It's The New Year

Do you have a business plan? Now is the time to review your practices from 2007, decide what worked and what didn't, and plan out your marketing strategy for 2008. Decide on your goals; what do you want to make in 2008, how many new clients do you plan on picking up, how much do you want your business to grow, and how you're going to achieve this. Where are you going to spend your marketing money? What brought you business and what didn't?

A business plan doesn't have to be formal. Just write down what you want to accomplish and how you plan on doing it.

Adding A Map Function To Outlook

Live Search Maps for Outlook allows you to view and print maps directly from Outlook. If you use Outlook for your daily scheduling, this add on is incredible convenient and can save you time. After you've added an appointment on your Outlook calendar, click on the location tab (the address carries over from the location bar). In the "start location" box, enter your home address and save it (you won't have to enter it in the future). Select "get directions," and Outlook pulls up directions, a map, and estimated drive time. You can print directly from Outlook (it's an abbreviated map and sometimes a little difficult to read) or choose "Explore this location in Live Search Maps." This immediately jumps you to Live Search Maps, with all the information already added and mapped out. A history of prior addresses is saved in Outlook, so if your route changes or you need to map from one appointment to the next, just use the drop down button to pull up prior entries.

Thank You For Your Patronage

Do you say thank you to the people that send you business? With respect to those that think it's inappropriate, I believe that a small token of gratitude for past work (without absolutely any comment or insinuation of any future work) is proper and makes good business sense. Gift cards, as well as handmade or personal items are usually well received. Expensive gifts are improper, tacky, and can easily come off looking like a bribe for future work (can you say "illegal"). I make certain not to ever say anything about the future like "looking forward to working with you in the coming year," or "think of me if you need someone in my area," etc. Also, be aware that many companies have a strict policy about accepting gifts. Make absolutely certain there's no such policy or you'll likely send your favorite scheduler to the unemployment line (and that won't be good for either one of you).

Could We Have Done It Differently?

I've spent a lot of time reflecting back on the adjustable rate subprime loans I've handled over the years. What responsibility, what role, did signing agents play that brought us to our current situation? Could we have handled our part differently? It's always a fine line that we walk. Show the terms, but don't explain them. Be neutral and independent, but don't bite the hand that pays you. Don't advise, don't convince someone to sign anything they don't want to, but understand that if the borrower doesn't sign or if they rescind, you might not get paid or you might only get a trip fee.

So, if borrowers felt that they were misinformed or didn't understand what they were signing, how could the signing agent have prevented this (and how can we prevent it in the future)? Even though we can't EXPLAIN loan documents, everything a borrower needs to know is right there in three key documents; the settlement statement, the truth in lending form, and the note. In my opinion (and I know that the point and sign notary will disagree), it's not beyond our scope, it's not UPL, to SHOW the borrower their key information. On the note, they should see their interest rate, the first payment due date, when and if the loan becomes adjustable, the index, the margin, the cap, the payment grace period. On the settlement statement, they should be able to see where the mortgage fees are, the title fees, if there's an initial escrow being set up, if there's anything else being paid off, and any money they owe or are getting at closing. On the TIL, you should be able to show them what the monthly payment is without escrow, what estimated payments will be after the initial fixed period expires if applicable, and whether or not the loan may have a prepayment penalty. Also, it helps to understand the difference between an interest rate and an APR. Many loan packages have an additional sheet that explains the A through D boxes on the TIL, including the APR. I always keep a generic one on me if the borrower requires a clarification.

If a borrower SEES everything above, then they've got a solid knowledge of their loan terms. They can walk away feeling comfortable that they understand their loan, and a signing agent can walk away knowing they did their job without explaining, advising, or UPL.

Conflict of Interest

An interesting question was posed today about what is considered a conflict of interest when notarizing a signature. The following is an excerpt from Michigan's Notary Public Act (In Michigan, you can not notarize for family members. I'm told that some states do allow this as long as there is no conflict of interest):

A notary public shall not perform any notarial act in connection with a transaction if the notary public has a conflict of interest. As used in this subsection, "conflict of interest" means either or both of the following:
- The notary public has a direct financial or beneficial interest, other than the notary public fee, in the transaction.
- The notary public is named, individually, as a grantor, grantee, mortgagor, mortgagee, trustor, trustee, beneficiary, vendor, vendee, lessor, or lessee or as a party in some other capacity to the transaction.
- A notary public shall not perform a notarial act for a spouse, lineal ancestor, lineal descendant, or sibling including in-laws, steps, or half-relatives.

