of legal and letter. I'm printing on legal, and I've got the Auto Rotate and Center button unchecked in the Print screen. For some reason, the letter size docs are still centered and printing in the center of the legal size paper. Checking and unchecking, closing and trying again, nothing works. I've looked at the various Advanced options, and there's nothing to resolve this problem.
Is it an Adobe 7.0 problem, or is it a Vista Ultimate problem or what??????
Thanks for any light any of you can shed on the problem and how to get docs to uncenter and print that way. |
| | | | | Anyone heard of Keystone Vendor Management?
Posted by Sharon Taylor at 8/30/2007 8:07:00 PM | Got a generic email addressed to "Notary Signing Agent" (a red flag to me). The email wording sounded pretty good until I got to the part where they want me to pay a $6.95 "one-time administrative fee to verify your information and complete the enrollment".
Here's the email I got. Smells fishy to me. Feedback please. Thanks!
"With all the changes recently in the mortgage industry we have seen a mass exodus
of notary signing agents from the industry. Keystone Vendor Management provides
custom vendor management and closer rating systems for large relocation services,
high volume mortgage lenders such as NovaStar as well as some of the nations largest
title companies. These companies remain consistent in their need for mobile notary
signing agents. With so many notaries finding other sources of income the demand
for the remaining notaries has increased.
Keystone Vendor Management is recruiting experienced notary signing agents in your
area. We are seeking notary signing agents who have a strong knowledge of mortgage loan
documents, have a valid drivers license, and the ability to travel to loan closings. Our easy
enrollment process takes less than 5 minutes to complete.
Once you have enrolled in our system your information will be immediately available
for our clients. Our clients will contact you directly to negotiate your fee and
schedule loan signings in your area. Keystone Vendor Management charges a one time
administrative set-up fee of $6.95 to verify your information and complete the
enrollment process.
Please click the link below for more information."
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| | | | | Newbies - consider "hidden" expenses when setting fees!
Posted by Sharon Taylor at 8/30/2007 7:54:00 PM | Consider the "hidden" expenses of doing business as well as the more obvious ones. Here's a couple of examples. So far this year my car needed two new tires on the back and I've had to replace tires a couple of times as well because they got nails in them or gouges from driving on rough country roads and backcountry goat-track driveways. Tires are not cheap! The more you drive, the more chance you'll have parts wear out, break down, need maintenance. What is a major part of our service - driving lots of miles to and from the borrowers.
Second "hidden" expense. Oh, you can't imagine what we've had so far this month for computer problems. First the motherboard on our eMachine (the main computer) went out. Bought a new motherboard and processor for $150 from Tiger Direct. Just got that going, and the motherboard on the second computer (a Compaq Presario 6000) went out. Can't get a replacement at a reasonable cost, so we just paid $225 for a used eMachine. The modem from our provider (the local phone company) got fried in a thunder-and-lightning storm the other night. Two days of fussing with tech support, and finally they come out and replace it. Do you all remember the days of downloading huge email attachments by dial-up? Big shudder!
And our HP 7310 all-in-one apparently also got fried in the same storm when the surge came down the fax line as it keeps saying there is a paper jam when there isn't.
Yes, we keep all of our equipment on high joules Belkin surge protectors. But not the phone lines. (Can I swear here????)
So a big overhead expense consideration in setting fees is that your equipment is absolutely essential to this work, and not only does it need upgrading from time to time, but the unexpected can and does happen....suddenly, with attendant heavy expense, and needing to be taken care of immediately or you'll be out of business.
Speaking of upgrading, the laptop I'm using is new, has Vista Ultimate on it, and of course the Microsoft Office Professional 2003 I use on our desktop computers won't work with Vista. At the moment I have the free software OpenOffice.org installed, but eventually I'll have to decide whether to (a) keep the laptop on Vista and the desktop computers on XP, buy MS Office 2007 at around $150+ and put up with the hassle of having to save do*****ents in both MS Office 2007 format AND MS Office 2003 so they can be read and used on both laptop and desktops, or (b) wipe the Vista off the laptop and buy XP (at around $150) to put on it so all 3 machines are on the same operating system and can use Office 2003, or (c) buy Vista for the two desktop machines along with a 3-user license edition of MS Office 2007 for all three machines - way expensive.
