Prior to the year 2000, when a person wanted to buy a house or refinance
their home they contacted their bank or the mortgage company for a loan.
After filling out mounds of paperwork the “borrower” (a homeowner who
borrows money) would drive back to the bank to “close” the loan. Because
most banks are only open during business hours, the borrower would often
need to schedule time away from work and be inconvenienced. The documents
were then notarized by a notary (who probably worked for the bank)
and two witnesses were present to witness the borrower’s signature.
But as interest rates plummeted lower, the real estate field became very
competitive. In order to compete, lenders were forced to offer special incentives
to borrowers in order to win their business -- like coming to the borrowers
home to close the loan at a time convenient for them. It was about this
same time that the UCC (Uniform Commercial Code) law was changed
allowing a notary to serve as a witness as well as perform the notarization.
(Two witnesses were no longer required.) This is essentially when the job of
“notary signing agent” (as we know it today) was born.
But the notary signing agent field is not really brand new. I have personally
spoken to notaries who have been working freelance for many years as a
notary signing agent before the “notary signing agent” field became well
known. Therefore, the field is not really brand new -- but brand new to the
masses. |
