Posted by pat/WA on 8/23/12 11:45am
Msg #431674

explaining documents

I had a borrower today that was not satisfied with an explanation of the purpose of the documents but also wanted an explanation of the dollar amounts and the percentages. I tried to explain to her that I could tell her what the documents entailed but she would need to call her lender regarding dollar amounts and percentages. She was not happy and I am sure she is going to report me as be uncooperative.

Reply by Lee/AR on 8/23/12 11:53am
Msg #431677

Best to BRIEFLY explain 'her problem with you' to hiring entity first. (I assume she refused to contact her LO.) Not much you can do with people like this--except head 'em off at the pass.

Reply by NVLSlady/VA on 8/23/12 11:57am
Msg #431678

Was lender available during the closing? Also, were there particular docs she was "hung up" on?

Reply by pat/WA on 8/23/12 12:09pm
Msg #431679

Hey, she was hung up on all the documents including the ones that did not require a signature.

she was really paranoid. She told me that she had had a loan sold to a lender that was outside the country and that she had not been able to refinance that loan because of this.

This was a first for me

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 8/23/12 12:14pm
Msg #431680

I'm not sure I understand what she was looking for

Dollar amounts and percentages are as plain as the nose on her face = her loan is $xxx, her interest rate is xx, the APR (which is her costs expressed in a percentage) is xx - All she had to do was "read" the HUD - carefully - it's really self-explanatory - and you ARE authorized to "explain" what some of the abbreviations mean (like "POC"),...

The "what" question you can answer all day and six different ways; it's the "why" question that you can't get bogged down with - and that why should have been answered by her LO before you even got there.

JMO

Reply by NVLSlady/VA on 8/23/12 1:01pm
Msg #431687

Self-explanatory?

Not sure if I'd classify the HUD as one of those "self-explanatory" docs. I still have to review pretty hard myself . . . of course, it certainly helps if the borrower reviews the docs in advance.

I like to carry a notebook of general terms in my bag in case I have to do a Loan Lesson 101. It's surprising how basic something can seem to those of us who know what we're looking at. Mostly they just need to be put at ease (so many "bait & switch" schemes out there - like my phone/internet company who quotes me one thing then says, that's only for DSL service; like, you don't know that this is FIOS territory??). Ok, I digress . . .

There are certain fields, like Taxes & Insurance that baffle me completely. Those "self-explanatory" forms are well . . . NOT!

Reply by Gina/VA on 8/23/12 1:12pm
Msg #431688

Re: Self-explanatory?

What I am finding is that what may seem simple to us is not so simple to a borrower, especially one who has had any lender problems in the past. We are looking at these forms daily so it becomes almost routine, not so routine or self-explanatory to a borrower.

Reply by CJ on 8/23/12 2:09pm
Msg #431698

Some people are just paranoid.

I had a borrower explain that her attorney and sister reamed her in settling her mom's estate, so now she was parnoid and didn't trust anyone, and that's why she was reading all the loan docs carefully, including the verbage on the acknowledgments. I know that loan docs are different from trust docs, but this is where she was coming from.

I do point out and explain things like: This is your loan amount, this is your interest rate. I also basically read the hud to them while pointing at the figures, but of couse, I have no idea how they came up with the numbers that are there (like the figure for the title charges).

If someone asks me a "why" question, I tell them point blank: "It is a CRIME for me to give opinions or advice". I used to not say that more directly and they would still press me for advice or opinions, so now I just cut to the chase. I say, "They called and asked if I could be here today at 3:00, and I said yes, and then they emailed the docs to my computer. I grabbed them and came over here. I had nothing to do with preparing them." Of course, I do my best to get title on the phone to answer the questions, but sometimes they are not there.

I agree with the person who commented earlier: if you think the borrower is going to complain about you, talk to you Signing Service ASAP and tell them your side first. Then they are ready when title calls with the complaint. Title knows that you can't give advice, and if the borrower is trouble to you, title probably has already has been getting the same treatment from the borrower as well.

Reply by pat/WA on 8/23/12 3:04pm
Msg #431702

Re: Some people are just paranoid.

The borrower insisted that she had a loan that was out sourced to another country and therefore she was not able to refinance it. This was the first time I had heard of a loan being outsourced to a lender in a foreign country. Anyway she wanted me to say that if that happened she could refuse to have her loan sold to a foreign lender.
Anyway, I convinced her (I think) that this is not something that I can control.

P.S I am the second notary she has had for this loan. After corrections were made to the HUD the first notary was not available (or refused) to return

Reply by snowflake/PA on 8/23/12 3:22pm
Msg #431704

Re: Some people are just paranoid.

You are right. Some folks are just paranoid. One BO recently kept referring to her GFE sent by the lender to compare with final docs. I mentioned on several occasions that what I brought for signature were the final figures. She was not trusting of me, title, nor lender. And, generally it's because BO's may not understand what they are signing and we need to guide and briefly explain. Some Bo's truly just do not understand their loans.

Reply by MW/VA on 8/23/12 7:32pm
Msg #431732

I'd say she's not paranoid, but cautious because she's

been burned. IMO that's what the TIL is for--spells it all out for her. I'd defer to the loan officer for further explanations.
Regardless, there's no way to control who that loan will be sold to later.

Reply by ikando on 8/23/12 3:34pm
Msg #431706

Re: Some people are just paranoid.

I try to head off the "can you tell me why" questions by letting the signers know either at my initial contact phone call with them, or/and at the table, that I am the low man on the totem pole. I explain that I am independent from the lender, and was contracted by either the title company, who was hired by the lender, or SS. Because I'm basically just the messenger, they need to contact the lender for explanations of the figures. By my letting them know that up front, I rarely am expected to explain where the numbers came from. I also emphasize their three-day RTC, if there is one.

Giving them this information makes for a less confrontational signing.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 8/23/12 4:46pm
Msg #431715

Re: Some people are just paranoid.

I agree that some people are paranoid. If they've had a bad experience or if they have a particularly difficult time understanding these kinds of things, it makes it tough. Plus, there are some people who obsess on what they don't know instead of listening and trying to understand.

However, I never like to deal with this with any approach that diminishes my "authority" (such as it is...) as the person charged with getting the docs signed, or my credibility (e.g. the "I'm just the notary" comments). I address this right up front at the end of my spiel about what the process will be before we even get started by letting them know that I'm not an attorney and therefore not allowed to "interpret or advise" etc. Most people get that because anyone who watches TV these days is familiar with legal disclaimers. If they later end up asking me a question that crosses the line, I simply say that it would be inappropriate for me to comment further on that, and remind them of my disclaimer and that their lender contact should be able to help clarify that for them.

I do go through the key documents with them to show them where the critical info is so they can verify it against what they're expecting. Anything on the page is fair game, but beyond that is up to their LO. But there's something about the words "I can't" that sometimes puts people on the defensive and makes them more nervous, especially if they're uncertain to begin with.

Reply by Buddy Young on 8/23/12 6:50pm
Msg #431726

Re: Some people are just paranoid.

I don't think the borrower is necessarily paranoid. The numbers are sometimes different than they discussed with their LO. That happened to me when I refinanced a few years back to get a lower rate.

I would call the loan officer and tell him that these aren't the same numbers we discussed on the phone. Then he would change them and send out a new form, and they would still be different. Very frustrating for a BO for the numbers to be changed on them.