Posted by Teresa/FL on 8/19/09 11:07am
Msg #300793

Why don't these loan officers get it?

I had a closing this morning at one of the Disney resorts and discovered that the non-borrowing spouse had lost her ID while there on vacation. She has her expired license, but it was issued more than 5 years ago, so it is not valid for use as ID for a notarization. She had no other acceptable ID, so we called the LO to advise him of the situation and I shot off a quick email to the TC from my Blackberry so they were in the loop as well.

This LO tried very hard to convince me to just go ahead and accept her expired ID, but I stood firm. I even suggested using credible witnesses, but they are travelling alone and do not know anyone locally. I left the resort after spending 45 non-productive minutes trying to overcome the ID issue to no avail. While driving back home, the LO called me again to pressure me into completing this closing. When I told him I would not break the law to accommodate him he said, "I guess we will have to find another notary."

The TC understands the situation and I volunteered to meet with the borrowers later if she finds her lost ID. They assured me they will NOT be looking for another notary.

In today's lending environment, why don't these loan officer's get it?

Reply by davidK/CA on 8/19/09 11:12am
Msg #300795

LO do "GET IT". n/m

Reply by davidK/CA on 8/19/09 11:17am
Msg #300798

Re: LO do "GET IT".

Oops...

They get it - commissions and fees that is. That's the whole point. They need to have the loan closed any way possible, legal or illegal, so they can get paid within a few days after closing.

The NSA gets paid for doing exactly what the law requires them to do. Oh wait, sometimes even after completing the signing the NSA doesn't get paid. What a system! Without the NSA nothing happens but we often (way too often in my opinion) get screwed while everyone else gets their fees from the borrower's funds.

Reply by jba/fl on 8/19/09 11:15am
Msg #300796

You know - commission this mo vs. next mo. n/m

Reply by Louis/AZ on 8/19/09 12:39pm
Msg #300831

The loan officers don't care. To many of them a notary is nothing more than a person with a "magic stamp" that they need to get their loan closed. On more than one occasion I've had a loan officer tell me that my job was "only to stamp the documents and send them back" and he didn't care that doing so was against the law and a major liability on my part.

Now when I call to confirm the appointment, I ask the borrower, "Could you please read me the expiration date on your ID?" That forces them to actually look at the ID to make sure they have it. Too often I used to ask "Do you have your ID?" the borrowers say "yes" and guess what happens when I arrive? Oops, I left my ID somewhere.

Reply by Charles_Ca on 8/19/09 2:07pm
Msg #300862

"The loan officers don't care. " Generally generalizations are generally wrong! ALL is an absolute and I am sure that I at least, do care! I also know a lot of other LBs (loan brokers)who care. I am sure that there as many if not more incomeptant notaries as there are incompetant LBs: we see many on these pages.

Reply by Shoshana Roller on 8/19/09 2:56pm
Msg #300873

Charles,
I do agree with you. As an LO, I was told by a RE Agent yesterday, that it's no problem if the buyer pays for the inspection prior to the 3 days after he gets the lender's disclosures. To which I politely said that the lender doesn't agree with your interpretation of the law. Please take that into account when negotiating the inspection period. Perhaps the AZ RE Dept should make it 21 days instead of 15.
Lucky for us, here in AZ DL are usually good until age 65. So, I hardly ever have ID date validity issues here as I did all the time in CA.

Reply by Shoshana Roller on 8/19/09 2:59pm
Msg #300876

Sorry, Not sure why this posted 3 times! n/m

Reply by Shoshana Roller on 8/19/09 2:56pm
Msg #300874

Charles,
I do agree with you. As an LO, I was told by a RE Agent yesterday, that it's no problem if the buyer pays for the inspection prior to the 3 days after he gets the lender's disclosures. To which I politely said that the lender doesn't agree with your interpretation of the law. Please take that into account when negotiating the inspection period. Perhaps the AZ RE Dept should make it 21 days instead of 15.
Lucky for us, here in AZ DL are usually good until age 65. So, I hardly ever have ID date validity issues here as I did all the time in CA.

Reply by Shoshana Roller on 8/19/09 2:56pm
Msg #300875

Charles,
I do agree with you. As an LO, I was told by a RE Agent yesterday, that it's no problem if the buyer pays for the inspection prior to the 3 days after he gets the lender's disclosures. To which I politely said that the lender doesn't agree with your interpretation of the law. Please take that into account when negotiating the inspection period. Perhaps the AZ RE Dept should make it 21 days instead of 15.
Lucky for us, here in AZ DL are usually good until age 65. So, I hardly ever have ID date validity issues here as I did all the time in CA.

Reply by MW/VA on 8/19/09 4:04pm
Msg #300902

It's not up to the LO's to get it or for us to take instructions from them. I rarely deal with the LO, except to call if there's a problem or call to confirm the loan was signed. There is a reason why we notaries are involved in the transaction. We serve an important function, and obtaining current & valid ID is a big part of it. Regardless if a LO tries to coerce you into doing something you know you can't, it is up to you to operate according to the notary laws in your state. That's all folks.

Reply by Teresa/FL on 8/19/09 5:49pm
Msg #300949

Thanks for your responses and letting me "vent" a little

To clarify, I spoke to the husband last night regarding the TC's requirement for copies of ID. He indicated it would not be a problem to provide copies of both their licenses. It was only upon my arrival that the wife realized she could not find her ID, which she had in her posession when they checked in a couple of days ago.

The loan can still close before the end of the month. They will be back home Sunday and she can get a new license Monday morning and close that afternoon. This was the solution the borrower suggested.

At least the TC understood that there was no way I could notarize her signature without proper ID. The lender and TC have some sort of affiliation and the LO will be called to task for his bully tactics.