I’m worried about the elderly borrowers having to deal with that form today.
And here I thought it was just me.
Oh, no, megagain2002… we all have those challenges. The dog that barks all through the signing… the guy who keeps his eyes glued to the TV… the cat that won’t stay off your docs… the location with the nearest parking six blocks away in pouring rain… the woman who tries to control everything from the form of her name to the color of the ink in the pen… Yup. We’ve all been there. Probably in the last month!
I don’t know what state you are in, but…maybe check up on your state guidelines as here in Florida, we can use a 5 year old expired dr lic
Ummm…not quite accurate - we can use an expired DL IF it was issued within the past 5 years.
If that’s what you meant but you just said it slightly wrong…my apologies
Suggestion for the stamp. I get my stamp from NOTARYROTARY.com
The stamp I get is called the Vision stamp. It is 1 3/4" x 1". When I order it, I call them & have them remove the seal that comes on the left side which would add about 2" to the stamp.
Since I started using this about 3 years ago, I have Never run into a situation where there was no room for the stamp. Well worth the money.
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So. First time this has happened in over 2,000 signings:
I accepted a refi signing via SD for a client who uses me 5 or 6 times a year. I confirmed the signing with the client, updated SD. Docs came in at 8 am for the 5 pm signing. I downloaded promptly, finished the rest of my packages for the day, headed out the door.
At 4:50, I pulled up in front of the borrower’s door. By 5:10 pm, the signing was well underway when there was a knock on the front door.
Imagine my surprise when the homeowner returned with an individual claiming to be the notary assigned to this closing!
In a very quick exchange I got her phone number before hustling her out of there.
I was able to calm the homeowner and complete the signing. After leaving, I pulled into the first parking spot available and called the Other Notary.
After much fumbling and many excuses (and a few tears on her part), it turned out that she had accepted the signing first, cancelled out of it the same day, then when she found herself at loose ends had decided to attend after all. When I asked her how she had planned to conduct a signing without docs, she drew a blank.
This would have been her fourth signing. All others she had done had been loan mods et al, where the client had the docs when she arrived. She had simply assumed refis would be the same.
I STRONGLY suggested she redo her NSA training. (I may have said something to the effect of not sleeping through it again - I was a bit overset.) Then I headed over for my 7 pm.
Pet peeve? Oh… so, so many in a single post…
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Wow…just wow…no words for that…nicely handled Judi
Yes scanning back entire package with 3 day rescission.
Hire good notaries with lots of experience Not just first person to hit the Link!
I’d rather dump the entire thing on the scanner than sort through for a list of specific docs that then have to be replaced in the same order.
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Hey everyone. I am a newbie, in PA and I am learning a lot reading all your posts.
My only post peeve is no experience = no hiring = no experience.
Lol. I am just taking this time to learn as much additional information as I can. So I will be ready when the phone finally rings.
thank you for your comments. I can relate. I have had though situations many times.
New one: “Porch Signing Required”. (Dump the docs on the doorstep, view id through a window; wait in your car while borrowers sign, listening on your phone while they squabble and question and procrastinate; pick up signed package, complete notarial acts, repeat to correct the plethora of errors made.)
Not in my state. Washington has not lifted the “in person” requirement for notarial acts. Try “Outdoor Signing” or “Garage Signing” or even “Notary to Wear Gloves and Mask Signing” and “Notary to Require 6 ft Distance Signing”. (As if we Notaries weren’t doing all of that, anyway.)
This isolation will end. When it does, I have no intention of being hauled into court to defend my notarial acts.
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This week I’ve had two signers try to confirm that I would be doing a door drop signing with them, which they preferred. I politely informed each that I was not offering such service and suggested they may want to talk to the title company about reassigning to another notary who would accommodate their request. When this was first given as an option to us as one of the ways to provide notary services during the COVID-19 social distancing requirements, I informed each of my contracting partners that I would not be engaging in this service. It’s more than a little disappointing to have potential clients tell me how to conduct their signing. I wish the title companies would not offer us up to this activity.and give expectations to clients about theses signings. I have signed in garages, on porches and decks, even signed in a driveway using a step ladder as the signing table while I and the clients jogged back and forth between the step ladder to maintain our 6’ distance. I am not opposed to creative operations to get the job done. But, I believe we should have some say in how we choose to do our job, as long as it’s efficient and correctly executed. I feel better now that I’ve vented!
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Right on!
I ask for a 6 ft distance - or as close as possible - by putting clients at one end of a table while I sit at the other. We slide docs back and forth. BTW, a foam plate is an excellent sliding tool!
I wear gloves and a mask, and call the morning of the signing to ensure no one in the household is sick. I also insist that no one else be present in the room.
I had one where the first page in the docs was a laundry list of covid precautions, including I would not touch virtually anything. The signer got the same list via e-mail…and he called me to inform me that he would NOT be standing on his porch in the rain doing this. I agreed. End of that. But, I certainly emphatically agree that hiring parties should NOT be doing this at all.
Absolutely right. But they are all worried about liability, so they put out long lists. Which, of course, we ignore, because we work out individual situations with each borrower.
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Really-really enjoying the posts! Great to know we are not alone with our dealing! 
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Ooh! Ooh!
When you print out a hundred-something pages, and when you go through it - there are 3 or 4 “this page intentionally left blank” pages, or signature addendums which are literally an ENTIRE LEGAL SIZE page with nothing but a signature line at the top. And it’s got a bar code at the bottom so it MUST be accounted for.
Oh, those “notarizing for idiots” pages they sneak in among the documents. "Here’s how to notarize a Note. With arrows and circles and other insulting remarks.
When signers REFUSE to pick up a phone call. I call to confirm an appointment, and NOT ONCE in the last year has anyone picked up my call. Very few of them return my voicemail. Inevitably, I have to TEXT them “Hi, i’m your notary, please call or text me to confirm our appt” and whattya know? Instant reply. Especially since I’m getting instructions nowadays that say “texting clients is not acceptable. You must speak to them directly.” Get the heck outta here.
This is FUN! Glad someone resurrected this thread!
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Stinky house. Seriously, as in the-laundry-is-dragging-itself-to-the-washer-begging-for-mercy stinky. The place looked so bad, I double checked the assignment sheet praying I had goofed on the address. When the borrower opened the door, I choked.
The mask came in very handy! So did my gloves and antiseptic wipes. I put on booties, too. Talk about a “point and sign”? I never sat down. I shoved docs in front of them with one hand while I signed, stamped and checked with the other.
Geez, people! You know I’m coming! Clean up!
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