| We had something come up on Facebook today. One of the notaries said that she used a hold harmless agreement and required the borrowers to sign. Basically to explain what the notary's responsibilities are but a provision that the borrowers will pay the notary if the settlement agent or signing service does not pay the notary. My first question was: Isn't this a RESPA violation? The borrowers should only have to pay what is listed on the HUD 1. The borrower is on the hook for the notary's bill if she doesn't get paid, so in effect the BO is paying twice for the same service. The Facebook notary says no it is not a RESPA violation. I advised her to have an attorney review her agreement. I guess the UPL issue is there also, since she is establishing a contract outside the purview of the lender/borrower transaction. I am not an attorney, so I don't like making people sign agreements that are not part of the closing package. |
