Posted by mimi_NJ on 10/4/04 4:52pm
Msg #9315

Ackward Situation

I'm sure you experienced folks out there have all kinds of funny and not so funny stories to tell about some of your closings but I had one yesterday that was just the pits. I get to the borrowers house and there's about 5 guys hanging around on the porch so before I get out I take all my gold jewelry off and hide it in the car. Suddenly the borrower appears and tells me to come in--I go reluctantly. Inside I meet the wife and start to feel a little better until we start the signing. The wife sees the closing cost of 7500.00 and goes crazy. She's cursing (using the "F" word) more times than I can recall ever hearing it, she starts to cry and the husband is telling her to lose the attitude. He then starts cursing at her and they get louder--there I am in shock but finally I suggest we call the loan officer--no luck can't reach him. The wife starts up, crying and complaining about the cost--I couldn't get a word in AT ALL. Finally, I call the SS company and tell them it's definitely a no go and I leave. Should I have done anything different?

Reply by Marie/CA on 10/4/04 6:16pm
Msg #9318

Sounds like you handled this in a very professional manner. Good for you! Thank goodness your safe!!

Reply by Roger/OH on 10/4/04 7:07pm
Msg #9319

You might have reminded them they had 3 days to work out any issues with their LO; if they didn't sign and the docs had to be redrawn for another date, it could affect their terms/rate (and then she'd really have something to holler about). If they sign at the table, it preserves the terms they discussed, and if they don't get their issues resolved after talking with their LO, then they can bail out anytime within the 3 days.

Reply by mimi_NJ on 10/5/04 7:29am
Msg #9331

Roger said:"You might have reminded them they had 3 days to work out any issues with their LO; if they didn't sign and the docs had to be redrawn for another date"

I did tell them they had 3 days to rescind and if they didn't sign the loan would need to be reworked and the rate could possibly change. She did say that she had lost her son four months prior and nothing else could be as bad as that so she didn't care. I am usually not lost for words but after saying how sorry I was for her lost I didn't say much more.

Reply by BrendaTX on 10/5/04 9:15am
Msg #9339

Re: Awkward Situation

Mimi, I did a little work for a place that acted as SS for timeshares.

I quit working for them within about the first 5 assignments. I encountered none of the scary stuff you are talking about, but the situation of being in someone's home who is angry about why I am there is not something I do well.

The folks I had to sign for this company were those who had defaulted on their timeshares and who had been harassed by bill collectors until they agreed to re-negotiate and sign loan docs on a smaller timeshare.

The guy that had been hiring me did not understand why I found it threatening, but I found it ***very*** uncomfortable and threatening. It was not a social status thing--one of the borrowers was a professor living in a very nice home... but he was a very unhappy guy who was very belittling to his wife. I hate that, or the wife being hateful to a husband...and I don't like yelling.

In the situation you were in, I probably would have left earlier than you did if I thought I could without tangling with one of those porch sittin' fellers.

Reply by CarolynCO on 10/6/04 8:51am
Msg #9416

mimi_NJ said "She did say that she had lost her son four months prior and nothing else could be as bad as that so she didn't care. "

I've been thinking about this thread quite a bit. I'm more than grateful that I've never lost a child. However, I have a couple of friends who have -- one a toddler and another a teenager. The one is coming up to the 3-year anniversary of her death. She has never been able to move past it, still going to counseling 2-3 times a week, regularly taking prescribed medication for her depression and emotional state and is also drinking quite heavily. If I had to notarize any document(s) for her, I would not be able to say that she was of sound mind and understood what she was signing.

Reply by HisHughness on 10/4/04 10:46pm
Msg #9323

Mimi_NJ asks:

***Should I have done anything different?***

Yes. You could have washed the wife's mouth out with soap, and then slapped the husband up side the head with it.

Reply by mimi_NJ on 10/5/04 7:34am
Msg #9332

HisHughness said: "Yes. You could have washed the wife's mouth out with soap, and then slapped the husband up side the head with it"

Those five guys sitting on the porch were there sons...plus I didn't mention I thought I smelled something funny when I entered the porch area. I was just darn happy to leave, and I left probably before I should have since the wife was speaking with the lo on the phone.

Reply by Cheryl E CA on 10/5/04 8:59am
Msg #9338

You could have offered to pay the closing costs yourself! HA HA...bad credit I'm sure.

Reply by CarolynCO on 10/5/04 2:44pm
Msg #9357

Mimi,
I've not been in your situation, although I'm sure I would have left much sooner than you did. From my dealings with attorneys practicing in family law, I've come in contact with a lot of strange and angry people, and you just never know if being angry is only an emotion, or if/when they are going to crack. I'm almost certain the SS wouldn't agree, but I'll forgo the signing and abrubtly leave at the first instance I feel threatened or verbally abused.

