Resource Manual

Prepared by:

Notary2Pro

Copyright 2013-2016

2

Thank you for purchasing this Resource Manual. We are very proud to offer this to you.

This Resource Manual was created for the purpose of giving you basic tips and information as a Loan Signing Agent.

We have enclosed a CD with your manual so that you can print out the information that pertains to a particular signing or just as a needed re- source.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact us at the following:

E-mail: carol@notary2pro.com

or call Carol or Barbara @

916-777-5931

3

4

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ITEM

PAGE NUMBER(S)

A GLOSSARY OF TERMS

4 - 10

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT-SEPARATE 11

ANSWER YOUR CELL PHONE! 12

BACKGROUND CHECKS 13

BONDS vs E&O INSURANCE 14

CONFIRMATION - LABELS 15

CREDIBLE PERSON CERTIFICATE 16

CHEAT SHEET 20

DETERMINING COMPETENCY 21

EMAIL 22

E-SIGNING vs E-DOCS 23

GLBA 24 - 25

HABITS OF A SUCCESSFUL SIGNING AGENT 26

IDENTIFICATION-ACCEPTABLE FORMS 27

JURAT FORM 28

MARKETING YOURSELF 29

NON - BORROWING SPOUSE 30

NOTARY JOURNAL ENTRIES 31

NOTARY ROTARY-SIGNING CENTRAL 32

NOTARY SEARCH –MOBILE APPLICATION 33

OATH AND AFFIRMATION SAMPLES 34

OATH TO CARRY IN YOUR JOURNAL 35

PAGE SEPARATOR 36

POWER OF ATTORNEY 37

RESCISSION 38

STAMP– SAMPLE OF NOTARY STAMP 39

5

TABLE OF CONTENTS CONTINUED

ITEM PAGE NUMBERS

SHIPPING 40 –41

STEP BY STEP TO A SIGNING 42 –44

SUBSCRIBING WITNESS 45

SUBSCRIBING WITNESS JURAT 46

SUBSCRIBING WITNESS PROOF OF EXECUTION 47

TENANCY 48

THERE IS A CHECK ATTACHED! 49

YOUR MARKETING TIPS 50

WARNINGS AND WHAT IF’S 51- 53

CONTACT INFORMATION FORMS 54 - 60

6

A GLOSSARY OF TERMS 1003: Uniform Residential Loan Application.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Formal declaration before a public official that one has signed a document prior to recording real estate documents, such as grant deeds and deeds of trust, a Notary Public acknowledges the persons signature on the document. Most documents that require notarization contain the acknowledgement on the document. Sometimes the notary will have to attach a separate acknowledgment to a document.

AKA: Also known as. A person who is also known by other names such as with or without a Jr., or a woman who is married but has used her maiden name.

ALLONGE: An Allonge is a document used to transfer the interest in a Note from one lender to another. Often used when a loan is being sold at the close of escrow. This document is signed by the lender transfer- ring the interest in the Note and this signature is notarized by another notary.

APR: Annual Percentage Rate: describes the interest rate for a whole year (annualized), rather than just a monthly fee/rate, as applied on a loan, mortgage loan, credit card, etc. It is a finance charge expressed as an annual rate. The nominal APR is the simple-interest rate (for a year). The effective APR is the fee+compound interest rate (calculated across a year). The nominal APR is calculated as: the rate, for a payment period, multiplied by the number of payment periods in a year. Effective APR can include loan origination fees, monthly service charges, or late fees. The effective APR has been called the "mathematically-true" interest rate for each year.

ARM: Adjustable Rate Mortgage: A mortgage where the interest rate is not fixed for the life of the loan. These mortgages adjust periodically based on an index that changes with the market conditions. The rate of interest is the sum of the index plus a margin (the margin remains fixed for the life of the loan). Most ARM's have peri- odic interest rate and payment caps, as well as life caps. These mortgages adjust periodically based on an index that changes with the market conditions. The rate of interest is the sum of the index plus a margin (the margin remains fixed for the life of the loan). Most ARM's have periodic interest rate and payment caps, as well as life caps.

ATTORNEY STATES: There are states that require that closings be conducted by an attorney as opposed to a Notary. These states are: GA, MA, NY, NC, ND, SC, SD, TX, VA AND WVA.

BALLOON PAYMENT: A loan which does not fully amortize over the term of the loan, thus at maturity of the loan a large amount of money would be due to payoff the loan. The payments are often very large therefore called Balloon payments.

BORROWER: The Person or persons borrowing money. BUYER: Person or persons purchasing property and probably borrowing money.

7

CLOUD ON TITLE: The term cloud on title refers to a deed (title to real property) which has been recorded but includes an unusual characteristic that would give a reasonable person pause before accepting title. Often, the presence of a cloud on title provides the grantee the option to back out of a contract. Examples of cloud on title can include a property's address being misspelled in a deed conveying title, a mortgage lien whose repayment hasn't been officially recorded, a deed which has been signed but hasn't been properly rec- orded, an easement that has not been properly recorded, unpaid property taxes, a failure to transfer property rights (such as mineral rights) to a former owner of the property or selling the real estate interests before a previous court case has defined current ownership. A cloud on title is generally considered synonymous with a title defect.

COMMITMENT LETTER: The commitment letter provides the borrower with a summary of all terms of the loan being promised to him by the lender, included are the guaranteed interest rate, monthly payment, repay- ment term and interest rate.

COMMUNITY PROPERTY: Property acquired by husband and wife, or either, during the marriage when not acquired as separate property for either.

COMPLIANCE AGREEMENT: The compliance agreement states that the borrowers must be willing to resign certain loan documents if the mortgage company deems that there was incomplete or incorrect information on a previous document. Furthermore, the borrowers agree to resend said documents to the mortgage company after they are executed.

CONFIRMATION: The email sent to the Notary which provides all of the information about their assignment. This would include the name, address and contact information for the borrower. This form will also contain instructions which the notary must read and follow.

CORPORATE ASSIGNMENT OF DEED OF TRUST: The document used to transfer the interest in a Deed of Trust from one lender to another. Used when a loan is sold from one lender to another.

DEED: Formal written document transferring title to real estate; a new deed is used for each transfer. The deed should contain an accurate description of the property, should be signed and witnessed according to the laws of the State where the property is located, and should be delivered to the purchaser on the day of clos- ing.

DEEDS OF TRUST: A three-party instrument between a borrower, called the trustor, a lender, called the ben- eficiary, and a neutral third party called a trustee. The deed of trust is the instrument that is recorded to give added assurance that the promissory note will be paid when due. Places a public lien on the property. For the lender to foreclose on a deed of trust they are not required to use the court system or the sheriff's office. Also, see Mortgage.

DOCS: Slang for loan documents

8

EASEMENT: An Easement is a certain right to use the real property of another without legal possession. Easements are helpful for providing pathways across two or more pieces of property or allowing an individual to fish in a privately owned pond. Easements are also created to allow utility companies to place permanent equipment on someone’s property, such as telephone poles.

ENCROACHMENT: Encroachment is a term which implies "advance beyond proper limits". An example might be someone placing a fence across their neighbors property line.

ESCROW OFFICER: The Escrow Officer is responsible for acting s a third unbiased party between Buyers, Sellers, and Lenders. They are responsible for the exchange of property and money between the parties once all requirements have been met, per instructions from the parties involved in the transaction.

ESCROW/IMPOUND ACCOUNT: An account maintained by the lender for payment of property taxes, hazard insurance, mortgage insurance or other related expenses when applicable. The borrower pays these premi- ums to the lender in monthly payments along with the principal and interest. Lender disburses these funds when the bills are due and payable.

FIXED RATE MORTGAGE: A mortgage where the interest rate is fixed for the life of the loan. FHA: Federal Housing Administration is a United States government agency created as part of the National Housing Act of 1934. It insured loans made by banks and other private lenders for home building and home buying. The goals of this organization are to improve housing standards and conditions, provide an adequate home financing system through insurance of mortgage loans, and to stabilize the mortgage market.

FKA: Formerly Known As. An example might be a woman who used a maiden name as her legal name and is now married and using her married name as her legal name.

FLOOD CERTIFICATION: A certificate which has the determination as to whether or not a property is in a flood zone or not. If so the lender will require the borrower to purchase flood insurance.

FORM W9: A federal form which requests the taxpayer identification number (referred to as the TIN and most commonly the borrower's social security number) to report income paid, real estate transactions, mortgage interest paid, acquisition or abandonment of secured property, or cancellation of debts.

FORM 4506T: A federal form that enables receipt of a tax return transcript, verification that the person did file a Federal tax return, Form W-2 information, or a copy of a tax form.

GFE: Good Faith Estimate. HAZARD INSURANCE: Homeowners Insurance (see below)

HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE: Insurance which protects the homeowner against fire, theft and other haz- ards. Also covers liability protection. In the event the home is lost in a covered disaster, the loan against the property would be paid off first and any amount of money left over would be given to the property owner.

9

HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE: Insurance which protects the homeowner against fire, theft and other haz- ards. Also covers liability protection. In the event the home is lost in a covered disaster, the loan against the property would be paid off first and any amount of money left over would be given to the property owner.

HUD: Housing and Urban Development.

