Posted by Sam on 4/5/05 2:15pm
Msg #29745

Need help?

I am a new notary and seem to be a bit confused on the whole supplies deal. I got my stamp yet do I need a seal in addition to the rubber stamp or is it preference? Also I ordered a Bond and E&O from this website was that the right thing because I heard there are some scams... I feel like Im walking on eggshells.. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks so much
SAM

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 4/5/05 2:17pm
Msg #29748

Sam
When you post,please indicate which state you are located in.

The rubber stamp is your official seal.

If you ordered through *this* website, you can be assured it isn't a scam.

Reply by Sam on 4/5/05 2:21pm
Msg #29752

THanks so much... Oh sorry iM in california... thanks again....
have a great day

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 4/5/05 2:24pm
Msg #29754

You are welcome.
When you post, for author put Sam/CA
that way we know you are in California

Reply by Ernest_CT on 4/5/05 3:06pm
Msg #29761

"Seal" versus "stamp" versus embosser

Welcome to the insanity, Sam/CA (or Sam_CA or ...).

Many people (our clients) believe that it is the embossed seal that makes a document notarized. It is a nicety and follows a long tradition, and does help make the signer happy. I humbly suggest that you invest in an embosser. The ~$25 investment will last a long, long time.

Please take the time to read all the posts on this Forum. You will get a real-world education, and your expectations will probably match reality. We've seen many new CA notaries aghast at learning that there are so many notaries already competing.

Good luck!

Reply by Bobbi in CT on 4/6/05 7:48am
Msg #29891

I don't recommend the embosser..

I use one because it is tradition in CT since the first American Notary Public (New Haven, CT, who met a dishonorable end).

Why I don't like it:

1. It can tear through light weight paper or, with age, not make a good impression on heavy stock.
2. You need an embossment inker to place over the embossed seal so that it reproduces when the document is photocopied. The inker doesn't always cover every letter the first time, ink may bleed to back of page placed on top or another part of document when folded.
3. With the portables, you cannot meet the minimum one inch margin requirement without folding the paper or other manuevers to get the embosser where it needs to be placed.
4. It looks impressive but is cumbersome.

If you state allows it, go for a GOOD QUALITY self-inking stamp seal.

If you state doesn't require

Reply by donnapa on 4/6/05 10:35am
Msg #29912

Re: I don't recommend the embosser..

I use my seal everytime b/c people like it!!! It saves questions with lenders, brokers/real estate agents & even title. I don't ink mine I let recording do that job!! If someone needs to see it when you copy it they can ink it!! So no mess & extra work. It saves my phone bill & time with all the extra questions.

Reply by CarolynCO on 4/6/05 11:05am
Msg #29917

Re: I don't recommend the embosser..

You can also use the side of a soft lead pencil and lightly *color* it, smearing it with your finger.

Reply by HisHughness on 4/6/05 11:16am
Msg #29923

Re: I don't recommend the embosser..

CarolynCO says of using an embosser:

***You can also use the side of a soft lead pencil and lightly *color* it, smearing it with your finger. ***

I have a line of patter than I generally use as a closing progresses. When I pass out the pens, for example, I note that "These pens [which of course are cheap BICS] crossed the Mississippi with my great-grandmother in a Conestoga wagon. I've promised them to my heirs, and I >>will<< repossess them after we're through." The borrowers get a chuckle, and I don't look quite as cheap snatching back a $0.15 pen.

Using an embosser would steal from me one of those lines. It goes like this:

"You know, in all the years I practiced law in Atlanta (here I place my seal stamp on the appropriate spot on the page), I never did anything quite as satisfying as this (here I quite forcefully stamp the page) THUNK!!! It just sounds so wonderfully affirmative!" Again, the borrowers always get a chuckle out of it.

Reply by BrendaTX on 4/6/05 1:32pm
Msg #29948

Re: I don't recommend the embosser..

Ok, Mr. Funnyman, I'll give you another one:

When they offer you a beverage. "No thank you. I never drink on the job."

They say: Ha ha...no I just meant a glass of water.

