Wait until you all here this one.....
I went to my local bank today to apply for a HELOC. Awesome deal....rate cap of 8.39% on a HELOC, I just couldn't pass it up.
So as I am sitting there giving my information, another rep comes over and asks my rep the following: "Who is going to notarize these?" and in her hands were file folders of mortgages that had closed in the branch today. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out, since the file folders said loan documents. BTW, I have conducted in-home closings for this bank so I know the docs.
Anyway, my rep says "Oh, just leave them for the manager. I can't because my thingy ran out." (thingy = commission) Apparently, they have regular reps completing the closings in the branch and leave the files on someone's desk for notarization. My jaw must have hit the desk.
At this point, I couldn't keep my mouth shut. I told my rep that what they were doing was illegal. That the docs needed to be signed in front of the notary - not left for someone else to notarize when the person didn't even appear before them. She said to me "Oh really, we do it all the time. As a matter of fact, we were audited the other day by the FDIC and I closed a loan in front of them. They didn't say anything to me when I too the docs to the manager for notarization."
I basically told her that what they were doing was illegal, that I am a notary and these are the laws. I also told her that they could even be accused of mortgage fraud.
What is this industry coming to?
I'll tell you, it makes me wonder if I should do business with them (even though the rate is great). What other business practices do they engage in that are illegal?
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