Colorado Springs Notary - Leon Austin

I did a closing yesterday for a title company. I have worked with this company many times. They make mistakes, but I'm able to catch them so that things work out.

They made a mistake with this closing. They left a document out of the package. The documents were all sent together in one file, so there is no chance that I neglected to print one of the attachments. It's really not the mistake they made that bothers me, but the way they handled it.

If you need a document signed, and it's urgent, the most efficient way to contact the notary signing agent is by cell phone. Not by email, which is how they notified me.  I don't sit at a desk all day. I'm on the road.  If someone sends me an email at 12 noon, I might not see it until 12 midnight. So a lot of time was wasted by the way they notified me.

Also, the way they worded the email, it makes it look like the signing agent neglected to do something. Here is the email:

Anyone who understands the English language might get the impression that it was a notary signing agent error. When they read: the document "did not make it back", it appears that the document was misplaced, or that the signing agent failed to have it signed. I don't know. Maybe the document left the package on its own and decided it didn't want to go back. Okay, I'm being facetious. But there is no mention at all that the document was not included in the loan package.  So how can a document "make it back" if it was never sent?  I still have the file as proof.

I handled this as professionally as possible.  I contacted the borrower this evening. I wasn't able to speak with him, but I left a message.  I didn't blame the title company. I simply said that there is an additional document that needs to be signed, and I want to make arrangements to get it signed.  As for the title company, I will let them know tomorrow that I expect to be compensated for making an additional trip. My policy is: get the job done first -- haggle about money later. Also, if I make the error, I correct it at my expense.  If they make the error, they have to pay.

Will I work with this company again?  Of course. Why not? No one is perfect. We all make mistakes.

But if you make a mistake, then come right out and say, in plain English, that you made a mistake. Don't mince words.

When I arrived at the closing yesterday, the borrowers daughter greeted me. She was probably 8 years old. She introduced me to her parents: "This is my dad." "And this is my mom." Her father responded, "She's the information source in the family."

During the signing she wanted to stay around and watch her parents sign the loan documents. After a while she became impatient, just sitting there and watching. She got up and began doing gymnastics. Her mother told her not to. But she kept getting up and going through the motions as if she were going to do a cartwheel.  I could sense that this was something she really wanted to do.

Finally at the end of the signing I asked her parents if it was okay for her to do a cartwheel for me. She didn't need any prodding. She did a cartwheel, right there in the living room. I applauded and said, "Bravo!"  She was beaming with pride.  Her father explained that it was something new she had learned.

This is one of the things I like about being a notary signing agent: getting to meet so many people. And it's especially nice when you get entertained by their kids.

By the way, it was a very good cartwheel. I'll give it a 10.

I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on reverse mortgages. Nor will I try to lead you to believe that what is in this topic constitutes any type of "training" at all.  Quite the contrary.  There is no special "training" that notary signing agents need to do reverse mortgages. At least that is my opinion.

What prompted me to write this topic is an email that I received this morning. The first line of the message states:

"The only growth in loan closings is in Reverse Mortgages"

I do believe that there will be a lot of growth in reverse mortgages. I don't believe that it will be the "only" growth. But moreover, I don't believe that notary signing agents need any special training. I wrote about this in a previous topic on reverse mortgages.

The primary source that I used to learn about reverse mortgages was The Complete Handbook of Loan Documents and Transactions, published by the NNA (National Notary Association).

If you turn to Chapter 3, you will find all that you need to know about reverse mortgages.  Just about every document that you will come across in a reverse mortgage loan package is included, with an explanation.

Some of the documents have 'Notes' attached to them. For example, why there are two Deeds of Trust.

And as I mentioned in the other topic, you will often get explicit instructions from the title company on what to do. There really isn't that much that is different about reverse mortgages that would require special "training" on the part of the notary signing agent.

If you want to do additional reading, I recommend Professor Jack Guttentag's book: The Mortgage Encyclopedia.

He devotes several pages to reverse mortgages, beginning on page 194.

There is also Reverse Mortgages for Dummies, by Sarah Glendon Lyons and John E. Lucas.

There are also many resources on my website, if you go to the reverse mortgage

What I foresee is that there will be many companies and individuals selling reverse mortgage "training" courses and materials. They will try to convince notary signing agents that they cannot gain a foothold into these types of loans unless they buy their course or training manual. To be honest with you, I considered putting together some type of manual myself. But I realized how unnecessary it is.  The fact is, everything a notary signing agent needs to know about reverse mortgages, they basically know already. And with the help of The Complete Handbook of Loan Documents, there really isn't anything else they need, apart from a desire to serve these clients.

Good luck

Ever since the inception of the new 1003 loan application there has been uncertainty among notary signing agents about the signatures required on the top of the first page.  The confusion is in the instructions that are given:

If there are two borrowers, then of course you have both of them sign the top. But what if it's a single borrower?

