My partner, Caitlin, and I have worked together for over five years. She is an excellent signing agent and skilled general notary. Because I started Kidd Notary Services and have the connections gained during many years in real estate, orders generally come through me and I assign them as best fits our schedule. Long time clients have never before bothered to ask which of us would be doing the signing - they know we are both meticulous, professional and dependable.
Lately, however, I am being asked to specify. This concerned me, so I checked in with a few contacts and got the low down:
It seems that a number of new “signing services” (you know - those following the business plan of the Six-Figure Man) have begun sending out documents with… well, with anyone they can find, apparently. These individuals get documents signed, then return to the Notary in the office who then signs and stamps the certificates.
Can anyone out there tell me exactly what is wrong with this scenario?
FYI: Every lender, title/escrow company, etc. that I’ve worked with over the years has required execution of an Agreement that identifies that the professional loan signing agent assigned to the Signing Order is the ONLY person who will be working together with their clients.
In addition, it identifies the client executions AND the notarization work are to be performed ONLY at the time of the Signing Engagement/Appointment with the client/signers present.
The Agreement also identifies that the Signing Order cannot be “farmed” out nor delegated to a different person to complete the Signing Order.
Here in WA, those type of agreements run counter to laws regarding use of independent contractors. In WA a contractor may substitute a subcontractor so long as the subcontractor possesses appropriate licenses and certifications equal to those of the original contractor.
One notary I am aware of amazingly says this on his/her website:
"You do not need to sign in front of the notary – you simply need to appear before the notary and say, "That’s my signature.” and sign my notary book. Please have your CURRENT government issued photo identification – drivers license, passport, green card, or military ID.
What about jurats? Not signed in the presence of a notary and no oath taken??
Green cards acceptable? I don’t think so. Not in California, anyway.
These are at least two reasons why some folks are skeptical about the qualifications of a notary. I wouldn’t ‘partner’ with anyone unless I could, without reservation, vouch for that person’s qualifications and proficiency. It seems that you have, so dowhatchagottado.
It’s practices like you’ve described that cause some of the fraudulent practices back in 2007-2009 housing crash. You might want to get a legal opinion about sub-contracting an NSA before proceeding further.
As @ronald.allen as stated, in Texas the individual must appear before the notary when it comes to Jurats. Most Title Companies want the documents signed in front of the Notary, regardless if the signature get notarized or not.
In CA the signer must sign in front of the notary for a Jurat. For an Acknowledgment, they may sign ahead of time and subsequently ACKNOWLEDGE to the notary that it is, indeed, their signature.
Acknowledgements in California require physical presence to sign the journal. The signer can have signed years before. Jurats require the document to be signed in person and signed in the journal. Acknowledgements do not require swearing or affirming, Jurats do.
In New York, you do not need to sign in front of a notary IF it’s an acknowledgment, however, it is RECOMMENDED. On the other hand, jurats MUST be signed in front of the notary and the oath must be given. Most notaries in NYC prefer you do not sign anything until you appear before them to avoid confusion.
