C.Y.A.

When you're a signing agent, it's easy to take the fall when something goes wrong. So it's important to cover your tracks as much as possible. Today I received an email from one of my title companies stating that the borrower's check was not in the return package. It was a professional email, nothing accusatory. Still, we all know that the though is that the signing agent messed up.

Now I know that many signing agents take their loan packages back to their home or office after the closing and notarize and review everything there before packing it up and shipping it off. But the better procedure is to complete the package, review everything, and pack up the loan documents at the closing. This way there's absolutely no questions about what might have happened. In my case, I was able to state that I clipped the check to the front of the package right in front of the borrower AND the loan officer who was also there. I then sealed the FedEx envelope in front of the loan officer. The loan officer was able to corroborate all of this. Whew, off the hook.