Hello, Has anyone come across issues with signing agencies who don’t response to questions or response days later? Lately I’ve asked questions about missing documents, accepting closing payments (instructions did not mention payments), and recently explaining that a living man who was never married and is alive and doesn’t have a spouse so his spouse can’t sign the form. The agents who I speak with response as if they don’t understand the question or situation. Also the packet of instructions several sets of general instructions that have been added to since the 2019. So the instruction don’t always match the packet. Is this normal?
Either my coffee hasn’t kicked in or this needs further details 
Yep it happens, I just choose to believe everyone is doing the best they can.
Yep
The set of documents that I was given had options for a single man alive or dead, married or unmarried. My signer is alive and unmarried. I explained to the agency that he can’t sign a form claiming that he is dead nor does he have a spouse to include in the spouse section of the form. I scanned the documents back and It took the agency over a week to response to me. So I shipped the documents. Now the agency wants him to sign the spouse form. I may have him write a note saying that he was never married.
I’ve not see a form like that before, what form was that?
It’s an indemnification agreement for spouse claimant.
There are a few signing services that don’t respond. And if I don’t get an answer I call the Title contact on the ALTA statement if there are questions I need an answer to. If the SS gets mad because I contacted Title - guess they should have answered when I asked them. I don’t wait for answers. I get the answers. You have to remember some services are just notaries who branched out. They may not have the answer themselves.
It’s entirely normal to see instructions that have points that don’t apply to the package. We’re supposed to know the difference.
Some title companies want “trustee” to appear on a signature. Some do not. I can’t keep track always of who does and who doesn’t so I confirm it every time.
More instructions are added all the time and based on what is included there are a lot of signing agents operating without a clue. And NOT asking. Just my observation.
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I’ve had that one time. I wrote N/A on it. Never heard back about it.
I think this was/is a case of the agency being adamant that you follow the instructions but not understanding their 17pgs of instructions. I’m having signer sign that he is alive and doesn’t have a spouse.
I’ll take it into consideration that some of the agents are also notaries. I’m in Louisiana and our laws are different, Civil law vs Common law. I have had to explain the difference to agents before.
There are probably services in other states hiring you for transactions in your state - and they aren’t up on the rules in your state and can’t answer you.
Agree, there are also a lot of signing services (my experience only) that have blanket instructions that they have developed over time. Just have to weed thru and figure out what applies. Ask questions if you are not sure what applies and what doesn’t apply. Some are ridiculously long. Some go on to advertise how to get more signings with them and some go on to tell you how they will punish you if certain instructions are not completed per the instructions. Don’t want to mention any names but they know who they are.
I have found that sending them an email generally gets a reply much faster than calling one of the automated telephone answering systems. If you have the time and are not at the signing table.
If you are at the signing table, then I follow the recommendation you mentioned earlier. “There are a few signing services that don’t respond. And if I don’t get an answer I call the Title contact on the ALTA statement if there are questions I need an answer to. If the SS gets mad because I contacted Title - guess they should have answered when I asked them. I don’t wait for answers”