Posted by pat/WA on 1/5/09 7:21pm
Msg #273617
Reverse mortgages
I just had a lender tell me that I as a notary should be able to go over reverse loan documents line by line with a borrower and explain everything in detail?
Is this right? If so, I had better find a school that will educate me on all the finer details.
| Reply by Becca_FL on 1/5/09 7:55pm
Msg #273621
>>> I as a notary should be able to go over reverse loan documents line by line with a borrower and explain everything in detail?<<<
I have a problem with the word 'explain' and as a 'notary' specifically. Notaries are not allowed or 'able' to explain any document to a signer. It is the notaries duty to ID the signer, make sure that the signer understands what they are signing and complete a proper notarization.
We wear two hats as signing agents and just one hat is that of a notary. The other hat is the signing agent hat and that may be what the lender is referring to. If so, even as a signing agent is it not our job to 'explain' the loan documents line by line. As signing agents, we should know where to look in a loan doc package to "show" borrowers where to find the answers to their specific questions, but beyond that, if they have questions that only the lender can answer, they need to direct those questions to the LO.
Brenda/TX offers a wonderful HECM ebook that is specifically geared to training NSAs to understand the product and how to close a HECM. It will be a very good investment for any NSA not familiar with HECMs and even those with experience.
http://texnotary.com/forsale/reverse_mortgage_notebook.htm
http://texnotary.com/forsale/reverse_mortgage_notebook.htm
| Reply by bowie_MD on 1/5/09 8:28pm
Msg #273630
I got Brendas booklet and it was helpful.
But some of the docs specific to the calculations of the RM amounts and rates you should not be trying to explain. That is the loan officers job. Also the borrower should have had the required counseling.
| Reply by MW/VA on 1/5/09 7:56pm
Msg #273622
There's a lot of info available out there. Try the orange search button on the subject.
I do quite a few RM's, most with a LO present. I am still prepared to explain the purpose of each document, especially the reason for 2 Notes/2 DOT. No, this isn't giving legal or financial advise--only explaining the purpose of the document, not the legal or financial ramifications.
| Reply by Maureen_nh on 1/5/09 10:39pm
Msg #273636
Re: NO, NO, NO
All the advice given here so far is good, but I would be a bit cautious about this company.
When you walk in the door with the RM paperwork the borrower should be up to speed and/or have a counsilor there.
This type of loan is very highly regulated and while you may assist in pointing out some of the conditions of the loan and the various docs, you are there to identify, make sure the signer acknowleges his/her signature and swears to the veracity of the docs with a jurat.
AND a big and in this type of loan, that the signer is aware, to the best of your ability to decide this, of what he/she is signing.
That's all folks
| Reply by MW/VA on 1/6/09 8:41am
Msg #273640
Re: NO, NO, NO
Yes, IME by the time we do the final signing, the borrowers have had all disclosures explained & have had the manditory counseling from FHA. Many of the docs in the package are a duplication of things they already signed with the app.
| Reply by 101livescan on 1/6/09 9:48am
Msg #273644
Pat, the lender (LO) is the one making the big bucks, that is his job. We are not empowered to explain these products or any other products line by line with the borrower. That is the lender's job. I had some lazy butt LO in New York try to tell me I needed to convince the borrower the loan he was getting was a great deal, and I should convince the borrower to sign so that he would not lose his rate lock. That borrower today, NEG AM Loan, is in default and will lose his home to foreclosure. The fees associated with that loan began at $52K, they were negotiated down to $32K by the borrower. Still a lot of money in my opinion, for a $470 refinance.
I don't think many notaries on this board, across the country, would agree with the advice this lender has provided to you. He needs to get off his butt and attend the signing himself to explain, line by line, the RM loan product. Not our jobs! We're simply the disinterested, unbiased, third party there to witness the signing and perform the notarization, verify ID and to prevent the perpetuation of fraud....
| Reply by Linda_H/FL on 1/6/09 9:56am
Msg #273645
Re: Reverse mortgages...AND
" don't think many notaries on this board, across the country, would agree with the advice this lender has provided to you. He needs to get off his butt and attend the signing himself to explain, line by line, the RM loan product"
IMO he should get there 2-3 hours prior to your arrival to do this - no reason you should be sitting through all this "no need to know" information....let him spend the time with the signer explaining line by line then have the docs to be notarized on top when you get there....IF he is so inclined to insist this is how it needs to be done.
JMHO of course - I live in a "perfect world"...<G>
| Reply by sue_pa on 1/6/09 11:38am
Msg #273653
I was basically 'fired' this past summer from a huge lender - everyone knows their name. I met in the branch manager's office. The bank's reverse LO was also there. They expected me to explain, line by line, page by page, every document. That's what Joe, the guy they previously used, did. I asked, with my most amazed voice and look, whether or not Joe was the borrower's attorney. Joe apparently took several hours going over the docs. By the way, I was hired by the signing service as a point and sign notary on these, not as a closer.
My personal opinion ... in a few years reverse mortgages will be in the headlines the way subprimes are now ... unknowing borrowers or their families calling foul.
| Reply by jba/fl on 1/6/09 1:03pm
Msg #273667
Sue:
"My personal opinion ... in a few years reverse mortgages will be in the headlines the way subprimes are now ... unknowing borrowers or their families calling foul."
I have been wondering along those lines myself - care to share some of those reasons, or the biggie anyway? TIA
| Reply by Becca_FL on 1/6/09 1:12pm
Msg #273669
It is already happening...
Remember this site from about a year ago? I feel really bad for the old lady, but her sister should have explained the RM to the family BEFORE she passed.
http://www.savegrannyshouse.com/
| Reply by Linda_H/FL on 1/6/09 1:43pm
Msg #273674
If sister now owns the house
why doesn't she take an RM herself to save the house..I find it hard to believe all these heirs combined can't find a way to save the house....
just a thought.
| Reply by sue_pa on 1/6/09 2:25pm
Msg #273677
Re: If sister now owns the house
because the value is no longer there. A good chunk of equity disappeared the day the first sister obtained the loan due to the costs and up front mortgage insurance premium. Then, every day a chunk of her equity disappeared ...
| Reply by sue_pa on 1/6/09 2:29pm
Msg #273678
Re: Sue:
My thoughts are based on nothing other than my gut feelings when I do these.
Contrary to what everyone thinks, the counseling is a big $125 joke they pay for. Who in the world can listen to someone babble on the phone for 45 minutes and have a good grasp of what was told to you. Counseling is VERY general and is not individually specific. I think a lot of these people do not do their homework and consider other options. How many of them consult someone to go over their specific financials to determine the best course of action ... The ones I think the most about are the ones who may need their money (equity from their home) later to pay for nursing care ... it's gone and good care costs lots of money.
| Reply by RickinVA on 1/6/09 5:08pm
Msg #273694
Reverse Mortgages Counseling
That counseling IS a joke! I sat through it and it took exactly 22 minutes. The
counselor knew less than I did. I investigated everything I could to avoid getting
a RM, and finally, had to go with one. It was the only way that I could find to
guarantee that my blonde (now somewhat gray) bombshell could stay here if
something happened to me. Conversely if something happened to her, I could
move, and would. She won't! The other side of the coin is that we now have a
substantial amount of excess cash coming in every month. The only real downside,
other than the costs is that with her now in rehab for a broken hip and stroke,
that we can't enjoy that cash. (Actually, I'm probably spending a good portion
driving 170+ miles a day to visit at the rehab center)
What I'm saying is that it is expensive, but in the right circumstances, it can be
good. Also, some of the costs can be negotiated. I did, and saved a subtantial
amount.
Rick
|
|