What the statute DOESN'T cover is a situation where a legal conflict may not exist, but may still have the appearance of impropriety. Even the slightest appearance of a conflict (notarizing for a friend, boyfriend/girlfriend, co-worker) could draw a notary into an undesirable situation. Brenda Stone of TexNotary has a wonderful way with words. Here are her (unofficial) rules when notarizing for friends/family:

- If you have even the slightest blush of concern about conflict of interest, don't do it.
- If you have to ask a notary board--you are already conflicted, it's not worth it, don't do it.
- If there are two sides to "the story", don't do it.
- If the sight or mention of your name will tick someone off who MAY see the document later, don't do it.
- If you have to bend the rules even ever-so slightly, don't do it.
- If the person is always in some kind of dysfunctional mess, don't do it.
- If they often get crossways with others, don't do it.
- Getting a notary is cheap. Pay a few bucks now to save yourself a ton of worry later. Just remember, Murphy's Notary Law States: No notary's good deed goes unpunished. EVER.

Notarizing With Physical Limitations

I love this career. I find it extremely rewarding. But there are times when notaries are drawn into very unpleasant situations. Last night was one of those situations. I was called to travel to a hospital to notarize a signature on a power of attorney for a man that I was told was gravely ill and had only hours to live. I was told that the individual was able to sign and that he was conscious and aware. After arriving, I was then informed that he was not physically able to sign. What to do next? In Michigan, a notary public can sign the name of a person whose physical limitations prevent them from signing or making a mark. Per 55.293, section 33 of the Michigan Notary Public Act, a notary public must be directed orally, verbally, physically, or through electronic or mechanical means provided by the individual to sign that person's name. The person must be in the physical presence of the notary public. Beneath the signature, the notary public inscribes the following: “Signature affixed pursuant to section 33 of the Michigan notary public act.”

Unfortunately, once I was taken to the room it was very clear that the individual was not aware or alert, and could in no way direct me to sign on their behalf. As difficult as it was, my only reasonable action was to decline.

As a notary public, this kind of situation is not uncommon. I would encourage everyone to know what their state allows in the event that an individual is physically unable to sign on their own behalf.

Collecting Past Due Debts

With many signing services struggling to meet their financial obligations, collecting on past due debts has become a hot topic. There have been some, um, unusual suggestions on how to collect these debts, including involving government officials or selling your debt to someone within close physical proximity to the company that owes the debt in hopes that they may have a better chance to collect the debt in person.

I believe a typical step approach still works best. Notify the signing service first by phone or e-mail, then if there's no resolution notify them in writing, then by certified letter, then proceed to small claims court or other legal remedies. If you've had a past relationship with the signing service with no prior problems, there's nothing wrong with a little patience. Public pressure seems to have an affect as well, so if you've tried reasonable measures with no success, calling out the offending party on some of the notary forums has worked in the past. No company wants a bad reputation. Contacting the title company can sometimes put pressure on the signing service. But understand that some of these steps, although they may eventually get you paid, may also alienate you from these companies. Temporary financial situations do sometimes arise, and you may not want to burn your bridges.

Above all, it's important to stay professional. Calling ten times a day, faxing them hundreds of times in an attempt to tie up their fax machine, or calling a borrower directly only serves to reflect poorly on you. If you intend on having a continued career in the industry, handle yourself in the same professional manner you would handle your loan signings.

Where Should You List Your Notary Services?

It seems that we're bombarded on a daily basis by listing companies, websites, and advertisers who want our money to list our notary services with them. They all claim to be different, they all claim that they're the premiere notary site, they all claim that they'll attract business. How do you know what to believe? Most signing agents agree that the top sites to list your notary services generally include Signingagent.com, Notary Rotary, 123Notary, GoMobileNotary, and GoGetNotary. Other than that, list yourself on any free sites you can find.

