Posted by snoopdogMs on 7/1/08 7:13pm
Msg #253836

How about this one!

I closed a purchase in a real estate office with the 2 buyers and 3 real estate agents. After we signed the Hud, one of the agents asked if I was going to stamp it. I'm like I beg your pardon. He said Oh yes, all HUDs must be notarized. I told him that in 2 years I had never notarized one and that it was not to be. He said that all closings that he had been involved in that the HUD had been notarized. He leaned over behind me and shook he head at the other agent and said "this is why these closings should be done in an attorneys office". I turned around and said emphatically that the Hud is not notarized. Before we adjourned, I called my title agent who hired me to go and put this all knowing agent on the phone so that all could hear my title company tell him that HUDs are not notarized. Touche!!! Sue/Pa is correct about these purchase closings as they can be like a zoo. Be prepared for anything.

Reply by James Schultz on 7/1/08 7:35pm
Msg #253838

I would said sure, I'll notarize their signatures on the HUD, but you need to tell me which form you want used; Ack, or a Jurat? Since most of these folks don't know the difference, and don't want to look stupid in front of their client, they might have decided after all that it didn't need to be done.....

Reply by ChristineHI on 7/1/08 7:59pm
Msg #253842

Wow. I actually rarely have had a realtor want to sit in on a signing. Realtors in general don't know a lot about loans. I prefer not to have them there either. They think they know more than they do. Perhaps that is why my purchase closings are easy....no agents! I find that even having the loan agent there makes a signing more difficult usually. Glad you survived! :-)

Reply by MikeC/NY on 7/1/08 9:18pm
Msg #253852

"Realtors in general don't know a lot about loans. I prefer not to have them there either. They think they know more than they do."

As a Realtor, I have to take exception to this - don't tar all of us with the same brush. Yes, there are some dummies out there who can't find their butts with both hands and a flashlight, but financing is a huge part of this business and many of us know a heck of a lot more about the process than you think you do.

Here in this part of NY, Realtors usually attend purchase closings (it's a "must" in my office). We're not there to add confusion or engage in an idle chat session; we have a fiduciary responsibility to our client that doesn't end until the closing is completed. We're well aware of the financing, are often in contact with both TC and lender, deal with whatever problems that might come up, and want to make sure the deal closes successfully so that the client is happy and we can get paid.

Maybe that's not the way it works in Hawaii, but the majority of Realtors know what they're doing.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 7/1/08 9:52pm
Msg #253858

Maybe there ARE some good ones out there Mike

no, I'm sure there are....but in my experience the only time you heard from the realtors was at the table (if they showed up) to get their check....IMO most that I've dealt with (and note this is my opinion of the ones I've dealt with over a 25 year career as a real estate paralegal) did nothing more than totally confuse the issue, sometimes make matters worse and, IMO are not too far from the bottom of the food chain.

Marilyn experienced one of the worst..and I've never had one do that to me..in her position I might have turned to the realtor requiring the notarization, showed him the HUD and said "here do you see a notarial certificate"...then as the other poster said "what type of cert do you want?"...

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 7/1/08 9:53pm
Msg #253859

DagNabbit...should be "Where do you see..." n/m

Reply by MikeC/NY on 7/2/08 12:35pm
Msg #253926

Re: Maybe there ARE some good ones out there Mike

"but in my experience the only time you heard from the realtors was at the table (if they showed up) to get their check...."

IMO, any Realtor who doesn't show up for a closing is not doing their job. Even if there's a scheduling conflict or an emergency, you get someone to cover for you. The job's not done until the deal is closed, and sometimes deals die at the table.

Maybe Realtors in FL are a different animal, but the kind of stuff you mentioned wouldn't fly for very long here.

Reply by Charles_Ca on 7/2/08 1:33pm
Msg #253940

Durning a boom period my dog could sell real estate, but the

real estate agents who last are the good ones and they make sure that their deals close, sometimes in spite of the notary!

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 7/2/08 4:29pm
Msg #253984

Re: Maybe there ARE some good ones out there Mike

I'm talking about the closings in CT - and I can't tell you how many closings we had where the realtor didn't show up...many times we had to mail their check to them...it was really pathetic...that's why my respect for them is very low.

Reply by MikeC/NY on 7/2/08 9:14pm
Msg #254011

Re: Maybe there ARE some good ones out there Mike

"I'm talking about the closings in CT - and I can't tell you how many closings we had where the realtor didn't show up...many times we had to mail their check to them...it was really pathetic...that's why my respect for them is very low."

OK, your personal experience has not been good. Does that justify dismissing an entire profession? Most of us work very hard at what we do, and we certainly don't appreciate the morons who give us a bad name any more than you do.

I should also point out that not every real estate agent is a Realtor - it's not a generic term.

Reply by DonR_NYC on 7/1/08 10:12pm
Msg #253863

As a Realtor myself in NYS and having closed more loans as a SA than a large majority of the current NR members ( and the old timers here who know me will attest to) I have to fully agree with Mike. Yes there are some real dummies out there in the RE world and reading some of the comments on this board the last 2 years there are an equal or greater number of bad SAs out there as well.