Sometimes there are instructions included:

Note that in the next example, the plural form of borrower is in parentheses (s), indicating that there should be a signature at the top, whether it's a single borrower, or if there is a co-borrower:

However, instructions are not always given. Unless I receive instructions otherwise, I will have a single borrower sign the top.  My thinking is that, if the application doesn't require a signature on the first page, and since it's a copy of the 1003, the lender can swap it out with a new page.  And if it is required, you have the signature.

Good luck.

When I first started as a notary signing agent I would try to book as many closings in a day as possible. I figured that it would take me no longer than an hour to get through a closing, and make it to the next one. That is, until I encountered my first ... "reader".

"Readers" are borrowers who want to take their time and read everything: Closing instructions, notary instructions, ... even the FedEx shipping label. They want to read it.

There are many reasons why borrowers want to read everything. They may be curious, or suspicious, or want to appear as if they are financially savvy and are actually reading and understanding every single word of the Deed of Trust. Yes, that's right. Even the Deed of Trust. All 15+ pages of it!

When I see that I am faced with a person who wants to read everything, I remind them that they are receiving a copy of all of the loan documents -- word for word, page for page. And if there is a Right to Cancel, I remind them that they have 3 days to go over the documents, and that, even if they sign everything, they are not bound to anything if they exercise their right to cancel the loan. Sometimes this helps. Sometimes it doesn't.

Surprisingly one of the strategies that I use that seems to work most often with readers is this: I tell the borrowers, "Take as much time as you like to go over the document." I do this with each one. Even if there are only two sentences on the page. Primarily I want to give them the impression that I am not in a hurry, and that I'm not rushing them. Something else happens. They become aware and begin to realize just how long they are actually taking, and realize that they could possibly be sitting there for 8 hours at the pace they are going ... or even longer!  They decide for themselves that they don't really want to sit there forever.

The last thing I will ever tell a borrower, or even hint to them, is that I need to be somewhere else. I don't want them to feel any pressure at all. I don't even look at my watch.

And that is one of the reasons why I don't book my closings so close together. I want to be prepared for the possibility that I may encounter ... a "reader".

Good luck.

One of the most difficult parts of my job is getting the borrower to understand that I am a notary signing agent, and that I do not work for the lender or title company. I am an independent contractor. They are under the impression that I perhaps have a desk or office at the title company, and that is where I work.

Not only that, but it is difficult to get them to understand that notary signing agents are not at liberty to discuss the terms of the loan with the borrower, give them any kind of advice, or explain how to complete any of the documents. There is some amount of explaining of the loan documents that we are allowed to do, but it is very limited.

The National Notary Association has prepared a 'Pledge of Ethical Practice', and recommends that notary signing agents present a copy of it to the borrower at the beginning of the closing. This is what the business card looks like:

I intend to use it. It lets the borrower know that notary signing agents are not at liberty to interpret the contents of the loan documents, and that they should refer to the lender, title company, or an attorney if they have any important questions. It can be produced in business card format, and there is also a certificate format.  The print on the business card is a bit small and may be hard to read, so I'll present the certificate format for them to read. I may still have some of the business cards made to leave with the borrower.

The pledge can be downloaded from the National Notary Association website by logging on to the Notary Signing Agent Section.

What is a notary signing agent

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"The National Notary Association is the nation's professional Notary organization and serves the professional, educational, career and business needs of Notaries throughout the U.S. Since 1957, the NNA has helped Notaries to serve society responsibly and ethically."

The borrower is not required to pay the notary signing agent fee.  The obvious reason for this is that they have already been charged closing costs. They are all outlined on the HUD Settlement Statement. What the notary signing agent should be paid comes out of those fees.  To ask the borrower to pay anything above and beyond that is not only morally and ethically wrong, it is in violation of RESPA.

I can understand how some notary signing agents might want to take such measures.  When you haven't been paid, you look to any possible person as a means of getting paid: the title company, the lender, the loan officer, ... even the receptionist. Anyone. But leave the borrower out of it.

I did a reverse mortgage closing last week. There is a document in the loan package that tells the borrower that, if they cancel the loan they are responsible for paying the notary signing agent fee:

I don't tell the borrower to sign or do not sign it. But if they ask me to explain what it means, I will tell them, of course. Not only does it tell them that they are responsible for paying the notary signing agent, it also means that the signing service is not liable for paying the signing agent.

Normally the borrowers will sign it, with no questions asked. Many will tell me that they want the reverse mortgage, and that they have no intention of cancelling.  And so far, out of all the many reverse mortgages that I have done, there has never been a cancellation.  Nevertheless, the notary signing agent fee is not something that the borrower should be responsible for.  And even if the borrower ever did cancel a reverse mortgage loan, I don't intend to go after them to collect. I will deal with the company that hired me.

