Posted by snoopdogMs on 2/13/09 2:18pm
Msg #277436

If someone wants you to close their refi,

and they are going to possibly go with Wells Fargo or Countrywide, can they request that I be their closer? How does this work?

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 2/13/09 3:10pm
Msg #277439

Well, no... they can't really request you to close their loan, because you're not a closing agent, you're a notary.

The borrower can choose their own title company and closing agent, though, provided it's a lender-approved TC. That's a RESPA regulation. Of course, a lot of people tend to just let the lender decide for them. The last Countrywide refi that I did had a form called, "LOAN APPLICATION DISCLOSURE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS" and there was a section that said:

=============
Notice to Applicant Regarding Title Company and Closing Agent

I/We acknowledge receipt of the Title Company and Closing Agent Notice. I understand that if I do not make a selection and indicate
it below, the Lender will do so for me.
Name _____________________________________________
Address____________________________________________ City ____________________ State ________ Zip ________
Title Company ______________________________________
=============

If you can choose your Title Insurance Company... and you're paying for the notary service anyway through the proceeds of the loan, it stands to reason that you should be able to choose your notary as well. I would guess the borrower would need to contact the Title Company directly and make this request. If the TC denied the borrower's request, I can easily see how that would be a form of RESPA violation since the notary service is an extension of the closing agent's job.


Of course I could be totally wrong here. I'm still learning about RESPA in my broker's courses.

Reply by sue_pa on 2/13/09 5:09pm
Msg #277451

disagree

No title company HAS to hire you just because the borrower wants that. They don't get to choose their abstractor. They don't get to choose the copy clerk, typist, etc. What if you are a TERRIBLE closer and the title company has had issues with you in the past? They're not obligated to have you screw up another loan. What if you charge $200 per order and this is a $75 title company? They aren't obligated to hire you.

That said, contacting the title company and also having the borrower request you is a good idea but certainly not a given.

Reply by Philip Johnson on 2/13/09 5:15pm
Msg #277453

I disagree with you.

If my neighbor wants me to close his loan and he is paying the freight, he can demand anything he wants. If the TC says that won't happen, because they have their ways of doing business. I believe my neighbor would call his LO and state he's moving his business, because he's the customer and it is his money that his making the deal work. Once said LO sees his money walking out the door, I bet a compromise can be made and everyone will be made happy.

Reply by SueW/Tn on 2/13/09 5:30pm
Msg #277456

Had this happen

My best friend requested me, Title said no, she said she'd go somewhere else, they said fine and dandy...go somewhere else. They wouldn't even allow her to close anywhere other than brick and mortar Title Co. LO had NO CONTROL....this may sound nuts but it's the way things are.

Reply by Philip Johnson on 2/13/09 5:36pm
Msg #277458

Sue are you in Eastern TN? Newport, Athens, etc

Small town? Because the choices here outside of Portland, Oregon are many and the way business is going for title companies, I don't think they would kick back paying customers.

Reply by SueW/Tn on 2/13/09 5:59pm
Msg #277459

I'm fairly remote BUT

my friend lives on top of a mountain, 15 miles of dirt road. We were going to do the signing and then have ourselves a pajama party and catch up on lost time. Lender was in Michigan, so was TC; this happened December '06 and they absolutely wouldn't budge an inch. Matter of fact we never even got to the "fee discussion", there was no discussion. They set the rules and she could go with them or not...her choice. If there's one thing I've learned since being in this business it's this:

The SA is but a very small cog in a very large wheel. Contrary to popular belief signings can be done without us, we are a convenience and not a necessity.

Reply by Pat/IL on 2/13/09 9:28pm
Msg #277476

I'm with the Sues on this.

You can choose your settlement provider, but you can't choose who works for them. The title company has obligations to all parties. In a refinance, although the borrower is paying the freight, the title company's responsibility is foremost to the lender. And the title company can and will be brought to answer for damages caused by its own negligence.

I am not suggesting that a borrower can't make the request. They can request anything they want. Many title companies, I'm sure, would have no problem with it. Some might consider it an acceptable risk because they value their relationship with the broker. But, in my experience, brokers have made plenty of requests that I felt perfectly comfortable telling them, "nope".

