All Forum Posts by: Alison Wise

I'm a mobile notary in California, and we were deemed essential as we are a service that supports the banking/finance industry. So depending on your state, typical closings may still be possible (I know CA is not an Attorney state, so it does make it a bit easier to complete closings at any location). 
Remote notarization is fairly new in some states, and I'm a bit concerned that suddenly introducing it like this could lead to a lot of fraud and just headaches as people learn how to use the technology.
I know a lot of escrow offices and title companies are still open but aren't allowing anyone but employees inside, or are working from home.
I can't say that I've done "curbside" closings yet, but 2 days ago I did a 100+ page refinance outdoors using a clipboard. Lots of hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, and mask & gloves!

I'm a notary in California, and while each state is different, there are 2 main types of notorial acts: acknowledgements and jurats. Acknowledgements can be signed ahead of time, but jurats must be signed in the presence of the notary. The notary certificate for acknowledgements usually has the word "acknowledged" in it, while a jurat usually has "subscribed and sworn."

Also, for both of those, the signer has to physically appear (meet in person, not online or over the phone) before a notary, so anyone other than the signer has any of the documents, it can't be legally notarized because the signer didn't physically appear before the notary. However, your state laws may vary, and Maine may allow for online notarization. 

Some escrow and title companies have their own notaries, so it's possible you could get it notarized there.

@Rassan Sampson, At first it was a lot more as I was working with signing services and I had some printer issues... so at first it took me like 2 hours to print b/c of the printer problem (Now it takes 5 min., 20 min. max, and usually I just pick up the docs already printed from the Escrow office). Appointments usually are 1 hour or less, but sometimes you get someone who wants to read every page of each document... so those take significantly longer... about 2 hours and I even had one for 4 hours because it was a LOT of docs, older signers, and they were chatty. Then scanning back... first time took me 1.5 hours, just because I had to keep resizing and figuring how how many pages equals the max MG I can send in one email. Now I usually don't have to scan back at all as most of my signings are direct, but if I do, it's like 15 or 20 minutes.  Driving time is really where I spend the most time... picking up and dropping off docs at Escrow/Fedex/UPS/USPS, and driving to and from the signing location.
So total average, not including driving to and from the signing itself would be 1.5-2 hours.

Just wanted to update this thread. I started this whole journey back in June when this episode came out. I'm only 20 signings in, but recently made the jump to go full-time and work mostly directly through escrow offices and title agencies. Marketing to escrow offices has been challenging, but I had my first direct signing today! It was a bit hectic, but I'm hoping that it helps create a good relationship with the escrow office. Didn't hit that goal of 10 signings a week yet, but I'm confident that if I keep marketing and building relationships and staying top of mind, I'll get there. 

Oh, and I do recommend the Loan Signing System that Mark Wills teaches, especially when it comes to building your business and knowing the best ways to go about that. I'll admit I was skeptical when I heard this episode, as he had all the energy of someone selling and expensive course, but it really isn't that expensive and in my opinion it's totally worth it if you want to accelerate the growth of your business.

Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions!

Regarding the notary fee, it depends how many notarizations are in the document package... sometimes you're better off eating the $200 mobile notary fee. I'm a mobile notary and there have been times when paying per notarization would have made me more than the flat fee. But yes, postal annex or other notary places that charge per notarization can definitely save you if you don't have a lot of notarizations. 

The only thing is there are a few docs that are slightly tricky to fill out that a notary signing agent who specializes in real estate loans would likely know more about how to fill out. 

Hi John!! I became a notary in August to do loan signings as well. Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer and this isn't legal advice, and your state laws may be different. So really make sure you know your state's notary laws. The NNA should have a handbook somewhere online that you can review.

That said, I had the same question when I started. The docs that need notarized will have a section that's referred to as the notorial certificate.  It won't be labeled as such on the docs, but there will always be a spot for the venue (state and county where you performed the notarization), date, name(s) of signer(s) who appeared before you, and notorial wording (definitely check your state laws on this... I live in CA and they are very specific about what wording is used, AND there needs to be a disclaimer box). The notorial wording usually looks something like the following for an acknowledgement:

"On this __ day of __________, 20__,  (name of signer) personally appeared before (your name, Notary Public) and proved to be the person whose name appears on this document and acknowledged that he/she signed this is her own capacity"

Then lines for your signature, sometimes date, commission number, and always a space for your stamp.

A Jurat will need to be signed in front of you, and is similar is wording to the acknowledgment, but will say something like "subscribed and sworn before me" in the certificate. 

I say this not to be rude or condescending, but you can get into legal trouble if you notarize something illegally.... so really make sure you know your state's notary laws before you head to a signing. You're a notary first and signing agent second.

Lastly, if you take the Loan signing System course, there is a list of hundreds of signing services you can sign up with. Snapdocs is a signing agent database, but numerous signing services use it to find notaries.

Sorry to write so much, hope its helpful! 

@Douglas Anderson

I took the LSS course and it was a gamechanger for me due to all the value he adds by talking about how to market to escrow offices and the ling list of signing services to get started with. You definitely need to know your state's notary laws inside out, which isn't part of the LSS course, but the LSS course is amazing at teaching you how to turn it into a business.

I'm a loan signing agent in Southern California, but know there are a bunch of Texas people in the Loan Signing System Facebook group I'm in. 

I only have about 14 signings under my belt and have yet to work directly with Escrow offices,  but plan on doing that full-time within the next 3-6 months. I think I averaged $500-$600 in my first 2 months VERY part time. 

If you haven't done so yet, I would check out the BiggerPockets Money episode with Mark Wills, where he talks more about it. I also highly recommend his course, as it can really accelerate your progress in getting started. He definitely adds value with a very supportive and positive Facebook group and even has a document of hundreds of signing services to contact when first getting started.

Also, if you're already a Notary you've already paid a lot of the startup expenses so why not go for it! 

Yes, printing and driving costs  do add up (especially at the beginning), and you do need to take those into account (track your miles, keep track of how much you spend on paper, ink, etc). But once you work directly with Escrow offices, it's more likely that they will do the printing for you.

That said, I'm in CA and not NJ.

I don't get any money to say this, but decided to do the Loan Signing System taught by Mark Wills, and it's been amazing. Particularly great for building a business doing loan signings, which you need to be a Notary Public to do. He also has great Facebook groups for support to ask and answer questions... which has been a lifesaver. He's on one of the episodes of the Bigger Pockets Money show (I think show 74). 

I started doing this very part time in mid-August and am already working at transitioning it to my full-time thing.