Posted by F2F/FL on 6/21/12 8:29am
Msg #424195

Clarification needed please

In furthering my search for potential closing assignments, I made a few phone calls to TC's in my area and one of them proceeded to tell me that she was and has been a 1 person Title & Escrow office and for four years she has not needed to hire or forward any work out to a mobile SA, that she does it all.

OK here's my question: My understanding of being a notary public in any capacity you are not to benefit from payment in the form of a notary public if you are benefiting monatarely in any future transactions of the same? Like if a family member requests you to notarize paperwork of a relative that you know you will be receiving monies (or any benefit) from that transaction in the future. Is this not the same as this TC agent doing her own notarizations of a sale in some way her company is benefiting from other connected avenues?
Please I really don't want to be made to feel dumb in this matter, I just want to know if this allowed, or legal in her capacity.

Reply by Les_CO on 6/21/12 9:01am
Msg #424197

Virtually every Title Company in this country has one (or many) of their employees witness /notarize signatures and present closings every day that they are open. They don’t just sell Title Insurance they also present real estate closings. These people are usually not a party to the transaction. (buyer/seller/borrower/lender) if they were they may need to get someone not a party to the transaction to witness signatures. JMO

Reply by MW/VA on 6/21/12 9:05am
Msg #424198

It's pretty much SOP for tc's to close their own loans. Conflict of interest arises when you are a party to the financial transaction, as in your own loan, etc.
I'm in a highly populated area with about a gazillion tc's. I rarely, if ever, get contacted to do work for them. My business is coming from the national level. Lenders are all over the country & use tc's at a national level, too. Much of my work is coming from tc's in MD, for instance.
Some have had success with contacting tc's in their local area, but that hasn't been my experience.

Reply by F2F/FL on 6/21/12 10:10am
Msg #424207

Thank You for your clarification on this matter. I guess I was under the impression that if they were getting paid for (servicing titles, presenting and and or selling real estate etc.) that they could not legally notarize the same transactions. Again this was a one person office with no other notaries in the office to use, her words. It just sounded like there was a conflict of interest going on.