Finding a notary for your Real Estate closing
Purchasing a new home is a great deal and also a significant step you can make. However, while buying a home comes with a lot of excitement, it is not such a s walking to a real estate agent and \d getting your home because mortgage closings are the final step to closing a deal. Most of the real estate today is purchased by use of a mortgage which implies that at the agreement’s closing, several parties are involved, including a notary.
So, You first need to find the right house, get pre-approved and negotiate a fair price with the seller. The best feeling ever is reaching the final stage of closing the deal. But the closing process is detailed, and a slight mistake can ruin the whole process. For instance, the entire process will be jeopardized if the paperwork is incorrect or lacks signatures or dates. This is why closing a house purchase requires a real estate notary to facilitate the process.
Therefore apart from real estate agents for the seller and buyer, title agent, and mortgage, a notary signing agent is also necessary to notarize the critical documents in the closing process. But who is a real estate notary, what are their roles, and how can you find one? Check out here
Read: How To Find a Notary for Mortgage Closings
Who is a notary signing agent
A real estate notary or a notary signing agent is a person that takes mortgage borrowers through documents at a real estate home purchase closing. In most cases, loan documents have about one hundred to fifty pages, and most of these pages need dates, initials, and signatures.
Therefore, a real estate notary walks buyers through the loan document, acts as a witness of the signing, and gives acknowledgment on the pages requiring a notary acknowledgment. Implying that, a real estate notary or notary signing agent must be commissioned before executing the duties.
A notary signing agent has the legal authority to notarize official documents and statements. Generally, their role is to validate the essential documents, mortgages, and contracts. The presence of a notary at a real estate closing protects the parties or signers from any scams and ensures that the law protects the signed documents.
Types of notary signing agents for Real Estate closings
Mortgage closing means a lot when it comes to witnessing the legitimacy of buying or financing homes. It is important that before you schedule the mortgage closing, have a notary signing agent(NSA). The process of real estate closings occurs within 60 to 90 days once the offer of the home or related property has been made. However, scheduling issues may occur during such periods, especially when finding available NSA.
For you to avoid issues with closings scheduling, there are several options to choose a notary signing agent for your real estate processes.
Buyer-selected notary
A Buyer-Selected Notary is a notary signing agent working under the buyer. In other words, if during the mortgage closing a buyer wishes, they can come with their NSA.
Such NSAs are usually trusted and preferable by the buyer. Although being a buyer’s choice, it is sometimes hard to ensure the chosen NSA will avail themselves during the closing date.
Lender-affiliated notary
This is a type of NSA acquired through an affiliated notary. In such cases, the seller agent will have several personal networks with local notary signing agents. The lender will therefore recommend contacting these contacts to seek an NSA to be available on a particular date during mortgage closing.
There are advantages to having a lender assign a notary as these individuals have been in the field for a long time, therefore, they know what to do. But with the fact that it will be easy to get a notary signing agent via recommendation of the lender agent, there is little flexibility when rescheduling is needed. This is because these NSAs may have a full calendar of mortgage closings that need minimal or no changes.
Online notary
These online notary signing agents are obtained through online platforms and websites such as Notarize. Most online NSAs are more qualified and provide legal services.
An advantage of working with online notaries is a wide range of flexibility when it comes to little change in mortgage closing scheduling.
Notary signing agent vs. Notary Public
A notary public is an individual that acts as a third-party witness to the signing of documents and confirms that the involved parties sign the papers out of their will. The notary public holds a wide range of documents, including affidavits, trusts, and deeds. On the other hand, a notary signing agent is an individual who mainly specializes in home loan documents.
Notary signing agents have a traditional notary commission and should pass a background check annually. Moreover, some states have restrictions that notary signing agents should adhere to, like ensuring that there should be a licensed attorney during their duty execution. Also, state laws sometimes limit the fees that a signing agent can charge.
Roles of a real estate notary
A real estate notary is an integral part of the home buying process. These officials are responsible for the correct closing of the home buying process as they ensure that all documents are in order and signed accordingly. Generally, the real estate notary is the last person to interact in the home buying after the loan officer has cleared you.