I'm not raising my rates because of these unexpected expenses. I've already considered this type of issue when setting my fair and reasonable rates in the first place.
Oh, and if anyone has a good AM37 motherboard and processor for a Compaq Presario 6000, I'm in the market. |
| | | | | Excessive mileage - vehicle value drop
Posted by Sharon Taylor at 8/18/2007 8:18:00 AM | I've been planning to check this out for some time and finally got around to it. My 2005 Ford
Taurus SE 4-door sedan now has over 75,000 miles on it. According to the Kelly Blue Book, the standard mileage should be around 40,000, so it has already gone nearly double the standard mileage.
The value in Excellent Condition at 40,000 miles is estimated at $11,900.
The value in Excellent Condition at 75,000 miles is estimated at $10,400.
So the excess mileage due to the mobile notary work has cost me at least $1,500 - which amounts to a $750 per year depreciation in value that I can directly attribute to my work as a mobile notary.
I'm sure in actuality if I decided to sell or trade in the vehicle, I'd take a bigger hit since buyers don't like cars that have nearly double the normal expected mileage.
So this is yet another cost of doing business to consider when setting fair and reasonable fees. |
| | | | | Looking for an activatible MS Office Professional 2003
Posted by Sharon Taylor at 8/15/2007 7:53:00 AM | If any of you had this software and have moved up to a new version of MS Office, please let me know if you want to sell it.
I need either a new unactivated complete package or a package that has been used but has been removed from the computer it was installed on (by removing or by upgrading) and can be installed and activated on another computer.
I've been checking prices online, but the best I could find for a new complete package from what appears to be a reliable online store (ultimatesoftwaredepot) is $169 plus shipping.
I have MS Office Professional 2003 on one computer and MS Office 1997 on the second computer and need to upgrade the second computer as soon as possible. |
| | | | | Trecision (spelling?) - $40 for overnight docs, 30+ miles
Posted by Sharon Taylor at 8/8/2007 12:21:00 PM | Just got a call from a company called "Trecision", at least I think that's the spelling. My connection was bad, and even though I had her spell the company name, I'm not sure I got it right. Anyway, she said they pay $40 for overnight docs. The closing would have been over 30 miles and an hour drive from me. After explaining that I am trying to run a for-profit business, like I'm sure she is trying to do too, she said she would have to check and see if she can get my regular fee approved.
Naturally she's calling around to see if anyone will take it for less. OK by me. The ones who take the lowball fee eventually see that they're not making enough profit to justify the hassles and headaches, they drop out of the business, and I'm still here.....at my fair and reasonable fees. (grin) |
| | | | | OT I'm trying a new Verizon cell phone - VCast GzOne Type-V
Posted by Sharon Taylor at 8/3/2007 6:41:00 AM | So far I've had absolutely no luck finding another Nokia 5110 like mine (I thought it was a 5100i, but it turns out it was a 5110 model) anywhere, and I've been all over the net. A replacement has to be Verizon capable, which means it would say Verizon on it, or it won't work with Verizon service.
I've tried 3 phones so far from Verizon, and none has provided acceptable service in my location is concerned. Last night I got one that seems like it will at least give me 1 bar here at the house.....not great, but at least liveable.
It's a new phone, and I like the look and feel of it a lot. It's a VCast GzOne Type-V, rugged, shock and water resistant, and is giving me at least 1 bar in places where the other phones I tried would give me none.
Since I had a $100 credit on my Verizon account, it is "free" with a 2-year renewal, I keep the same plan I have grandfathered in (better than anything they're offering now), and I can try it for 30 days with no obligation if it doesn't work out.