HUD 1 SETTLEMENT STATEMENT: The HUD-1 Settlement Statement is a standard form in use in the Unit- ed States of America which is used to itemize services and fees charged to the borrower by the lender or bro- ker. The borrower has the right to inspect the HUD-1 one day prior or day of settlement. The form is filled out by the settlement agent who will conduct the settlement. Borrowers may compare their Good Faith Estimate to the HUD-1 Settlement Statement and ask their lender or broker about any changes.

INTEREST RATE: The percentage of an amount of money that is paid for its use for a specific period of time. JOINT TENANCY: An undivided interest in property taken by two or more joint tenants. Upon death of a joint tenant, the interest passes to the surviving joint tenants rather than to the heirs of the deceased.

LENDER: Refers to the bank or company actually loaning money to the borrower. LOAN OFFICER: The person working directly with the borrower for the purpose of obtaining a loan.

LO: Slang for loan officer.

LOAN APPLICATION: The Uniform Residential Loan Application (also known as the 1003 or ten o three), is basically a summary of all the information the mortgage company used to determine the loan terms they should offer the borrowers. It includes background information about each borrower, employment history, as- sets and liabilities found on credit reports, and a summary of the terms of the loan. Each borrower must initial and/or sign each page of the loan application.

LOAN PROCESSOR: The person in charge of handling the paperwork during the process of the loan, some- times including the final loan documents.

MIP: Mortgage Insurance Premium

MORTGAGE: A security instrument. This is basically the same document as the deed of trust. The mortgage represents the borrower's pledging their homes, security or collateral in exchange for the loan they are receiv- ing from the mortgage company. This document reviews the basic information about the loan; loan amount, date of loan, borrowers names, and due date for complete repayment. There might also be riders attached to the mortgage if there are unordinary provisions (i.e. Condominium, PUD, Variable rate mortgage). Most mort- gages are derived from a pre-printed template and therefore include the same basic provisions, the highlights being:

(a) Borrowers must preserve the condition of the property.

(b) Borrowers must always maintain insurance on the property and pay their taxes.

1

MORTGAGE cont’d

(c) Borrowers must intend to utilize the property for whatever purpose indicated to the lender.

(d) Borrower must pay back the loan if and when the property is sold. The difference between the mortgage and the deed of trust is that during foreclosure, the lender must access the court system and the sheriff's of- fice.

NON RECURRING CLOSING COSTS: One time costs charged in connection with the loan. NOTE: A signed instrument acknowledging a debt and a promise to repay per the terms outlined. The note represents the borrowers promise/guarantee to pay back the entire loan, which is secured by a mortgage on their property. The important terms contained in the note, which must be reviewed with the borrower, are in- terest rate, term of loan, monthly mortgage payment, type of loan (fixed rate, arm, etc.), date of the loan and personal guarantors (those responsible for the loans repayment). The note must be signed by all guarantors

NOTICE OF RIGHT TO CANCEL: The borrower has a legal right under federal law to cancel the transaction within three business days from the day they sign the documents, the day they receive the Truth in Lending disclosure or the day they receive the copy of the notice of right to cancel, which ever happens last. In almost all cases this is the day they sign their documents. The date of the transaction is the day they sign their docu- ments. The date the rescission expires - Midnight, three business days from the day they sign, including Sat- urdays - not including Sundays or holidays. The day they sign is not to be included.

OCCUPANCY AND FINANCIAL STATUS AFFIDAVIT: By signing this document, the borrowers are pledg- ing that they do still occupy and intend to occupy the subject premises as a primary residence. Furthermore, there has been no significant decline in the borrowers income level which would hinder their ability to repay the loan.

UNIFORM RESIDENTIAL APPLICATION: Also known as the 1003 PMI: Private Mortgage Insurance.

PREPAYMENT PENALTY: A charge for the payment of a mortgage or deed of trust note if it is paid prior to the actual due date.

POC: Paid outside of the close of escrow (such as the appraisal). These three initials appear quite often on the estimated closing statement.

RATE LOCK: When the lender locks in the borrowers interest rate in for a determined period of time such as a "60 day lock". This means there will be no change in the proposed interest rate for 60 days.

RECURRING CLOSING COSTS: Costs that will recur after the loan has closed such as MIP premium.

RESPA: Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. A federal law that requires lenders to provide borrowers with information on settlement/closing costs.

10

RECONVEYANCE: This is the form that the Trustee on a Deed of Trust issues when the Beneficiary has been paid off. It is recorded in the County Recorders office and removes the lien from the property.

RESCIND: The act of backing out of a loan. The Notice of Right to Cancel is the borrowers right to rescind or back out of the loan if they change their mind with the 3 business days following the signing of the docu- ments.

REFI: Slang for Refinance. REFINANCE: The process of paying of an existing loan on a property and obtaining a new loan. Sometimes called a forward mortgage.

REVERSE MORTGAGE: A mortgage available to seniors 62 years of age or older who have enough equity in their property to borrower money which they will never have to repay. The note will be paid off only if the property is sold or if the owner passes away. The heirs will then have one year to refinance the loan or sell the property and payoff the reverse mortgage.

RM: Reverse Mortgage. RTC: Slang for the Notice of Right to Cancel

SECURITY INSTRUMENT: Deed of Trust or Mortgage.

SETTLEMENT AGENT: Usually the Escrow Officer.

SIGNATURE NAME AFFIDAVIT: Each borrower must sign a name affidavit that includes all legal names by which that borrower is know, promising that he/she is all of those people and he/she does not go by any other name of any legal documents.

SIGNING AGENT: A notary who has been educated in the process of assisting borrowers with the signing of their loan documents and the notarization of those documents.

SIGNING COMPANY OR SERVICE: A company who is engaged by lenders, title companies and escrow companies to hire notaries for the purpose of assisting borrowers and notarizing their loan documents.

SOLE AND SEPARATE PROPERTY: Property owned before marriage or that acquired afterward by gift, be- quest, devise or descent. Property which a spouse has no legal right to ownership.

SUBORDINATION AGREEMENT: An agreement under which a prior deed of trust is made inferior to an oth- erwise junior lien.

TBD: To be determined (refers to the appointment time which appears on the confirmation form).

11

TD: Slang for Deed of Trust - Document that places a lien against the property. TENANCY IN COMMON: Ownership of property by any two or more persons in undivided interests (not nec- essarily equal), without the right of survivorship.

TITLE COMPANY: Title companies are the agencies responsible for performing a legal search on the proper- ty to uncover any and all information which may have a financial or physical impact on the property such as trust deeds, liens and easements etc. For example: If there is an encroachment on the property the lender may not want to complete the transaction. On refinances the title company issues a policy of title insurance to the lender at close of escrow insuring their rightful place with regard to their lien on the property. On purchas- es the title company issues a policy of title insurance to the Buyer to insure that they are purchasing the prop- erty free and clear of unwanted liens. The title company is also responsible for making the disbursements of

TIL: Slang for Truth In Lending Disclosure TIN: Taxpayer Identification Number.

TITLE INSURANCE: Assurances as to the condition of title. It protects the owner or other insured,

TRUSTEE ON THE DEED OF TRUST: This is a designated company, usually a title company who prepares and records the Deed of Reconveyance when the loan has been paid off.

TRUTH IN LENDING DISCLOSURE: A federal law disclosure designed to show a borrower the total cost of a loan. The lender is required to disclose certain financial terms to borrowers as part of the closing process. Among the items disclosed on the Truth-in-Lending Disclosure are the APR (Annual Percentage Rate). Esti- mated Finance Charge, Estimated Amount Financed, and Estimated Total Payments of the life of the loan. Also show on this document are any Prepayment Penalty terms, Late Payment provisions and other financial items.

VA: Veterans Administration VESTING: The manner in which the owners of the property have taken title such as joint tenants, community property, a single person or tenants in common.

WITNESS STATE: When witness signatures are also required on documents as mandated by certain states.

End of Glossary

12

NOTARIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

STATE OF

COUNTY OF

On

personally appeared

_

before me,

Notary Public,

_

who proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s)

whose name(s) is/are subscribed to the within instrument and acknowledged to

me that he/she/they executed the same in his/her/their authorized capacity,

and that by his/her/their signature, on the instrument, the person or entity

upon behalf of which the person acted, executed the instrument.

I certify UNDER THE PENALTY OF PERJURY under the laws of the State of

_ that the foregoing paragraph is true and correct.

WITNESS my hand and official seal.

Signature

DESCRIPTION OF DOCUMENT IN THIS NOTARIAL CERTIFICATE IS BEING ATTACHED TO:

Type/Title

Date of Document

Number of Pages

Addtil Signers (other than those named in the Notarial certificate

13

ANSWER YOUR CELL Whether you are at your desk, out on a marketing call or at the signing ta- ble you should always answer your phone. When you are at a signing let the Borrower(s) know that you will be brief but this could be an assignment and that is your bread and butter.

Your cell should be answered at all times. If you allow your cell phone to go to voice mail you could miss an assignment and by the time you call the company back they will have found another Notary. They very rarely leave a voicemail for you.

14

Background Checks

Over the years I have had many of my students ask me about Background Checks. They want to know why some companies will not hire them without having a current back- ground check available to send to them. I will simplify this here and only speak of the most important reason for this requirement.

It is illegal for any person to obtain their Notary Commission if they have been convicted of a felony. We assume that when a person applies for their commission they have been thoroughly investigated to make sure they are legally able to become a notary in the state where they reside. However, there are many states that rely solely on the Affidavit from the applicant wherein they swear that they are not a convicted felon.

