A while ago I had an issue with Fidelity because there were no spaces for initials on the DOT, so...as per my experience... no initials. The closing agent tells me to go back and ask the borrowers to initial, 'everything must be perfect'. We have a disagreement because I told her that I don't ask the borrowers to initial anything not marked or indicated in the instructions. She says that I am doing it wrong then.
So I call the Sec of State who says, yep... initial it.
So then in discussion I am told NOPE... NO WAY... only if the lender asks or there is a space.
I call the Sec of State again and they say, 'Well it's not mandatory in some situations ***what does that mean- some situations?*** but it is always a good idea."
So I quit doing it if there is no space for it and again... from the TC, a different one this time, where are the initials on the DOT? AHHHHHH!!!!! WHAT?????
So I call the Sec of State and ask again and the guys gets really rude and says... 'What do you do if you have to attach an Acknowledgement or Jurat to something." I say, feeling two years old, "I fill it out and fill out the reference info at the bottom and I seal it as well as emboss it to the original and I write *attached document bears embossment*."
He says, "Why do you embsoss it?"
I say "So that it cannot be attached to a different document"
He says,"Do you HAVE to emboss it?"
I say,"No but I do it to protect myself and the signer."
And he says, "And something as important as the deed to someone's house that is many pages long, you are just going to notarize that they signed THAT DOCUMENT when THAT DOCUMENT can so easily be altered if there are no initials-how could your notarization ever hold up if disputed?"
So then I ask, 'Well is it mandatory?'
He says, 'No but if you wouldn't just mail a loose cert to someone just because they asked you to... then you ought not to forget those initials.'
I feel like I am going nuts. I don't want to facilitate a bad situation for the borrowers, I don't want to tick off the lenders and I REALLY DON'T want to go back to the same place TWICE!
Why are we instructed to have borrowers ONLY initial multi-page docs that require notarization IF the lender instructs? Has anyone had a problem because they did get initials when not instructed?
Has this EVER happened to anyone else? Advice?
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