Posted by GOLDGIRL/CA on 5/1/12 7:18pm
Msg #419528

New rules from veteran (i.e. cranky) NSA

...when confirming with borrower:

1. Do not ask me to remove my shoes. If you want to conduct business in your home, then surely you cannot expect the businesswoman coming to your home to arrive barefoot. If shoes are an issue with you, schedule signing for a location where shoes will not be a nuisance. However, if I'm in a really good mood (unlikely) at least provide a bench or chair at the entrance to your home where I can sit so I'm not waddling and hopping around like a schizo duck trying to keep my balance while taking off shoes and putting on (my new) socks (since I refuse to conduct a signing barefoot, which I'm sure we would both agree is a good idea.)
2. All dogs, cats, birds and other allergy-inducing pets must be removed from the signing area. My spring allergies are acting up.
3. Speaking of pets, tell me now if you own one or more of the following dogs: pit bull, German shephard, doberman. Signing immediately will be rescheduled with another notary.
4. If I arrive at your house to discover there are no address numbers on your house or garage, leaving me to deduce the location of your home by your neighbors' house numbers, I will be soooo ticked that I will not even get out of my car and you will have to reschedule with another notary. You will not even be given the opportunity to root through your overgrown shrubs looking for the house numbers while mumbling that you never even noticed they had fallen off your house or even explain that the painter forgot to put them back up.

LOL

Reply by HisHughness on 5/1/12 7:26pm
Msg #419529

5. If one would need to mount an archeological expedition to locate your actual tabletop through the layers of encrustations from countless pizzas, burgers and goat roasts on the dining table, forget tonight's signing. I don't propose to take home with me on my file folder your breakfast from Thursday week. If you want to sign with me, bring in a road grader, scrape off your tabletop -- and the dining room chairs -- and then call.

Reply by GOLDGIRL/CA on 5/1/12 7:29pm
Msg #419530

Shucks, every loan pkg should have some mustard on it n/m

Reply by jba/fl on 5/1/12 8:41pm
Msg #419535

Coffee with creamer...one of those great blends! n/m

Reply by SReis on 5/1/12 8:41pm
Msg #419534

6. Finish dinner BEFORE our scheduled appt. I do not appreciate you dripping grease & food all over the paperwork.
7. Expect to start signing at the scheduled time. I do not like to be kept waiting while you finish showering, talk to your friend on the phone, get your kids dinner, etc.

Although I will be generally accomodating when it comes to your kids and your pets.

Reply by Doris_CO on 5/1/12 9:11pm
Msg #419539

8. Please provide adequate lighting in order for all of us to see what I'm presenting and you are signing. I had one borrower who had no lighting over the table and thought one of those candles in a jar would be sufficient. Not!!!

Reply by NJDiva on 5/1/12 9:47pm
Msg #419542

Speaking of adequate lighting, I carry one of

these lamps in my bag. It's incredibly lightweight (as heavy as the three AAA batteries) and really bright. I highly recommend it. And for $6, it's one of the best gadgets I carry!


http://www.amazon.com/SE-Super-Bright-Flex-Neck-Table-Reading/dp/B001F1UFR6

Reply by garland/CA on 5/2/12 1:16pm
Msg #419620

Love the tip to bring your own light!

though my bag seems to get heavier, I might just consider one of these. I can't count how many people have inadequate lighting, especially common over dining tables. It is a strain to get through the signing.
I'll give it a try!

Reply by kathy/ca on 5/2/12 12:11am
Msg #419547

Re: New rules from veteran (i.e. cranky) NSA, #9......

Please have a table large enough for us to conduct our business. Twice over the years that I can remember, I was taken to a small table the size of a TV tray on a stand to perform a refi. Even after I asked if there was some place with a larger space available I was told no this was it. After signing each document the stack was piled up on the floor. Inconvenient signings take so much longer!

Reply by bfnotary on 5/1/12 11:29pm
Msg #419544

IMO, some of the homes I have went in are so nice, I always take off my shoes. And I always have on socks with my dress pants, and nylons with skirts. Pets, if they bother me, I ask them politely to put them away due to allergies. Never had any complaints. Haven't seen any pit bulls yet. Not everyone has numbers on the homes. But hey sh** happens. If it is an evening appt, I do ask for a porch light to be on tho.

Reply by GOLDGIRL/CA on 5/2/12 12:10am
Msg #419546

Nylons?!?!?

