Posted by Karla/OR on 9/21/12 2:38am
Msg #435199

I am apparently out of good Karma . . . n/m

Reply by Karla/OR on 9/21/12 2:59am
Msg #435200

Re: I am apparently in need of some good Karma . . .

DARN IT! I always hit the "return" key too soon.

Mondays fiasco was the bad start to this week (you might remember my Chase Bank post about getting docs late, couldn't open them with my MAC, got to bank after BO left mad because of waiting, they returned to bank, then discovered had wrong docs sent to me).

THIS AFTERNOON I traveled a half hour each way only to find out the appointment was going to be cancelled because of duplicate docs (she had already signed).

TONIGHT was just as ridiculous and owie. Arrived at appointment, noticed 2 cars in driveway. Rang BO's doorbell, heard some shuffling and low voices inside. No answer. Rang doorbell several more times and knocked on the door. Still no answer. Decided to return to car and call lender contact to have them call the BO since I was not privy to their phone number! I then noticed a man shutting the side gate to their house. I got out and asked if he was "Craig," Yes. He was all sweaty and said he forgot about the appointment but invited me in.

The wife greeted me and we walked toward VERY DIMLY LIT living room - I did not notice the step-down to the living-room and fell flat on my face!! I laid there for a minute until the pain subsided and the husband helped me up. I was sore but okay. Mrs. Bo is a nurse so that might have come in handy had it been worse! They both felt very bad and apologized all over the place.

NEXT I discover they do not have a table to use for signing so we improvised with the TOP OF A CAT SCRATCHER!!! I did have the couch to myself so I used it effectively. The room was so dimly lit, especially as the sun went down, that I really had to strain to see the docs. Luckily they were fine when I previewed them at home later on.

I am SO sore from the fall that hopefully a couple of Tylenol PM will give me a good nights rest.

I will so be working on making some new good Karma and turn this craziness around!

Thanks for 'listening.'

Reply by linda/ca on 9/21/12 3:09am
Msg #435202

Re: I am apparently in need of some good Karma . . .

Wow, Karla, sorry about your unfortunate experience. Hope things turn around for you real soon too and I know they will!

Reply by Linda Juenger on 9/21/12 7:30am
Msg #435204

Re: I am apparently in need of some good Karma . . .

>Decided to return to car and call lender contact to have them call the BO since I was not privy to their phone number! >

First, I'm so glad you are ok from the fall. It hasn't happened to me yet, but it could at any time.

Second, I never print docs, start my car until I have confirmed with the borrower. Never. I have been burned too many times doing it their way. Ya, they want to pay 1/2 fee if they are a no show, that's fine and dandy, but I want FULL fee.

Glad it worked out for you and that you are all right.

Reply by 101livescan on 9/21/12 8:19am
Msg #435208

Re: I am apparently in need of some good Karma . . .

Thank God, step down living rooms are a thing of the past. Design flaw in my opinion. Yep, let's just trip up all our guests, and leave the lights down low so they can't see what's ahead of them.

Funny. Wishing you good Karma soon. Life is grand, isn't it?

Reply by janCA on 9/21/12 9:09am
Msg #435213

Re: I am apparently in need of some good Karma . . .

Karla, sorry for your incident, should have never happened. This could have been a fatal accident had you hit your head.

I have no problem letting the borrowers know that the lighting just isn't good enough. As I grow older, so do my eyes and I need to see the documents and I don't want to miss anything and have to come back. It's one of my pet peeves.

And these people that don't have porch lights, what's up with that? Then walk me to my car and if I fall, you're coming down with me. Jokingly, of course.

Reply by Luckydog on 9/21/12 1:20pm
Msg #435266

Re: I am apparently in need of some good Karma . . .

I feel for you. I have one bad eye, and have no depth, so always paranoid of steps and sunken living rooms. lol And what is with this lately about NOT providing the buyers phone number?? I hate this, and in Florida, we have gated communities, and I need to be called in. I realize and zillion people called the buyer, but we are the last step and are actually going to their house, we need to know this information....then we get there, no photocopied DL, because they were not told. Ugh! Then more time to follow them to get it at Staples.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 9/22/12 1:56am
Msg #435348

Re: I am apparently in need of some good Karma . . .