If it doesn't, I'll try some of the phones some of you recommended. |
| | | | | You all had waaaaay too much fun yesterday!
Posted by Sharon Taylor at 8/3/2007 6:28:00 AM | Had a busy day yesterday and didn't get a chance to get on until around 10 last night. What a blast. Sorry I missed it all.
The heat and humidity here are intense, and it doesn't seem like it will let up until a week from Sunday. My DH (dear husband) was working in the yard Tuesday afternoon and didn't realize how hot he'd gotten. He was home from work all day yesterday and will be again today! Be careful out there if you're in an area like ours. Lots of gatorade or something similar, lots of water, and stay indoors as much as possible! |
| | | | | OT - Cell phones with Verizon - need advice - long message
Posted by Sharon Taylor at 7/27/2007 12:13:00 AM | I had a wonderful older Nokia 5100 cell phone (the rectangular one with pull-up antenna - it's not a flip phone) - simple, quick and easy to use, no bells and whistles, very sturdy.
Sadly I lost it last Friday when it slipped out of my holder, and I didn't realize it until I was back home, about 45 minutes from my signing site. I had stopped at 2 stores in that town, and I went back to both of them, but no one had turned it in nor did anyone say they had found it.
I had a Samsung "backup" flip phone (new in box) Verizon sent me a couple of years ago when I renewed my contract, but when I got it out and tried to charge it, it wouldn't charge. Went to the Verizon store on Saturday morning, and first it seemed the charger was bad, so I bought a new charger plus a holder and an automobile charger, but then it turned out that the battery was bad as well...and of course they had no batteries on hand for it since it's a discontinued model. So much for my "free" phone from them. Grrrr.
Apparently there is a 1-year replacement on such phones, so the best I could get from the rep was a slightly-used Samsung SCH-u540 as long as I bought a $25 battery for it, and at least the accessories I'd just bought would work with that model.
Bad news - the reception is much worse than I had with my Nokia 5100, especially since I live in the boonies. Plus it has so many bells and whistles and features that you just about have to take a semester-long college course to learn how to do the simplest of tasks.
Called Verizon, and the rep sent me a Motorola V325i flip phone, saying it's a discontinued model but I could use my $100 phone credit and it would only cost me $20 for the phone. He claimed it's a great model with excellent reception for people in outlying areas like me.
It arrived today, and I'm charging it now. Went online and read reviews on CNET......and they are not good. I'm probably going to return it as it looks about as complicated as the Samsung, I don't like the battery setup, and the info in the reviews make it sound it's going to be a problem phone.
Soooooo, what I need is my Nokia 5100 back. Failing that, I need a good phone through Verizon that will be easy, dependable and reliable, with excellent reception capabilities. I don't need the bells and whistles. All I want is to be able to make calls, receive calls, hang up, access voice mail, see and return missed/received/sent calls, and add a few contacts that I can call by just pushing the right few buttons. Oh, and reasonable size buttons too, not those dinky ones.
Other than going on eBay and buying a replacement Nokia 5100 (hoping the seller is telling the truth and that it is still a good working phone), what would those of you using Verizon cell phone service recommend as a good phone for my simple needs, and keeping in mind that I live in the country on a plateau surrounded by trees about 6+ miles from the nearest cell phone towers, and that I travel 10 rural mountainous counties for closings?
Any advice will be much appreciated. Thanks! |
| | | | | JK/TX - about the POA signing for an ex
Posted by Sharon Taylor at 7/22/2007 2:09:00 PM | JK/TX said
***** The signer has a POA for her former husband, who only had to sign one document that relinquished all of his rights, title and interest in the property. *****
Hope he's not relinquishing all rights, etc to the agent-AIF/ex/former wife. That would not be a good conveyance here or at the very least it would not be insurable. What a self-serving doc that would be. Even if there is a POA doc. IMHO
No legal advise here.... just day to day grind.... been there, seen it, didn't work.