In part this is the reason that many title companies and signing services require regular background checks for anyone they hire to act as a Notary Signing Agent for their busi- ness.

The most frequent question I get is “where do I go to get my background check”. I have looked into a number of those found on-line and unfortunately they are very expensive. There is a notary association that offers this service but again, it is expensive because you cannot just get the background check without having to join the association etc.

I have tried to connect with a couple of companies that provide this service only to find out that they were unwilling to give us a break on the cost of the investigation, or would only be able to work with me if anyone trying to get the background check through them was an “employee” of Notary2Pro.

Then I got lucky. Someone who works for an International company that specialized in this type of service called me. A friend and previous co-worker of his went to work for a signing service who uses our graduates. Long story short, we now have the ability to act as a portal for anyone needing to get their background check done can do so through our website at Notary2Pro.com

We now have that service up and running and the cost is terrific! For the Basic report cov- ering the national criminal/sex offender background check, social security verification and county criminal check covering 7 years and 1 county the cost is $39.50. To add the Motor Vehicle check and the terrorist check the cost is $49.50.

This service is not limited to our graduates so anyone wishing to go through us is more than welcome. If you click on the Register button on the menu bar you will see the link to the Background Checks.

For our Graduates, however, we along with them will receive a PDF copy of their back- ground check and will keep it there for them indefinitely. If and when they need for us to send both a copy of their Certificate from us and the Background Check we will be able to do that for them.

This is something I have wanted to offer for a very long time and am just thrilled that I can do that at such a reasonable cost from a FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) approved ven- dor.

15

BONDS versus ERRORS AND OMISSIONS INSURANCE The Bond:

Basically when you are required to purchase a bond upon obtaining your Notary Commission, this bond is intended to cover a loss to a signer due to non intentional error or intentional error. The bond does not protect the notary or release them from liability. The insurance company who issued the bond will cover damages up to the amount of the bond. The notary is then responsible to reim- burse the bonding/surety company for monies paid in a claim against the bond.

Error and Omissions Insurance (E&O insurance): In the event a notary makes an unintentional error while executing their acknowledgment or jurat, there may be a claim against the notary for damages. The E&O insurance will pay those claims up to the policy limit. For instance, a notary leaves off, or puts in, an incorrect County or State on an acknowledgment. This could cause a serious problem later on and the parties can pursue the notary for damages. If the notary carries, for instance $25,000.00 in E&O insurance, and the damages are $2,000.00, the E&O insurance pays the $2,000. The insurance still has a value of $23,000.00 to pay on other claims. Subsequent claims are equally up to the policy limit of coverage. E&O insurance is relatively inexpensive and well worth the cost. One company I spoke with had 7 notaries’ make er- rors last year which brought the notaries into court. For most of these errors the penalties were un- der $1,000.00 and the E&O insurance took care of the cost and the notaries still had substantial coverage. You must be aware however, that this type of E&O Insurance only covers errors on notar- ial acknowledgements and jurats, not errors that pertain to the documents themselves.

To summarize, a bond protects the PUBLIC, E&O protects the NOTARY

Signing Agent Errors and Omissions Policies: In addition to notary errors and omissions insurance, there is also signing agent errors and omissions insurance. This insurance covers errors made with- in documents that do not require notarization. These documents are not covered by the usual notary errors and omissions insurance which cover notarial errors only. If the documents which are not no- tarized contain errors which cause the loan not to fund, the notary can be subject to a lawsuit. Sign- ing Agent insurance is not available in all states so you will need to do your own research. You can start by doing an online search for “signing agents errors and omissions insurance”. E&O is an in- surance product; therefore the information contained herein is merely for informational purposes and is not an attempt to sell, market, nor offer insurance products.

16

Label for Confirmations

This is a sample label you can stick onto the Confirmation form. I place it on the upper right hand corner. It will allow you to note: ♦ Signing Company ♦ Date & Time of the Signing ♦ Amount of your fee ♦ E-docs, paper copies, etc. This label makes it very easy to file confirmations by date, and lets you know the details of the signing quickly. I use a standard 2” x 4” label for this.

17

CREDIBLE PERSON CERTIFICATE ***********************************************************************************************************

State of

County of

On this the day of , , before me,

, the undersigned Notary Public,

personally appeared ,

Name(s) of Signer(s)

Whose identity was proved to me on the oath of:

(name of credible person)

a credible person by me duly sworn, and acknowledged that the signer signed the

above/attached document.

The credible witness is

□ personally known to me - OR

proved to me on the basis of satisfactory

evidence.

WITNESS my hand and official seal.

Notary Public

Description of Attached Document Title or Type of Document:

Document Date: Number of Pages

Signer(s) Other Than Named Above:

18

19

Two Credible Witnesses ( Not known tonotary public BUT possess illg l.D.with P.l P.S).

The law states in order to identify a document signer that does not posses any type of acceptable identification. Two Credible Witnesses must come with the document signer, to identify the signer, if the Credible Witnesses are not personally known to the Notary Public. The Credible Witnesses must possess l.D. cards with P.l.P.S. that are valid or issued within the last 5 years. In this case the Notary Public must administer an oath or affirmation to the Credible Witnesses,. The Credible Identifying Witness must swear or affirm that the singer has the identity claimed.

The Notary then records in his journal that the signer was identified by 2 Credible Witnesses and records the names,type of documents, serial numbers, and dates of expiration or issue of the 1.0. cards. The Credible Witness' names, address and phone numbers, should be recorded in the journal under "additional information.n

+

Notary Public Document Signer Doesn't know a Notary

Has no friends that know a Notary

Has 2 Friends with proper ID (containing PIPS)

Two Friends Each personally knows Signer

Neither personally knows Notary Both have proper ID with P.l.P.S

20

3/12/13 Martin J. Smith

mjs

Lillian A. Smith

las Mary G. Garcia-Smith

mgg Note: When name is hyphenated the required initials

do NOT include the last name behind the hyphen.

21

DETERMINING COMPETENCY Title insurance policies provide coverage against claims for duress, incompetency or incapacity. As a result, settlement agents carry a heavy obligation to serve as the eyes and ears of the title compa- ny. If a principal shows signs of incompetency, the title company depends on the settlement agent to stop the transaction.

Competent is simply defined as legally capable. There are many reasons a person could be considered incompetent. They could be suffering from a medical condition such as Alzheimer's, tak- ing medication that impairs their judgment or under the influence of alcohol or a controlled sub- stance. Title companies do not expect a Signing Agent to give a medical opinion regarding the com- petency of a person. But an individual can form an opinion of a person's competency from observa- tion and conversation. If the signing agent suspects the signer is not fully competent they should ask a few simple questions. Ask the signer if they know what they are signing and what the docu- ment means. Depending on the answers the signing agent may choose to ask additional questions such as the day, year, time to the nearest hour and the name of the current president. Settlement agents should document the questions and answers in the file. This documentation can prove to be crucial evidence if the competency of the signer is ever challenged.

If a signer appears to be under the influence of alcohol, the signing should be re-scheduled for an- other time. If the signer does not appear to be competent for some other reason, the signing agent should stop. Depending on the exact concern, the principal may have to provide a letter from their medical doctor as to their ability to make financial decisions. If their doctor does not deem them ca- pable a conservator or guardian could by appointed by the appropriate court.

Settlement agents who are commissioned notaries should be equally concerned about a signer's competency. A notary can be held personally liable for notarizing the signature of an incompe- tent person and face claims against their notary bond or errors and omissions insurance. Notaries who refuse to notarize a document for someone who appears to be incompetent should document the refusal in their notary journal. If after asking a few questions as described above the notary deems the signer competent the notary should document their journal accordingly.

Documents signed by an incompetent person can be challenged. If the document was a deed trans- ferring title and it is proven the signer was not legally capable the transfer can be overturned. The title insurer would have to defend the insured which could result in a costly claim. Settlement agents and notaries are the best defense to prevent these claims.

22

Email You need to establish a professional email and keep it strictly for business use. The reason for that is that you will be communicating with Signing Services, Escrow and Title Companies. Your email will also keep the delivery of your documents separate from those personal emails.

Just think how embarrassed you would be if a signing company received an email from your on your personal email account with a strange name like “Lovemydogfluffy@email.com”.

If you are able to have an email account associated with your website then use that one or develop a professional one through any of the following companies:

⇒ Gmail

⇒ Hotmail (MSN)

⇒ Yahoo

⇒ Ymail Or any other paid carrier like Juno, Comcast, etc.

23

E-Signings vs E-Docs The first time I realized that somewhere along the line I had failed to properly explain the difference between the E-Signing and E-docs, was when I received a phone call from a recent graduate.

She told me she had been approached by one of the companies on our vendor list to do a signing with E- Docs and she turned the signing down because she did not know how to do this type of signing.

When I heard this I realized I needed to explain the dif- ference between the two.

An signing with E-Docs is merely a normal loan sign- ing where the documents are sent to the NSA via Email. An E-Signing is the signing where many of the docu- ments are signed electronically by the borrowers with the use of a computer because those documents are on-line.