Hmmmm, haven't seen any of those for sale or worn in CA since the Bush the First was president. Unless they're shocking pink fishnet. Then again, I understand Kate Middleton was actually seen wearing them recently, sending shock waves through the moribund pantyhose industry, so now I don't know. In any case I think it's tacky to expect people to remove their shoes... I don't know why, it just is. What else do they want me to remove? Like somehow I've got to remove stuff before I meet their standards.... I really don't want to look at their bare feet in my house - most people have gnarly toes, IMO. And I definitely don't want them looking at mine! I'd really be taken aback if someone came into my house and immediately removed their shoes. I'd feel bad that they thought they had to do that. Of course, looking at my house probably no one would go to the effort.

I don't know, maybe I just need a pedicure.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 5/2/12 1:25am
Msg #419548

Re: Nylons?!?!?

For some people, taking off shoes is about clean carpets, but I think in most cases, it's a cultural thing. In many cultures, it's considered rude to enter a home with your shoes on. A little preparedness is a great idea! (I got a good chuckle out of your post, though... Thanks! )

Reply by Christine/OK on 5/2/12 4:49am
Msg #419550

Re: Nylons?!?!?

Yes, I have experienced the cultural tradition of shoe removal in the entryway, out of respect for the home and family. It is also a Feng Shui thing! Love your posts!

Reply by bfnotary on 5/2/12 8:19am
Msg #419554

Re: Nylons?!?!?

Maybe in CA, you wouldn't need to remove shoes, but here in PA, wow it is muddy, and dirty, and just plain nasty on bottom of shoes. (kinda swamplands around here lol). And when I say nylons, I mean the nylon socks, or thigh highs, (people wear those in pa, not sure bout CA). Never been to CA, but man I would feel horrrible tracking mud, (or water) through peoples homes in this area. The cable guys even have Big plastic shoe covers when they go to peoples homes. lol. It is that bad, in spots here.

Reply by Larry/IL on 5/2/12 6:51am
Msg #419551

Wearing shoes in a home can cause serious health issues. Unless of course you have have inside only footwear. Beside the usual germs and animal fecal matter that is dragged in onto floors and carpeting, there are also PAHs, (“polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons”). These are found in blacktop sealers for driveways and parking lots. These PAHs are considered to be toxic, and have been shown to cause cancer and birth defects in aquatic life. Seven forms of PAHs are thought to be human carcinogens.

Read more: http://greenanswers.com/news/277149/research-shows-coal-tar-sealant-poses-adverse-health-risks-humans#ixzz1tiCs8N00

Then there are the cultural aspects of wearing shoes in. I have had twice on occasion had Japanese borrowers give me brand new slippers to wear. After the signing when I took them off to give back, they said oh no they are yours to keep. I was brought to to never wear shoes in a home and IMHO, feel it is rude to do so.

Reply by jba/fl on 5/2/12 9:21am
Msg #419559

Many, many countries besides Japan follow this custom. My Turkish last name tells you we don't wear shoes in the home - although now that Mr. A is no longer here, I am more relaxed. Have no carpet but I do hate the "beach" in my home and FL has so much sand - everywhere.

I have crocs for everyone....

Reply by LynnNC on 5/2/12 8:12am
Msg #419553

Enjoyed your post!

I can't tell you how many times I have tried to find a house in the dark where there are no numbers on the mailbox or they are on the house where no light shines on them. I call the borrowers and ask them to swithch the outdoor light on and off so I can see which house is theirs.

If it is daylight and I am not sure which house it is, I ask them to step outside and wave.

Reply by Yowheelz on 5/2/12 8:29am
Msg #419556

I hate cluster mailboxes

just gives the homeowners an excuse not to put numbers on their house. Also every project developer should be requred to try and find a house in the dark in his development. Put the damn numbers where they can be seen from the road in the dark. (oops, am I allowed to say damn on this forum?)

However, some people only put numbers on one side of their mailbox, puzzles me and I am always coming from the wrong direction.

Reply by Linda Juenger on 5/2/12 9:17am
Msg #419558

Re: I hate cluster mailboxes

It is actually a law in some cities that the address be clearly displayed for 911 purposes. Not that I would call the police on the borrowers, but sometimes I do mention that if they ever needed emergency personnel that it would be hard for them to find them. They just kind of look at me when I say that and that's when I say I'm a fireman's wife and that I am brainwashed and they laugh. They get it then. Whether they do anything about it after I'm gone, who knows.

Reply by jba/fl on 5/2/12 9:26am
Msg #419560

I always ask - is the number on the house or the mailbox...

if dark, where is the light? Can I read the numbers or is the light hooded and the numbers above it? Sometimes I think people just don't realize. I also remind them of 911 personnel searching for them.