I would never sign as POA for an ex on any property we owned together, best to get one of "his" friends to be the AIF.
I agree that it would seem self-serving, but the circumstances of this closing were unusual - ex is in jail and won't be out for several years, and part of the mortgage funds will be used to pay his legal fees and fines, with the rest going to pay off the previous mortgage and a vehicle. Less than $1,000 going to the borrower. Sad, sad family situation. The POA had been signed by him back when he first went to jail a couple of years ago, so it wasn't newly done just so she could mortgage the house. |
| | | | | Correct notary clause wording if signed by POA?
Posted by Sharon Taylor at 7/21/2007 9:17:00 AM | Sorry, I know this, yet my mind is a complete blank this morning. The signer has a POA for her former husband, who only had to sign one document that relinquished all of his rights, title and interest in the property. I need to add a loose acknowledgement with the correct reference. If I remember correctly, it is "personally appeared before me, etc., etc., (her name as Attorney in Fact for his name)....."
Thanks! |
| | | | | Express Financial Services - a little behind on payment
Posted by Sharon Taylor at 7/16/2007 2:34:00 PM | | Just spoke with accounting about a closing held May 29, and I was told they are behind on payments and it will be at least another couple of weeks before they get to mine. |
| | | | | What can happen when you take lower fee "just this once"
Posted by Sharon Taylor at 7/9/2007 1:53:00 PM | Last month a signing agency called and talked me into taking a lower fee for a closing because it was only a few miles from me, because it was overnight docs, because it was a small package, and because they had already set their fee with the title company and couldn't revise it upward...so the scheduler said. I stated emphatically that I was doing it "just this once" since I hadn't worked for them before and would like to give them a chance to see my work, but my regular standard fee is XXX for overnight docs and XXX for emailed docs, adding that if they called again, my standard fee would be expected.
Sooooooo, today I get a call from the company. I stated my overnight docs fee, and the scheduler was shocked...."You did one for us last month for XX, and this one is right in your town." She got pretty upset when I would not take the lower fee and said she would have to call someone who would take that fee, which was fine with me.
The problem with helping a signing agency out once by accepting a lower fee "just this once" is that they will get mad at you if you don't accept it the next time. They only know that you accepted it once and ought to again, not that you helped them out that one time.
And yes, I know I'll get flamed by those righteous readers who have read my posts before complaining about other notaries in my area who accept lower fees. But this was a one-time sympathy deal to "help out" an agency, and I did make my standard fees clear and stated clearly that it was a one-time discount because of the circumstances. I stick to my standard fees 99.9% of the time and let those who are unwilling to pay them go ahead and call another notary.
I just feel badly that giving a friendly helping hand given to an agency one time has come back to bite me. Sigh. |
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| | Search in ZIP Code: 38501 |  | | I ensure proper execution of loan documents in a professional manner. Same day appointments. I am bonded and insured. |
| | | This profile was last updated on 8/30/2007 10:59:00 AM. | | | 24 Hr Service: Yes | | | Has Laser Printer: Yes |
| | Search in ZIP Code: 38501 |  | | I am available 24/7. I can accept email documents in all formats and have an HP Laser Jet Printer. I specialize in last minute closings and will do what it takes to get it done. I appreciate you giving me a try! |
| | | This profile was last updated on 2/21/2006 9:07:00 AM. | | | 24 Hr Service: Yes | | | Has Laser Printer: Yes |
| | Search in ZIP Code: 38501 |  | | I am a full time mobile notary, serving middle TN. I am willing to travel; please call for rates. Last minute closings are my specialty! I carry EandO insurance. I have high-speed internet access and can download via email or your website. I come from 15 years in the service industry, including several years in upper management. I hold a BA in Public Relations, and am detail-oriented and professional, both in appearance and in the way I conduct business. I have my EandO insurance as well. |
| | | This profile was last updated on 10/17/2007 1:32:00 PM. | | | 24 Hr Service: Yes | | | Has Laser Printer: Yes |
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