First Time Notary-Horror Story

Anne, I called and left a message with a notary I’d spoken to before, but I have not gotten a call back. I don’t think it’s usual to take someone along to shadow because the documents are personal information.

N, I would guess that you’d have to check with the signing company who assigned you and the borrowers to see if this is possible. You would need permission from someone.

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I advise my students to never take anyone else to a signing with them. 2 reasons. One is that it is an invasion of privacy for the borrower and there has never been a greater concern for borrowers security than right now. Also, a lot of experienced NSA’s have developed some very bad habits and I do not want to see everything I teach my students to be turned upside down by someone who continues to use and teach their bad habits onto the people they mentor.

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Carol, excellent points.

Hello Annet,
I will be taking the Signing agent course with NNA.
I still waiting on my study material that has not either loaded in the system or by mail.
any suggesions

I will be taking the Signing agent course with NNA.
I still waiting on my study material that has not either loaded in the system or by mail.
any suggesions

Contact the NNA to find out what the hold up is. I have not taken the NNA course, but I’ve completed part of the Notary2Pro course and it absolutely ROCKS!

I have been a Notary/Certified Signing Agent for 5 years. I took the classed provided by the Notary Learning Center, however, I do renew/background check with the NNA each year only because it seems the signing companies prefer them. I am in CA and complete 20-30 signings monthly. While I have heard good things about Carol Ray’s course I think you will be fine if you pay close attention in the classes you take and be confident when you are preforming your tasks. If I can be of any assistance feel free to contact me. I am also listed with the NNA. Good luck you will do fine.

This is great advice! I loved taking my NSA class through the Notary Learning Center (in my area it was taught by Harris Perle, who is excellent) and I subsequently took Carol’s classes. They are very in depth classes and I’ve learned a lot.

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Thank you for having the courage to share your Horror Story. Hopefully by now you have had many successful signings. A follow-up to this story would be interesting.

Hi @nlanderez! Thank you so much, I have had many successful signings so far. I have had about 125 signings now altogether and things go much smoother and have gotten direct calls from real estate and title companies. I love what I do!

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Susan, I just need to commend you for your sterling attitude and willingness to share your blunder. It’s not easy to admit folly on a public platform: no bluster or blaming others. Your teachableness does you credit and has led you to success. Kudos!

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Hi Amlowe, thanks so much! I really appreciate your kind words. I believe in taking full responsibility for my actions, and for learning my lessons as well.

I agree with everything LindaH said. I took Carol Ray’s course N2Pro after already having done about 150 Signings, plus I had been a real estate agent/broker for 23 years previously. The “practical tips” I gleaned from her course was well worth the fee, and she does mentor you after you have graduated, which can be very comforting to a “newbie”. I also don’t know anything about the Notary Learning Center, but if you want to be a Signing Agent, spend your money specifically on Signing Agent courses. Carol Ray is the best, in my opinion.

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Carol Ray is part of a FREE weekly Zoom Webinar called Tuesday Notary Titans (TNT) along with Bill Soroka and Laura Biewer. At the end of this post, I’ll provide a link in case anyone is interested in joining in on call or video today if not Carol and Bill have a link on the websites that have past webinars recorded. These are so great! These weekly Zoom Webinars are every Tuesday at 10am CST. These three excellent NSA experts have come together to answer NSAs questions, provide free training slide shows, and much more. I advise anyone seeking to take additional NSA courses, to such as: Carol Ray’s Notary2Pro, Bill Soroka’s Sign & Thrive, or Notary Coach Laura Biewer or those who may have a burning question that needs to be answered ASAP, to check out this LIVE & FREE Zoom Video Conference starts at 10am CST. Here is the link: https://zoom.us/j/368447034. I don’t get paid in sharing this information. Just providing an excellent free resource for NSAs.

So sorry to hear about your nightmare first signing. The good thing is you learned a mistake that needs to be avoided in the future. I have been doing signings for a couple of months now. It has gotten easier with time and I am still learning. As far as Coast2Coast goes, I really like working with them. They have all been so nice and helpful when you need them. Another nice thing is that after the initial 30 day waiting period they pay weekly. The best tip I can give you is to read the instructions carefully.

I also took my training and certification through NNA I have yet to do my first signing as I am still signing up with signing agents. I have been researching a lot, and I also join in on the Tuesday Notary Titans, what I have seen is that Carol’s Notary2Pro is that she really offers the mentorship that we all need. I know as a newbie I wished I had taken her training because right now I feel like a fish out of water.

My best advice is,“don’t get discouraged”. My first month as a Signing Agent I got ONE Signing, the next month I got 3, the third month I got 2 and the 4th month I got 12. My business fluctuated a lot in the first year, but then it kind of leveled out and business was more steady. Some months were great! Some were lean. It takes a long time to establish yourself, which is one reason I took everything that came my way for a long time. I had been a real estate broker/agent for 23 years,and I was still pretty overwhelmed when I got my first re-fi. But you just have to “get 'er done” as one Notary said to someone else on this forum. After a Signing or 3, you will get over your stage fright and will do fine. Hang in there!

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Hi There; I’m a new SA & I’ve done 7 signings with C2C thus far; pls advise whether u were paid immediately aft 30 days or shortly thereafter. I’ve been reading horror stories abt how they pay so now I’m nervous wondering will I get paid…Pls advise, thx!

Going to stick my $.02 in here FWIW (and I’ve never worked for C2C so not slamming them) - this is just a hint to you

Have you been paid for any of those 7 signings yet? From your post I’m assuming not (and you know what happens when we assume so I apologize if I’m off here) - anyway - if you’ve not been paid yet, don’t do any more for them until you ARE paid in full. Never never let any client “run a tab” without paying you - safe standard is don’t go over 3 unpaid invoices - and that applies to ANY company, not just this one.

Good luck and I hope you’re paid.

{steps off her soapbox}

I could not agree more. The Notary2Pro training is just phenomenal. I was a broker/realtor for 23 years before I became a notary and certified signing agent, and there were so many things I learned and little tips they gave me that helped me so much. Good luck to you.! I think you will be a great signing agent.