Posted by lmb/CA on 1/4/10 8:05pm
Msg #316634

Yay. I completed my first notary today.

Not a loan signing, but it's a start.

My first signing was for an application for a certificate of birth record. I know that I can't notarize an actual birth record, so was glad to see all the posts in here that specifically mentioned apps for certificate were ok (props to the orange search button).

I know I'm the newbie, and I look forward to soaking up as much as I can from all of your experiences. Thank you to everyone here who is willing to share.

Reply by Jim/AL on 1/4/10 8:10pm
Msg #316636

Congrats...just keep on reading. n/m

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 1/4/10 8:14pm
Msg #316637

Congrats. Yes, the application for a copy is one of the most commonly notarized documents you'll find, I'll bet. I do them all the time.

One nit picky vocabulary lesson, though.

You did not complete a 'notary'. You are the notary. You completed a notarization, or a notarial act. A notary is a person.

So, when people giggle when you say you just did a notary... that's why.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 1/4/10 9:01pm
Msg #316640

Thank you, Marian!

You beat me to the punch, 'cause I was gonna say something similar. You put it a little better and a little nicer than I would have, though.

I might add to the Original Poster (OP): That may have been your first notarization, but like you said in the first sentence, it wasn't a loan signing - therefore, it wasn't a signing - just a notarization. Doing a loan package is a whole 'nother animal. If that isn't clear, you need to do a bunch of studying up and lots more reading here and elsewhere.

These distinctions may be nitpicky (like Marian said), but getting it right can go a long way towards helping you sound more like a professional, if you know the correct verbiage about your own business. Potential clients pick up on stuff like that in an instant and getting it wrong is like wearing a big flag that says "NEWBIE"... (And if not that, it says you don't know any better and don't care.)

Best if luck to you!

Reply by Robert/FL on 1/4/10 9:15pm
Msg #316646

Re: Thank you, Marian!

*** it wasn't a loan signing - therefore, it wasn't a signing - just a notarization. Doing a loan package is a whole 'nother animal ***


Loan signings do not need to be a "whole 'nother animal". Personally, I know nothing about loan documents, and all I do at loan signings is notarize signatures. You do not have to understand loan documents to be able to notarize them. If you want to wear a "signing agent" hat, where you are a signing agent who just happens to also be a notary, *THAT* is the "whole 'nother animal".

Reply by JanetK_CA on 1/4/10 10:04pm
Msg #316650

I STRONGLY disagree!!!

Once in a rare while, I will get a call directly from a borrower who has personally received a set of documents that are flagged and/or highlighted for them with instructions to find a notary. For those folks, I might end up being "just a notary" if that's all they want to pay for. Only in those few cases would I agree with your statement.

I believe that the vast majority of signing services, title companies, etc. who hire notaries expect that the notary who advertises that they do loan signings also knows a TIL from an RTC! And being a notary is a pre-requisite to being a signing agent - not something that "just happens" - but it's only a part of the job.

Any one who reads here regularly has seen numerous comments about how things have changed over the last several years, with all the additional babysitting, lengthy instructions, threats to dock fees, etc. IMO, that is a direct result of people like you who take on the responsibility of a loan signing without knowing anything about loan documents! Please do us all a favor and limit yourself to general notary work unless and until you learn at least the basics. You're ruining it for the rest of us!

I'm just stunned that you would admit on a public forum that you doing signings without knowing anything about loan documents! Sheesh!!!!!

Reply by Robert/FL on 1/4/10 10:21pm
Msg #316653

Re: I STRONGLY disagree!!!

I feel confident in notarizing any document regardless of its contents. The job of a notary is not to understand documents. Our job is to notarize signatures. If a title company is not happy with the way I do my job, that's tough. I follow my laws and notarize every document correctly. My duty is to the state, not to a title company. I also do not accept eDocs. That is not part of the job description of a notary.

Like I stated previously, if you are a "signing agent" your job is to meet with borrowers to explain loan documents to them. Being a notary is not necessarily a requirement - you could bring a "non-signing agent" notary with you to notarize the signatures while you explain documents. They are separate and distinct "hats" that you put on, much like my job as a paralegal is separate from my duties as a notary.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 1/5/10 1:19am
Msg #316661

Re: I STRONGLY disagree!!!

