Hi there! So I’ve been doing signings for a little over 2 years. And I just got a strange email from a signing I did in January of 2021. Their saying the Quit Claim Deed wasn’t signed or notarized. I have that I notarized it in my notary journal. So I’m thinking they must have lost the document and now want me to go back for free 14 months later! Looking for advice. What would you all do?
My first thought is, WHY didn’t they record the deed?
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14 months later? Your journal says it was done? = New order w/appropriate fee.
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That sounds suspicious I agree with everyone above
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Agree - you’re correcting something they or the recorder did or did not do - new order, new fee. - and pray that everyone is still available/alive.
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Thanks everyone. Those were my thoughts exactly. It’s good to hear it sounds strange to others too. I sent them a message back that I can go back for a fee. And so far crickets…
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I’m assuming there was no scanbacks with the order? You could verify there via the electronic method you sent them back. If they weren’t sent back electronically then yeah, something is definitely “fishy” there.
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I delete all the files as per most SS instructions. Who keeps a file for 14 months?
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I do too, I’m talking about the receiver. If you emailed them, scanned them, faxed them, or uploaded them into a portal, SOMEONE is retaining them, at minimum, the lender.
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You didn’t indicate whether the QCD was a stand alone assignment or whether it was a document inside of a loan packet. I would assume the latter since it is unusual that a stand alone document would not have been processed/recorded in a timely manner in the transfer/acknowledgement of a property asset in the arrangement between parties. Periodically a loan will be randomly pulled for QC review and these missed items will show up, where they may have been missed in the original review. I have had such requests in the past few months (one for an assignment in 2021 and another for 2020). When the SS/TC requests a document correction they will usually send you a photocopy of the document. If they didn’t you need to request it. If the document is not signed by the parties nor you, then you are correct to ask for a new assignment fee. If the document was signed by the parties and only your notary signature and stamp are missing, then indeed you will need to send an acknowledgement with your signature and stamp to correct the document. This does not require you to revisit the parties at all, just a scan back of your corrected notarization to the SS/TC. Most of the time they don’t require an original, if they do they will send you a shipping label to return the document.
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Thanks so much for your thoughts! Yes it was apart of a loan package. There were 10 notarizations in total. And I initially had the same thought that perhaps a signature or a part of my notarization was missed. Which by the way in all of my signings I have only missed something twice. And those were in my first five signings. I really take being accurate seriously. So I asked them to send a copy of the document and it was blank. That’s what made me suspicious. How did a document not get any signatures or any notarizations and no one noticed until now? But it’s logged in my book. Doesn’t add up.
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Agreed. I delete files as told too. And I keep track of what I do and do not scan. With a bit of searching I found out they can still be stored in your computer or your email. Even though you have delated them. Especially if you have google. So I watched several how to restore deleted files on Youtube to see if I could find the file. But to no avail. It was gone.
I use Macafee that securely shreds my deleted files… at least that’s what they tell me😌
Well it looks like you found an answer to your question
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In that case ask for a copy showing that the signer’s part was executed and only the notary signature and stamp was omitted. And inform them that without such evidence you can only conclude that it was an error of omission on their part and that you will not be returning for a pick up signing without just compensation. Don’t ask questions, be directive in your request. If they don’t comply close the chapter and move on. You’ve already been paid for your original job. There is nothing else to discuss with them. Stop searching your records. The onus is on them.
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The reason I mentioned recording is because the state would NOT record it with no notary, so it would have been kicked back to title and every one would know the problem right away.
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Might be a scam , because it had to be recorded
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What state are you in? Here in Florida, recorded deeds are public records and can be searched. If it were me, I’d search public records to see if the recorded deed is available. If so, you can print it out.
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Something similar happened to me, but a Lawyer called me. His client was selling his house and Title Company his client was using couldn’t find the Deed. I was the Notary on record for when he purchased the house. I looked through my records and it should I notarized the Deed. I gave him the name of the Title Company they used when I did the closing and come to find out that Title Company never recorded the Deed of Trust.
I agree with all of the above and let me add this. I was in the title business for almost 40 years. The title company has to get the title policy to the lender in a timely manner. The lender needs this to be able to sell the loan to the investor. To issue the title policy the title company does a final title search to be sure all of the requirements on the title commitment were fulfilled. One of the requirements would have been the QCD. If the QCD wasn’t signed, Notarized and recorded the title company would not (or should not) have issued the final title policy. Thus a missing QCD should have been discovered not too long after the closing was completed. Of course it is possible the title policy wasn’t issued and that’s why the issue came up now.
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Just tell them you don’t keep copies of the documents because you send all the originals to the escrow company or you give them all to the customer if you’re hired by the customer signing. That’s absurd. Anyway the escrow company must have lost it because they would have let you know immediately if the qcd was missing.
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