Posted by notarydi/CA on 1/23/13 12:33am
Msg #451620

loan officers and real estate agents

at signings should be illegal. had one the other day where the realtor just kept saying to the borrs "faster, faster....sign faster" as she was racing to another appt. this just makes me dig my heels in and go slower as I don't ever want borrs to feel rushed in any way during a signing. have had a loan officer tell me not "to speak", he will do all the talking and I just need to "point" and show the borrowers where to sign. basically, I just ignored them and conducted the signings like I normally would......but, would like to hear how others handle pesky loan officers and realtors at signings.

Reply by Roger_OH on 1/23/13 1:00am
Msg #451623

It's my signing, and I control it. Most of the time the realtors respect this, and let me do my job. I'll usually defer to them about specifics on the HUD, but handle eveything else with the docs presentation.

After administering the oath/affirmation for the affidavits, I often get comments from both signers and realtors - "Really? No one's ever done that in any of our other closings!".

I'm then happy to point out the "Sworn to and subscribed..." verbiage, and and mention the statutory penalties for Ohio notaries that fail to administer the oath when required.

Reply by 101livescan on 1/23/13 8:13am
Msg #451639

I answer my phone if I know who is calling me, and my regulars are all programmed in my contacts.

I don't speak with most signing services who call me during a signing, only with those I know pay well and on time and are solid companies.

Most days, I'm back to back with signings, I'd be in trouble if I didn't pickup my phone. And my escrow officers know to text or email me, I can see immediately they are trying to reach me.

Reply by 101livescan on 1/23/13 8:14am
Msg #451640

something goofy going on with my satellite dish this morning, should be in the thread below, please excuse me (us).

Reply by 101livescan on 1/23/13 8:16am
Msg #451641

They are just plain, a PITA. Most LOs are fine, but the realtors can be so tacky. They are all about closing the deal and moving on to the next flower, like a busy bee, that they completely forget to be well mannered. It would be better if they didn't attend, IMHO, most of the time.

Reply by Tim Cameron on 1/23/13 9:12am
Msg #451657

I have been a real estate agent for 32 years....I think you need to realize..if an agent is at that signing the odds are they were asked to be by the borrower...if they were the greedy, in a hurry to move to the next sale people you think they are, why would they be there watching a closing? Yes, there are some bad agents, no different than there are bad Notaries, and LO's. 99% of the time you will have a good agent at a signing and that borrower is the CLIENT of THEIRS they are not your client. I think you are overestimating your importance, you are there to notarize documents, not take over the sale process. It isn't "your" closing, you are the final cog in a long process. You should be respected, you should be allowed to do your job, which is to notarize a hand full of documents, as an agent and a notary, If I am at a closing and the agent wants to take over...I would be happy to do it, and notarize signatures.........here's the key, you have an agent rushing you? ask them if they would like to finish explaining the papers to the borrower...call their bluff...99% would tell you to proceed, the 1% that don't, let them go

Reply by Brooke Squyres on 1/23/13 10:04am
Msg #451667

I couldn't agree with you more, Tim

although I am not an agent nor a broker, it is THEIR clients and it is up to them how the signing should be conducted. BOTH of them have probably been working with their clients for many months, sometimes years with other deals, and you are there to do your job but only as the final step in a long process. YES they can be a real PITA, and I have had to suck it up and bite my lip to not respond when they treat you like you are invisible. Most don't, and most are professional and courteous. I , too, hear MANY horror stories about notaries whose conduct is beyond reprehensible, and usually because they are thanking me for how I have just conducted their signing.
Just my two cents ( I gave myself a long overdue raise this year!)

Reply by notarydi/CA on 1/23/13 11:18am
Msg #451686

Apologies to the GOOD loan officers and real estate agents. Just had a couple of bad apples last week and needed to vent, I guess. I have processed loans and have worked with GREAT loan officers and real estate agents that I just adored and think the world of. Cheers to the good ones!

Reply by Bear900/CA on 1/23/13 11:29am
Msg #451693

Ditto on Tim!

" I think you are overestimating your importance, you are there to notarize documents, not take over the sale process. It isn't "your" closing, you are the final cog in a long process."

Amen!

Notaries must understand there are about 15+ VERY professional people, hundreds of emails and untold hours put into every loan and that is WITHOUT the realtor and without you.

The LO deals with many different proffesionals that you are unaware of, including the title company who works harder to get their business then you do. You are working for the title company who is working for the LO and the RE agent.

