Posted by Heather_Ca on 6/11/04 11:34pm
Msg #3001

Signing from Hell

Hi everyone looking for some support I just got back from a bad Signing.
This Signing consisted of a orginal purchase and a 2nd the pile of paperwork was about 2 1/2 inchs thick.
Then the borrower had to get her father on the phone for the intire signing. I had to wait 1 hour between the borrower being ready (I was outside walking into the location and she called to push the signing 30 min, not much time to do anything but wait in car) and then waiting for her dad to call (another 30 min inside the house). Then everything had to be explained to the father on the phone, he then had to give approval to the daughter "Go ahead and Sign" . The signing took over 3 hours seems way too much. With all the signings I have done inthe past most are 45 min to 1 hour. Does anyone charge extra for this sort of thing? What is everyone's thoughts would you had left with all the waiting time?

Reply by HisIrascibleHughness on 6/12/04 12:11am
Msg #3003

I am very solicitous of the borrowers I serve. When I have occasionally read on this forum that some signers are all business with no small talk, I have trouble relating. The biggest reason I do this is that I actually find it fun. I'm forever meeting new people who almost always are at a good point in their lives, doing something positive; and I go all sorts of places I would just never normally go.

But having said all that, I would never have tolerated such nonsense. Very shortly I would tell the borrower that she has one and a half hours of my time, which is adequate to briefly explain each document, and after that I leave >>with the documents<<. As far as the father on the phone, the borrower could talk with him all she wanted to, but at the end of 90 minutes I'm outta there. Daddy wants to be a full participant in the closing, Daddy can sit his butt down at the table where he can inspect the documents.

Reply by HEATHER_ca on 6/12/04 12:34am
Msg #3004

Thank you, a voice of reason. I was pretty upset. I will have to remember the 90 min thing for the future.

Reply by sue on 6/12/04 6:51am
Msg #3005

I'm one for no small talk -

anyway, your first 'mistake' was the 1/2 hour push back. you should have said, "I'm here'. If she wasn't there then you should have said that she'd need to call to reschedule. Then, you should have gotten started without daddy on the phone. you say, 'our appt. is at 2:00 and we've got to get started now'. It's all about taking charge immediately and not being nice and sweet as our mothers have taught us and remembering 'the customer ISN'T always right.

Reply by Anonymous on 6/12/04 11:28am
Msg #3008

I always say on standard refi, I need drivers licenses and social security numbers, the process should take 30 to 45 minutes(I know it can go an hour, but that way they feel I have given them extra time). Plus, I mention I have another appointment to get to, whether I have one or not. Plus, if they are not all there, I try to start. Stick to the time and tell them on a refi, they have 3rd days to rescind and read the docs after I leave.

Reply by HisHughness on 6/12/04 11:50am
Msg #3009

I reserve the right to read any document -- including a 16-page deed of trust -- before I sign it, regardless of the signing agent's agenda. If the title company and the lender don't want to pay a signing agent for spending five or six hours while I read the documents, then they should make darn sure I get the dox enough in advance to peruse them to my satisfaction.

This doesn't contradict what I said earlier. I have my agenda, the lender/title company has its agenda, and the borrower has his agenda. All three can be accomodated if the dox get to the borrower in sufficient time to study them. I do the signing within my allotted time frame, the borrower gets to study the dox to his satisfaction, and the lender/title company don't lose a loan. If the dox aren't there in time to be studied and the borrower feels he should have adequate time to study them (as he should), then the borrower needs to take that up with the lender, not impose on my time. Most borrowers don't want to read the documents; all they want is to have some idea what they're signing. For those who do, that option should be available to them.

Above all, the borrower should not waste my time by seeking remote paternal approval. That's bizarre. What the heck is she doing buying a house if she is no more qualified than that to handle her own business?

Reply by teri on 6/13/04 7:02am
Msg #3022

I agree that borrowers have the right to read every document. I also think I reserve the right to make a fair compensation and not jeopardize everyone else's loans. Therefore, if they truly are readers- and they want to read every document, I reserve the right to leave them to their devices and if it is convenient for all parties to return at a predetermined time for actual signing. If it is inconvenient for me to return...then they need to come to me. However, there will be cases where there are phsyical limitations in the elderly or others where I will spend whatever time they need to get comfortable (sometimes the arthritis makes it very painful to sign)....but, for readers...when I confirm I ensure they know the process up front, and if they need the docs before I arrive they are to contact their lender or let me know and I'll fax them to them...There's no way I'm spending 3 hours when there is a 3 day RTC exceot for physical reasons. Purchases are another story....I only take them where the compensation justifies the time involved on average....and around here they average about 2 hours....

Reply by Melanie on 6/15/04 2:38pm
Msg #3066

I just returned around noon today from a signing, not quite as bad as yours but, the docs were sent directly to the borrowers and therefore I didn't get to review the docs prior to closing. The closing that I was expecting was for one loan. I called when I got home, prior to sealing the fed ex package because there were two separate loans and for the fee in which I was offered, it would not have been acceptable. They corrected the amount via phone and I got her name for verification if payment was not made properly.

Reply by redonthehead on 6/12/04 3:27pm
Msg #3012

I have to comment on this as I'm sure many signing agents have had similar experiences. Since you were doing an original loan and a second, hopefully your fee reflected this. I realize the inconvenience this caused you by having to wait the 30 mins.; if this was done through a signing agency I would have informed them and let them know they were going to get charged accordingly. The majority of borrowers, I have found, are usually somewhat nervous when its time for the closing. Many do want to read the docs, or a good portion of them. I don't have a problem with that. I do stress the 3-day recession period BUT the comment I will usually get from that is, "What's the point of signing all these papers if I'm not going to go through with this, I want to know what I am signing". I think it is their perogative to read them if they choose to do so. I am there to get their signatures and to notorize and that's what I'm getting compensated for. If you take that 3 hrs, ( I did have a 3-hr signing once, this man was total entertainment) and divide it into the amount of your fee, more than likely it is still good compensation. It all comes together at the end because sometimes you have those signings that last only 15 mins. or so and still get the same fee as you would have had had it been a 3-hr signing. Granted, the whole father issue would have been annoying but things like that have to be taken in stride. I would have found much humor in that signing. Different people are extraordinary, aren't they?