Notary News & Notes: April 2007
We are going to start sending News and Notes via email to eliminate the paper. We’ve had great feedback on the newsletters and we hope to continue. Communication is key! A couple things to discuss this month:
E and O insurance: For those agents who carry E&O, please update your file by sending in your new policy if it expired this past year or recently.
FaxBack’s: Please make sure to fax in your faxback requirements after each closing. We have taken ownership of faxback’s to ensure clients get what they need. This also enables us to spot erroneous errors.
Background checks: If you have not already done so, please get your background check done. Signing Carolina has negotiated a special rate of $23. Just call our office and we’ll set you up. We are seeing more clients asking for this. One client (ILS) will not let us use any agent who has not been screened.
Notary errors : We tend to see this alot at month end when agents are doing too many closings for not just us but several companies. Agents tend to hurry and don’t QC their work as closely.
Please double check your work. Force your eyes to look at every page, from top to bottom, scan for blank spaces and focus in on the notary acknowledgement sections reading them from the venue right thru to the end, making sure everything is filled in, stamped and signed.
ILS issues: ILS sends us a quality report showing errors we made. What we are seeing routinely come up is:
- The Cert of ID forms….These have to be completed and signed at the bottom. Including copies of the DL is not what they want. They want the form filled out and signed at the bottom by the agent.
- Name Affidavits – Again, make sure to fill them out completely and notarize.
- Confirming appts – Make sure to call and confirm appt within the time specified on your order (usually within 24 hours). We are getting calls from ILS especially telling us that their borrower called and has not heard from anyone. Why is this important? When setting the appt with the borrower, ILS is telling them that someone will be scheduled soon and they will be called within ‘x’ period of time. When ‘x’ passes and no call, this begins the spiral of inquiries.
Sign as printed: Borrowers routinely want to sign their names differently. We’ve all seen it happen. Or there are variations of their name throughout the package. Agents have to keep an eye on this and make sure they sign exactly as typed. If the borrower messes up, use the copy from the borrower set of docs.
Fee issues: Any issue with a fee is to be addressed with us not the lender or title company. A few occasions recently, we’ve had agents contact our client for payment issues rather than calling us.
Instructions: We are seeing folks make mistakes that could have been avoided had they taken the time to read the instructions given with the order. We can’t be in such a hurry that we just go on auto-pilot and assume everything is the same.
Edoc printing: Everyone should be printing with laser printers. Inkjets are not the way to go with this type of work. Please make sure that you thumb thru the pages to ensure they printed out correctly, not cut off, not faded, not shrunken, etc.
Backing out on an assignment: We understand that things happen from time to time. But outside an emergency, we expect an agent to follow thru with an order once it is accepted. If there is a doubt about taking the assignment (distance/money, etc) we would prefer you decline the appt. Backing out leaves us in a bind especially if the docs in question are overnighted
Please email us for rate information.
Signing Carolina, Inc.
3220 Rockingham Road, High Point, NC 27265
Phone: 336.992.3304 Fax: 800.930.0554
Member of the National Notary Association