Questions about documents

(First time to be here!)
I am new and so glade to join notary cafe. It’s so touched to see so many notaries share their experiece generously. I learned a lot from your sharing. I just replied one about voiding mistakes. Then I think: maybe I should ask my questions here.

I will sign one case on Monday morning. I am really nervous. I hope I can complete it perfectly.
When I review the documents and instructions, I have some questions. Can anyone give me the suggestions?

  1. Is 1033 same as “Loan Application” ? My instruction says it needs to be signed on first page and initialed on every page thereafter. But I did not see any line for initial. Where should I ask signers to initial?
  2. About the Notice of Right to Cancel, the instruction says," do not leave blank Notice of Right to Cancel in their copies." Does it mean the signers have to sign both copies and keep one with their copies?
  3. In "Wire Transfer Agreement ", the line for borrowers’ signatures show on left, shows “Trustee Consent”, and there are two lines for signature shows “Trust Property Requires” on the right part. I assume the left part is for the signers to sign because there are their names below the lines. But I don’t know should I do any thing with the right part (Trust Property Requires)?
  4. When I got this assignment, I found the address is incorrect. (Because the address and the zip code doesn’t match.) So I tried to find out another address which is spelled similar with the wrong one then confirmed with signer. And my guessing is right, the address is wrong. So I called them to verified, but I didn’t get any further instructions. When I reviewed the documents, I also found both of the address(incorrect one and the one signer confirmed) show in different documents. (I guess it’s typo!) If I don’t receive any respond from the client by Monday morning , what should I do when I go to signer’s house? Leave it alone or cross it and initial?

Thank you in advance!

No disrespect to anyone who may take the time to answer your questions… but I will say this.

It is important that when you receive instructions from a lender /signing company and the instructions are unclear they should always be the first person you reach out to for questions and directions to avoid errors.

The answers that you get here may be general in nature and based on the experience of the notary in a different state and different level of experience than you.

So I encourage you to please, please do yourself justice and direct your questions to the company that assigned you the package.

1 Like

@donaldsonnp Concur :100: percent with your shared insights.

Also, previously addressed this post (similarly to your response above) in another thread posted by the same member as follows:

:swan:

Thank you for your feedback. I did texted back to the person who text me on the same day(Thursday) when I found out the address issue, but she didn’t reply to me. so I waited until Friday. I decided to call another person(her manager), but she just asked me to send the email about address to her, then she did not call me back.

About the other questions, they are listed after I reviewed the documents on Saturday. I don’t know if I should email her to ask? I am not sure are they the basic questions or unique for this case.

About the training, I only signed up for NNA basic packages for signing agent. I passed the exam. Maybe it’s not enough.

1 Like

Based on the questions you are asking… yes I would say your training is not enough. ( no disrespect intended). You questions are basic enough but each lender has specific ways they want things done so that is why I encouraged you to compose your questions and email and call them.

When I first started and I had questions I would compile my email and start off with something along this line…

“ Thank you for trusting me with the signing for Xxxxxxx. As a notary professional I pride myself in providing excellence in service and in reviewing the package I have a few clarifying questions to ensure an error free signing experience. “

1 Like

Welcome to Notary Cafe. I will be honest here, I stopped reading the rest of your post after reading your first 2 questions. There is a very good chance that if you don’t know what the 1003 is, or where the borrower should sign/initial, you will most likely struggle on the other 50+ forms in a loan package. To my knowledge, there is no place for anyone to sign on the first page of the 1003. It only requires initials, and that’s ONLY if there are joint borrowers. Single borrower, then nothing gets done on the first page (and yes, there should be a line on there for initials). Signing every page of the application? Never seen or been asked to do it, so I’m assuming that is a lender specific request (why, I don’t know if such the case). Question 2: If it was a REFI, and the instructions DID in fact state not to leave blank copies of notice to cancel, it sounds really shady to me, especially if you had to have the borrowers sign them. I would have made a phone call right there, as these docs are not usually pre-signed like the CD. In your defense, I have came across a lot of lenders who do not know how or where the new 1003 should be signed (as it was revised in 12/2019). Click the link below to see what Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac require from the form. Lenders are like lawyers, they get paid to make simple things complicated!

1 Like

I trust that the signing went well today. It’s understandable to be nervous the first time around. If you can find a trusted course that is specific to your state, that may be a good idea. Sometimes the signing/title companies don’t respond in a timely manner and you are left to rely on your state handbook and basic understanding. It would be great on this forum if we could break up into focal groups by state so everyone is not giving incorrect advise.

1 Like

Thanks for your feedback. I’m glad you can understand my feelings. The signing today really went very well.

I’m also proud that I had the courage to post my question here, even though the question itself is not that necessary and professional. After some of you suggested that I can contact others, the settlement office responded to my text message and answered my questions since the signing company didn’t give me any response. She agreed that I could correct the wrong address and have it initialed by the signer. I really appriciate her patience, especially during the weekend.

Finally, what I learned from this experience is: the signing company’s instructions may not meet all the requirements of title company.

1 Like

Awesome I am happy that it went well for you

2 Likes

I will also add… singing companies can some times create confusion with their “general instructions” that don’t pertain to the type of closing you are doing. They can sometimes make what seems basic complicated by doing this.

2 Likes

If you stopped reading after the first 2 questions, then what’s your reason for posting now after she has completed the signing? She has her answers now.

Because just like I didn’t read the rest of her post, I didn’t read every one else’s responses, as reading them wouldn’t have influenced my response anyway, which was providing feedback based off my experience, not providing any “answers.” Have a great day!

1 Like

If you download the Notary Stars app or go to thier website you will find free training. Coast2Coast also has a YouTube channel that offers free training

1 Like

Initialing every page of the 1003 was a common practice at one time. I still have a loan officer from one of the local banks who insists on it, although there are no initials lines present. He is the only LO from that lender who requires it. So, asking about it is no problem and it is understandable.

1 Like

Thanks for supporting my comment through your post, it’s not the norm on an application. Now the mortgage/deed and note? Very common! And always had lines in the lower right hand corner. I myself will never sign or initial on a “blank” area on a piece of paper without asking some questions, and I don’t recommend anyone doing so. If you do tell the signer to initial/sign in that “blank white space” and they ask “why am I initialing/signing here?” What do you tell them? That they read it? If so, did they? If they don’t ask, that’s on them, but if there’s a discrepancy later on, then there’s that. My advice? If you are going to have someone (or yourself for that matter) sign in the “white blank space,” I highly recommend you give them the opportunity to at least review the document, especially if you told them they are signing/initialing that they “read” the document. If it’s required, then that’s what FORMS are for, to stipulate the requirements needed on that form. Anything “extra” is just that. If a lender wants to “modify” a form they did not create (the 1003 is a Fannie Mae form) that’s on them as well, but they didn’t have the borrower initial every page, they instructed YOU to do it. So be prepared when you do get that “savvy” borrower at the table who pops the question. Just something to think about and sharing my experiences. On a side note, no where in my previous posts (or this post) did I discourage or bash @chynotary from asking the question.