As far as the other gazillion places that want you to pay to list with them, it's important to do your due diligence. First of all, check to see how well they do in Google and other search engines. If you search for terms like "signing agent" or "mobile notary" and their listing doesn't come up on the first few pages, then who's really finding them anyway? In addition, I have the Google Toolbar with Pagerank installed on my Internet Explorer browser. Pagerank measures the relative importance of a site from zero to ten, so a zero or one Pagerank probably doesn't bode well for the visibility of a listing site. I also have the Alexa Toolbar on my Firefox browser. Alexa provides statistics on a site's popularity. Although Alexa stats aren't exact and can sometimes be manipulated, it can still help give you an overall view of a site's usefulness.

For more information on the various directories including a list of some free directories, GoGetNotary has an excellent article.

Is The Mobile Notary Business For You?

It's amazing that despite a serious mortgage crisis and dwindling work for many experienced signing agents, new signing agents continue to crop up on a daily basis. Even in the best of times, the notary signing agent profession isn't for everyone. The following was posted on a small business blog. I have no idea who wrote it, but I think it does a fairly good job of discussing some of the commitment it takes to become a mobile signing agent.

Michigan Recording Requirements - What a Notary Should Know

The recording requirements for Michigan recently came up in a forum discuss. Unfortunately the information that was given out was incorrect, so I think it's worth clarifying. The Michigan Recording Requirements are stated under section 565.201, Act 103 of 1937.

The first thing to note is that there are no stated witness requirements for Michigan.

Next, part (b) states that a discrepancy must not exist between the name of each person as printed, typewritten, or stamped beneath their signature and the name as recited in the acknowledgment or jurat on the instrument (If their name is John C. Borrower on the signature line, your acknowledgment or jurat must read John C. Borrower as well, not John Borrower, or Johnny C. Borrower, etc.).

Part (c) indicates that the name of any notary public whose signature appears upon the instrument is legibly printed, typewritten, or stamped upon the instrument immediately beneath the signature of that notary public.

Also, part (iv) states that the instrument is legibly printed in black ink on white paper. The reason this is of note is that some counties interpret this to mean that ALL printing on the document must be in black. So when a notary is adding any information such as their printed name, commission expiration, county, borrowers names, etc., some counties require this information to be in black. Michigan does NOT indicate any pen color requirements for signatures (but please put away you glitter pen).

I'm going to add a permanant link to the recording requirements on the resources page.

Delivering Daily Mortgage Industry News

In an effort to keep you continually updated with events & news affecting all of us, I've added a mortgage news feed to the bottom of my website homepage. If you're interested in doing the same with your own site, it's a simple process. Go to the Mortgage News Daily website, Choose option #1, answer a few questions about how you want your feed to appear, and hit the update button. This will generate the proper code to paste into your website.

Becoming a Notary Public in Your State

Linda Maddox at Notarynote.com created a helpful page linking to notary information for all fifty Secretary of State offices. These pages typically provide information on how to become a notary public in that state, as well as each state's notary rules and regulations.

Tip Sheet for Reverse Mortgages

As a follow up to my post on August 27th, Title Stream has provided me with their tip sheets regarding reverse mortgages and have allowed me to post those sheets here. If you've never had a reverse mortgage signing, these will give you a general overview of how reverse mortgages work and how these packages differ from conventional mortgages.

Both docs are in .pdf format. Anyone who wants them can e-mail me at alex@detroitnotary.com.

i Love iGoogle

iGoogle is a personalized page that allows you to pick from thousands of mini-applications (called gadgets) to set up your own personal homepage (I use Internet Explorer's tabbed browser and have several different homepages that open up all at once). Although there are others, such as Pageflakes, that offer similar customization, iGoogle offers more useful tools, especially for signing agents. My iGoogle homepage includes my local weather, sticky notes, local traffic, my Gmail and Hotmail inbox displayed directly on the page, bookmarks, driving directions, a mortgage calculator, a gas price tracker, and customized sports scores (Hey, a guy can't be ALL business). But my favorite is a small little application that allows you to instantly convert any document to a PDF file. iGoogle also has tabbed pages, so you can set up one page for business, one page for news and sports, one page for fun, etc.

