Posted by Sir_Lawrence on 2/5/09 10:18am
Msg #276606

Doc Folders

Here's a curious question. I always put both copies of the doc's in manilla folders, one marked "copy". I can't seem to find any document folders that are reasonably priced, other than these cheapos. I would be interested what others are using.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 2/5/09 10:25am
Msg #276609

I use legal sized (10x15) kraft envelopes. Office Depot has a box of 100 for about $15. It keeps them contained and is inexpensive while allowing them to do what they want with them.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 2/5/09 12:35pm
Msg #276632

Let me amend that a bit. I use the envelopes for the borrowers' copies. I do that because a lot of borrowers don't really utilize a legal-sized filing system, so a "big" envelope is a way to keep it all contained and lets them stash it anywhere they need. I've been thanked many times for the envelope, and that's worth the few pennies it costs. The originals get a binder clip, because anything else gets tossed. They tend to keep and re-use the binder clips. I just make sure that the shipping envelope/container is secured well enough that the documents don't get mangled.

Reply by Lee/AR on 2/5/09 10:26am
Msg #276610

the cheapest manila folders I can find. Recently bought a foot high stack of 'em for $5 at a going-out-of-business sale. They probably get pitched out by TC anyway as what reasonable company would actually want to use a wild variety of styles, colors, tab layouts, with/without whatever 'additional' (advertising or whatever) info a notary might decide to put on the folder.

Reply by CopperheadVA on 2/5/09 10:35am
Msg #276612

I do the same as Lee/AR. I mark one "Borrower Copy". The best price I've found is Staples for the 3-tab 100 per box, about $11. I would love to find a cheaper source. I wish Costco carried legal manila folders - they only carry letter size.

Reply by Dorothy_MI on 2/5/09 10:37am
Msg #276613

I use inexpensive

legal size manila file folders for the borrower. The TC get their package back with a rubber band. I have several file folders that I reuse for the copies to be signed with binder clip. The borrower's packet does not have a binder clip (that's how I keep them separate). Rarely have I had a borrower complain that their package was not in a nice folder like they get from the TC company closings (sometimes). If they say anything, I just tell them that I work for many different TC's. Seems to satisfy them.

Reply by MW/VA on 2/5/09 10:58am
Msg #276617

Sam's Club carries the legal size manila folders. I also get them at Office Depot and they sometimes have a buy 1/get 1 deal going. Like you, this is the way I handle the packages, using a binder clip and manila folder. I never quite got into the envelope thing.

Reply by ReneeK_MI on 2/5/09 11:02am
Msg #276619

Having been on the receiving end ...

I always use a binder clip for the original pkgs - saw too many pkgs come back in tatters. They can get pretty beat up in the cardboard shipping envelopes (seem to rip & tear a lot), and in the mylar paks they get beat up from shifting around inside. I actually used to have title companies ask me to ship back binder-clips now and then, which I was happy to do for them (in batches). Any fancier pkging than a binder-clip is just tossing money away, since that's where it's ending up - in the trash.

For the copy pkgs I use clasp envelopes, the nicest I can find because even those only run 25 cents each. I keep a supply of envelopes from my major clients, too - and not only do they appreciate that, it defrays the cost of the others that I supply.

Reply by hp/MD on 2/5/09 11:11am
Msg #276621

Re: Having been on the receiving end ...

Well, I ran out of legal size folders in time when I needed them for a closing. So I used a Fedex envelope. The borrowers like it so much that I was tempted to continue to use them. Then I thought it is not right. I bought some from Staples 100 for $11.00.

Reply by CopperheadVA on 2/5/09 11:15am
Msg #276622

Re: Having been on the receiving end ...

<< too many pkgs come back in tatters >>

I have taken to lining the top and bottom of my packages with packing tape - especially the UPS envelopes!!!

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 2/5/09 11:22am
Msg #276623

Manila file folders and binder clips

Borrower's copy gets clipped into a file folder as do original docs - if package is exceptionally large I use two clips on the original docs (top and bottom) to keep them in place during shipping - I figure it's the least I can do...

Reply by CaliNotary on 2/5/09 12:03pm
Msg #276627

Am I the only one who sees this as an unnecessary expense?

I just use binder clips on everything, nothing fancier than that.

Reply by PAW on 2/5/09 12:19pm
Msg #276628

You're not alone

I don't waste any money on things that the title company will throw away anyway. As for the borrower's copy, a folder is a nice touch for some folks, but most people just file the copies away somewhere never to see the light of day again.

I do put a cover sheet on the docs for both the title/lender (marked "Settlement Copy" and for the signers (marked "Borrower's Copy", "Buyer's Copy" or "Seller's Copy". Each cover page has a place to write in the client's name, property address, file and loan number (as shown on the HUD) and signing date. There's room on the cover sheets for writing notes, if necessary.

Reply by Dennis D Broadbooks on 2/5/09 12:24pm
Msg #276629

Dittos! n/m

Reply by jba/fl on 2/5/09 12:38pm
Msg #276633

Rubber bands, nix the rest n/m

Reply by Derrick/MT on 2/5/09 1:14pm
Msg #276638

Re: Am I the only one who sees this as an unnecessary expense?

No, I feel the same way. I was reading all of the comments and I was thinking to myself that people are putting to much into this. I put a binder clip on the borrowers and originals and when I leave I leave the borrower set minus the binder clip ship the originals without the binder clip. Simply and easy no mess no fuss.
Pretty soon notaries will start making it a standard practice to leave a pen behind for the borrowers.

