Covers a wide variety of topics. Make sure you read them all to get all the information.
by Victoria Ring---Bio
Dear Victoria: I spoke with your assistant in regards to the virtual bankruptcy assistant business (aka bankruptcy forms processor) and I am truly inspired to begin this business. I am already a notary signing agent. In regards to the bankruptcy processing business (now that I have decided to start the business and order your book) do we have to go to a training class or become certified? In other words, we can order the book and the software, but how will we become trained in actually inputting the information in the software? Is there a workshop that we need to attend to get some hands on experience? I just want to make sure that once I have the software and supplies, that I'll be confident and experienced (at least a little) to go to an attorney and market myself. Thanks for your input. --Tammy
Dear Tammy: Please be aware that it is ILLEGAL to issue any type of certification for a bankruptcy forms processor. If anyone offers you one, it is nothing but a rip-off or a "pipe dream." The federal court system is the only one that could issue a certification for anything dealing with the bankruptcy court and the certification would need to be administered by attorneys trained in the law. Paralegals are the only legal entity I know of that provides certification for non-attorneys through the PACE http://www.paralegals.org/ or CLA/CP http://www.nala.org/ exams.
As far as training, 50 State Notary provides a wide range of materials for you. Andy Matyac has almost completed the bankruptcy training CD where he walks you through the petition from beginning to end on the computer. On Tuesday nights we hold the bankruptcy teleconferences at http://www.50statenotary.com/teleconference/ and we have scheduled all-day Seminars at http://www.713training.com/seminars/. The actual preparation of a bankruptcy petition is NOT taught in any paralegal school or training course. It is training that can only be obtained through seminars, workshops and books, and of course, the materials sold at our main company, 713Training.Com.
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Dear Victoria: Thank you so much for letting me drop in at the last minute to your telephone conference last night. You and Victoria Rivera were a life saver is giving me much needed information for my first signing with a notary signing company and doing e-docs. (The signing did not take place because the documents were not right, but will be corrected or redrawn). I noted that the note and deed of trust on last night's docs were dated a day earlier, and I would have preferred that all docs were dated contemporaneous with the intended signing date. However, that did not seem harmful to me since the lender doesn't start charging interest to the borrower until the loan is funded. On the other hand, it seemed to me that the 3 day rescission period documents must reflect the actual date of signing since that is what starts the borrower's 3 day period, so if we had completed the signing, I would have corrected the date on that document.
Are these kinds of issues what notaries are talking about when they are complaining and worrying about "back-dating" documents, as they seem to do so frequently? Or are they only talking about instances where the notary is asked to FALSELY attest that the notarization was done on an earlier date than it was actually done? Of course, notaries should NEVER do that, but if the customer signs a note dated the 27th when the date of the signing is really the 28th, do you see any harm in that? Is that "back dating?" -- George Wynns
Dear George: Backdating is notarizing any documents that have a different date on them than when the signing is taking place. So if the documents are dated for the 27th and it is the 28th -- the lender needs to redraw the documents. A day can make a big difference in a variety of ways including changes in interest, taxes and other matters dealing with a specific loan. Backdating documents is illegal.
Additional Information About Backdating Documents
There are two different types of dates included within documents. One is the PRINTED date and the other is the HAND WRITTEN date where the notary and borrowers write in the date the documents are being signed.
The answer that I provided to the subscriber above was solely from the perspective of the HAND WRITTEN date. It was not referring to the PRINTED date of the documents. The PRINTED date can be different from the HAND WRITTEN date. This will NOT constitute backdating. However, if today is August 6 and the company asks you to notarize a document and write in the date you notarize the document as July 31 instead -- that is illegal.