24

Gramm – Leach – Bliley Act Gramm – Leach – Bliley Act is also known as the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999. Subtitle A: Disclosure of Nonpublic Personal Information, codified at 15 U.S.C. §§ 6801–6809) The Financial Privacy Rule requires financial institutions to provide each consumer with a privacy notice at the time the consumer relationship is established and annually thereafter. The privacy notice must explain the information collected about the consumer, where that information is shared, how that in- formation is used, and how that information is protected. The notice must also identify the consum- er’s right to opt out of the information being shared with unaffiliated parties pursuant to the provi- sions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Should the privacy policy change at any point in time, the con- sumer must be notified again for acceptance. Each time the privacy notice is reestablished, the con- sumer has the right to opt out again. The unaffiliated parties receiving the nonpublic information are held to the acceptance terms of the consumer under the original relationship agreement. In sum- mary, the financial privacy rule provides for a privacy policy agreement between the company and the consumer pertaining to the protection of the consumer’s personal nonpublic information. On No- vember 17, 2009, eight federal regulatory agencies released the final version of a model privacy no- tice form to make it easier for consumers to understand how financial institutions collect and share information about consumers.

DOES THIS AFFECT WHAT YOU DO? This Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act is often referred to as the GLBA. You will see Signing Agents adver- tise that they are GLBA compliant. This is a law which all of us should be compliant all of the time.

i) The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act is also known as the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999.

ii) It’s impact was to allow commercial banks, investment banks, security firms and insurance com- panies to consolidate.

iii) An important part of this bill is one that has a direct effect on us as signing agents. Companies re required to develop a written security plan that describes how that company is prepared for and plans to continue to protect clients’ nonpublic personal information.

iv) Signing Agents are responsible for protecting the personal information we become privy to while processing the loan documents with the borrower. Many of the documents in a loan package contain information including borrower’s name, address, phone number, social security number, employ- ment information including income. It is up to us to do everything we can to protect that information. There are things you can to protect the borrower.

a) When you receive documents via email and you download them to your computer, make sure you have security systems in place that will not allow anyone to have access to your computer. There are a number of things you can do to protect your computer.

b) Never place a package of documents where they can be viewed by anyone except yourself. Your work area should be somewhere in your home away from the primary traffic areas.

25

DOES THIS AFFECT WHAT YOU DO? Cont. c) When transporting the documents, keep them in a closed case and near you at all times.

d) When at a signing keep the documents in front of you. Hand borrowers the documents one at a time and make sure you get them back after they are signed. If anyone other than the borrowers is at the signing table, check with the borrower to see if they want you to discuss the terms of their loan in front of the other party(s).

When placing documents into a shipping envelope make certain that the envelope has been se- cured and there is no chance the documents may fall out of the envelope during shipping. I use a piece of shipping tape and tape the ends of the fold to secure.

If you have a cancellation be sure to verify with the lender whether or not they want the unsigned documents returned or destroyed. If you are stuck with a printed set of documents you must find a way to destroy those documents safely and securely. Never throw the documents into a trash can. You must shred or burn the documents. One hint is to place the documents into a barrel filled with water and some bleach. After a few days the documents have turned to mush and are unreadable. They can then be thrown away.

This is serious. You MUST be very careful to protect the privacy of the Borrowers

26

Habits of a Successful Loan Signing Agent 1. Always answers the phone and with a smile

2. Asks the details of the signing with enthusiasm and “can do” attitude

3. If can’t take the job, asks to be called next time

4. Carries a pad of paper and pen to take notes at a moment’s notice

5. Accesses confirmation as soon as possible to call borrower

6. Leave message with borrower including number to call if there are problems

7. Prints docs and always has plenty of paper and backup toner/ink

8. Checks docs and confirmation before leaving home office

9. Arrives on time to the appointment with docs

10. Introduces self with a smile to borrowers

11. Have a complete bag or case of supplies, pens, etc

12. Sits down and reviews what is about to happen

13. Completes notary book if required

14. Gives borrower a copy of the loan docs

15. Goes through the loan as completely as possible

16. Calls the appropriate party if there are questions

17. Keeps to the point during the signing but is pleasant

18. Review all signatures in front of borrower to ensure all are complete

19. Reviews the confirmation before leaving home to ensure all instructions have been followed

20. Confirm the signing is complete to the hiring party in the manner requested (phone, email, fax)

21. Review docs at home office before putting into envelope

22. Print the label or write one out

23. Drop docs as soon as possible at the appropriate location

24. Add invoice or send one if required

25. Have a routine to complete docs, to eliminate possibility of errors

26. Enters loan information into invoice tracking system for tracking of payment

27. Track mileage to and from for complete tax records

28. If an error is made, call the borrower and makes corrections quickly at the borrowers

convenience

27

Acceptable Forms for Identification

• State issued driver's license

• State issued identification card

• United States Military identification card

• United States Passport

• Certificate of United States citizenship

• Certificate of Naturalization

• Alien registration card with photograph or Valid and Current foreign passport

Sample Passport / Blue Cover (USA) Familiarize yourself with the different

types of Passports

Copy of Driver’s License

Certain states have longer expiration dates

Sample Military ID

Be aware of the types of Military ID’s

Name and address here

28

Jurat

29

MARKETING YOURSELF Marketing yourself as a signing agent is probably the most difficult of tasks and demands patience.

The first thing you need to consider is to have a professional website. There are resources which make this very affordable. When people are searching for notary signing agents they will often visit the website. A website tells a lot about you and shows that your business is important enough for you to have a website with information about the services you offer. If you need someone to create a good website at a very reasonable price call me. It is up to you to make sure that title companies and signing services know that you are there. If they don’t know you are there, they cannot hire you. There are several ways that this goal can be accomplished.

You must register on several of the most prominent internet based companies. These are a re- source for people searching for signing agents. The most popular of these sites are Notary Café, and Notary Rotary. There may be some registration fees involved but it is imperative that you be listed so you can be found and ultimately get work. You need to consider any fees you pay as an investment in your business. Be very careful however when registering with online services. There are a number of these companies who will, for a small fee, add you to their database and promise to provide you lots of ongoing assignments by the exposure you will get by signing up with them. Even though the fees may be small, don’t fall for the false promises. It is a waste of your time and your money.

Also, there are companies who will reach out to you asking you to update your personal information. They want you to believe that you or someone else registered your information on their website. Don’t fall for that either. They are fishing and would like nothing better than to get your personal in- formation to either build a database or send you a bill later on. Spend time each and every week contacting signing services all over the country. Never limit yourself to your own area because many of your assignments will come from companies out of your local area. Call 5 – 10 companies a week, asking what they can do to be added to their database, then follow up often, they will eventu- ally get work. When you call, take down the name of the person you spoke to and ask for that per- son the next time you call. You will begin to build a bond with that person and they will remember you. Don’t make a pest of yourself but do call often so they don’t forget you. It takes time and pa- tience but once you get an assignment or two and show them how good you are they will being to rely on your services and move you up to the top of their list in your area.

Last but certainly not least, get out from behind your computer and visit local title companies and re- al estate offices. Talk to real estate brokers and offer your services when they need to have “in house” signings on an as needed basis. Get your business cards out there! Also, a number of banks, Fedex and UPS offices are no longer offering notary services. So again, go spread your busi- ness cards around, not once but often. Let these people get to know you and most importantly, re- member you when they need your services.

30

NON BORROWING SPOUSE DOCUMENTS Definition: A non-borrowing spouse often called an “nbs”, is a spouse who is on the title to the prop- erty. However the credit or employment of this spouse was not taken into consideration when pro- cessing the loan so they are not obligated on the loan. They will NOT be signing the Note, the 1003 or most of the documents.

In the event that you are advised in writing or verbally, that there is a Non-Borrowing spouse in- volved in the transaction, there are 2 scenarios that could occur.

#1: The documents the nbs will be signing are clearly marked with a signature line and the name of the nbs under the line. You will have the nbs sign only those marked documents.

#2: Or there will be an instruction that you must have the nbs sign all of the “title documents” and they will not provide you with a list of those documents requiring the signature of the non-borrowing spouse. Most lenders will provide a signature line where they want the nbs to sign. If they do not provide you with the list, here is a list of the most critical documents they will sign. You can carry this list with you and that will help you identify those documents that need to be signed.

1. Mortgage or Deed of Trust (because they are either on title or may have an interest in the title if in a community property state)

2. All Riders attached to the Deed of Trust or Mortgage.

3. Truth in Lending Disclosure

4. Notice of Right to Cancel

Items 1 through 4 always require the signature of the non-borrowing spouse.

And…..sometimes you will be directed to have the non-borrowing spouse sign the following docu- ments:

6. Itemization of Amount Financed

7. Document Correction Agreement

8. Compliance Agreement

In the event you go to a signing and there is no indication on the documents that the borrower is married and they introduce you to a spouse, you cannot take it upon yourself to have the spouse sign. Usually the lender is aware that there is a spouse but are also aware that there was a deed recorded previously which removed the spouse from the title. Or there may be a deed in the pack- age removing the spouse from title. Sometimes they borrower will introduce you to their spouse but they are not legally married. So in these instances, you can ask the borrower if the lender is aware there is a spouse. If they say no, you might want to call the vendor and ask what they want you to do.

NEVER ASSUME WHAT YOU SHOULD DO ….. ALWAYS ASK!

31

Notary Journal

Aug 15, 2010

7:00pm

410&120 ssues 09/0612015 DOB 09106119&3

Loose

used 10.00

Affidavit

08/14100010

32

Notary Rotary Website Signing Service Look-up

33

A NEW TOOL FOR NOTARIES AND VENDORS “Notary Search” is an exclusive mobile application created to serve the Notary Public Community in USA. Notary Search Mobile Application is available for both Androids and IPhones at a cost of 99 cents. It’s function is to act as a notary locator for both businesses and individuals seeking notaries to complete general notarizations, or to act as Notary Signing Agents. The search will be based on Name, zip codes or any part of the address shared and the expertise and reputation of notary.

