Usually title fills these out and then tells us to have the signer sign at the bottom.
Is it typical to be asked to fill out the top part also? I assume not since we (the notaries) are not
always made privy to that information such as type of transfer, amount of down payment, etc.
I had a situation where the representative at the table was wondering why I could not fill in that information. There is no way!!!
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I’ve seen that happen. In my state, Vermont, to fill out the form, some of the information needed if a private individual is selling to another private individual would be the seller’s social security number (SSN), the buyer’s SSN, and the SPAN number of the property, which can be found on the property tax bill. No way would I have access to all that information.
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yes, that makes sense and if it’s something we’re told to “ask the signer” they don’t necessarily know the answer either
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Filling out any part of a document, other than the notary certificate, could be interpreted as UPL. The signers can what they want, including filling in the blanks.
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Yes. Also, sometimes the title company has a form that tells the signer to choose if title will file it or if they want to do it themselves. Other times it’s just up to the signer to figure it out. A realtor was telling me the other day that since we (the notaries) don’t tell the signers to file it themselves, their taxes go up???.. I have no idea what he was talking about 
Personal I would not notarize a blank document. The signer has to take time & read , to file in the blank lines. Its usually very simple. Name, address, ssn , date ect
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Yes, they have to complete the form but they can also take the copy to thier accountant and then email the updated form to title. Whenever you sell property, you have to pay taxes on the money you receive unless it is exempt / reduced for some reason. But the govt want thier 
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Do any of you notaries review the documents prior to carrying them to the signers? If you do, you will see that’s an issue and ask the signer to have that info ready when you arrive. I understand that to make any money at this, you need to see three people a day, which would make it impossible to review your documents before you get there.
If the notary has escrow experience they might catch mistakes but otherwise
I wouldn’t have a clue
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