Posted by PA Notary on 4/22/05 7:50pm
Msg #33425

Opinions, Please...

Has anybody done any Countrywide loans lately? I have 2 this weekend, after not having done theirs in quite some time. I notice that their signature/Name Aff has a separate, second page for the notarization that does not indicate in any way what is being sworn to. It would appear that this loose document could be attached to anything at all. Any ideas as to how one would protect oneself in this conundrum? Brenda..Hugh..Sylvia..PAW..Ted ??

Reply by Nd_WA on 4/22/05 8:29pm
Msg #33431

I did one just yesterday, are you talking about the (Affidavit) form where on the first page the borrower certify that the stated property is his/her primary resident then follow by an aka statement, etc. If so, the form is pre-filled and straight forward. The borrow acknowledge what's on the page, sign, and you notarize.

How can anyone attach anything differently if the borrower has a copy and your journal state that was the document you notarized.

Reply by PA Notary on 4/22/05 8:40pm
Msg #33434

No...the sig/name aff....says John A. Doe and John Doe are one and the same person. Usually the notarization is on the bottom of the form.....there's lots of room for it...but there is a loose
notarization page along with it that doesn't identify what it should be acknowledging: i.e. the
same name aff.

Reply by sue on 4/22/05 8:42pm
Msg #33436

I slap my jurat stamp on the first page and write on the second page 'see page 1'. To the other poster, in PA we don't have to identify the document in our register, we just put what type of 'act' it was.

Reply by Nd_WA on 4/23/05 12:05pm
Msg #33531

Sue noted, "... in PA we don't have to identify the document in our register, we just put what type of 'act' it was."

In WA, we are not even required (only recommmended) to have a journal. I keep one and use it to its fullest extend. What good is a journal when you only record half of the info?

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 4/22/05 8:35pm
Msg #33432

If the notarization is on a separate page and there is nothing to indicate what it is attached to, I write at the top:

This certificate is attached to a _____(no of pages) page document entitled ___________ and dated_________

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate information.

Reply by PA Notary on 4/22/05 8:42pm
Msg #33437

Great idea.....and I can do it in word pad and save it for future use. Thanks a bunch, Sylvia !!

Reply by BeccaWI on 4/22/05 8:48pm
Msg #33438

When you write that, does anyone question you?

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 4/22/05 9:11pm
Msg #33446

Re: Opinions, Please... - Becca

No, it isn't questioned.
Some of the preprinted notary certificates you buy have that wording on the top too.
It is just an extra precaution against fraud.

Reply by CarolynCO on 4/22/05 11:07pm
Msg #33465

*When you write that, does anyone question you?*

Why would the wording be questioned?

Reply by BeccaWI on 4/23/05 7:21am
Msg #33488

not the wording, the fact you are writing on the doc's. I haven't had to do this before so it was a question that came to mind.

Reply by Jay on 4/22/05 8:59pm
Msg #33440

does the notary page say pg 2 of 2? n/m

Reply by Mike/NJ on 4/22/05 9:05pm
Msg #33443

Re: does the notary page say pg 2 of 2? n/m

Countrywide sig/aff has page 2of 2 and the form# is also @ the bottom of the page. The loan # will be on the upper right hand side of page 2.

Reply by Lalas_socal on 4/22/05 9:04pm
Msg #33442

I do many countrywide, they have changed sig Aff to a sig Certification that requires no notarization at all.
Aloha and Mahalo

Reply by Julie-MI on 4/23/05 7:27am
Msg #33492

I completed two of these HELOCs yesterday and know exactly of the forms you are referring to.

I am not going to modifiy the doc in any form, as the borrowers were provided copies of everything they signed.

What you are referring to (and I don't mean any disrespect to you; I've just been in the business too long and am becoming old and crotchety on these matters) is chicken little syndrome.

The likelihood of fraud on the part of Countrywide is slim to none. We are notaries who are giving oaths and checking id for acknowledgements at the time we are with the borrowers, some think we are the preventative police, which we are not.

This is what the borrowers copies are for.

Just what document do you think Countrywide is going to concoct to commit fraud on these borrowers?

Reply by PA Notary on 4/23/05 9:56am
Msg #33514

Julie: If 30 yrs+ is too long in the business, then I, too am old and crochety. I am trying not to resent your condesending remarks, so please bear with me while I defend my presumed
over-protection of my commission. O.K. I agree that Countrywide Home loans would most definitely NOT have any reason to mis-use a loose acknowledgment.....however Joe Blow, who works for them as a new employee hired away from a used car dealership has a buddy that bought a classic car advertised in the local daily rag as being without title. Joe knows all about how to get a title, but where, oh where would he get a Notary to notarize the paperwork? If you can't see the wisdom in protecting your commission, then the sky is, indeed falling....at least in YOUR jurisdiction !

Reply by Julie-Mi on 4/23/05 12:18pm
Msg #33533

As I said, don't take my remarks personally.

The title of the post said Opinions, please so I gave my opinion. I have not read the other responses, so mine may not concur with the other respondents.

As I said, I have two Countrywide loans that I closed. On page two, of the document you are questioning, the loan number is printed on the upper right corner of the jurat, so the potential criminal will have to remove that from the jurat before it can be used to help his friend get his classic car.

The docs I have are being returned to Texas. So the potential notary fraud would have to be committed by a friend of the employee in Texas who happens to have a friend in Michigan, because my commission is only valid in Michigan.

I use a notary journal, so I would know that I didn't swear or acknowledge the identity of the folks.

This paranoid thought process was developed, in part, by the NNA. They are the creators of "what if thinking" so they can cram CA's overkill (again my opinion) notary laws down the throats of other states.

In Michigan, we do not need a stamp or seal when we notarize something. Anyone can go to the Register of Deeds office and find a document I acknowledged and use my commission to commit fraud.

Instead of taking offense to my opinion, try to see if from my side.

Reply by sue on 4/23/05 4:56pm
Msg #33563

one of my 'favorite' things about these boards is how people take such offense, instead of reading others posts and putting the info into the nooks and crannies of their brains for future reference. No one says you need agree with a different point of view but looking at the bigger picture and getting others opinions is how we (at least me) learn.

Reply by BrendaTx on 4/23/05 4:56pm
Msg #33562

If it is a jurat, I usually use my Jurat Stamp (from NotRot) and put it at the end of the document.

Sometimes I have done what Sylvia does...other times the bottom of the page indicates the loan number and name of document so I have no problem just going ahead with it.

Reply by BrendaTx on 4/23/05 5:06pm
Msg #33565

Shd have said "end of 1st page" n/m