Every notary who uses an Android or Apple Smartphone (Android and iPhone) or Tablet (iPod, iPad, and android tablets) will be able to download the program from the App Store. On sending a request for registering your profile, Notary Search Support team will send a registration form to be completed which will contain information related to your Notary profile, photograph, educational background, experience, equipment, insurance and every other detail about themselves that may be pertinent to someone interested in hiring them. This information will be used to create a homepage for the nota- ry. Every notary who completes this form will have in essence their own mobile website where any- one interested in hiring them will be able to learn about the notary. There is also a place where cli- ents of the notary can post testimonials about that notary visible to the viewer. So, if you are interest- ed in promoting your business using this new tool you can go to your “App” store and purchase this program for 99 cents. Just look for “Notary Search”.

Contact Information : Website : www.notarysearch.us

Email : notaryinfo@smartstreetsolutions.com Special Note : Notary2Pro students who do not have a smart phone to download the apps but wish to register

their profile with Notary Search Mobile Application can send an email to notaryinfo@smartstreetsolutions.com - with subject "Notary2Pro Student - Profile Registration"

34

Sample Oath And Affirmation Wording

Oath: Jurat

"Do you solemnly swear that the statements you are making in this document are the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"

Affirmation: "Doyou affirm, on your honor, that the statements you are making in this document are the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"

Oath: Credible Identifying Witnesses

"Do you, (name of credi b l e i dentifying witness) swear that you

personally know (name of document signer), that (he/she) is the person named in this document, that it is your reasonable belief that it would be difficult or impossible for (him/her) to obtain an l.D. card for purposes of identification, that (he/she) does not possess an acceptable form of identification, and that you are not financially involved or named in this document, so help you God?"

Affirmation: "Do you, (name of credi ble i dentifying witness) affirm on your honor,

that you personally know (name of document signer), that (he/she) is the person named in this document, that it is your reasonable belief that it would be difficult or impossible for (him/her) to obtain an l.D. card for purposes of identification, that (he/she) does not possess an acceptable form of identification, and that you are not financially involved or named in this document?"

Oath: Subscribing Witness

"Do you solemnly swear that you saw (name of document signer) sign this document freely or heard (name of document signer) acknowledge that he signed the document freely, and that he asked you to sign your name to the document as a subscribing witness, so help you God?"

Affirmation: "Do you solemnly affirm on your honor, that you saw (name of document signer) sign this document freely or heard (name of document signer) acknowledge that he signed the document freely, and that he asked you to sign your name to the document as a subscribing witness?"

SUBCRIBING WITNESSNOT TO BE USED WITH DOCUMENTS INVOLVING REAL PROPERTY

35

OATH and AFFIRMATION Have the Affiant raise their right hand and ask them the following:

DO YOU SOLOMNLY SWEAR OR AFFIRM, UPON PAIN OF PERJURY, THAT YOU ARE THE PERSON WHOSE NAME APPEARS ON THE DOCUMENTS: THAT THE SIGNATURE YOU WILL PLACE ON THESE DOCUMENTS IS YOUR CUSTOMARY AND USUAL SIGNATURE. THAT YOU ARE EXECUTING THESE DOCUMENTS VOLUNTARILY FOR THE PURPOSES AND THE CONSIDERATION STATED THEREIN; AND THAT WITH RESPECT TO ANY AFFIDAVITS, THE ALLEGATIONS THEREIN ARE TRUE AND CORRECT TO THE BEST OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND BELIEF.

You can have them take the Oath or Affirmation at the beginning of the signing process ra- ther than having them do this with each and every Affidavit.

YOU CAN CUT THIS OUT AND PLACE IT IN YOUR NOTARY JOURNAL SO YOU WILL NOT FORGET THE WORDING. YOU MIGHT WANT TO LAMINATE IT.

DO YOU SOLOMNLY SWEAR OR AFFIRM, UPON PAIN OF PERJURY, THAT YOU ARE THE PERSON WHOSE NAME APPEARS ON THE DOCUMENTS: THAT THE SIGNATURE YOU WILL PLACE ON THESE DOCUMENTS IS YOUR CUSTOMARY AND USUAL SIGNATURE. THAT YOU ARE EXECUTING THESE DOCUMENTS VOLUNTARILY FOR THE PURPOSES AND THE CONSIDERATION STATED THEREIN; AND THAT WITH RESPECT TO ANY AFFIDAVITS, THE ALLEGATIONS THEREIN ARE TRUE AND CORRECT TO THE BEST OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND BELIEF.

36

Page Separator For any of you who do not yet have a dual tray laser printer I want to let you know about a terrific software that will allow you to delay having to spend anywhere from $400 to $700 for a good dual tray laser printer.

It is called Page Separator and it is fantastic! When documents for your signings are sent to you via email they usually need to be printed on both letter and legal sized paper. With this software program you can save the documents to your desktop, then move them into the Page Separator program and click on “Separate” or “Merge and Separate” for multiple attachments.

You can then print out all of the documents which are to be printed on letter sized paper, then print all of the documents which are to be printed on legal sized paper.

You will need to adjust your printer to let it know what sized paper you will be using and be sure you place that sized paper in the paper tray.

I recommend purchasing the “Pro” version of the software because it has two special features. It allows you to separate not just one attachment, but multiple attachments all at once. It also allows you to run a report which will show you how to re-stack the documents in the exact order you re- ceived them before shipping them back to the lender.

The cost of the Pro version is about $70.00. This will give you plenty of time to research and save for the best possible dual tray printer you can find without feeling rushed to buy.

I cannot endorse this product more. You can find it by visiting: http://notary2pro.com/page- separator.html

37

POWER OF ATTORNEY

There will be many times you will need to deal with someone using a Power of Attorney to allow someone other than themselves to sign documents for them. This may be because that person is going to be out of town or otherwise unavailable.

We as signing agents do not need to be concerned with the validity of a Power of Attorney. That is the re- sponsibility of the title company. You only concern is to make sure that the signer signs all documents cor- rectly.

For instance, you have the names of two people on the documents:

James B. Martin and Beverly L. Martin.

Mr. Martin has executed a POA (power of attorney) in favor of his wife and she will be signing all of the docu- ments both for her husband and herself.

She will sign for her husband as follows:

James B. Martin by Beverly L. Martin, as his attorney in fact.

When initialing documents for her husband she will initial as follows:

Jbm by blm, atty in fact

And the wife will of course just sign her name on behalf of herself.

Signing with the use of a Power of Attorney is the only time that the person whose name and signature are required on the documents will not be appearing before the notary in person.

38

RESCISSION When we talk about rescission it is about the borrower’s right to cancel a loan within 3 business days after the date of signing their loan documents. The right is provided to them as a part of the FEDERAL Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) law. Every state should adhere to this federal law.

HOW TO DETERMINE THE RESCISSION DATE:

When determining the rescission date you begin counting BUSINESS days after the date of the signing. If a signing takes place on Monday the 5th of the month you do not count Monday the 5th. You do count Tuesday the 6th, Wednesday the 7th and Thursday the 8th. The rescission date is therefore Midnight of Thursday the 8th.

If the signing takes place on Friday the 5th of the month, you do not count Friday the 5th. Saturday is consid- ered a business day so you count Saturday the 6th. Sunday is never a business day so Sunday the 7th does not count. Monday the 8th counts and Tuesday the 9th counts. So therefore the rescission date is Midnight Tuesday the 9th of the month.

HOLIDAYS:

Remember only business days count. So, you have a signing on Friday December 23rd. You do not count that day of signing. You do count Saturday December 24th. Since Christmas falls on Sunday December 25, you do not count Sunday. Most companies will then consider the Christmas holiday to extend to Monday so count Tuesday the 27th and Wednesday the 28th. Your rescission date should be Midnight Wednesday De- cember 28th. This scenario happened in 2010 on the July 4th holiday and a lot of notaries got the rescission date wrong. There were even some rescission calendars which were wrong. If unsure on holidays ALWAYS call and ask what day the lender wants you to use. I believe that just like a second grader who cannot add 2 + 3 without using a calculator, there are notaries who are incapable of being able to figure out rescission dates. This is not a good thing. You need to be able to rely on your own abilities.

CROSS OUTS:

If you have a Notice of Right to Cancel with incorrect dates, these are the steps you must take to correct:

First, Read your instructions! Some lenders do not want cross outs!

Second, call the vendor and get permission and instructions as to how they would like to have this correction made.

Third, if you cannot get in touch with anyone, cross out incorrect dates, write in the correct dates and have all borrowers initial all corrections.

YOU MUST ALWAYS LEAVE ONLY TWO COMPLETED AND SIGNED COPIES OF A NOTICE OF RIGHT TO CANCEL WITH THE BORROWER WITHOUT EXCEPTION!!!!

39

Sample of a Notary Stamp

4

IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT SHIPPING BACK LOAN DOCUMENTS

We have discussed this briefly in the Classroom but there are a few items you should be doing.