I say: Ha ha...but how terrible would it be if I knocked over a glass of liquid on your loan documents?

They don't put a drink on the table either and there are no spills.

Reply by Jon on 4/6/05 11:05pm
Msg #30081

Re: I don't recommend the embosser..

I have done thousands of signings, and never once did a beverage spill on the docs. If offered, I will usually accept if I am thirsty or my throat is dry.

Just an observation.

Reply by BrendaTX on 4/6/05 11:29pm
Msg #30087

Re: I don't recommend the embosser..

Jon,

I have all these little rituals for working that work very well for me...keep me from screwing up a signing. I have a little habit of using a chair (if available) to stack my signed copies in so they don't get mixed up with the borrowers papers...I have a routine for making sure I don't lose the b's checks...to make sure I use the right pen color, etc. I just have these little "rules" that work for me.

But, last summer I did accept a drink of water because I was very dry. I am so compulsive about my work rules that I had to take the glass into the kitchen before I could focus on the HUD. (Can you spell "obsessive-compulsive NSA?")

I usually keep a bottle of something in my bag I can grab if I get parched
then put the cap back on.

At home? Now that's quite another story altogether. The rule in my home is "there are no rules." My kids are grown...my dogs are trained. I have done enough rule enforcing to last a lifetime.

Reply by HisHughness on 4/7/05 1:19am
Msg #30101

Re: I don't recommend the embosser..

Jon observes:

***I have done thousands of signings, and never once did a beverage spill on the docs. If offered, I will usually accept if I am thirsty or my throat is dry.***

One of the things you learn when you're on a diuretic is to be cautious of accepting liquids of any sort. I think I'd rather accept a rack of shortribs that a glass of water.

Of course, with the ribs there's the problem of the Metamucil....

Reply by Jon on 4/8/05 12:06am
Msg #30319

Re: I don't recommend the embosser..

Hugh salivates,

"I think I'd rather accept a rack of shortribs that a glass of water."

Believe it or not, I have been offered ribs. Borrower was having a party(BBQ) and requested I stay for the fun. Unfortunately, I had other appointments and was unable to accept his gracious invitation.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 4/6/05 2:50pm
Msg #29976

Re: I don't recommend the embosser.. - Bobbi

Bobbi
I have been trying to remember what happened with Thomas Fugill and I can't. I did a google search on him and can't come up with why he met a dishonorable end. I knew this a few years ago, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was.

Getting old is the pits!

Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "Holy Cow-What A Ride!"

Reply by HisHughness on 4/6/05 3:34pm
Msg #29982

Re: I don't recommend the embosser.. - Bobbi

Sylvia moans:

***I have been trying to remember what happened with Thomas Fugill and I can't. I did a google search on him and can't come up with why he met a dishonorable end. I knew this a few years ago, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was.***

From American Biographies:

Thomas Fugil, 1784-1856. Pioneer American notary public from New Haven, CT. Credited with many innovations in American jurisprudence, including the traveling coffee cup now an essential item for notaries public; the quick-change tennis shoe/oxford; and the enduring phrase, "I'm sorry, I can't answer that. You'll have to call your loan officer, but please understand, I have another appointment in seven and a half minutes." Found dead beside a flat-bottomed bass boat on Jan. 11, 1856, a paddle creasing his skull. Rumor long had it that Fugil had mistaken a very married lady for a widow, and had taken liberties with both her and her bass boat. Subsequent reevaluation, however, seems to point toward a multi-lingual assailant of Scandinavian descent, since the paddle appeared to have been wielded much like a Viking axe and a herring was found stuffed in Fugil's mouth. Fugil was buried in an upright position (one mourner was heard to mutter, "That's the first time HE's ever been a stand-up guy"). Every year on Jan. 11, an unknown visitor from Missouri, for a reason never disclosed, treks to New Haven to relieve himself on Fugil's grave.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 4/6/05 3:38pm
Msg #29983

Re: I don't recommend the embosser.. - Bobbi

Hugh
That sounds an awful lot like your biography


And if I am not mistaken Thomas Fugill fell into disgrac around 1646 - over 100 years before the dates on your biography