Posted by T.K. Gonzalez on 5/24/13 5:22pm
Msg #471183

loan doc signing

do notaries need special training to notarize loan doc's?

Reply by supersigner on 5/24/13 5:33pm
Msg #471186

Yes! There is plenty to learn when dealing with real estate documents.

Reply by Scriba/NM on 5/25/13 1:54am
Msg #471229

Of Course Not -

Just read some of the posts here, containing incredibly stupid questions. Only today note that Citi has issued a bulletin to stupid notaries - ones who haven't been getting signatures on the Truth in Lending form. This in itself is massively ignorant. Signing Agents are now regularly bombarded with bulletins from companies highlighting moronic mistakes by people who have no training, yet they hold themselves out as Notary Signing Agents. People who have had training and actually keep up with the latest changes are punished (with mountains of "instructions") due to the bumbling errors made by people who think they're going to make a quick buck as an NSA.

This is one of my favorites: "Gee, I'm in one county doing a signing, but the property being refinanced is located in another county.....what do I do???" Is this for real you say? Unfortunately yes. The dumbness goes on and on.

If you want to be a Notary Signing Agent, get training and get a mentor. Training courses are available from MANY sources, not just one place. Do your research in depth and you'll find your job much easier, should you desire to pursue this activity.

Reply by Barb25 on 5/25/13 12:38pm
Msg #471249

You know I don't know if you have started to do loan signings or not, but obviously you need some kind of training. Having said that, there is good training and bad training. And many people have set up shop to sell you something, with a training product that may do more for them than it does for you. So look into that carefully. But like any course you take; when completed, the real world sets in and the mentoring is important.

When I started doing this there was very little training. There was a site called SigningAgent.com. I got certified... It was later bought by National Notary.org. But I learned mostly by industry people who invested time in me. And I made a lot of mistakes.... I am still learn. 12 years later.

Never get arrogant. Be discerning. Good luck.

Reply by Luckydog on 5/25/13 5:53pm
Msg #471289

Your title is a" Notary Signing Agent"...and yes, you need to be familiar with the Signing of Loan docs, that is what separates you from just a regular Notary Public. Ask yourself why banks refuse to notarize most loan packages? They do not have training or the E&O insurance, and the responsibility/ liability of it any longer. Your first questions were about fee's. I think you are jumping in way over your head, and need to further investigate this line of work before attempting any closings and see if it is right for you. Even before getting your commission, you should have known the answer to this question.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 5/25/13 9:27pm
Msg #471303

You got some good advice so far, but I'm going to go literal on you, just in case...

You asked if notaries "need" training to notarize loan docs. Technically, no. "Notarizing" loan docs is the same as notarizing any other documents. If you know your notary responsibilities, you're good to go. However, that is NOT the same thing as doing a loan signing, since typically only a very small number of documents in any loan package require notarization. The rest of them require something else. But that's not what your post actually asked.

If you DID mean doing a loan signing, it's theoretically possible for anyone who has a notary commission to go out there and try to get loan docs signed since there's no separate licensing or commissioning required by law (just by certain clients). But that doesn't mean it's a good idea. In fact, I think it's a really bad idea. [BTW, the following comments are meant to be instructive, not critical, to you or anyone else considering trying to do loan signing without training.]

If you want to do loan signing, what you probably should have asked is what training does someone need to do a signing and not screw it up, risking a great deal of aggravation and potential cost to the borrower, the lender and title/escrow, plus potential liability to you. There's lots more to the process than meets the eye and little omissions or mistakes can be very costly. It's not brain surgery, but what's best is also not always obvious. As I'm fond of saying, what one lender requires, another prohibits.

So if you want to become competent at conducting loan signings, read the other posts and definitely get as much training as you can before you take on your first signing. If you really did mean just notarizing documents that have to do with loans, then I suggest you go back to the official notary handbook produced by the appropriate officials from whatever state you're from [not from the NNA] and study your head off until you know it cold. 'Cause if that's what you meant and you already knew your stuff, you probably wouldn't have had to ask... I'm just sayin'...

Regardless of what you meant, there are good quality training materials available right here on this site. Hope this helps.