Reply by ReneeK_MI on 2/5/09 1:29pm
Msg #276640

Hope you're feeling real lucky, Derrick ...

shipping loose docs w/out a binder or at the least a rubberband will bite you back one day. The shipping companies use conveyer belts to sort, and pkgs get caught in those belts all the time, and get ripped open, fall onto wet floors, all kinds of things. Don't ask me to explain this one, but I can't tell you how many I got back with tire tracks over them (hi-lo's?? I don't know).

This is a service industry, and binder-clips or rubberbands are a pretty cheap means of providing service that's reasonably secure, as well as a standard long ago set by those now entrusting this part to us, IMHO.

Reply by Derrick/MT on 2/5/09 2:37pm
Msg #276662

I guess I better go buy a lottery ticket

before my luck runs out. I wouldn't say that what you say could happen but I have been doing this for 8 years and it hasn't happened yet.

Reply by jba/fl on 2/5/09 3:37pm
Msg #276670

Tyvek envelopes - way better than cardboard. Yeah! n/m

Reply by Shoshana Roller on 2/5/09 5:04pm
Msg #276682

I do the same as Derrick....

I haven't had a problem or complaint about torn or otherwise abused docs since I started back in 2002.

Reply by LynnNC on 2/5/09 12:29pm
Msg #276631

I put the borrower's copy in a manila folder without a binder clip, with my business card stapled to the folder and I put a clip on the lender copy. I think that it is a waste of money to put the lender's set in a manila folder as the title company will just throw it away.

Reply by cdoty_IL on 2/5/09 1:30pm
Msg #276642

I have a cover sheet that says, Borrowers Copies and I put that on the stack and have an industrial size stapler that I staple it with. (Do not worry, the staple comes out if I need to pull a doc out due to error during signing).

The Lenders Docs get a cover sheet and a Binder Clip. No envelopes or folders for me.
I will admit, it would be a nice touch....but money is not in the budget for that. :-(

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 2/5/09 1:33pm
Msg #276643

Two folders and two clips per closing = $.35 max

Not all that expensive...

To each his own..

Reply by Leon_CO on 2/5/09 1:42pm
Msg #276646

Brown paper bag and a rubber band. Works for me.



Seriously, I'm one of those who spends extra for lender docs and borrower copies. But I think it's worth it in many respects.

For one thing, as Renee pointed out, those packages take a beating. I worked with a title company that really appreciated that I put the lender docs in manilla folders, clasped with a binder clip. Whether they throw them away after they get the docs, I don't care. It's all part of customer service.

The same with borrowers copies. I put those in a 10x15 envelope and clasp the docs with a binder clip.

Reply by BrendaTx on 2/5/09 2:49pm
Msg #276664

Toilet paper wrapped around and stapled.

One roll will cover many packages.

(Psyche. J/k Leon. )

Reply by Bob_Chicago on 2/5/09 3:38pm
Msg #276671

Re: Toilet paper wrapped around and stapled.

New, or slightly used???

I'm a binder clip kind of guy . 96 for about $4 @ Sam's

Reply by cdoty_IL on 2/5/09 3:20pm
Msg #276668

Re: Two folders and two clips per closing = $.35 max

I was referring to the orignal question about the document folders (I assume they ment pocket folders). I was saying I do not have money in the buget for those (I checked them out once they quite expensive).

I was not referring the binder clips and manilla files folders, sorry for the lack of detail.

I can handle .35 cents. :-)

I also do as someone mentioned above and use packing tape on those shipping envelopes, because they have been delivered to me before and the docs are about ready to fall out, or ripped at the edges.

Reply by Sir_Lawrence on 2/5/09 4:30pm
Msg #276677

Re: Two folders and two clips per closing = $.35 max

Thank you all for your suggestions. I like the 10x15 envelope idea. To clarify, I give the borrowers their docs in a manila file folder stamped "copy". I send the docs to the TC also in a manila file folder. Now here's another pet peeve: UPS envelopes suck. The legal size are never big enough and the soft flexible envelopes are flimsy. FedEx has the best mailing envelopes. The legal size with the opening at the end instead of the back are excellent. Nice and secure. Does UPS have any other mailing envelopes I'm not seeing in Podunk?

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 2/5/09 4:30pm
Msg #276678

Sorry Cody - didn't mean it to be aimed at you

Was meant to be a response in general - sorry for the misunderstanding..

Reply by Leon_CO on 2/5/09 4:44pm
Msg #276680

UPS envelopes

>> UPS envelopes suck. The legal size are never big enough and the soft flexible envelopes are flimsy. <<
---------------------------------------
I use one of the documents as a guide, draw a line at the edge of the folder, then use a pair of scissors to cut it off to make it fit better in the envelope. I also cut off the tabs.

Good luck.

Reply by cdoty_IL on 2/5/09 5:44pm
Msg #276687

Re: Sorry Cody - didn't mean it to be aimed at you

No Worries! Hey I'm a penny pincher I will admit (who isn't these days) But not that bad! LOL

Reply by LynnNC on 2/5/09 9:03pm
Msg #276706

Re: Two folders and two clips per closing = $.35 max

The title companies will just throw the folder away - why bother?

Reply by LKT/CA on 2/5/09 8:17pm
Msg #276700

Each set of docs gets a binder clip and is put in 10 X 15 clasp envelope.

Reply by Claudine Osborne on 2/5/09 9:39pm
Msg #276712

I use a decorated legal folder for the lender copies with binder clip. I give the bo their copies in a manila folder with a business card stapled. This helps identify the two sets of docs. I send docs back with clip and business card!

I also give a nice pen to the bo they usually ask to keep them anyways!