On the other hand, I know couples and have also been at signings where the husband and wife nitpick back and forth at each other and to some, it might appear they are angry and going to do bodily harm to one other -- but that's just how they are -- and I don't feel threatened in any way with their behavior.

You just have to learn to trust your instinct and gut feelings.

Reply by Tina Marie Grimes on 10/6/04 2:26pm
Msg #9444

I had a borrower ask me, not to long ago, if my job was dangerous. Meaning, going to strange peoples houses by myself. Until that time I had never given it any thought. I told him that there was only one time I was nervous about doing a signing. It was in a bad part of town and was at 8:00 at night. When I pulled up out front it looked like a drug dealers house. (I watch Cops!) I honestly was afraid to go in. I called my husband and gave him the address and told him to call me in an hour. When I went inside there were 3 young men between the ages of maybe 17 and 20. The borrower was the father. I was the only female in the house. If there was anything at all that made me feel that I should be concerned about my well being, I would have said "I'm sorry, I can't do the signing I've forgotten my seal" and got the hell out of there. But the "boys" were watching a basektball game and didn't pay any attention to me at all. Let me tell you, it was the quickest signing I've ever done. After that, my husband calls me exactly 1 hour from the time my signing's start. He also has the address for where I'm at. It makes me feel better and him.

Reply by HisHughness on 10/6/04 2:42pm
Msg #9447

Tina Marie Grimes recounts:

***After that, my husband calls me exactly 1 hour from the time my signing's start.***

My lovely and talented wife also calls to check up on me during nighttime signings. I think, though, in her case it's so she will know when to start developing a headache.

Reply by Tina Marie Grimes on 10/6/04 2:55pm
Msg #9448

Hugh:
I have to tell you, I always look for your posts because I know you're going to make me chuckle. I just wanted to thank you for that. Because our business can be frustrating at times, your levity is very much appreciated.

Tina

Reply by CarolynCO on 10/7/04 6:34pm
Msg #9522

I've really only had one signing situation where I've actually felt a little uncertain of the situation. The neighborhood is pretty dangerous - known for drugs and probably gangs. Even before this signing, I've always let my husband know the name, address and phone number of the borrower and also the neighbors, if my husband is on a biz trip. This particular signing was 6:00 at night. The guy was single. I pulled up, and everyone's yard was 2-1/2 to 3 feet tall in grass/weeds and everyone had a dog barking in the front yard. The guy didn't have a table, so we sat on the couch with TV trays. I kept my keys in my lap and was prepared to hit the panic button on the remote. Actually, the guy was very polite and well mannered, although I told him at the very beginning, if at all possible, I would like to get the docs delivered to FedEx by the last 7:00 p.m. pickup in order for the loan company to have them first thing in the morning. I made it to FedEx with 10 minutes to spare. <g>

We have new neighbors in our neighborhood with not only 1 but 2 pit bulls. Earlier this week as I was walking my dog, the one pit bull got ahold of a puppy they have as well and killed it. Since then, I went and got some pepper spray for our walks and am going to put it on my key ring for signings.

Reply by BrendaTX on 10/8/04 2:28am
Msg #9550

After reading the story of Carolyn's anti-clamatic signing adventure I thought I'd share my self-re-assureance plan since I often do not have a real person to check in with before a signing.


Comforting thought:
The vilest of vile will recognize s/he cannot hurt the notary or s/he'll lose the loan rate in exchange for feasting upon a notary's bones -- but to insure I escape the bloodlust, if it's the least bit uncomfortable, I make a call to a person or my voice mail. And, I say I am required to make a "check in" call once in my car with the docs before leaving the driveway to make sure I have completed the requirements. ...or like Carolyn said, "10 min to get to FEDEX!"

Surely, the notary killers who are creditworthy homeowners have enough restraint to let us go safely under these circumstances and look to the bank or other public notarial pool for victims. (That's what creeped me out as I posted above about timeshare work's hostile couples' appointments for re-do on the note/deed. Bad credit, bad temper, anger...)

Even a Sociopath values a good financial move for himself. It's just those darn multiple personalities that might come out and do bodily harm (mine, not theirs).

I used to tell my sister to call out the Texas Rangers if I did not report in by a certain time. It really kept her up at night with the thoughts of me being harmed on an assignment, so I stopped telling her.

Now I just call my voice mail to check in as if talking to my son or the SS. My son knows my voice mail would be the best place to start should I disappear...after he danced a jig, sold all valuables and my home-- emptied the bank account and put reindeer antler's on my dog so he could make funny pictures for his website...

Anyhow, a call to voice mail stating the address and borrowers name is how we keep a safety line going no matter what. In 90% of my single-men signings I have felt that the men who had to be alone with me were really nervous and concerned about their liability / unmolested state/ safety if I were a nutty notary looking for a lawsuit or being an accuser.