And in what can only be described as completely useless but totally cool, you can select a page theme (I selected CityScape) and watch as the page changes based on the time of day and your local weather.

The Reverse Mortgage

I had the opportunity to handle several reverse mortgages this week. Reverse mortgages are quite different from the conventional mortgages that most of us are used to handling. Per Title Stream's information sheet, a reverse mortgage is used to convert equity from a borrower's home into cash. Instead of making monthly payments to a lender, the lender makes payments to the borrower (either as an initial lump sum, as a monthly payment to the borrower, as a line of credit or as a combination of these). The borrower must be 62 years of age or older. No payments are due by the borrower. The loan only becomes due when the borrower no longer occupies the property (either by moving out, selling the home, or passing away) and the amount owed can never exceed the value of the home at the time the loan becomes due.

Brenda Stone of Tex Notary has compiled a comprehensive 150 page guide to reverse mortgages. Included in the guide is a quick start section that I personally found incredibly helpful. The guide can be purchased by sending $9.95 to TexNotary@gmail.com via paypal.com. You''ll receive the guide within hours.

Jurat vs. Acknowledgement - Notary 101

This is one of the first things a notary should learn, but it still seems to cause confusion. Even the Secretary of State has problems getting it right (see the comment on the Certified True Copy post). So it seems a good time for a basic refresher. A notarial act requires one of two types of wording, either a jurat or an acknowledgement.

A jurat is required when a signer is swearing to the content of the document. A notary attests that the signer personally appeared before them, was given an oath or affirmation by the notary swearing to the truthfulness of the document, and signed the document in the notary's presence. An example of this kind of wording is "Subscribed and sworn to by ______ before me on the _____ day of ___."

An acknowledgment is used to confirm the identity of the document signer and acknowledge that they signed the document. They are not swearing to the truthfulness or validity of any statement. An example is "Acknowledged by ______ before me on the ____ day of ____." Per the Michigan Secretary of State, a signer is not required to sign the document in the presence of a notary. They must, however, personally appear in front of the notary to confirm their signature.

Although it is important to know the difference, it is not up to the notary to determine the correct wording.

Certifying a True Copy of an Original

Notaries are sometimes requested by individuals to certify a copy of a document as a true copy of the original (As I was yesterday). Some states do allow a notary to perform this function (see below), but not Michigan. A Michigan notary can only acknowledge the signature of the person making the original or certified true copy statement on the document. Per the Michigan Secretary of State, in this situation an individual can print or type: "this is a true copy of my _____ " (list type of document) directly on the document. The notary would then notarize the signature. Otherwise, only the issuer of the document (ex: Secretary of State for a driver's license, a university for school records, etc.) can certify a true copy of an original.

The U.S. State Department compiled a list in 2005 (found on Wikipedia) indicating which states are allowed to certify copies and under what circumstances.

Add Your Business to Google Maps

If you've used Google Maps, you're aware that you can find businesses by entering querys directly in the search bar. Did you know that you can add your signing agent listing for free? Go to Google Maps, http://maps.google.com/maps, choose "add or edit your business," then "add new business." Provide your location (full address, just a street, or just the city) and a description of your services. Once you're finished, Google's automated system calls you to verify your listing. That's it. To see an example of what it might look like, you can do a search for "notary plymouth michigan." You'll see my Detroit Signing Agent listing on the left.

Prepayment Penalty Limits

Despite the fact that most states have set limits on prepayment penalties (1% for three year in Michigan), you've probably seen the occasional loan that has a penalty above and beyond this limit. I've asked several knowledgeable people in the industry how this can occur, but I've never received a clear answer. Until now. In an article published in the Detroit Free Press on 07/22/07, Real Estate expert Ilyce Glink explains that federally chartered lenders are permitted to circumvent state limits. This applies to "any lender that has established its charter as a federal savings bank or under federal law." For more information, you can visit Ilyce's website:
http://www.thinkglink.com/Prepayment_Penalties_Persist.htm