Posted by DB/ME on 1/5/06 8:37am
Msg #86190

POA question

I had a signing where there was to be a POA for the absent husband. At signing, the husband was there. I called from the closing table, told them both parties were present, told to have husband cross out, the part after his name that says "susie as poa for john".... and life went on. He did this on EVERY document. TOday I get a call saying TC says I need to go back out, since hubby was present....He has to initial evey place he SIGNED his name....and also, we are to fill out an affidavit saying that the POA wasn't needed. Does this make sense? I inquired what my fee would be since this was NOT my error, telling them that on distance alone it would be 100.00. They are going to call me back. Did I goof?

Reply by Janlee_MI on 1/5/06 8:43am
Msg #86192

You should have them always both initial any change on a document that they are to sign. This is changing a document.

Reply by PAW_Fl on 1/5/06 8:50am
Msg #86195

Re: POA question - Yes, No, Maybe

Anytime there are any corrections to a document, the signers (everyone that signs it) should initial the correction. I'm assuming that the correction to the signature line is the printed text beneath the signature itself, where is reads something like "John Doe by Jane Doe, his attorney in fact" and the "by Jane Doe, his attorney in fact" was crossed out.

As for the filling out of an affidavit that the POA was not used, that, imo, is additional work and you should be duly compensated.

Whether or not you "goofed" is a subjective opinion by the SS/TC that hired you. I submit that if the correction as noted above was not done, then that is your error. The affidavit, on the other hand, is not.

Reply by eXpedN_TX on 1/5/06 10:12am
Msg #86228

A few days ago I left a message here about how they (SA's) would handle a situation where a signer's middle name was spelled out on the docs, but only the initial appeared on the license. I got an answer from the title co. on how they wanted it handled and was just seeing what other's have done in the past...took a poll. Although it was tedious for the borrower to cross out the middle name on every doc and initial it, she was a good sport about it. It's important that any and every change made to docs get's initialed by the borrower(s). The SS said that I could notarize the 9-10 pages and then I could leave the docs for the borrower to finish up if I wanted. I decided to stay and work through it with them so I could make sure there were no more mistakes. It took an extra 30 - 45 minutes of my time, but hey, that's what my job is for. I didn't charge extra, I was just glad to catch the mistake they made before going to the signing so I had a chance to get a fix for it and have it put in writing. I would agree with PAW that this was an error on your behalf. You may want to chat with the SS that you will fix your mistake, but charge a little extra for the affidavit. Good luck in whatever you decide.