I am in Michigan. Doing a signing on Friday for a property located in SC, purchase. We do not require witnesses in MI, so aside from being a newbie (only 2 signings so far), this is TOTALLY new for me. I did some research but just want verification of what I found. Please help me if I am missing something.
The signer is to provide two witnesses. I myself can be a witness if they only bring one. Witness signatures do not get notarized (which I can’t notarize myself anyhow). I do not even have to ask for ID of the witness to verify their identity. Is this all correct? Is there anything else I need to know about witnesses in South Carolina?
Thanks in advance,
Sonya
Also, this may be a stupid question, but do the witnesses need to be there for the entire signing?
I did a signing for a property located in FL which requires two witness signatures. The borrower provided one witness and I signed as the witness and the notary on the document. The witness does not need to be there for the entire process however they must be present for thier portion of the transaction and provide you with their ID. This lender required a copy of the witness ID also to be included in the loan package.
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If you have any questions that are specific to the assignments… I would encourage you to reach out to the company that provided you with the signing. I understand that you may feel a little hesitant about doing so as you may not want to seem like you don’t know what you are doing. I always lead the conversation like this… " I’m following up on the assignment for XXX and wanted to confirm with you a few things to ensure that no errors occur…" I have never gotten any pushback when doing this. It has been my experience they prefer you to contact them and clarify things that you are unsure about.
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I kept the witness there throughout the signing. But they didn’t have to stay at the table. I only checked the witness ID to ensure they were who they said they were but I did not take a picture of their drivers license.
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Thank you for the advice, I appreciate it. You are correct about my hesitancy.
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I am also new, only been doing signings for a few months. I always contact the SS or Title for questions. I always state I am a newer agent and want to be sure I do the assignments exactly as the company wants. Do not feel shy about being honest… they are usually pretty great. One thing I did learn - make sure you get whatever instructions they give you in writing - email preferably. That way if there is any dispute, you have their own instructions to show you did exactly as asked. I haven’t had any disputes but I do this just incase. It gets better, I promise! - and I hate doing witness signings - I’m from a state that doesn’t require it. It’s a pain. 
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