I have a real estate transaction today. The signer told me when I called to confirm that he felt pressured to sell his house and was told that the buyer who is also a company who ““ buys and flips houses“ well, and has threatened legal action against the seller if he does not follow through with the transaction I am really a bit concerned about this appointment, I do not have access to the documents prior to arrival I wasn’t even told that it was a real estate transaction until the last minute and ethically. I worry that the signer is signing under duress. I need advice! HELP!
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Seller doesn’t want to sell/sign? You have no docs to print…give it back…end of your problem.
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The company that booked my services claims that the documents will be at the appointment on arrival and that I need to photograph signed documents and send the via email, back to them. Not standard practice obviously but considering the nature of the conversation I had with the signer when I confirmed the appointment, just adds one more flag to the list of red flags.
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Although you accepted the assignment you are under no obligation to go. Just call the agency that contacted you and tell them of your conversation with the client and you have had a change of opinion about performing the notarizations for this signing. Let them know you are opting out.
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Agree with Arichter and Tisino - give it back and don’t look back. If you’ve already made arrangements with the signer to be there, I would just suggest a courtesy call to them to let them know you are cancelling that appointment and have referred their file back to the hiring party.
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Walk away!! That is a keg of worms that you could get caught up in if they are forcing this person to sell there house
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Since the seller shared with you that he felt under pressure to sell, he should consult an attorney. You should not get involved with the dispute.
You can also refuse to work with the company that hired you by letting them know you are no longer available for the appointment.
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@boydsigninginc UPDATE Please? Curious about the decision you made & action you took in this instance . . .
Your update will be helpful to other members who may be confronted with a similar scenario.
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Good morning,
Thank you to everyone who provided feedback! I elected to remove myself from the assignment due to the uncertainty on the part of the signer and lack of information from the contracting company.
Thanks again!
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I definitely would NOT take this assignment. You are under NO obligation to keep the assignment however you DO have a legal and moral obligation NOT to notarize if you think the signer is under duress. Also, everything about how they are delivering the docs is non-standard. I would tell the seller you cannot notarize if he is under duress and tell the person giving you the signing you cannot complete the order. Period.
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Decline to complete the appointment. Tell whoever hired you why.
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I agree with everyone, too many questionable pieces, our job is to be sure the signer know what they are signing, is voluntarily signing of their own free will and they have been properly identified. You did the right thing.
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Well number one this would have been a very emotional signing with the seller. And would probably took anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour. Yeah because if you ever went to court they’re going to ask you did the customer ever say that they were pressured into doing this transaction, and you’re going to say yes. And then they’re going to ask you why did you take it anyways? And some sellers also do this to shift blame to the notary as being the person that should be the in between that’s not how this works. Yeah your choice of taking a pass on the signing was perfect.
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Great choice, and ethical as well. The small fee you loose from sending it back is nothing, compared to the sleepless nights of not knowing if you assisted in perpetrating a fraud.
There are plenty of scammers out there targeting the old generation of people. Accordingly after disavowing yourself from the deal. Would it be wrong in advising him to seek professional counsel? I don’t think so.
If you were at the table, during the process and a question came up. You are obligated to advise them to seek counsel, that you can not advise him, are not an attorney. So is telling him after the fact when you have no duty to a client or him, a breech of the law or ethics?
As a son of an elderly father I would hope someone would be kind enough to step up and tell my father to seek counsel before signing.
He told you he wasn’t comfortable. Then described actions of the buyer applying pressure. The facts being true or not are irrelevant. Relevant is the sellers state of mind and belief they are true. UNEQUIVOCALLY the signing would be under duress. This transaction should not be performed!
You did the right thing walking away.
To the rest of the group is this reportable as elder abuse in your state. Are there requirements of a Public Notary to report such suspicions in your state.
Our website, Seaside Notary Solutions disclaimer page, clearly states we WILL report any attempt of fraud or criminal acts to the appropriate authorities. Do you carry similar language on your pages or make it part of your terms of service agreement?
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You did the right thing to withdraw yourelf from that assignment. What a great learning opportunity for new LSAs. One of the conditions of performing a notarial act, we must verify that the signer is signing the document on their own free will. The signer is not being coherence, pressured, or under duress by anyone to sign a document that is to be notarized. If we as the Public Official (LSA or Notary Public) fail to do so, we can expose ourselves to potential litigation.
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