Posted by Marla_NorCal on 1/20/05 11:25pm
Msg #17561

Spanish Enterpreter

my gut tells me this borrow does not speak english. I don't speak spanish. I think an "enterpreter" has been engaged, but I don't feel comfortable. What should I do? The signing is for tommorrow???Docs are schheduled to deliver tommorrow

Reply by DellaCA on 1/21/05 12:07am
Msg #17562

Ca. law says NO interpreter you will have to cancel

Reply by Ernest_CT on 1/21/05 12:14am
Msg #17564

CT law says the same thing as CA.

The notary must be fluent in the language(s) of BOTH the document(s) AND the signer(s).

Reply by Marla_NorCal on 1/21/05 12:50am
Msg #17565

Thank you !!!!
Marla~!!!!!

Reply by Nicole_NCali on 1/21/05 10:58am
Msg #17593

Marla, call the borrower to determine his level of comprehension. I have done signings with borrowers who may not speak English well, but do comprehend and read it very well. Trust me, money is an Universal language that we all speak and if that HUD-1 is wrong, they will call their loan officer in a heartbeat. If this is not an option for you, check the listings to see if there is another notary who can speak Spanish in your area.

Reply by DellaCA on 1/21/05 12:44pm
Msg #17615

Good advice Nicole

Reply by FB/CA on 1/21/05 3:59pm
Msg #17639

Half correct... half wrong.

The notary has to be able to communicate with the signer.... true.
But the notary does not have to be able to read the document; it can be in another language as long as there are no blanks. -FB/CA http://www.berys.com/notary

Reply by Paul-CA on 1/21/05 5:15pm
Msg #17645

Re: Half correct... half wrong.

In CA (to the best of my understanding), The notary does not have to be able to read the document. If there are any blanks, the SIGNER must fill them in (fix them) without the Notary advising him/her how to do this. The document must have the proper notarial wording (which menas that it be in English) or, at the SIGNER's request, can attach an appropriate loose certificate (i.e., the signer must know what is required). The notary must be able to communicate with the signer well enough to accomplish the notarial act according to law but this does not necessarily mean they are able to verbally converse with each other (e.g., they could communicate in writing). The notary should add to the "additional information" section of the journal entry the words "A document in a foreign language" if they can't identify the type of document.

All that having been said, there are more than a few areas here that make explaining vs. describing pretty hard to keep separate. I think that if I were at all uncomfortable with the level of communication I had with the signer I would choose to refer the signer to a notary who speaks his/her language.

Reply by Marla_NorCal on 1/21/05 6:02pm
Msg #17654

Re: It's with a bi-lingual notary, finally!!!!!!!

The docs were in English, but the wife did not speak english. Oh, and she was a non-signing spouse! Long story short, I refused this signing and found a bi-lingual notary that the signing service could call ......I even took the docs to her. The signing service didn't seem to understand why I couldn't just notarize the docs for them, even though I could not "communicate" with the signer! They wanted me to speak with the supervisor as they tried to tell me it's ok to notarize the docs because thats all I'm there for anyway..... jesh. I had to get out my np handbook for the State of Calif. and quote from pg 16..........
Thanks for all your help.

Reply by Ted_MI on 1/21/05 8:49pm
Msg #17680

Re: It's with a bi-lingual notary, finally!!!!!!!

Hi Marla,

I am sorry you lost me. You indicated that the wife was a non-signing spouse. If that was the case what was the concern? Did you mean to say she was a non-obligated spouse (in which case she probably would be signing some documents)?

Reply by CarolynCO on 1/21/05 9:22pm
Msg #17684

Re: If the Wife is not on the loan ...

Marla,
I see that Tom has already posted asking you the same question I'm going to pose to you. Last week I got a call for a signing. When I called Borrower(s) like I always do to confirm appointment, advise them to make a copy of their drivers license and possibly SS card, and also my need to pick up a certified check per the HUD (if necessary), the Wife spoke little, if any, English, just enough to tell me her Husband wouldn't be home until 3:30, at least that's what I think she said. I called the Title Company and said I didn't know Spanish, and, I knew for sure that the Wife didn't speak English. I was told to hang on while they made a couple of calls and she would call me back. She called back and said the Husband could read and understand English, and spoke English quite well. She was right. When I called him, he spoke fluent English. When printing off the e-docs, I really didn't pay that much attention to the names. When I arrived, it turned out that the Wife who spoke no English wasn't a co-borrower on the loan, but instead the Husband's brother was the co-borrower. He also spoke and understood English.

A signing that originally I was going to cancel because of a language barrier, turned out to have no problems at all. I thought I was responding to the post where you said the Wife was not on the loan, but I clicked on the wrong one. At any rate, and I'm using my signing as an example -- I think for your signing, a Wife not speaking English, would be a moot point if she wasn't on the loan.

Reply by PAW Notary Services on 1/21/05 10:17pm
Msg #17687

Re: If the Wife is not on the loan ...

>>> I think for your signing, a Wife not speaking English, would be a moot point if she wasn't on the loan. <<<

Except if the non-English speaking wife has spousal rights to the property. Then there's the problem of conveying the purpose of the "legals" that she must sign and why she must sign them and not the others.

Reply by Marla_NorCal on 1/22/05 3:07pm
Msg #17734

Re: If the Wife is not on the loan ...

She was required to sign the Deed, NOC and TIL.