I print the whole PDF the SS or title sends…and I double and triple check all docs since a signature line may have been missed
thats alot of work in my opinion only the critical docs need be double checked
Hello, well figure that most loan packages are between 125-200 pages. So you need to have a minimum fee for your services. There are some packages with up to 400 pages, so I would definetly negotiate a higher fee, even after you accepted their first offer. Some SS have the pages on their initial notification, but most don’t.
As for printing, I print all documents twice. I don’t decide which ones to not print. Too much time wasted. Don’t forget that printing is tax deductible.
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They usually want every single page they sent you plus ID etc.
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After weeks of shopping, (725 on Amazon) was able to find the Brother hl-l6200dwt for $427 at Global and the Cannon R40 scanner at Amazon for $267. I had received a $100 gift card on Amazon, so I was able to apply that and break it into 3 no-interest payments with the Amazon business card. I got 4 signing orders the last two day, but had to decline them, waiting for equipment. My scanner arrives today, the printer by the 8th. I am studying you tube videos on loan signing document details and procedures. Thank yoju for encouraging me to get the right equipment! Bless all our our businesses, Notary Cafe colleagues! Alicia
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I go over all of them, Just to make sure there are no places to sign.
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For scanning packages I purchased an Epson ES 580W…$399 plus tax. Was almost reluctant to spend that much money for a scanner, but wasn’t a lot of choices in my city in early April. Wow; am I glad I did. My scanner feeder tray holds 100 pages. They are scanned as ONE DOCUMENT in PDF format. After scanning to my laptop, all I have to do is “give the document a name” (so I can readily identify it from my documents file), then press SAVE. Now I’m ready to load it anywhere. So easy and convenient. There may be other options that are less expensive, but this really works for me. By the way, if the package is for example 150 pages, all I would do is “continue to add pages as the others leave the the holding tray”.
Hello,
First, Review All Docs. There may be a line that needs a response buried in the text of a document. In many cases, this is not likely to be the case but I don’t like surprises, especially if I have burned myself in the past by making assumptions.
At $.009 a page, it can hardly hurt to print ALL documents. That is what is expected of you.
Always print the Instructions, even if you have seen them a zillion times. And be sure to read them each time since there may be something new you would have otherwise missed.
The other reason I always print all the instructions is so that if I am ever [legally] requested to provide my internal paperwork regarding a signing -my in-house basic worksheet I created- and all my telephone call notes- my credibility increases incrementally when I can show I did print and presumably read the Instructions. Not printing them and not having them in your internal docs package can lead an observer to believe you are sloppy and make assumptions when you ought not. IOW, if you did not print the Instructions then possibly you did not read them, either. One of the components of being a Notary/LSA is ‘be professional’ and CYA.
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I once asked this same question and I was told by one company that I don’t need to print the closing instructions which amounted to 30 pages. It would depend on the notary service company. Some do and others don’t. Be careful some closing instructions require the borrowers signature. So ask the service that sends you the docs.
$.009 a page? only if it is blank, .020/.042 average on letter depending what kind of ink you use to print them.
Can be frustrating I know, but sometimes we must provide quotes with imperfect information. If the hiring company can’t provide you a page count, assume it is high and price accordingly. If they cannot tell you whether scanbacks are required, assume it is and price accordingly👍
P.S. Present ALL documents in the loan package! It is never up to us to as Notary Signing Agents to decide which documents are okay to just skip over with the signers. Read the title of each document, state its general purpose, and point out whether signatures are required.
If it is a document that does not require their signatures, I would say something like this: “Mr Signer, this is the _____ (read title of document), it is ___ pages. This is for _____(state purpose). There is nothing for you to sign but you are welcome to take a look if you wish.”
Sometimes the borrower will glance at it and hand it right back. Sometimes the borrower will wave it away and indicate to continue to the next document. I let it be their choice, not mine. I don’t want the signer to complain that I didn’t show them a document at the signing ceremony or that I snuck documents past them without their knowledge. I present the whole loan package expeditiously, but I never rush the signers or try to cut corners by skipping certain documents. I want to able to raise my hand in a court of law and swear that I presented each document and every document that the hiring company provided to me in the loan package to their signers. Period. That’s my two cents. 
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In complete agreement, Carmen. 
Our role is to notarize (not analyze). Best to “stay in our own lane” & within our “wheelhouse” regarding our actions/activities. Leave the attorney work for the attorneys to perform.
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Touche Carmen - agree - as to the above quote, I also add at the end “You have a copy of this document in the package I’m leaving with you”.
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Oh yes Linda, great point. I tell my signers when I hand them their set of loan documents in the beginning introduction that the two sets are exact duplicates. One to execute/sign and one for their records etc etc. And then I recap in my closing spiel before I leave that they have been provided a duplicate set of loan documents along with their two signed copies of the Notice of Right to Cancel (if applicable). There is much for us to say at a loan signing, if we are following the signing presentation guidelines. But I try to be succinct, stating the general purpose in a short sentence so it does not overwhelm the signer nor draw out the signing unnecessarily.
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Good ‘blurb’ to use with them, Carmen. 
Mine is similar; however, there is one key element that I manage a bit differently . . . the borrowers’ [BOs] copy.
I retain the BOs copy in my possession. I do refer to it and point to its location, but it stays in my sphere throughout the signing. Primarily because I’ve found that if it’s handed to the BOs at the onset of the signing appointment, they will launch into reading the documents & are reticent to return it to you. Second, it can be a bit awkward to retrieve your ‘spare’ copy when an error is made during document execution.
For me, it’s effortless & smoother to manage it in this manner. 
Yes, that too gets addressed in my preamble as I explain the need to sign consistently and as the signature block dictates, about writing the date in the correct format MM/DD/YYYY, how to handle mistakes, yadda, yadda. I explain if we make a mistake on an important enough document, we will need to exchange the “oops” page with their copy. I explain that if they want to flip through their spare copy, they can. However it is critical for us to keep the two sets separate. A rare few will want to read along themselves with their spare set of documents. I believe it is gives some people a feeling of anticipation and helps them to feel more in control. And so I try to do whatever is in my power to set the signers’ mind at ease. I have never had a problem retrieving the clean copy from the signers’ copy in order to correct an error. I simply ask them to hand me their set if it is not within my reach and I exchange the pages myself.
Signers ought to be able to understand how incredibly self-defeating it would be for them to refuse to help their notary signing agent help them execute their loan documents correctly. They risk having it rejected and possible a delay of their closing/funding. That said, in rare occasion that my signer truly did not understand why it was necessary for me to exchange the pages in order to correct the signing mistake and if were reluctant to cooperate, I would never argue. I would consider this very much “an issue at the signing table” and I would just politely and calmly call my hiring company on speaker so we can all hear each other, explain the situation and bluntly ask, “How do you want us to proceed?” I would let THEM (the signing service, title co, or lender) explain to the borrowers in more precise terms the reasons why and consequences of not making a necessary correction. (I would also NOTE IT IN MY JOURNAL that there was an issue and the resolution/outcome.)
Your asking to many questions which started with “well I feel they don’t need the closing instructions”. Your job is to verify the identity of the signer, notarize the necessary docs, return the package. Don’t invoke how you feel, print everything and adjust your fee for additional expenses.
I send the whole package I think it shows you are following their directions completely to the letter