I promised myself I would not take this type of signing and totally forgot
The application was not bad but …the initial documents Oh dear
We are not tax attorneys, personal assistants, life coaches etc.
I am not going to “help the signer find his or her tax documents in their house”
That is not a service that I provide. Also if they are still looking for documents
while I’m there, I am not willing to wait for over an hour until they find it. Again that is not a service that I provide. ridiculous.
rant over.
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You can avoid this during the confirmation call by telling them they MUST HAVE (read the list of stuff) available and to call you when they do so you can ‘confirm time/date appt.’.
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@jennjoneis Thank you for sharing your direct experience 
Learning Lesson as to the WHYs that we sages say it’s NOT advisable to take on “Application” signings. Truly, that is the role & responsibility of the Loan Officer.
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There are myriad reasons that these types of signings are fraught with pitfalls (as follows):
- Signer(s) nearly ALWAYS don’t have all the documents sorted, prepared, & ready. The Loan Officer (LO) is expecting you to “walk them through gathering the documents.” As you’ve learned directly, not within our bailiwick/purview to assist with that.
- Quite often, the LO will not share that if the “Application” isn’t consummated into an actual executed set of loan documents & the loan being funded . . . that the Professional Signing Agent [PSA] won’t be paid for the professional services they successfully provided.
- In my direct experience (when I did accept these years ago) the signers were usually mentally frail, recently widowed, etc., etc., etc.
- If the signer doesn’t have all the documents ready/available, a return trip (at no fee) is expected => even though it is through no fault of the PSA that the signer didn’t have the documents ready/available.
In general, AVOID the Application Signings; that is, unless you have LOADS of time on your hands and little to do to earn revenue . . .
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good idea will remember that
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Yes, and the list of reasons is spot on
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I’ve had these types of assignments as well. I’ve gone down the list of documents I need upon arrival at confirmation and 24 hour reminder. Yet, when I arrive, they want to give me what they think the Lender/Atty/Title wants, and NOT what they asked for. (cue the 30 minute venture to find document). Ughh!
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oh my gosh I feel your pain
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Yes! Bring on the Overture as well . . .
In one of my direct experiences, over 2 hours were expended in the document search with a recent widow searching with frequent bouts of sorrow as well as frustration. She said that her now-deceased husband handled everything in regard to their finances & told her “not to worry her pretty little head about those things . . . .” It seemed to me that the LO didn’t serve the client very well at all . . .
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People who offer services to organize people’s spaces must be in high demand i wonder exactly how they charge per hour?
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that’s smart. Do they give it to you??
Depends on the client. But most of the time they may grant it if you ask politely.
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Although I always ell the signer when I call what documents they need to have available, I have found that quite a few of my Reverse Mortgage signings have this problem. Now I rarely take them. They are usually over 200 o even 300 pages and just not worth the small fees companies are willing to pay now.
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I quit doing Applications when LO’s started telling the borrowers/signers that “the Notary can just take pictures of all the documents” and print them out. 
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Agree with that. Nope-- taking pictures of NPPI docs & then printing them is not gonna happen. Don’t care what the LO says…it’s just wrong.
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I quit doing applications. Many were for reverse mortgages with people even older than i. In one case, contact number was the daughter who thought mom knew what she was doing. The whole time was on the phone with the daughter yelling at me for wanting records she had shredded or did not have. Shevtold me i made up the list. I had specifically asked to make sure they reviewed the list from the lenders. Anyhow, i had another appointment and after 2 1/2 hours, i said, please get things together and we could reschedule. Again, daughter yelled at me. Then the lender called and read me the riot act. I did one more that was as hard minus the daughter. I realized that an applicant who had no problem emailing documents was the one we would never meet as they did not need us. Cant pay m e enough!!
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the daughter yelled at YOU!? shame. The nerve of people.
Yep. You cant leave, this is MY MOTHER. i wanted to say, well then, chickee, why aren’t you here! And im 76 and grey haired!!! She called the “loan officer” to report me!. Ive been a real estate agent for 40 years and have dealt with all kinds. Ive also been a court mediator and so i can usually calm ruffled feathers. Personally, i dont think a reverse mortgage was right here. Mom had a long time live in boyfriend and they may not understand, if mom dies or goes to a nursing home, he will likely be out of a home. Not my place here.
My one and only reverse mortgage application went so long, the signer made us sandwiches
It was my first and only reverse application.
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