All Forum Posts by: Alison Wise

Without a signature and seal (stamp), I wouldn't think it would even be considered notarized. 

Exactly... without the grantor's signature, there isn't really anything to notarize.

@David Hanson

I'm a notary in California, so the laws here may be different than Georgia. However, CA has some of the strictest notary laws in the country, so I would guess that if anything Georgia would be more lenient. But I'm not a lawyer or GA notary.

I looked at their laws from this site https://www.gsccca.org/notary-and-apostilles/notaries/georgia-notary-law and couldn't find anything about when you can attach a certificate. In California we can attach a CA notary certificate to any document for any reason. I often do this if the original certificate doesn't have the correct CA verbiage, or if I make a mistake filling it out, or if the area is too small to fit my stamp.

Regarding question 2, it does say, "All

Notarial Acts Must be Accompanied by the Seal" in the link above. It doesn't need to be embossed, but from what I can tell, it should be there on the attached certificate along with the notary's signature.

You also said "no other signatures "... I would think your uncle's signature should definitely be there, as his would be the signature being notarized.

@Shannon Danko I became a loan signing agent after listening to the BP Money show with Mark Wills, and now am doing notary work (mostly loan signings) full time. Best choice I ever made for myself financially (although I still plan on investing in real estate, of course). I love being part of the home buying or refinancing process... people are usually happy to see you and you're close to the end of what's often been a rather long process.

I would suggest the NNA NSA course as well as Mark's Loan Signing System 6 figure Signing Agent course. Between those two I was able to learn what I needed to know (NNA NSA course was great for learning the documents, and the LSS course really teaches you how to actually do a signing and how to make money and grow your business).

Above all make sure you know your state's notary laws inside out!! Like read and re,read your handbook until you practically have it memorized. And then study the loan documents until you practically have those memorized as well.

There are a few ways to go about this that might work...

1. Go to the US embassy or consulate that's closest to your client. I'm guessing this is the option you were trying to do. Maybe try a different embassy or consulate in different area/region if that's a reasonable option.

2. Get it notarized by a local Japanese notary... this may require them to translate the document into Japanese. I did this once for a document when I lived in Korea, but definitely needed help from a Korean friend to explain to them what I needed and explain the proces to me, but it all worked out.

3. If your state allows it, RON (remote online notarization) may be an option. I know it's not allowed for CA notaries to do RON, but it might be possible depending on what the state allows as well as what the escrow and title companies allow, and lender allows if applicable. 

Hi Kristine! Best wishes on the new notary signing agent journey! I started a little over a year ago and it's now my full-time "job" and main source of income, and I love it!

Signing services usually have you Fedex the documents to Escrow/Title, so I would suggest not limiting yourself to only the ones in your area! Notary Rotary has a long list of signing services with stars to rate each signing service. There's also a Facebook group run by a lady named Brenda called "Deadbeat Signing Companies" that has a list of the worst signing services (see links below)

https://www.notaryrotary.com/s...

https://www.facebook.com/group...

I would also suggest signing up on NotaryCafe, Notary Dash, and SigningOrder.com (I can't remember if that's the same as signingagent.com, but I get notifications from them a lot!), and really just as many signing services as you can to gain experience.

Feel free to ask me any other notary questions you may have, I'm happy to help!

@Jeremy Pelle, I'm in LA, don't have 60k saved up, but when I do my plan is to buy a single family house (minimilum 3 bed, 2 bath) with an FHA + 203k loan to build an ADU. Will need to be in an affordable but safe area, and probably something that needs some work. House hack the main house by the bedroom, and rent out the ADU asap. Also build/convert an addition on the house into a Jr. ADU and rent that out as well.

@Carter Johnson, I'm happy to answer any specific questions you have, but "tagging along" or shadowing would violate the privacy of any signers as you would then see their non public personal information (NPPI). A lot of people do mock signings with a more experienced signing agent before they do their first. I could connect you with them, and there is also a Southern California Notary Success network that is really helpful. I'm in Redondo Beach, so Redlands would be a long drive, but please feel free to reach out.

Also, I definitely recommend the Loan Signing System course that Mark Wills teaches.

I'll weigh in on the closing part. I'm a mobile notary specializing in real estate documents in CA. While state laws vary greatly from state to state, but overall even if your state allows online notarization, it can be tough to get the lender, title, and escrow all on the same page. So MOST of the time, you'll need to sign actual physical papers because they need that wet signature. 

2. Usually you'll be given the choice of signing at the Escrow or Title office, OR having a mobile notary come to you. Sounds like you're doing a remote closing, and the notary is coming to you. In that case the notary generally has the documents already printed for you to sign as well as an unsigned copy for you to keep. I've heard of some places doing everything with e-signatures (like docu-sign) except for the documents that need notarized, but this is pretty rare. There is a LOT of room for fraud if you notarize through Zoom or Facetime, but some states are allowing this now with Covid-19 going on. California isn't allowing it, so check with your state (The National Notary Association, NNA, would be a good place to check). Also note that electronic notarization is not the same thing as Remote Online Notarization (RON). Electronic notarization still requires you to physically appear before the notary. 

3. It's entirely up to you, but most people prefer to have documents signed where they live or work as it's more convenient.

4. I don't think a lot of Zoom/Facetime closings are going on, though I have heard of it in other states, and heard it was a mess. Most Remote Online Notarizations use a specific platform. Since CA doesn't allow RON, I am definitely not doing closings this way. I personally leave it up to my signers where to do the signing, whatever they're most comfortable with. I think most notaries are doing the same. I've done some on patios by the pool (the wife stayed at least 20 ft. away from me the entire time, and her husband was the go-between, picking up the clipboard for me to pass, signing what he needed to sign, then walking over to her to get her signature.... more time intensive, but it worked), some in parking lots with a card table & lawn chairs, and one on the patio of a multi-million dollar home by the beach. But have also done signings indoors while wearing mask & gloves, and using hand sanitizer before and after as well as wiping down frequently touched items. I'm wearing mask & gloves for all signings, and would expect most notaries to do the same. 

If you do your signing outdoors, just make sure you or the notary has clipboards (preferably legal sized) as well as paperweights to keep documents from blowing away. 

@Juan Pardo

I'm only going to answer your questions about notaries here: we are NOT more well-versed in law than good attorney. Attorneys study the law for years (and usually have to go to law school) and have to pass the bar, which is quite difficult to pass. Notaries in CA take a 6-hour course, and pass a relatively easy test.

Notaries are meant to protect from fraud such as this situation by verifying the person's identity and having the person appear before us in person. Also by recording every notarization in a journal. Side note: this is another reason I'm quite wary of online notarization... there is so much more potential for fraud.

We (notaries) CANNOT give legal advice, but a good notary who is knowledgeable about real estate documents can help signers by knowing where to look to find answers to questions in the documents.

Wow. Crazy.

I'm a notary (in CA) myself so I hate to be suspicious of anyone in my own field, but seems sketchy to me because it took so long to call back and then the journal was lost/stolen???

If a notary's journal is lost/stolen, we are supposed to report it IMMEDIATELY to the secretary of state, so I would check that that happened before you contacted them. This is why I'm so careful to keep my journal meticulously and follow the rules of keeping it and my stamp in my possession or under lock and key.

Clearly it would have been a lot easier to prove if someone's ID info and thumbprint (required for all real estate related notarizations) was present on the journal.