1. When sending a check back with the documents, be sure you staple the check to the HUD 1. It is then a good idea to make a copy of that check stapled to the HUD 1, and keep the copy of those 2 items stapled together, in the event the check is somehow misplaced. This does happen sometimes and to get a Certified check replaced is very costly and can take quite a while. It can cause a delay in the funding of the loan or even a cancellation of funding. You want to be able to prove that the check was secured to the HUD 1 when it was placed in the shipping envelope.

2. The next thing you should do is to always use binder clips to hold the package together. This will help secure the documents together in the event the package is opened and documents spill out. These binder clips can be purchased in bulk at most office supply stores and are very inexpensive that way. If you have unusually large packages, I suggest the use of the large poly envelopes. You can place the documents into a manila envelope and place that into the large shipping envelope.

3. After placing the documents to be returned into the shipping envelope, make sure you secure the glued closure on the envelope. Then, to be really safe, use about 4 or 5 inches of packing tape to secure each end of the envelope by placing the tape over the top of the envelope and down both the front and the back of the envelope. These envelopes are treated very roughly at times and can be subject to opening and your documents falling out. This could result in someone picking up and placing some but not all, of the documents back into the shipping envelope. Even though it Is not your responsibility to actually hand deliver the documents to their destination, it is your responsibility to do everything in your power to make sure the package is delivered to the right recipient, and that all documents are fully intact. These few precautions will go a long way to protecting the contents in the shipping envelopes.

And always get a written receipt from the facility where you dropped the documents. The receipt should contain tracking number, time and date dropped and type of service. And never put your name on the label as the sender! In the event there is a problem between the vendor and the ship- ping company you may get caught in the middle and be forced to pay for packages you shipped if your name appears on the label as the shipper. You can get blank shipping labels and handwrite in the recipient as both the sender and the receiver.

Also, you should never pay for the cost of shipping up front with the promise that you will be reim- bursed. In the event you do this you will probably be out of the cost of shipping the package back. Any legitimate company will be prepared to send you a label or an account number for the shipper to insure that the documents are returned in a safe and timely manner.

4

4

THE STEP BY STEP SIGNING PROCEDURE

CONFIRMATION: As mentioned in the Notary2Pro Course the first step after getting your confirmation and reading the instructions is to call the borrower to confirm the appointment. The conversation will go something like this: “Hi, this is John Smith and I am the Notary Signing Agent who will be assisting you with your loan document signing on July 13th. I would like to confirm some information with you, do you have a minute? Okay, great. We will be meeting on July 13th at 6:00 pm at your home. Is your address 6656 S. Main Street? Is there anything I should know about how to find your home? Is there something I might be looking for to dis- tinguish your home from others on your street? Also, I will need to see your driver’s license(s) or other identifi- cation and I will need a copy of your identification to send back to your lender. If there are any other items that your lender needs from you I will let you know before I come when I get the loan documents.”

Also, let them know how long the signing should take. You can say that the signing should take about 45 minutes to an hour depending on the size of the package of documents. Then wind up the conversation with “Ok Mrs. Summers, it was nice talking to you and I will see you at 6pm on July 13th. Have a great week.” (If you offer CD’s be sure and listen to the recording on the website regarding the conversation you need to have with the borrower to determine if they would like to have their copies on a CD.)

DOCUMENTS: Most of the time you will receive lenders documents via email. Once in a while the documents will be sent to you overnight via a national carrier such as FedEx. Upon receipt of the documents the first thing you will do is to read the instructions to determine if there is anything else the borrower needs to pro- vide at the closing so you can prepare them ahead of time. You should also look at the HUD to determine if there are funds due and if so, inform the borrowers. The certified funds check should always be made out to the Settlement Agent unless otherwise instructed. You can find the name of the Settlement Agent at the top of the HUD Settlement Statement. It is usually a title company. You need to print the documents checking them as they print to make sure they are printing correctly. Also, check the names on the Deed of Trust or Mort- gage to see who is on title and how they are listed and signing on the documents. If there is a discrepancy between the names as they appear on title and the signature lines, you should call the vendor and draw this to their attention. It could be that the documents were prepared incorrectly. Another thing you can do while preparing the documents is to partially complete the information in your journal. You can put in information such as the date, the location of the signing, names of signers and what they are signing. That way when you are completing the journal at the borrower’s home you will only need to add the information found on the driv- er’s licenses.

ARRIVAL: Many times there are other people living in the home and you don’t want to block them from com- ing and going. It is rude to park in their driveway unless they specifically direct you to park there when con- firming. Make sure you have everything you need from your vehicle, lock your car and proceed to the en- trance. When they open the door to you the first thing you should do is to introduce yourself before going in- side. Once inside you can do one of several things. Take a look around and try to make some comment about their home or something you see on the walls or a collection they may have. It is a good ice breaker to say something like, “wow, what a beautiful collection of clocks (or whatever), or what a lovely home you have!” Always be very open, warm and friendly. Even the hardest of people will begin to relax and connect with you. The next thing to do is to ask where you will be signing the documents. As discussed in the course you will need to try and get to a place where there is sufficient space to comfortably sign the documents. This some- times is not an option and you will just have to do the best you can. BEFORE letting the borrower’s sit down you will need to ask if they have their identification, a copy of their identification and any other items they were requested to have. Make sure they bring these items to the table before they sit down. Once they have those items you will need to direct them where they need to sit. Be very specific. You can say something like “Mr. Anderson would you please sit here next to me and Mrs. Anderson please have a seat next to Mr. Anderson”. Once you do this, very nicely but firmly, their confidence in you will rise because it will indicate to them that you know what you are doing. I have talked a lot about taking “gentle control”.

4

GETTING STARTED: The first thing you will need to do is to place all of the necessary items to complete the signing on the table. Notary Journal, stamp, pens, documents etc. should be next to or in front of you. Take their identification and enter the information into your journal. Unless you are in a state where a separate line for each document you notarize must be listed, you should fill in the date, location of signing, information off of the ID (including the address on the ID if different from the signing location). You will print their name under the signature line as it appears on their ID, add “loan documents from Chase Bank (or whatever)” and all of the required information on the ID such as issue date, expiration date and date of birth. Once entered you can pass the journal to them, show them where and how they are to sign. If they have a legal signature that is un- readable they should sign that way as long as it is the same as it appears on the ID. Be sure you don’t just record the information. Compare the physical description of the signer against the physical description on the identification and compare the signature in your journal to the signature on the ID. This is the MOST IM- PORTANT part of your job………at the signing. Remember, you are identifying this person based on their identification, NOT on the documents. This is the beginning.

Once your journal has been completed and signed, hand the driver’s license(s) back and ask that they put them away so there is no chance they get into the documents. Put your journal back into your case and set the documents in front of you. You can now let the borrower’s know what you will be doing. You can say something like, “we will be going through about 5 or 6 pages of the documents together that will tell you eve- rything you want to know about your loan. Once we go through these I will be handing you the rest of the doc- uments one page at a time.” You can let them know that they will just be signing the rest of the documents but if they have a question about any of the documents, you will be happy to try to answer their questions. “I will hand the document to you first Mr. Anderson (or his first name), and you can then hand it to Mary. Then Mary if you would, please sign and place the page upside down in front of you.” (That way when you are finished Mary can hand you the stack and all of the documents are in order and ready for you to double check). If you would rather have them hand the documents back to you after signing each page then let them know. Tip: If you have a reader and they start to read each document that is handed to them, you might try saying what the document is as you hand it to them. Sometimes they only read it to see what it is. NEVER had the borrow- ers their copies of the documents until the signing is complete. It can be very distracting.

DURING THE SIGNING: At this point you will not need to watch to make sure they actually signed. You will do that when double checking. If you are handing and explaining the documents to them the extra task of watching them sign is too much. There are so many things that will happen while doing a signing that you will just have to learn the hard way. You should know that you will have a lot of distractions during a signing and you need to be a little tough and try to take charge of the situation in a very positive but strong way. Things like animals all over you, kids fighting and crying or just trying to get the parents attention, people trying to talk on their cell phones while you are getting their signatures. When things like this happen you just have to roll with the punches. Try to let people know that this is a very important transaction that deserves all of their un- divided attention and the sooner you get that attention the sooner you will be finished and they can go about their routine.

4

AFTER THE SIGNING: After you have completed the signing you can let the borrowers know that you will need just a few minutes to go through the documents before leaving their home to double check for accuracy. Let them know that if they have things to do in the house they can leave while you check. Now you are ready to leave their home. Thank them for allowing you to come to their home for the signing. Let them know when the documents will be shipped and when they are expected to arrive at their destination. Try to leave on a very friendly note. When you arrive home it is imperative that you once again go through each and every page of the loan documents to verify that they have signed and initialed all of the places they needed to. Also, that all information required to be added to a document has been done. Once you are satisfied that you have a perfect package you can now prepare them for shipping. The last thing you should always do is to report to the vendor that they signing has been successfully completed. Follow their instructions and be sure to make note of the tracking number on the shipping envelope. See information about Shipping.

4

SUBSCRIBING WITNESSES A person who has signed a document that needs to be notarized need not personally appear before a notary public, but a representative may appear before the notary, take an oath that the signature of the principal signer is genuine, and sign as a witness. The person who originally signed the document is called a “principal signer”, and the representative that was sent to the notary is called a “subscribing witness”. You as a notary can certify that the signature of a principal signer who does not appear before you is genuine, based upon the sworn testimony of a subscribing witness. This is called a Proof of Execution.

