For the Notary Signing Agent. “Successful Signing Requirements”

Do you remember your first loan signing?  Half way through the 15th page you had realized the signers were using purple and pink pens.  Their signatures didn’t even remotely match the names printed below the lines.
The initials had smiley faces in place of middle name initials. All the dates looked like mush, and your right to cancel pages all effectively canceled the loan package flat before you even got your… “oh no, the thumbprints!!”..

As you have matured as a Notary Public and Signing Agent you have found yourself briefing the borrowers with the “rules of the loan signing”  prior to any action. You might have flipped through the documents in advance to  prepare for the recording of your journal. Your thumb prints most likely even come first now.

Sometimes we might still find ourselves in a jam like our first day’s work. Was it because you didn’t emphasize enough the need for blue ball point ink before your signer swapped pens for his favorite sharpie?

Imagine this, create a worksheet for your borrower that declares the “must dos” in the loan signing. A declaration of what a successful signing demands.
Your List could include some of the following:

USE BLUE BALL POINT INK  _______  <initial here

IF YOUR NAME READS JOHN D SMITH,
INITIAL “JDS” _______  <initial here

MAKE ALL DATES BIG AND CLEAR IN THE
FOLLOWING FORMAT “00/00/0000″_______  <initial here

WHEN YOU SEE THE “RIGHT TO CANCEL”
…STOP FOR INSTRUCTIONS_______  <initial here

(ETC…)

Have the Borrower see the necessity of everything you must do before you sign. This will be one more step to ensure a successful signing and smooth sailing.