LOL!! Y’all are making this waaaaaaay too hard. In most cases the borrower needs to sign their name the way it is printed under the signature line. If the borrower refuses even after you’ve explained that the lender requires it (for example, if the signature line says John Doe Smith, but the borrower wants to sign John Smith) then call title or the lender and let THEM decide what they will and will not accept and let THEM be the “bad guys” and explain why the signer has to sign in a manner that they aren’t accustomed to. I usually put my cell phone on speaker so the customer can directly hear what the lender / title company representative is saying.
We are not employees of the lender or the title company so we cannot decide what they will and will not accept. And, more importantly, we do not get paid enough to argue with customers. Plus, if the lender / title says that it is ok for the borrower to sign a different way then you are off the hook (just make sure you get the name of the person you spoke with). Every lender and title company is different, and ASSUMING that a lender or title company will be ok with something other than what is printed underneath the signature line is setting yourself up for trouble and a free 2nd trip to correct.
You cannot tell a borrower to change his legal signature, even if it is not exactly as the print line shows. If the borrower always signs a certain way than that’s how he signs. Most of the time you can’t read the signature anyway. Most people scribble it. In most cases their signature will match the id they show you. This info was confirmed to me by an attorney. I have done loan signings since 2005 and never had a problem.
I disagree. What a random attorney says and what lenders or title companies (and the attorney for that lender or title company) require are totally different things. The attorney that you got the information from isn’t your client, the lender / title company is.
You are talking about the way the borrower is “accustomed” to signing their name. But it doesn’t matter whether a person signs their name first and last name, with middle initial, with full middle name etc even though the versions look different, even if it isn’t a version they aren’t accustomed to signing, if they are marks made with the signers own hand then those are all their “legal signature.” A person could make an “X” and that could still be considered their “legal signature.” I have completed signings for people who had to sign with their opposite hand because of accidents or other issues - the signature looks totally different from their normal signature, but it is still their legal signature.
What I usually tell signers is if they were accustomed to signing just first and last name, but they won the lottery and the check was made payable to them with their middle name and the lotto said that they had to sign with their middle name are they going to argue “well, that’s not my legal signature”??? Nope! They are going to sign with their middle name and get that $$$. LOL!
But hey, at the end of the day we all run our businesses separately the way we like! That’s one of the many awesome things about being self employed. I was a loan officer and loan processor from 1999-2007 and I have done loan signings since 2007 and I have never had a problem.
There’s no such thing as a legal signature, in the sense of always writing one’s signature with the same words and letters, and with the same appearance. If I want to sign an online agreement with my userid, KGA44G, that’s perfectly legal. Please cite a law, in a way that we can all find it, that says otherwise.
see SIGNATURE/NAME AFFIDAVIT AND AKA STATEMENT
The signature is the most common way to indicate that you have read and agreed to a contract, even if one’s signature is so unique and stylized as to be virtually illegible. Also, as contracts continue to move into paperless electronic formats, the criteria for what constitutes a “signature” has been substantially broadened.
Usually, a signature is simply someone’s name written in a stylized fashion. However, that is not really necessary. All that needs to be there is some mark that represents you. It can be – as many signatures end up – a series of squiggles, a picture, or historically, even the traditional “X” for people who couldn’t read and write. As long as it adequately records the intent of the parties involved in a contractual agreement, it’s considered a valid signature.
Illegibility is addressed by the state. For example, in my state (Washington), it says that an illegible signature does not invalidate a signature on its own. An illegible signature is fine as long as it matches their ID.
“The illegibility of any wording, writing, or marking required under this chapter does not in and of itself affect the validity a document or transaction.”
Source: RCW>Title 42>Chapter 42.44. Washington State Legislature. leg.wa.gov. Web.
This is something I have been confused about a little as well. I guess it depends on the companies preferences.
I had an issue with a signing a few weeks ago where I was having the borrower sign as his name was printed on the docs, and on the Deed of all things, he messed up and signed his regular signature. This was an office signing and immediately went with the EO who printed out another copy and asked to have him proceed with the appointment using is regular signature as it was on his DL.
Honestly, I ended up looking like I didn’t know what I was doing because the person who contacted me with this title company told me that they usually just go by what is on the license and that the EO asked if I was new. I didn’t even mention that most companies ask for signatures as they are on the docs and that that is how I learned to ask for signatures. I should have defended myself better and said that most companies expect them as they are printed but I didn’t.
Oh well, I am just taking that as a learning experience and hope I have the opportunity to prove myself to them in the future if they ever call me again.
I agree, have them sign the way their license shows, after all a signature is a signature and the spelling is usually never legible in the first place. As long as you witness it and and they are who they say they are then thats good enough for anyone even count. Will the customer signer ever dispute their own signature with 2 pieces of id and a notary. technically they could u an X for their signature if that is indeed their signature so be it then.