Proofs of execution are not permitted with mortgages, deeds of trust, security agreements, quitclaim deeds, grant deeds, powers of attorney, or any documents in which the notary is required to obtain the thumbprint of a signer, but are allowed with trustee’s deeds resulting from foreclosure and deeds of reconveyance. Civil Code § 1195(b) and Government Code § 27287. Before taking a proof of execution for a subscribing witness, you must make sure that certain requirements are being met:

• The subscribing witness must be able to say, under oath, that he or she personally knows

the principal.

• That he or she saw the principal signer sign the document or heard the principal signer

acknowledge signing the document; and

• That the principal requested the subscribing witness to sign his or her name on the

document as a witness.

Code of Civil Procedure § 1935: The subscribing witness must have their identity established by a third party. That third party must be known personally by the subscribing witness and the notary, and prove their identity to the notary with proper identification (i.e., driver’s license, passport, etc.). That third party is known as a “credible identifying witness”. Civil Code § 1196 The subscribing witness must sign the document and the no- tary’s journal, and the credible witness must sign the notary’s journal. Note in your journal the form of identifi- cation used by the credible identifying witness. Since you cannot notarize the signature of someone who is not before you, with a proof of execution by subscribing witness you will be notarizing the subscribing wit- ness’ signature only. The standard “all purpose” acknowledgment form CANNOT be used for proofs of execu- tion by subscribing witness.

See the Proof of Execution on the next page.

4

4

PROOF OF EXECUTION BY SUBSCRIBING WITNESS State of )

ss. County of )

Proof of Execution

is being signed)

On (date), before me, (notary’s name) the undersigned, a Notary Public for the state, person- ally appeared (name of subscribing witness), proved to me to be the person whose name is subscribed to the within instrument, as a witness thereto, on the oath of (name of credible identifying witness) , a credible witness, who is known to me and provided a satisfactory identifying document. (name of subscribing witness) being by me duly sworn, said that he/ she was present and saw/heard (name(s) of principal signer(s)), the same person(s) de- scribed in and whose name(s) is/are subscribed to the within, or attached, instrument in his/ her/their authorized capacity(ies) as (a) party(ies) thereto, execute or acknowledge executing the same, and that said affiant subscribed his/her name to the within instrument as a witness at the request of (name(s) of principal signer(s)).xfs

(Signature of Notary) (Seal) Civil Code § 1195(c)

4

.. d-..-

-· -· -

CREATION . ·-· "" . ..

- -

--· ·-

Tenancy

COMMUNITY PROPERTY Wl'l'H

l'l!N!ANCY IN COMMUNITY RIGHI Of OOMMON J(llNI l'HIANC't PROPl!Rl"I' $U!ftll/IV()llSHIP

lfl! mf!ll! PlfmM lfll Olll:in! Pff'ONI! (Ml!IV bi! !lflOU2!m (Ml!IV 'iD'i'"'"' "' " or !!ltk:

PARTIB dammli<: . -"· Plll'llllM.

OWi Ile

diiMl:i·X#f lllllmbar <II !Elb!!tBI,

lrU t l!lt-!ll mu'!lt

DIVISION leqmim ' rnml ile ""!llliill. mill!lt bl! 11qu1l bl! .

Ck1\c M ii:'r10i:'I!:

fOMl1!¥11MlH - . Slf11i!li!! 1!\'llMI!or Sli!!!Jli! !fll!I°"llillll pi'l!!llJMl!!l il!UI!ell> UI! ll:!!lil!llkll mull

' «-lk:I! wlt1'1hi<:

leqmi iiMt"'" ,--···-- I

POSSESSION AND CONTROL Equlll Eqml oqllliill Eqllliill

Udl m-o-r llllll\'

Yl:l!IM-- r mar mmll!§' or monpp

fl! - or

D\1Mf8M, dll!iir ll'lli!i'HI *'-* IF! -le j!lllltmill!I mill!ll Uli!lll ill 1 ti!>! mill!lt eo1u11Illto IJlc Willt!il!l'll IO Ulli! 'll!INflit

IRAN5RlRAlmJl'I' incom ttli..!llb. lrOMfer Of O'ill:iilt!PSJ!!. ct

u111i- mumd 01

' damm..l-i.<: -m:.t ..

11!1 .!Elm..t l!li:ll lli!!m. of

O liaii!OI oma Elllill! ' ' ' . , Elllin! pi'

i:rtl;l!;f - but P-dsli!! <:11111 to ll:itt:l!d l!;!Nc . to 11•8IXl·

l.llM AGAINST llul •Ii!! OWi lltt!SI' " lo dl!bt of <l!lllll!f - &bl oll!lllli!f •-fl!

THI O'l!flNDt ot<:W. d• !h.. tk domtitle

.-- DMl!l'ldi!ml:• illlarl!<I

De<:I! l!llll!l'll'• il!Ul'IY:Il •P:.!22M !ll<i<M.ile .. to . ' '-'=""-·== tJt Dl'.< irrW!r.,_. . l"'!l!!e!IO ""'- - .

4

CO-OWNIR lliV Wiiil 01l!lle ilil:I!. irill!>!"' ' will

- ..

DIAl'H Of p<!UEll m h!!IB - H!IVll!ll O'lllle Rl.IBl!d dm!lil!<lle ' ' --

Q.ulll!llM · '

tt>. Mu:t!.dl Willt!il!l'll l lll. MiJt!Jilll <-OM- In,-+ ,.; . ·• " " fot b'IM'*1 '''"" "' fM 'ftliftdl!f.

(0-il'll:l!t"l!!t!i "'"' lllliflim r· Tl• for Tn POSSIBLE . ' h<IVe tu .. --· _::"''D' ±:pol.De m ..

spol.D!Et ot

ADVANTA&U lltll Mfl!lll!>hi:. fOf !ipij1Jl1H. domtitk:

5

THERE IS A CHECK ATTACHED HERE.

FUNDS WILL BE WIRED BY BORROWER TO ESCROW. THEY HAVE INSTRUCTIONS.

FUNDS WILL BE WIRED, BUT THEY NEED INSTRUCTIONS

Borrowers ph #

Borrowers fax#

E-mail

50

YOUR MARKETING TIPS Marketing yourself as a signing agent is probably the most difficult of tasks and demands patience. The first thing you need to consider is to have a professional website. There are resources which make this very affordable. When people are searching for notary signing agents they will often visit the website. A website tells a lot about you and shows that your business is important enough for you to have a website with information about the services you offer. Ifyou need someone to create a good website at a very reasonable price call me. It is up to you to make sure that title companies and signing services know that you are there. If they don’t know you are there, they cannot hire you. There are several ways that this goal can be accomplished.

You must register on several of the most prominent internet based companies. These are a resource for people searching for signing agents. The most popular of these sites are Notary Café, Notary Ro- tary and 123 Notary. There may be some registration fees involved but it is imperative that you be listed so you can be found and ultimately get work. You need to consider any fees you pay as an in- vestment in your business. Be very careful however when registering with online services. There are a number of these companies who will, for a small fee, add you to their database and promise to provide you lots of ongoing assignments by the exposure you will get by signing up with them. Even though the fees may be small, don’t fall for the false promises. It is a waste of your time and your money.

Also, there are companies who will reach out to you asking you to update your personal information. They want you to believe that you or someone else registered your information on their website. Don’t fall for that either. They are fishing and would like nothing better than to get your personal in- formation to either build a database or send you a bill later on. Spend time each and every week contacting signing services all over the country. Never limit yourself to your own area because many of your assignments will come from companies out of your local area. Call 5 – 10 companies a week, asking what they can do to be added to their database, then follow up often, they will eventu- ally get work. When you call, take down the name of the person you spoke to and ask for that per- son the next time you call. You will begin to build a bond with that person and they will remember you. Don’t make a pest of yourself but do call often so they don’t forget you. It takes time and pa- tience but once you get an assignment or two and show them how good you are they will being to rely on your services and move you up to the top of their list in your area. And last but certainly not least, get out from behind your computer and visit local title companies and real estate offices. Talk to real estate brokers and offer your services when they need to have “in house” signings on an as needed basis. Get your business cards out there! Also, a number of banks, Fedex and UPS offices are no longer offering notary services. So again, go spread your business cards around, not once but often. Let these people get to know you and most importantly, remember you when they need your services.

51

"WARNINGS AND WHAT IF'S"

These topics and suggestions are based on my experiences only and are suggestions on how you may want to handle certain situations.

1. HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE TAKING AN ASSIGNMENT FROM A NONPAYING

COMPANY AND WHAT SHOULD YOU DO TO PROTECT YOURSELF?

When a company calls you and offers you an assignment you should get all of the pertinent information such as day and time, distance, type of signing and the fee being paid. If everything suits your criteria then by all means take the signing. Then go to NotaryRotary.com. (See the Notary Rotary page in this booklet) Login with your user name and password and go to Signing Central. Once there you can search for the company that hired you. If they have 4 or 5 stars you are dealing with an excellent company. If they have 1 or 2 stars they do not have a good reputation - stay away. If they have 3 stars, read the most recent comments. It is possible that they once had a high rating but have a lot of recent negative comments. If you have determined that this is not a company you want to work for, call them and let them know you have decided NOT to take the assignment. You can tell them straight out that they have a bad reputation among signing agents and you do not want to work for them. Most of the time they will just say goodbye and you will feel so good that you gave them a bit of pay back for all of those notaries that they treated badly or failed to pay.

