Posted by mtnotary on 9/25/07 12:50pm
Msg #212967

TELEPHONE NUMBERS

What is up with people giving me wrong numbers lately. Don't the signing companies get accurate information? More importantly don't the loan officers get accurate and up to date information?
Last week I called to confirm a Saturday early morning appointment I left a message on someones generic answering machine. Friday night I called again to leave another message as I had not gotten a response back...not totally unusual. Still having heard nothing from the borrower I went to their home at 9:00 a.m. I get there and the gentleman answers the door in his pjs and his wife in a teddy comes around the corner. He looks surprised to see me but was told that I would be contacting them for a signing on Saturday. I showed him the phone number that I had received and asked him if he hadn't gotten my messages... he said "we haven't had that phone number for 6 years". That explains why he didn't return my phone calls.
Yesterday I went to another signing, again no contact from the borrower and no one is home. After standing at the door for 15 minutes in Montana's cold weather the borrower comes home this isn't her phone number and she has never owned it and worst than that she told the LO that she wanted to cancel her Loan 1 week ago.
Oh well thats the life of a Signing Agent.

Reply by JohnnyB on 9/25/07 12:56pm
Msg #212972

The loan processor is not doing their job! Did the first party offer you breakfast?

Reply by WDMD on 9/25/07 12:58pm
Msg #212975

"and worst than that she told the LO that she wanted to cancel her Loan 1 week ago. "

Had the same thing happen last night. Of course it was a rush job with late doc's. Call and call borrower, never get anyone to pick up or return call. Go to signing where borrower informs me he told his LO last week there was no way in hell he was signing.

Reply by BetsyMI on 9/25/07 1:01pm
Msg #212977

I have RARELY gone to a closing where I did not speak with the borrower first, for exactly the reasons you are stating. Most of the time it seems like they weren't even aware of the time, and many times it wasn't even the time that they would have preferred. Obviously the guy in his PJ's would not have chosen 9am on a Sat morning...you probably interrupted them...LOL.

I agree, the amount of times we are given wrong phone numbers is amazing. How the heck does the LO get in touch with them if the SS or TC has a 6 year old phone number?

Reply by JohnnyB on 9/25/07 1:05pm
Msg #212978

I always go the closing even if I can't get a hold of the borrower. 99% of the time the borrower has changed service, dropped his house phone, etc. I have not had many problems with wrong phone numbers over the years. ?Who was your lender on this baby?

Reply by Ernest__CT on 9/25/07 1:12pm
Msg #212981

Re: Telephone numbers (we don't get correct info)

Laziness is the only answer that makes sense. Or, given the number of people laid off, overwork of the people still employed.

Why is it that the firms who contract with us can't understand that we _need_ correct contact numbers for the borrowers?r Giving us the same phone number as both work and home number makes sense for a vanishingly small number of borrowers. We should not have to be detectives, searching everywhere for a way to contact the borrower(s).

How many times have you had to look through the edocs to find a phone number for a borrower because of wrong phone number(s) on the confirmation?r Sometimes the phone number on the Application itself is _wrong_!

Connecticut requires two witnesses; the Notary is allowed to be one of the two. I've lost count of the number of borrowers who have said "[The lender] said I didn't need a witness." when I've made the phone call confirming the appointment. There have even been times (one as recent as Monday) where I've informed the borrower that she needed to arrange for a witness, then when I got to the appointment the borrower has said "I called [the lender] and [the Loan Officer] said that I don't need a witness."

Reply by LJ on 9/25/07 1:17pm
Msg #212982

I wish lenders would ask borrowers if they have e-mail

It would be so easy to use e-mail to contact the borrowers. Would save everyone a lot of time. Sometimes we have to call several times before we get them or wrong numbers like stated. In this day and age most (not all) people have e-mail. Time to get into the technology stage of this. JMO

Reply by JohnnyB on 9/25/07 1:19pm
Msg #212984

Re: I wish lenders would ask borrowers if they have e-mail

yes, they should provide house phone, cell phone, work phone, e-mail for each borrower.

Reply by MelissaCT on 9/25/07 2:27pm
Msg #212999

Re: You, too, Ernest?

I thought that only happened to me. I'll go one better, though. I actually (one of the RARE instances) provided the witness once -- and the LO told the borrower no witness needed, therefore my witness left just before I arrived! I thought I'd seen her car going down the street as I was coming up it...That was before my witness got a cell phone. Needless to say, the borrower was able to "magically" find another witness.

Reply by Terri_CA on 9/25/07 1:37pm
Msg #212988

One of my hard and fast rules, I don't leave my house without having talked to the borrowers. If I get voice mail/answering machines, I call or e-mail the company that hired me and advise them without being able to confirm with the borrowers, I don't go anywhere. Generally what happens is voila! I get a cell phone number. The only way I'll go out is if I'm given written instructions that I'll be paid regardless.

Also, if it's e-docs, I don't print without having talked to the borrowers as well.

Reply by LJ on 9/25/07 1:41pm
Msg #212990

Amen Teri. I don't print doc's until I have confirmed with borrower. Especally at EOM. Been burned too many times.

Reply by Todd/OH on 9/25/07 1:59pm
Msg #212995

I'm with Terri & LJ

If I can't confirm before leaving the house, I don't leave.

Reply by WDMD on 9/25/07 3:24pm
Msg #213023

Re: I'm with Terri & LJ

"If I can't confirm before leaving the house, I don't leave"

I'll take my chances. I've had more no signs at the table when they see the actual doc's, than someone not signing because I could not talk to them ahead of time.

Reply by JohnnyB on 9/25/07 3:39pm
Msg #213029

Re: I'm with Terri & LJ

Let me qualify by saying I will always go without phone contact for the major lenders.
If it is for a lender and title company that I have not dealt with, then I probably wouldn't go nor would I print.

Reply by mtnotary on 9/25/07 2:59pm
Msg #213011

For those of you wondering it was 2 different companies and nope I didn't get any breakfast but was offered Coffee.

Reply by ReneeK_MI on 9/26/07 5:34am
Msg #213145

Would be a big help if ...

the 1003 was brought into the real world, and included fields for cell phones and e-mail addresses. Is the old "no phone, no loan" at the head of this problem? Do lenders still follow that rule? Is this maybe why so many of the phone numbers on the 1003 are disconnected or no longer valid - they figure an old land-line phone number is better than none?