I so agree about the phone number thing. Lots of gated communities where I live, too - and sometimes they're in hilly areas with poor cell phone reception and sometimes you don't know there's a gate until you get there. There are lots of other reasons to call in advance, too.

I did a signing once from a well recommended company that wouldn't give out a BO phone number (at least for this client). When I got there, I found myself knocking on the door of the wrong house. It had the exact same number as the BO's house and it was right on the corner where the two streets intersected in a sharp V. As I was headed back to my car trying to figure out what I could do next, I saw someone walking down the street towards me. It was the BO. He said that that happens all the time, so he came looking for me. So back in the car to try to find another place to park (his driveway was full, unlike the first person's.) So a 5 minute phone call could have prevented a 15 minute delay which put me in a time crunch on a busy day.

"Then more time to follow them to get it at Staples. "

Am I the only one who was surprised to read this?! I've never seen this requirement on any confirmation I've ever received and I think that's expecting an awful lot of the notary. That could play havoc with someone's schedule. What about those folks at the next appointment who you WERE able to talk to and who didn't forget to have copies of their ID? (Speaking hypothetically here, of course.)

If a company isn't willing to give us a phone number to contact the borrowers, it seems to me that they - or whomever insisted on that policy - should be be on the hook for the consequences of them not having a photocopy of their IDs. There are a variety of other ways this could be handled. For one, the borrowers could probably take a photo of their ID on their cell phone, then email it directly to title. (I wouldn't want to get in the middle of that, if I could help it.) Or they could fax a copy or even overnight it.

I think I could count on one hand the times I've followed a borrower to a local Staples (or equivalent) in all of the thousands of signings I've ever done - and those were for late or corrected documents, not for ID copies. [How do you have time for this? I hope whoever is requiring this of you is paying you extremely well!]

It's interesting how the lender's and tc's responsibility to prove the ID of a borrower has trickled down over the years to become the notary's responsibility. I believe this should be taken care of at the very beginning of the process, not at the very end. That could eliminate lots of the ID issues we run into at the table. [Well, I can dream, can't I? ] I don't see a problem with filling out Patriot Act forms, though.

Reply by PegiT_MN on 9/21/12 10:05am
Msg #435220

Sending lots of positive thoughts and good karma your way!

Oh my goodness.....you've had a rough go of it this week Karla. Hopefully the worst is over and you will have a great EOM next week with lots of good business coming your way! I am sending lots of positive thoughts and good karma your way.

Reply by rolomia on 9/21/12 9:03pm
Msg #435324

Re: Sending lots of positive thoughts and good karma your way!

I will pray for you. Hopefully, you will be able to get phone number of borrowers prior to aapt. I, myself, never go to an appt. if I'm unable to contact BO on phone. That's just me. Not saying my way's better. It's just my personal prefernce. That's all. Some NSA's are comfortable going to an appt. that was confirmed by the lender or TC or even SS. But, like other posters w/in this thread and others like it, I, too, have been burned too many times. In fact, I require home phone, work phone, cell phone, email address, etc. If confirm. call to primary phone number doesn't reach BO, I call other #'s or email them. If still no response, I turn back the order. Even if I have no other appts., I'd rather not deal with the burdensome hassle of incompetent BO's, TC's, SS's &/or LO's, et.al. JMHO. Good luck and best wishes.

Reply by rolomia on 9/21/12 9:17pm
Msg #435328

Re: Sending lots of positive thoughts and good karma your way!

Additionally, I ask BO's if they have a bright, well-lit room with a table and chairs to conduct the closing at? If not, I recommend a public meeting place or I put my portable, pedestal lamp with long cord and a solid folding table + 3 folding chairs in my car. Eventually, when I can afford to, I will buy a hybrid B+ RV that I can use for ALL of my businesses (not just this one). I was at an RV show in Southaven, MS in 2003 that featured a high-top camper van with standing room and a table with bench seating (that folds down into a bed), 3/4th's bath, galley and hide-a-bed with an executive appearance inside and out that sold (on clearance, at the RV show) for $30K (was $45K), had a V-6 gasoline engine with overdrive and the sticker claimed 27MPG (not even a hybrid). Hard to believe. But, it was in writing.