Reply by A S Johnson on 5/2/12 9:14am
Msg #419557

Numbers on the house are part of the Federal 911 law that has been effect for 30 years. Your house
MUST be visable from the nearest "main" street so the emergency personell can find you if the needed.

A LOL minute, I ask on my confrimation call that the borrower remove the "shot gun" aimed at anyone coming in so I can get in. LOL

Reply by Eva75Eva on 5/2/12 9:59am
Msg #419562

There are some gated communities in my area where every

home appears to be missing the house numbers. It's almost like it's too tacky to have numbers plastered to their homes. Instead, they put white numerals against a white background, which is impossible to find at night. You're forced to get out of your car with a flashlight and go from mailbox to mailbox to find out where the borrower lives. This has delayed me many a time for a closing. I'll be on time and then have to waste five more minutes doing circles around their neighborhood, running around frantically in the dark. It also doesn't help when the homes in these new subdivisions all look alike!

Reply by ArtG/KS on 5/2/12 10:33am
Msg #419576

Re: There are some gated communities in my area where every

Having been in the early years of my marriage, a foster parent, and my wife had a day care for 15 years in home, having been a sub-teacher in two school districts in the early years of this business, I guess I am used to accomadating all Americans regardless of personality, living conditions, race, color, creed, etc.

I had one experience whereby the borrowers owned a dog, cat, bird, burmese pythone of 19' no less and one timber rattler, all within eyeshot of the signing table. People are people and I wont be a prude to serve them.

I did an inspection one time across the road from, of all things, a nudist colony, only to find out the home owner, a retired lady, was a member of it. When she volunteered that affiliation, I did make a hasty exit from the area.

If you serve the public in their own homes, you have to expect their home will be their home and their lifestyle, not a plush office for our convenience.

Reply by MistarellaFL on 5/2/12 10:33am
Msg #419577

House numbers

I wonder what happened to the reflective addresses on the curbs?
At one time, I think they were required in my area in FL, but haven't seen those in ages.
They were great!

Reply by ikando on 5/2/12 10:57am
Msg #419587

Re: House numbers

I also have issue with house numbers--the lack of. I always ask where I will find the number, and usually get a long pause. Then I ask them to describe the house and what vehicles will be in the driveway. If it's rural, I ask them to describe the road to the driveway.

As far as animals, I ask that they be contained to keep them from messing up my clothes for the next appointment. People usually understand and comply.

Reply by ArtG/KS on 5/2/12 11:03am
Msg #419590

Re: House numbers

I can only add the "sad" story of a signing agent I know who got his attire messed up by driving to the borrowers. The moon roof was open wide on the car and a flock of geese flew over. Yes, the geese did not need accuracy when the numbers were large.

Reply by 101livescan on 5/2/12 1:48pm
Msg #419627

Re: House numbers

In my neighborhood/community, we are required by the California Forestry Department to have 6" letters displayed on perimeter/access to our properties (40 acres minimum).

As I am posting foreclosure properties with Notice of Trustee Sales, I am required to photograph the street number on the curb. Guess what, most people don't have these displayed, or they have faded with "use and exposure to elements, tire rubs, etc." and numbers fall off so you have only a couple of the numbers. By deduction, you can usually figure out where the house is by looking at house numbers on either side. We post by Parcel Map and Assessors Parcel Numbers first, then by address.

I do love the middle of nowhere where the address is fairly recognizable as opposed to "a tree in the road, hang a left." Or, at the bush with three leaves on it, bare right and keep going over a small knoll, then in 100 yards, you'll see our lights on.

Crazy, huh. Feel like Inspector Clouseau most of the time in these off the beaten path locations.

Reply by Belinda/CA on 5/2/12 11:25am
Msg #419597

Hey Goldgirl, how come your profile doesn't show up? Make

yourself blue so we can see you and from whence you come.

Reply by GOLDGIRL/CA on 5/2/12 2:36pm
Msg #419636

Re: Hey Goldgirl, how come your profile doesn't show up? Make

Ha Ha, Belinda, since you're one of several who know exactly who I am and where I live. But don't out me. Believe it or not, I work for several button-down, upscale TCs who expect professional behavior from me, and all these years I've been able to fool 'em good. I use NR to vent - usually in a most unprofessional and provacative manner - and I certainly wouldn't want that reputation getting around. Besides I have a picture of this stunning, professional-looking woman I copped from a magazine in my profile, and somebody might turn me in for that. (Just kidding ... maybe). I must say, however, I learned lots from this thread, though! I have occasionally posted under my real name, too. I'm not sure it it's linked or not.