Posted by NG/MD on 11/28/13 8:04am
Msg #494340

Tennessee Residential Property Signing

I received a phone call today (Thanksgiving) by a borrower, who owns property in Tennessee; he is refinancing. He said he needed a notary to witness the signing of the loan documents. I explained that in Maryland it is required to have a Title Insurance Producers License to perform a closing. He was not informed of that law by his mortgage company, which I believe he said was Southeast Mortgage. I also informed him that typically, the Title Company or a closing company contacts the Signing Agent. I suggested he contact his title company and speak to his LO or his mortgage bank. He said he would do that as soon as he received his loan documents. As a Signing Agent in Maryland it is required to hold a Title Insurance Producers License. I understand in some other states this is not a requirement. But in Maryland any loan that may result in the issuance of Title Insurance, and if the Title Company is using a notary to close that loan, that notary must hold a current Title Insurance Producer License.
I am not sure how to handle this one. In the past I have only received payments from Title Companies and Closing Companies for Settlement transactions. Maybe this is specific to Tennessee properties? Has anyone ever experienced a situation such as this? and If so, how did you handle it ?

Reply by MW/VA on 11/28/13 9:25am
Msg #494344

Mail-away loans to the borrowers are fairly common. Yes,

they need to get a notary & pay them directly. I am aware that MD NSA's have to have a TPL. Would that apply even if they are acting only as a Notary & not as a NSA? In many of these cases we are not handling the closing, only the docs that need to be notarized.

Reply by MikeC/TX on 11/29/13 5:52pm
Msg #494432

" I explained that in Maryland it is required to have a Title Insurance Producers License to perform a closing."

But you're not performing a closing - on these mail-aways, you function as a notary, not a signing agent, so it is basically just general notary work.

Unless the guy wants you to walk him through all the documents and agrees to pay your normal fee for that, the TPL probably doesn't come into play - you don't have to even look at the other documents, just notarize the ones that require notarization. For that you get to charge your state's maximum notary fee per document or signature, and a reasonable travel fee (unless the law prohibits that). It's definitely not the same as a loan closing, and you'll be out the door much faster.