The costs to the borrower are high enough. Pursuing the borrower to collect my fee is not the right thing to do.

P.S. The only time that I have ever charged the borrower for cancelling a loan was the time I drove 40 miles to Pueblo to do a closing. The borrower's father was there. He convinced his daughter that the loan was a bad deal. She had a bunch of bear claws on the table. She felt bad about me driving all the way down there. I told her that it wasn't a problem. I told her that the only thing I'll charge her is one of those bear claws for my trip back to Colorado Springs. She gladly paid it.

I often get calls from people requesting mobile notary service. I do the best I can to get them as soon as possible. I know how I would feel if I were in their situation. It's the same feeling you have when you call a taxi, or call your automobile club for road service. You want them to get there quickly.

Mobile notaries serve many people. Many of us also do loan closings. And we cover very large areas. We are not like a taxi company that has a large fleet of taxis covering many different parts of the city.  It's very possible that I will get a call from someone in Colorado Springs requesting notary service, but I will be in Pueblo at the time, serving someone else. It could be an hour or more before I get back to Colorado Springs.

This is what happened yesterday. Someone wanted notary service, but they weren't ready at the time they called. They didn't have all of the things they needed. In the meantime I got a call to go to Pueblo. While I was in Pueblo the first person called and said they were ready.

It would be nice if we could all have our own staff, ready and waiting to serve us as soon as we call them. Wouldn't it be nice to have your own private doctor, private lawyer, private accountant, ... etc? They would serve only you. 

It can never be that way with notaries. I guess that's one of the main reasons why we are called a notary public.

I got a call this morning to notarize a Last Will and Testament. Whenever I get a request like this, there are a few things that I want to make sure of: there will be sufficient witnesses, and that the document has a notary certificate. This is an instance in which I will never add a loose certificate. I also want it to be known that I cannot give any kind of legal advice, and cannot assist in filling out the document.

The daughter didn't have the witnesses available at the time she called me, so the signing was put off until she could get witnesses.

In the meantime I got a call from a title company to do a closing 40 miles away in Pueblo. It was a rush assignment. While I was at the closing table I got a call from the daughter saying that she had the witnesses and wanted me to come by. I explained that I was in a closing and that it would be a couple of hours until I got back to Colorado Springs.

When I got back I took care of a few matters pertaining to the closing and prepared the documents for shipping. I called the daughter and let her know that I was back in the Springs and could be there in 20 minutes. On the way, I dropped off the documents.

Everyone was there who needed to be present. I took a look at the will to make sure that everything was in order. It was. The mother was confined to lying in a bed in the living room and had a difficult time signing. I helped the daughter get her mother in an upright position. It was an adjustable bed. There was a blank in the will that required information. The daughter asked me what she should write.  I reminded her that I am not permitted to give any kind of advice or tell her how to fill out the will.  She eventually figured out how to fill it out.  The rest of the signing went without any problems. The witnesses signed where they needed to sign and the mother signed the document. I notarized the signatures.

I asked the daughter, out of curiosity, where she obtained the document. She said she got it off the internet: US Legal.

After the signing I wrote the daughter a receipt for notary services, spoke a few words to her and her mother, then left.

Notarizing a Last Will and Testament poses no problems to the notary, as long as they keep in mind that they are not to give any kind of legal advice, or tell how the document should be filled out. And they must make sure that there are sufficient witnesses present. I don't know the notary laws of all states, and whether it is permissable for notaries in all states to notarize a Last Will and Testament. In Colorado, it is permissable.

As I was going through some old papers that I had been saving, deciding which ones to keep and which ones to throw away, I came across a scrap of paper that had a quote by Robert Schuller:

"Whatever you do today, do it better tomorrow."

It's a simple, yet very profound statement.

To me it means that we should never become complacent and believe that we can't improve. Because we can. If you are doing something well, try to find ways to do it better. There are. And keep striving to improve.  This way of thinking can be applied to all areas of our life.

I think that's one scrap of paper that I'll hold on to.

If you would like to read more from the wisdom of Robert Schuller, I recommend the book: Move Ahead with Possibility Thinking. It was published back in 1967, but it is timeless wisdom.

My copy is an old reprint from 1981, but you can find a newer version of it on amazon.com or at a bookstore for used books.

This is taken from the back cover of the book.

"I feel certain that any person who will read this book and act on it will be able to achieve anything he or she wants. I have read many books which offered inspiration and hope and presented positive programs for action. Move Ahead with Possibility Thinking is one of the best." - Norman Vincent Peale

I have also been saving an article that appeared in the October 21, 2001 issue of Parade Magazine: If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It.  You might be able to find it if you do a search on the internet. These words from Robert Schuller are taken from the article:

"... as long as you have a burning desire and a dream, you can go anywhere from nowhere."  If any of you saw the movie, 'The Pursuit of Happyness', you know that that is possible.

Good luck, and never stop growing.