Dear All,
I usually print a set for the signers even if the instructions did not indicate to do so. I would like to know if the instructions didn’t say to print a copy, should I not?
Thank you!
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Rule of thumb…Print a copy
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Best practice is to print a second copy. This has been generally accepted practice for a long time is this business. This second copy comes in handy if the borrower accidently signs the wrong line on the Right to Cancel, when the family cat coughs up a hair ball on the documents, or their little darling offspring ooops their chocolate milk on the table. All of which I’ve which I’ve experienced.
Here’s a hint, keep the second copy in your closed notary bag and a few steps away from the table to minimize injuries to the back up set.
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Thank you for your recommendation!
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I personally always print a second copy for the client. It’s beneficial if a mistake is made and then you can use that page from your extra copy. Also, I feel it’s just good customer service and I have found that it also eases their mind by getting to have that copy to keep and read over more, etc.
I think printing the second set is many times mandatory and can save you a lot of grief but keep in mind, some Title companies have a “Go Green” page in the packet because they are intending to send a secure soft copy of the signed documents to the borrower. This and making sure you don’t already have Borrower and Lender docs in one file (Union Bank HELOC files) will save you unnecessary printing).
Even if the instructions call for only one set, many signers do not have a printer set up at home or toner. In some cases, despite not having to, I will print out the Note and DOT for those signers as well as the CD and Settlement Statement. At minimum they have those key documents.
There are few Lenders that require a single copy, so as a rule of thumb I always print a second set. The way to make it less ruinous to your budget is to leave out the filler paper such as the instructions behind the W-9 and the 4506-T. Once you have signed the Lender copy, those documents are superfluous and I even leave them out when shipping back to Escrow. That is the tiniest way to reduce the carbon footprint. In 5,500 signings I’ve only had one company upset because the scanback didn’t include those pages! I suspect they are page counting over checking the content.
Another way to save on those second copies is to print them shrink to fit for Letter size. Letter size paper is anywhere from a third to a fourth as expensive as Legal. The borrowers may not have a file cabinet that support Legal length and it’s easier to keep the copies apart. It also helps if something glitched in your printing program, or the trays ran out of paper and some of your pages are cut off. You can swap them out with 95% of the companies out there (do not try that with Provident) in order to make sure the complete set is there.
I usually pass over the second copy while recording the IDs but I think it causes problems when the Borrowers open the packet (I keep them in manila envelops) to check out the rate or whatnot. In the past there has been some mixing between the packets, so now I try not to present them at the beginning of the signing.
I recently had the misfortune of my antibacterial wipes tipping over in the car and soaking a signed set of documents! (the horror, the horror) in this case the signer was only available for a short window of time so I asked him to resign his copy up until the dry pages started, so all I had to do was review upon my return. I would say NEVER shred damp pages until you are sure you have dry replacements. Some slightly wet pages can dry out enough to be useable and you do not want to go back to have your signer sign a third time.
J