And if you think about it, you should be able to logically understand why it would be illegal to commit this act. When you notarize a document you are stating that you notarized that document on a specific date by writing in the date you actually notarized it. If you write in a different date you are lying (which is fraud) and this is one reason the act is illegal. Therefore, do not allow any company to corner you into feeling guilty about backdating documents. Normally, the only reason they want you to do it is because they want to make their records look good and meet their quota for the month. No documents should ever need to be backdated and if a company wants to intimidate and threaten you because you refuse to write in a different date than the date your are notarizing a document, you will know their selfish reason behind it and hopefully refuse to do the signing.
Besides, any company that would ask a professional notary to commit an illegal act is NOT a company I want to do business with. When I was active in the field I had my own "black list" of companies that I refused to do business with. You may want to do the same and keep track of companies who operate in a fraudulent manner. Then you can refer back to your list and make sure you do not accept business from them. You should never sacrifice the professionalism of the industry and your reputation for a few dollars.
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Dear Victoria: You are doing a great service for signing agents across the nation. Thank you so much. This business has been so good to me. I grossed over $100,000 last year and this year is set to do the same. I love the business and now my wife quit her very stressful social work job and is now in my business.
I would like your opinion about the following idea I been working on. I am thinking about targeting major cities, advertise, and offer a seminar on how to get into this business. Based on the dollar volume of mortgages in most major cities closing agents are only touching the tip of the iceberg so to speak. I believe I could add a new area to my company and of course new income and at same time and be of great service. I was thinking of an initial seminar then a training seminar on all aspects of the business and marketing programs. Also, a consultation service to help them through the year. I would like to connect with you in a big way and offer all your services, books, etc as part of the program. I have done many seminars in the past and enjoy them. Do you have any thoughts on this? Thanks for your great work and best wishes to you. Also, I have a web site of my own and of course am a member of your association as well. My web site is http://jallenservices.net --James Ashlock
Dear James: I think it is wonderful that you are interested in putting together workshops in your area to help train notaries. However, I am not the correct person to ask for advice at this time since the Columbus workshop will be the FIRST one I have ever done completely on my own. (In the past I have been a guest speaker at many seminars hosted by other companies, but I have not conducted my own and therefore do not have the experience at this time to offer you expert advice.)
Before I started planning my workshops I went on the internet and did a search under "speakers." I located some speakers that were as close to my target market as possible and contacted them for a consultation. I paid each one $25.00 for a 30-minute interview to obtain the information I needed to get my first workshop off the ground. I suggest you do the same and ask your questions of professionals who have 100s or 1,000s of seminars under their belt. One person I do know that does workshops on a weekly basis and probably can offer some expert guidance to get you started is Gerri Fluerimond at notarytrainer@aol.com
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Dear Victoria: I have found that some notaries are not notarizing their documents using the SAME name as their notary stamp. When I asked some of them about it, they claim that it doesn't make any difference how they sign their name. One lady uses her initials. --Ferne'
Dear Ferne': Where do notaries come up with this stuff? Every notary is fully aware in Basic Training 101 that all documents are signed by the borrower(s) EXACTLY as they appear on the documents. In other words, if their name is Joe E. Jones, they do NOT sign "Joe Jones" or even "JE Jones." The ONLY way they can legally sign the documents is "Joe E. Jones" PERIOD!! Therefore, how would a notary ascertain they can sign their name differently from their notary stamp? Again, I have no idea how people think so illogically.
The best thing for you is to is to educate yourself, do your job well and stop worrying about others. Notaries who stoop to these low methods will not be called to work for companies again and eventually they will either be heavily fined, involved in a lawsuit or go out of business completely. It is unfortunate that notaries think of mortgage documents as nothing more than a way to make a "quick buck." Instead of worrying about how these people think -- concentrate on the positive and keep increasing your notary education in every area you can. You cannot spend your time worrying how other people conduct their business. All you can do is point out illegal activity to the notary when you see it, but you will never have the ability to change them. Notaries who have no respect for the quality of their work will only waste your time by arguing with you and justifying their actions. Rarely will one ever learn anything from you so concentrate on building your own company and don't worry about these folks. They'll be out of business soon anyway.