2. YOU HAVE COMPLETED ONE OR MORE SIGNINGS FOR A COMPANY THAT IS APPARENTLY NOT PAYING YOU, WHAT DO YOU DO?

A lot of companies today are not paying their notaries for as long as 45 days, and there are some who have no intention of paying you. After about 35 days you can give them a call and ask when you might expect to get payment from them for the work completed. I always say something like "this may have fallen through my cracks but can you please check your records and get back to me". That saves you embarrassment in the event they did pay you and you did not show the payment in your system. (It happens!) If sufficient time has passed however, and you are unable to contact the vendor or you are being given the run around you should then call the **title company involved in the transaction. Ask them if the vendor has been paid and if so, when? Let them know you have not received payment and that you don't think very highly of the vendor. I don't think they will pay you but you will at least be drawing their attention to the vendor and if enough of us do that the vendor may lose this title company as a client. There are companies who will do the collecting for you. 123 Notary has some suggestions regarding collection. I have never utilized them so cannot advise. **Regarding the title company: I always recommend that you keep the documents which were sent to you via email after the signing has been completed. You must be very careful how you keep them however. The best way I have found to keep the documents and still protect the privacy of the borrower is to save the documents to a flash drive once they have been printed and signed.

The procedure is: a.) Download documents to desktop. b.) Print documents. c.) After the signing is complete, save the documents to a flash drive. d.) Delete the documents and clear the recycle bin. You should also be aware that anything you download to your computer remains in the "Download" file so you must delete the documents from this file as well. e.) Once you are paid for the assignment you can then delete the documents off of the flash drive.

52

3. WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU GET A CALL AFTER THE SIGNING AND ARE TOLD YOU DID NOT GET A DOCUMENT OR DOCUMENTS SIGNED?

This situation has happened to us more times than I can count and almost every time it is because they never sent the document(s) in the first place. So, keeping the documents on the flash drive until you have been paid is crucial. The first thing you want to do is to look through the documents to see if the document(s) they are addressing were actually sent to you. If they were not, call the vendor and let them know that you never re- ceived those documents in the first place. Most vendors have copies also and can see what was sent. One of our graduates actually takes a picture of the first page of the documents with her phone camera. This will show how many pages were sent to her and is further proof that the document(s) were never sent. If they did send it and it was your error then you know the drill. FIX it ASAP and do it with a cheerful and willing attitude. If they did not send it then you can tell them that you will be happy to go back to the borrowers to get signa- tures but you will be charging them to do this. Depending on the number of documents and who you are deal- ing with our minimum fee for this is $50.00. You will have to determine how much you will charge.

4. YOU TAKE AN ASSIGNMENT AND ARE UNABLE TO CONFIRM WITH THE BORROWER.

If this happens you will need to call the vendor and let them know you have been unable to reach the borrow- ers. Ask if there might be another phone number. Ask if they were able to confirm with the borrowers. Find out who set up the appointment and ask if this person actually spoke to the borrower. There are many times when no one spoke to the borrowers but just set up a day and time without consulting with them. Sometimes you will call to confirm and are told that they (the borrower(s) were not even aware that their loan was ap- proved. The only time we ever go out to the signing without having actually spoken to the borrowers is when we have, in writing, an order to not contact the borrower(s) or an instruction that states that they have verbally confirmed with the borrower and to go to the appointment even if you have not had contact with them. If we do get an order which instructs us not to call the borrower I usually do anyway on the pretext that I need di- rections to their home. I do not want to go to any appointment without touching base with the borrower(s).

5.) YOU HAVE A SIGNING IN LESS THAN AN HOUR AND YOUR DOCUMENTS HAVE NOT YET ARRIVED.

Unfortunately this is something that is happening more and more frequently and will cause you tremendous stress. DON'T STRESS. There is nothing you can do about the situation so you just need to deal with it the best you can. Call the vendor of course, and make them aware of the fact that you do not have the docu- ments. This is best done about 3 hours before the time of the signing. Most likely they will tell you that they have not received the documents but will follow up with the title company. If it is a couple of hours before the appointment, call the borrowers, let them know what is going on (even though the vendors and lenders do not want you to let the borrowers know that you do not have documents). What are you supposed to tell them? That you are at the dentist and are going to possibly be hours late? No, I don't think so. Ask the borrowers what their availability is later in the day or evening and let them know you will call them when you get the doc- uments and may have to reschedule the time. Then let the vendor know about your conversation with the bor- rower(s) so they know you have it under control. That will relieve both you and the vendor of a lot of stress. If you are booked or otherwise engaged later in the day you will need to call the vendor and let them know you will be unable to do the signing late because you are busy the rest of the day or evening. This way they can assign this to another notary. Once you do get the documents be sure and allow yourself sufficient time to prep them, prepare what you are taking with you to the signing and travel time. You can then call the borrow- er(s) and let them know when you believe you will be at their location. It is so stressful to have documents come late and there is little you can do about it so DO NOT STRESS yourself out. It is not worth what you will put yourself through.

53

6.) LAST MINUTE SIGNINGS:

If you are a fairly new signing agent DO NOT TAKE LAST MINUTE SIGNINGS especially if it is your first or second signing. Talk about stress! When you are new you are feeling confident, well trained, anxious to get going and willing to take almost any signings. However, what you really need is to have the time to prepare yourself for those first few signings. You will want to go through all of the steps to prepare yourself for these all important signings. They will set the tone for everything you do from now on. You will need extra time to go through the documents to familiarize yourself with their content and meaning, to take a look at where they are to be signed, to ask questions about documents that you are unfamiliar with and of course to print them out. Printing is a big deal and until you are used to the process it can be very time consuming and critical to the signing process. Be very careful anytime you get a request for a last minute signing from a company you have not worked with previously. They may be calling you because they are unable to find anyone else willing to work with them. They may be calling you because their "regular person" is busy and they will not be using you in the future. And, so many times they cannot get the documents to you in time for this last minute sign- ing and you waste your time. These assignments will often come at the end of the month. We rarely take last minute signings from an unknown company and never at the end of the month. We have found that they are just time consuming and frustrating the majority of the time.

54

WHAT IF? A document is presented to you to notarize and the signer has already signed it.

You need to know the Rules and Regulations for your home State for this one, but there are a couple of choices depending on your State’s rules.

You can take a careful look at the person’s identification and compare the signature on the identifi- cation with the signature on the document. If you are absolutely certain that you have the signer in front of you, you may then notarize the documents.

In some states they allow that if the person tells the notary that they were the person who signed the document and the signature matches the ID then re-signing the document is not necessary.

Or, after verifying the identity of the signer, you can ask them to sign the document again in front of you.

You can also have them sign a new document if one is available. Whatever you do you must not notarize any document without the signer appearing before you in person

55

Name:

Address: City: State: Zip:

Phone: Cell: Fax:

E-Mail: Website:

Other Information:

Name:

Address: City: State: Zip:

Phone: Cell: Fax:

E-Mail: Website:

Other Information:

Name:

Address: City: State: Zip:

Phone: Cell: Fax:

E-Mail: Website:

Other Information:

Name:

Address: City: State: Zip:

Phone: Cell: Fax:

E-Mail: Website:

Other Information:

ADDRESSES

Name:

56

Address: City: State: Zip:

Phone: Cell: Fax:

E-Mail: Website:

Other Information:

Name:

Address: City: State: Zip:

Phone: Cell: Fax:

E-Mail: Website:

Other Information:

Name:

Address: City: State: Zip:

Phone: Cell: Fax:

E-Mail: Website:

Other Information:

Name:

Address: City: State: Zip:

Phone: Cell: Fax:

E-Mail: Website:

Other Information:

Name:

57

Address: City: State: Zip:

Phone: Cell: Fax:

E-Mail: Website:

Other Information:

Name:

Address: City: State: Zip:

Phone: Cell: Fax:

E-Mail: Website:

Other Information:

Name:

Address: City: State: Zip:

Phone: Cell: Fax:

E-Mail: Website:

Other Information:

Name:

Address: City: State: Zip:

Phone: Cell: Fax:

E-Mail: Website:

Other Information:

Name:

58

Address: City: State: Zip:

Phone: Cell: Fax:

E-Mail: Website:

Other Information:

Name:

Address: City: State: Zip:

Phone: Cell: Fax:

E-Mail: Website:

Other Information:

Name:

Address: City: State: Zip:

Phone: Cell: Fax:

E-Mail: Website:

Other Information:

Name:

Address: City: State: Zip:

Phone: Cell: Fax:

E-Mail: Website:

Other Information:

Name:

59

Address: City: State: Zip:

Phone: Cell: Fax:

E-Mail: Website:

Other Information:

Name:

Address: City: State: Zip:

Phone: Cell: Fax:

E-Mail: Website:

Other Information:

Name:

Address: City: State: Zip:

Phone: Cell: Fax:

E-Mail: Website:

Other Information:

Name:

Address: City: State: Zip:

Phone: Cell: Fax:

E-Mail: Website:

Other Information:

Name:

60

Address: City: State: Zip:

Phone: Cell: Fax:

E-Mail: Website:

Other Information:

Name:

Address: City: State: Zip:

Phone: Cell: Fax:

E-Mail: Website:

Other Information:

Name:

Address: City: State: Zip:

Phone: Cell: Fax:

E-Mail: Website:

Other Information:

Name:

Address: City: State: Zip:

Phone: Cell: Fax:

E-Mail: Website:

Other Information: