I am very curious why a title company / signing agency already have the signing date and time, but not able to provide closing documents at least 24 hours prior or can only provide closing documents 2 hours before signing?
Thanks for your input!
@shun Excellent question! 
Just wondering if by any chance were you able to locate the immediately available information found within the Notary Cafe database on this topic?
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I’ve performed a cursory Search on your behalf and the results show 16 separate threads (in addition to yours) about this particular topic. There is a plethora of data immediately available on the threads within Notary Cafe. 
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Right after you accept & confirm Appt. request docs ASAP and give them a deadline that suits you. Note that 24 hrs. prior to Appt. is nice, but most anything 12 or less is usually accommodated. Lately, it does seem that they are scheduling same day as signing a lot. Hit 'em back with a ‘doc deadline’ right away.
Who knows. Sometimes the signer and the loan officer are hammering things out. I had one today from the 18th it was canceled on the 18th because the signer was still in negotiations over cash to close. If my calendar is crowded I email a hiring service and request status of docs if not received the day before the appointment.
There’s a company that says docs might be received only 2 hours prior to signing but they’re usually posted sooner.
How a signing company or title company prepare documents I don’t consider much my deal anyway. I simply advise my deadline depending on what is scheduled for that day. That’s all I can control.
@shun There are myriad answers within this Listing of threads . . .
Please let us know which thread you found most helpful. Thanks!
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I usually ask the title company to provide the signers with a copy prior to the appointment to make sure all the numbers as well as the spelling of the signers names accurate and up to date. In the past, I’ve showed up to signings that eventually needed to be be canceled/rescheduled due to name misspelling and inaccurate figures.
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The deadline that we give them doesn’t mean much to them anyway. The docs will be ready when they’re ready. Sometimes, if you give them a deadline, it may help them to prioritize their schedule for preparing the docs, but if there are other issues delaying them (like missing info or negotiations still going on) it’s not going to help you.
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It tells them when I get I’ll request to be unassigned and I rarely have to do that. So for myself it’s fairly effective. No rule is hard and fast every time.
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It never ceases to amaze me that title companies and lenders can’t spell the borrowers’ names correctly, even when they’ve been given adequate documentation that shows the correct spelling.
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Here’s another thing I see from one title company/platform, they receive the counter offers on a low offer and don’t assign it until the next morning waiting to see if someone will take it for less. That’s happened twice this week.
Absolutely! Behind the scenes there can be various scheduling companies vying to win the signing. Some will secure the notary first and worry about the paperwork later. When I am called and asked if I will accept a last minute notice assignment, I ask them if the documents are ready. If they are not I let them know that I will contact the signer to see if they have any flexibility in their schedule. Sometimes the person is available all day, and sometimes they have only the smallest window of time free. It can be a problem to return an assignment once you have it. I thought as long as they have enough time to find a new notary (like 24 hours ahead) there shouldn’t be a problem. Apparently I was mistaken. Since we do not control the time the documents will be available, I ask the signers if they have alternate times they are available. Just this week I had to move a Friday signing to Saturday morning (with Escrow’s permission) because the documents came too late for my signers on Friday.
It hasn’t been overly busy lately but there have been enough offers where I have to refuse them to minimize the stress on my signers and myself. Ideally I like 3 hours between signings but usually they stack them up like dinner plates with nothing before or after. Any one who asks me with shining eyes if it is great to be a notary, I reply with ‘how do you handle stress?’
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Is it a good idea for me to request the docs at least 24 hour ahead of the signing if they have it stated in the instruction 2 hours prior the signing? thanks
I keep getting requests that is less than 2 hours before the signing. No way I am able to do it.
You create your own stress if you accept assignments that are too close together time-wise. That’s especially true if you don’t have the documents yet for the first job before you accept the second job. I’ve accepted two jobs with as little as an hour between them, but the first one was a small package, and it was a short travel distance to the 2nd job. We walk a fine tightrope. It behooves us to learn how to navigate the complexities that are thrown our way.
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Shun, I don’t like it either sometimes the Leander has not finish their part of the documents.
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It annoys the hell out of me when I have a Monday morning signing and I still don’t have documents to print over the weekend. Now, here it is Monday morning, I have a 10am appointment which is a 45 minute drive from me, and I’m still waiting for documents. It’s going to be a scramble. Totally unnecessary when I had all weekend to print them.
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Tell them to reassign the order. There is no reason for this type of stalling.
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I’m tempted to do just that…very tempted.
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When that happens to me, I send an email saying please note I require the documents by x o’clock today or will be unable to complete this assignment.
It usually works.
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