If I were a national title vendor who had no clue as to who was getting the loans signed anyway, I can't really see how it would make much of a difference, as long as the notary met our minimum qualifications, whatever they might be. But I guess those companies rely more on the signing services to know who they are sending out, and I guess the signing services are taking a degree of responsibility for the notaries with whom they contract.

I think I have said too little in too many words. It's been a long week.

Reply by snoopdogMs on 2/13/09 5:31pm
Msg #277457

I have been asked this question

by a few local people and I told them that frankly I did not know if I could, but would certainly investigate the idea.

Reply by Glenn Strickler on 2/13/09 6:20pm
Msg #277460

Wells Fargo in my area ... n/m

Reply by Glenn Strickler on 2/13/09 10:17pm
Msg #277482

My power went down .... anyway

Wells Fargo has been sending the docs to the BO and then the BO has been finding their own notary, in my area anyway.

Reply by MikeC/NY on 2/15/09 3:15pm
Msg #277602

Wells Fargo

They're doing that here also. I've been contacted by borrowers who found me here for just that reason. These are quicker and easier, but obviously don't pay much (travel fee plus maximum of $2 per signature), but you don't have to wait for payment and the docs needing to be notarized are in a neat little packet so it saves time.

Reply by janCA on 2/13/09 6:25pm
Msg #277461

Re: I have been asked this question

Aren't many title companies, as we know, contracted with SS or broker or lender and if they are, they have to use whomever the SS, broker, or lender wants them to use. It doesn't matter if the borrower wants a certain SA. Of course, it might be a different story now, but I believe it used to be this way.

Reply by MistarellaFL on 2/14/09 12:09am
Msg #277491

I would suggest

The brw requests mailaway documents from his/her broker or AE.
That way the signer can choose the NSA.

Reply by sue_pa on 2/14/09 7:28am
Msg #277514

Re: I disagree with you.

Still disagree. I'm betting your neighbor would be told the facts of how this business works and he'd continue on with his loan.

No company is required to hire any independent contractor ... no matter what the business is. In our jobs, the majority of times the title company is working for the lender and they have their checks and balances all lined up ... they are not going to make an exception for one little home owner by hiring an unknown entity when they are the ones responsible for the loan being closed properly. What if they don't even use outside closers but require the borrower to come to the office?

Best solution ... if you know someone refinancing and you want to do their closing, direct them to a title company you already work for ...

Reply by MW/VA on 2/13/09 6:54pm
Msg #277462

As far as I know, the borrower can request a particular notary. I have used a fellow notary to do my refi, and I also did hers. IMO the borrower does have this right, as they have the right to choose the settlement agent (tc) or be represented by an attorney. When I was in this situation, I specified who was to do the signing and how much they were to be paid. It was listed on the HUD that way.

Reply by Doc on 2/13/09 7:28pm
Msg #277464

I service northwest Arkansas and at every closing I leave all parties a copy of my business card and explain to all at the table that the seller can request their own closer and offer the same opportunity to the realtors and LO. This has built me a well established customer base and my volumn is increasing annually Citibank, Bankers Title, Pulaski Mortgage are just a fiew of the companies that use me exclussively in my area FYI

Reply by Lee/AR on 2/13/09 8:08pm
Msg #277469

I've been 'requested by B', their friends, relatives, etc. I am normally unaware of this unless they tell me at the signing that they requested me. How many have done so & not been allowed by ??--I dunno. It's why I leave my card with the B.

Reply by Ilene C. Seidel on 2/14/09 7:08am
Msg #277508

I've never had a title company refuse a bo if they have a preference in a closer, when I know the order has hit the title company I make contact to introduce myself or sometimes just show up to say hi.

Reply by Patricia/VT on 2/14/09 2:39pm
Msg #277559

On occasion, in California and in Vermont, I have been sent out to re-sign entire packages that were notarized by a friend of the borrower. In one case, the notary didn't realize the docs were date sensitive and had spent two evenings with the borrower to complete the job (It took hours because neither was familiar with the docs.) dating the notarizations in the package on two separate dates.