Posted by MonicaFL on 1/4/08 10:57am
Msg #228938

Has anyone in Florida ever reported a company to the

Attorney General's office in another State who has made your fee contingent on wheather a loan closes or not? In other words, they (the company) will only pay 1/2 fee if the closing doesn't close at the table or if the borrowers rescind? If I understand the Statute correctly, this would be making us (the notary) have a financial interest in the loan and therefore could not legally notarize the documents. Comments please. Thank you.

Reply by Bob_Chicago on 1/4/08 1:35pm
Msg #228963

Not in FL and not legal advice, yada yada, but as I see..

it, this is not an issue of having a financial interest in the dox.
I think that such an interest would exist. if you were getting $$ from the loan
proceeds , for examplle as a loan commission.
Your function as a NP is minsterial and to determine
identity, willingness to sign etc. You are being paid as a NSA for services
such as printing dox, supervising signatrues etc.
I do not believe that the Attorney General would care how, of if you were
being paid by SS/TC or not.
You are not a party to the transaction.

Reply by MonicaFL on 1/4/08 4:24pm
Msg #228980

Re: Not in FL and not legal advice, yada yada, but as I see..

The way I see it is that if I do my job correctly then I shouldn't be penalized because the LO or mortgage company didn't do theirs - and, if my being paid rests on the loan closing then it would seem to me that if there are problems at the table and the LO can't solve them, then, in order for me to be paid, I need to make sure the loan closes - and that is not my job. I should be paid a full amount for performing my duties as a notary - not ensuring that a loan closes. JMHO.

Reply by LKT/CA on 1/4/08 5:00pm
Msg #228986

Re: Not in FL and not legal advice, yada yada, but as I see..

You're absolutely correct and I totally agree with your philosphy. It really is a matter of a "meeting of the minds" with SS's, TC's or lenders regarding fees. You can only establish your fees and terms and hope they agree. If they do, great. If not, you'll then have to turn down jobs and wait for a company that agrees with your terms.

Reply by Pat/IL on 1/4/08 6:41pm
Msg #228995

Re: Not in FL and not legal advice, yada yada, but as I see..

Monica says: "I should be paid a full amount for performing my duties as a notary - not ensuring that a loan closes."

I don't know what the fee cap is in Florida for notarial services, but in Illinois I believe it is $2 per notarization. If you are waiving your notarial fee in favor of a broader service fee for the signing, your notarial fee would be $0.00.

Not that I think signing agents should bear the loss when a loan falls through. The title company is likely paying the signing agent (travel fee), the abstractor (if outsource) and maybe other out-of-pockets. I personally think the noncommunicative broker should be paying all parties for services rendered. However, I just don't see that being the case any time soon.

Reply by Linda Juenger on 1/4/08 7:14pm
Msg #228999

IL $1.00 per notarization n/m

Reply by jba/fl on 1/4/08 7:16pm
Msg #229000

Re: FL $10.00 per notarization n/m

Reply by Pat/IL on 1/4/08 7:49pm
Msg #229002

Re: IL $1.00 per notarization

Linda, you are right. $1.00 is correct for Illinois. I will punish my fact checker (me). I have never charged for a notarial act, so my ignorance has not cost anybody (with the exception of my own credibility).

Reply by Becca_FL on 1/4/08 7:58pm
Msg #229003

Re: Not in FL and not legal advice, yada yada, but as I see.

"I personally think the noncommunicative broker should be paying all parties for services rendered."

It's funny you say that, Pat, because I used that same reasoning with a mortgage company just two days ago, along with the “killer” collection letter and it worked. I got my check today.

I emailed:

”Lack of communication with the borrower on your part is no reason to not pay for services I rendered per our original agreement. Mr. Borrower certainly did not experience the 'consistent attention to detail and honest respect for the Customer' you seem to be so proud of.”

We had a really good conversation about this a few days ago. If you missed it search Msg #228271. I particularly liked Msg #228507 posted by MikeC/NY.

Reply by Pat/IL on 1/4/08 10:05pm
Msg #229012

Re: Not in FL and not legal advice, yada yada, but as I see.

Congrats on your success with the broker, Becca. As a title agency, we charge a re-close fee when the deal eventually flies. This covers all of the work that needs to be done after the original deal is scrapped. It also pays the closer in full for all attempts to close. The broker nearly always pays the reclose fee out of his commission.

Looking back at Msg #228271, it was an interesting conversation. I remember parts of it and even added a couple of comments. It is a huge thread and there were many great nuggets added since I lost track of the conversation. MikeC/NY said it brilliantly in post #228507 (but I said it in fewer words above). An interesting aside: Did you know that MikeC/NY posted msg #228307 AND 228507 in the same thread? Get a lottery ticket, Mike!

Reply by DianeCipa on 1/5/08 8:47am
Msg #229038

It was a good thread.

Elizabeth said:

"I have mentioned this before. You have an interest in the transaction when you are not paid for your work. If there were a scale representing your interest, it would be more weighted on the lender's side rather than the borrowers', meaning you are not the disinterested third party as you are supposed to be.

What would happen if appraisers didn't get paid if the home didn't appraise for enough? Would their ethics be compromised?"

I agree with her and would add it's the CONTINGENCY nature of the payment that creates the interest in the transaction.

Nice collection technique, Becca.

Reply by SReis on 1/5/08 10:40am
Msg #229049

Agree Diane

Having our pymt contingent on funding theroetically could give some notaries (none of us, of course!!) motivation to "sell" the loan in order to ensure that they were paid. This is where the conflict lies. How can we realistically be impartial if we know that we will not get paid if the loan does not fund?