People ask me all the time if I feel safe doing this job,, traveling to complete strangers' homes, and I always answer with a resounding yes. Fifteen years in this industry and I can count on one hand the number of times I have been a little uneasy going into a stranger's home . . . and as I look back . . . they were all either an application signing or some sort of general notary work. Never have I been afraid to walk into the home of a borrower or seller . . . that is until last night . . . and what quickly transpired made me feel my safety was jeopardized.
So my story begins. I had a refinance closing last night at a home 12 minutes from my home with a very well known lender and title company. It is a company I have worked for on a regular basis for several years. They have been most kind to me and I really enjoy working with them. Let me clarify first . . . it is NOT Amrock . . . it is NOT Quicken. Many of my dear notary friends here on the board know that Amrock/Quicken is a big client for me so I don't want anyone to think it was them . . . it was not.
I was unable to confirm the appointment with my borrower (a single man) but I really didn't give it much thought because it is a holiday weekend and everyone is pretty busy. The appointment was originally set for Friday evening at 7:00 p.m. and because of no docs, it got changed to Saturday evening at 7:00 p.m. I left a couple of messages for the borrower, no return call, still didn't think anything crazy.
I proceeded to the closing last night and really didn't think much of not ever getting a call back. The home was only 12 minutes from mine and I knew the hiring party would pay me my full fee if he was a no show and not just the print and trip fee some companies pay out.
I arrived at the home at 6:50 p.m. and there were three vehicles in the driveway and three 20 something guys hanging out. I parked on the street in front of the house (stay tuned because this was the best thing I could have ever done was to park on the street and not in their driveway).
One of the young men (a 6' 4" large framed young man) came down to the end of the driveway and I assumed it was my borrower. I said that I was here for his closing. He continued to walk down the driveway to my car and asked who I was and what I was doing there. I asked if he was Steve Smith and he informed me that he was Steve's step son. So that explained the confusion . . . he was not the borrower. I asked him if Steve was home and he said "no they aren't here". "Stepson", "they aren't here", words that are making me think Steve Smith is married but I know from looking at my docs before I left home that Steve Smith is a single guy.
So here is where I need to say that at that point when this young man said that Steve Smith was not home, I should have gotten back into my car and drove off . . . but no . . . we are trained to try and get those closing papers signed. How many times have we been instructed to "proceed to the closing anyway", "the appointment has already been confirmed with the borrower", "they are expecting you".
Well clearly Steve Smith was not expecting me because he was no where to be found. So the young man gets on his cell phone and calls what I assumed was his stepdad and hands me the telephone to talk to him. It was not the borrower . . . it was a woman . . . and she was demanding to know who I was, what I was doing at her house, why I was trying to reach Steve Smith, yada yada yada. I then asked if she was his wife thinking that maybe he was newly married or something and the docs were incorrect. She quickly informed me that she was Steve Smith's girlfriend and still demanded to know who I was, what I was doing there, and what kind of documents was I trying to have Steve Smith sign. I very politely said that I was only doing my job and that because she was not a party to the transaction I was not allowed to give her any details and if Steve Smith could please call me that would be great. I then handed the telephone back to her son and started to get back into my car to go home.
What transpired next was somewhat of a blur but I know that the young man was mumbling something to his mother on the cell phone and then he quickly hung up the phone and came over to me and tried grabbing the paperwork out of my hands and was demanding to know who I was, what was I doing at his house, and what was in that paperwork. When I tried to get into my car and shut the door, this man had one arm spread out on my open door and one arm spread out on the door frame and had his head inside my car still demanding to see the paperwork. I told him to step back from my car so I could shut the door and he refused. I told him at least three times to get away from my car and he still refused. I remember demanding him to get away from my car so I could shut the door otherwise I was going to call 911. He kept refusing. He then added you are at my house and I quickly said "NO I
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