I am a loan broker. I sit through some of my signings, not all. Trust me, I grade you and will tell the title company never to use a signer with an attitude who tried to take over. These are dangerous people and there are much bigger horror stories of all the work put into a loan, and have the escrow officer or signer blow it at the table. We would write off title companies who allow that.

That said, I am also a doc signer. I have had LOs drive for many hours to meet me at the kitchen table and sit through the signing. I welcome them and fulfill my duty as a professional signer which is all I am at the table, nothing more. They may have quirks but it may very well be those quirks that got them the deal. Let it be.

That said, I used a particular title company to handle my loans and knew the branch manager well. We were both suprised when the shoe was turned and I showed up at her door to sign a loan for her. Instead of "taking control", I smiled, handed her the docs and said, "you can do this much better then I can". She ran through the signing with her husband and I notarized. It was kind of funny.

It turnd out her neighbor and best friend is a professional signer specializing in reverse mortgages. I got to know her when I sat through a signing for one of my loan customers. I gladly allowed the signer or escrow officer to do their part of the job. It's what I pay them for. Sometimes they call and ask if I'm going to be there. If I feel comfortable, I tell them, "You know what you're doing. Call me if you need help."

The last escrow officer I used was a very good and very experienced escrow officer who had never done a reverse mortgage. She made some mistakes and I gladly took her through the process of how to close one. We communicated well, and I stopped her when I saw she overlooked a couple of signatures but did so in a way that the customer didn't pay much mind to.

Be careful. Be respectful. Be glad you have someone working hard to close a deal you can sign. Times won't always be as fast and furuous as they are now and you will be glad they are still there.

Off my soap-box for now.

Reply by Dennis_IN on 1/23/13 9:10am
Msg #451656

Yes RE agents can be a PITA but most let me conduct closing without interruption. I had one Realtor that was putting down the TC for "excessive fees" while I was going over HUD, I just, very slowly, went over the commission she was getting and you should have seen the look on her face. She was quiet from then on. Was she embarrassed by the amount? I control the closing but will let LOs & RE agents explain something if they feel the need. I want everybody to feel good about the closing...

Reply by GOLDGIRL/CA on 1/23/13 1:26pm
Msg #451719

Back in the day, I did hundreds of purchase closings attended by Realtors and LOs. For the most part, the Realtors were a gigantic PIA: uninformed, rude, obstructive and, yes, dare I say it, horribly dressed and ugly. The LOs for the most part had their act together.

I always deferred (and still do) to the LO, many of whom wanted to conduct the signing. LOs who want to conduct the signing will usually tell you up front. Fine with me, it's their loan. I swore the borrower in (if there were affs in pkg) and sat back and watched. I would never wrestle with an LO about this. After all, we are mere notaries. It was also my observation that most borrowers are more comfortable with their LO, who they have been working with for some time. Who are we - somebody they've never seen before and have no idea why we're there - to jump in and take over cos its "our signing"? Then, there were LOs who were the reverse, wanted the notary to conduct the signing. I was happy to have them there when the borrower wanted an explanation of APR.

Mostly, I learned ALOT listening/watching LOs conduct a signing - as I would think many notaries without a real estate background (like me) would. They confirmed what I suspected what was really important, what was fluff, when mattered to the borrowers, what mattered to the lenders, and opened my eyes to what was really expected at a loan signing.

I had to learn to shut out these pesky Realtors, who, IMO had no real business at the loan-signing anway, with their constant interruptions about what I started callling the 3 Cs: curtains, countertops, carpets. Some even demanded I hand over the loan pkg as soon as I walked in the door. I don't think so. Nonetheless, they were the borrowers' Realtors and for some unfathomable reason liked them and wanted them at the signing. So learned to tune them out (politely).

Reply by Buddy Young on 1/23/13 1:44pm
Msg #451727

Most of the time when I have real estate agents attending the signing they keep their mouth shut. One time I had one say to the borrower " he knows what he's doing "

Once I had a prior notary who kept making comments to his wife like " you don't have to sign that one" etc.. I finally said to him " please let me do my job" after that he kept quiet.

Reply by jba/fl on 1/23/13 2:15pm
Msg #451733

Ah, yes, the 3 C n/m

Reply by jba/fl on 1/23/13 2:16pm
Msg #451735

Ah, yes, the 3 C 's-the most disruptive of all hated beings

in attendance. Can't that wait?

Reply by BossLadyMD on 1/23/13 1:40pm
Msg #451725

In Maryland, we run the show as Closing Agents/TPL.

I've had ton of loan officers and real estate agents present. They dont bother me. They let me do my thing