
From time to time, I encounter feedback from clients in the industry. They ask me why are notary loan signing agents so unreliable? My first client once told me “you don’t know what we deal with”.
So why is it that getting a notary loan signing agent to be a businessperson is such a hard thing?
A little context
From what I can tell, the trouble stems from two area…
- Business experience
- Requirements for becoming a notary
While the vast majority of notaries took the oath of office first as a solemn duty, this is not the case with every notary. Some see it as a way to make money without any thought about serving their community and nipping fraud in the bud. A notary exists to execute a select few tasks and in doing so, bring credibility to those tasks. The office of the notary is a way for a state to protect its citizens from fraud. This means that when considering a notary, it’s important to look at whether this notary takes their job seriously or not. Do they have any accreditations? Where did they train? How experienced are they?
Think about it, when was the last time that you saw a doctor or lawyer without a degree? I hope never! That’s because they have to spend the time necessary to obtain the training and skills needed to execute their job successfully. It’s reasons like this that make it important to ask your notary if they are involved with any business groups in the area. Perhaps the BBB, or Chamber Of Commerce or local BNI chapter? Are they a notary first or a business owner? The difference is incredible.
Regarding the requirements for becoming a notary in TN, it’s easy. Very easy! While I’m not an attorney or a legislative historian I’d be willing to hazard a guess that this is because Tennesseans value their independence and freedom above all else. The trouble with this is that $14, an application, securing a bond, passing a background check and swearing an oath is all that is required to become a notary in TN, to date. No course. No training. Nada.
So what is to be done?
My personal story is that I never knew that training was available to me during my first 4 years as a notary. I didn’t know the difference between a jurat and acknowledgement and while I knew that if I received a fee in exchange for notarizing a document I needed to maintain a journal, I certainly wouldn’t have known how to walk a borrower through a set of loan documents.
So you see, as well meaning as I was, it was only when I began studying to become a loan signing agent, that I began to seriously educate myself on the subject. I would say that most TN notaries are in the same boat. Here are some tips to help you and your notary…
If you require the services of a notary…
- Ask them for qualifications like acreditation with the BBB, Chamber of Commerce or BNI
- Check their Google reviews section
- Don’t be afraid to ask them if they are NNA Certified and where they trained to be a notary
- NEVER use a friend or family member as your notary – This is a conflict of interest and while it may not technically be illegal, it is highly unadvisable
If you’d like to know more about becoming a notary…
- Get your general notary training from a qualified source like the NNA
- Check out LSS for more info on becoming a Loan Signing Agent – DISCLAIMER: this is an affiliate link, but it helps me a little.
- Find a local notary in your area who checks all of the boxes above and ask them to mentor you. The best way I’ve found is Googling “notary near me”.
In need of a TN notary?