OK. I'll grant you that. But that takes us back to my original point. If that is all you are doing, then you are doing notarizations - you're NOT doing a signing. The documents in a loan package that need to be notarized represent a VERY small part of the total package.

BTW, most hiring entities expect that the "signing agent" will also be a qualified notary, as they are not willing to pay more than one person. I've never heard of anyone being a signing agent without becoming a notary. I just don't think they'd be very successful at finding any business!

Actually, I did just think of another situation where "just a notary" could participate in a signing (not the same as conducting one). That's if the LO or broker does the signing and the notary just does the notarizations. Maybe things work differently in your area, but of all the few thousand signings that I've been to, I can count on one hand the ones where someone else actually conducted the signing.

Reply by John/CT on 1/5/10 10:15am
Msg #316676

In the meantime, Robert, please let me understand:

I don't believe it's in the "just a notary" job description to independently receive documents via the mail/overnight service. And because you don't do E-Docs, does that mean you notarize only those documents sent directly to the borrower?

While you're at the signing table, what happens to all the signature pages that DON'T NEED to be notarized? Because I don't believe it's in the "just a notary" job description to ask the borrower(s) to sign and date them, do you simply skip past them to the "notarized" pages?

And, finally, I don't believe it's in the "just a notary" job description to take the package and drop it off, do you leave it for the borrower(s) to do this?

Please excuse me if I appear to be somwhat confused ... but I find a big disconnect between your previous posts and the real world of mortgage loan signings.

Reply by Robert/FL on 1/5/10 12:45pm
Msg #316731

Re: In the meantime, Robert, please let me understand:

No, I do not do any of the things you referenced. The type of mobile notary work I do is just that - I go to somebody's house, they have documents that need to be notarized, and I notarize them. If the client asks that I also drop them by a FedEx box or whatever, I will do it as a courtesy.

Reply by SueW/Tn on 1/5/10 9:29am
Msg #316673

What is the difference between Commissioner of Deeds

and Timeshare Commissioner of Deeds?

Reply by Robert/FL on 1/5/10 12:49pm
Msg #316734

Re: What is the difference between Commissioner of Deeds

In Florida, commissioners of deeds are only authorized to 'notarize' documents related to timeshares. So they could be called "Timeshare Commissioners of Deeds".

Reply by Lori Glockner on 1/5/10 7:28am
Msg #316667

Re: Thank you, Marian!

If you are interested there is a great Course available now online. They teach you every aspect of the signing business and every aspect of signing documents with marked documents available for download. The Course includes 6 months of the teacher working with us online. I got it for $99! Kind of hard because there is a lot to learn. It is at Notary2pro.com

Reply by Lisa Bistrup on 1/4/10 9:38pm
Msg #316647

Thank you Marian for the clarification. I do realize that it is a notarial act, and allowed myself to post in a less than professional manner. This is one of those mistakes that you only make once (hopefully).

Anyhow, I do appreciate the wealth of knowledge on this forum, and do intend to continue reading , and learning from all of your insight.

Thank you.

Reply by Notarysigner on 1/4/10 11:20pm
Msg #316658

I am a Junior "newbie" I become a notary, on my own. I became a signing agent with the help of a magnificent owner of a SS (Signing Service) who happen to also be a notary, AND the members of THIS forum.
I think the difficult part for me was distinguishing the roles of a Notary and Signing Agent and understanding THAT sometimes there is a difference AND conflict too. I just wanted to be a Notary who made the "big" bucks as a Signing Agent, not!
I was fortunate to have a career that I retired from that had zero tolerance for ill equip employees so when I went to a signing and the borrower asked me a question, I was never satisfied with not knowing the answer. Calls to the lender, real estate agent, title for answers quickly taught me that if I were to maintain the level of excellence I had in my previous career, I had better learn this business. In short, there is no "J U S T " in doing this job! Pls if you choose to, add just/not to your vocabulary. MHO

Reply by JanetK_CA on 1/5/10 1:30am
Msg #316663

Kudos to you for your attitude!! n/m