For those who don't know the NYS RE course a large portion is dedicated to RE finance which includes title, mortgages, closings and closing costs (which we are required to discuss and estimate, etc.). If you think all a RE agent does is show property you are DEAD wrong (at least in NYS).

For your reading pleasure you might want to pick up a copy of "New York Real Estate for Salespersons" by Marcia Spada. This is perhaps the most widely used text book used by RE Schools in NYS.

Reply by DonR_NYC on 7/1/08 10:16pm
Msg #253864

Almost forgot as Mike said, I have a fiduciary responsibility to my client that doesn't end until the closing is completed and the keys are in my client's hands. And both of us work both as Realtors and SAs in the Metro NYC area so we both have been involved in numerous closings; most likely more than most of you.

Reply by Charles_Ca on 7/2/08 1:36pm
Msg #253941

In California, Don, the courts have held that the fiduciary

responsibility does not end with the closing of the deal but in some cases may extend well past the closing.

Reply by MikeC/NY on 7/2/08 12:21pm
Msg #253921

Just to add to what Don said - as of 7/1/08, NYS requires 75 hrs of classroom training (up from 45 hrs) in order to qualify for a real estate salesperson license; a broker license requires an additional 45 hours of training plus at least two years of experience as a salesperson. On top of that, we need 22.5 hours of CE every 2 years.

A lot goes into this job, and (at least here in NY) education is a big part of it. As Don said, we don't just show property and collect a commission check; a good Realtor generally knows as much as - if not more than - everyone else at the closing table.

Reply by snoopdogMs on 7/2/08 7:00am
Msg #253882

MikeC/NY- This post not meant to implicate all RE agents

I have been to purchase closings that flowed like honey with agent/agents there. This particular closing just had to be shared with the forum. As long as everyone respects each others roles and time, then all will be well. I could not help but wonder who the notary is that is notarizing these HUDs that the RE agent was referring to. Apparently the notary was bullied into putting their stamp on the HUD. without a notarial certificate. And Mike, BTW, we drove up to NY (north shore, Port Washington) about a month ago to visit our son and loved the area.

Reply by MikeC/NY on 7/2/08 12:01pm
Msg #253915

Re: MikeC/NY- This post not meant to implicate all RE agents

I was just responding to the remarks that Christine made; not all RE agents are useless, and most of them actually know what they're doing. The one you came across happens to be a turkey, and I'm actually not surprised that he or she managed to find a notary who would do that.

I'm glad to hear you liked Port Washington; I'm about 20 miles east of there and closer to the south shore, but the north shore is my favorite part of LI, and it gets even better the further east you go. Next time you travel up here, make sure he takes you out to the north fork for a winery crawl.

Reply by Charles_Ca on 7/2/08 1:31pm
Msg #253938

You got it Mike! Just like there are lots of notary dummies

as evidenced by some of the comments here. Every business has its share of incompetants. Generalizations are stupid becasue they're generally wrong

Reply by jojo_MN on 7/2/08 12:33am
Msg #253870

I sooo know what you are getting at. It is so obvious that the real estate agents know more than we do when it comes to loans. I never even pretend to know how to do their side of the transaction, yest they OBVIOUSLY know how to do our side.

The Real estate professionals don't understand how the lender side actually works.

I even know a larger real estate company in our area that are encouragign each other to be NSA in addittion to being a real estate agent. Three of them just got their commissions wihtin the last couple months, yet "Have 15 years of closing experiences. "make sure you hire the most qualified".

Reply by Teresa/FL on 7/1/08 8:20pm
Msg #253846

The more people in the room, the longer the closing is likely to take.

If you have both the buyer and seller and their respective real estate agents as well as the loan officer in attendance, things can quickly get out of control.

More than once, I have had to remind the various parties that they can chat about how the hot tub works or which lawn maintenance company to use AFTER all the documents have been signed. If they are told that the signed docs have to be faxed to the lender before any funds are released, they tend to pay more attention to the business at hand.

Money is a big motivator, so if the parties are aware that their money will not be wired until after the lender has approved the transaction, they tend to stop the chit chat so I can do my job.

Reply by Becca_FL on 7/1/08 9:35pm
Msg #253854

I hear you, Marilyn. I had I Relitter stand beside me tonight, with her arms crossed while I was trying to close HER deal. I turned and looked at her and she glared back. I turned to her again and said "I apologize, I'm having a difficult time concentrating with you standing there staring at me. If you would like to sit in on this closing, please take a seat to my left". The MoMo said "I'm not staring" left the room and started making personal calls in her office that we all could hear . I know the RE test is tough here, but why is it that every agent I get to deal with has absolutely no business or social skills?

Reply by Charles_Ca on 7/2/08 1:41pm
Msg #253942

Re: How about this one! On one of my last commercial deals

I had the notary turn to my customer and tell them that I was trying to cheat them becasue there was no TIL and no HUD!

Reply by MW/VA on 7/2/08 8:13am
Msg #253887

Sad part is some respect notaries as closers & some don't. That's one for the books, though, notarizing a HUD. Again, rule #1, we don't take instructions from lenders, agents, etc.
They don't control the closing & sometimes need to be gently reminded not to interfere.