Some of the tasks include
Verifying the contract signers
Verifying the signer’s identity is the first thing that the notary does. They will need official identification like national insurance number and driver’s license. However, the identification documents requested for verification vary from state to state. In some states, you might be required to take a written and verbal oath swearing that you are the person you claim to be.
Educate signers
The real estate notary educates those involved parties about their rights and ensures that the parties understand what they are supposed to do before the closing.
Notarize signatures and oversee the closing process
After signer verification, the notary reveals all the documents that need a signature. They give the involved parties some documents to sign, and then they will stamp them using the official notary seal and also sign themselves. This process of sealing, writing the commission information, and signing documents are what is notarization and is what guarantees the validity and legality of the transaction.
Deal with and deliver documents
Typically a real estate notary is responsible for filing the required documents and sending them to relevant parties for fund disbursement and official records. This is where the transaction proves complete, and you are now the legal owner of the property.
What a notary does at real estate mortgage closing
A deal closing is when the loan and home ownership documents are notarized. Traditionally, a real estate notary comes at the closing to witness the document signing and then stamp them with the official notary seal to validate them. The notary notarizes the following documents in mortgage closing
Affidavit of title
The seller’s statement reveals potential issues like boundary disputes or an outstanding lien. The document version differs from one state to another.
Deed
This is a document that represents a home or actual property ownership. The ownership will be transferred from the seller to the buyer by signing the document.
Signature affidavit
This is a document that verifies the legitimacy of signatures.
Why you need a notary
Real estate closing can be more complex when mortgages and loans are involved. That is why only a few notaries can offer real estate notary services. Based on the state, the people that can notarize the real estate agents include Trained notaries that passed exams, training, and background checks.
Regular notaries
Notaries that become notary signing agents with no training
How a notary becomes a notary signing agent
Becoming a notary signing agent comes with a lot of benefits. First, you will have the chance to work on flexible schedules. To become a notary signing agent, one has to take the following steps
Be a commissioned notary public
This is the first requirement of becoming a real estate notary. You first have to be a commissioned notary public from your state.
Take training on loan training.
Anybody can’t just become a notary signing agent without prior training. Every individual wishing to participate in the process should have proper training in loan signing to understand the task better. Without this knowledge, they won’t be able to understand exactly what’s needed and what is not.
Pass an exam and the background check complaint by Signing Professional Workgroup
It is mandatory for those willing to be real estate singing agents to pass background checks and the training exams. This is to ensure that the selected person understands the tasks awaiting them.
Purchase the notary signing necessities
Every job has supplies that those who do it should have. Therefore, a real estate signing agent should buy the spinning supplies.
Buy an omissions and errors insurance for $250 000 minimum.
The notary signing jobs are prone to errors. Sometimes you can make errors while signing, which can cost the involved parties a lot. Therefore, it is mandatory to have insurance to cater to those errors and omissions. The minimum insurance you can buy is $250 000.
Start working
After completing the above step, you can start to forgo jobs through networking. Or join national directories.
Can a real estate agent be a notary?
A real estate agent can be a notary signing agent, but there are rules that they should adhere to. They should first have a state mandatory notary signing license. The other requirement is that if the real estate agent decides to act as a notary, they should avoid having any financial interest in the project to be closed; therefore, it implies that a real estate agent cannot be an agent in loan transactions and as a notary. If they decide to be the notary, they should forgo the agency roles in mortgage transactions.
How to find a real estate agent
When closing for a home buying process, finding the right real estate notary agent is vital. Any mistake made by the notary can jeopardize the whole buying process. To be sure you are using the right notary agent, you can contact your title deed’s estate notary because it is usually indicated on the title or decide to select one from a pool of qualified individuals. You can use the National Notary Association to find a perfect notary signing agency near you.
What to consider when finding or choosing NSAs
Of course, you won’t pick any individual just because they honor the NSA title. There are some things you will have to consider when finding and choosing a notary signing agent.
Qualifications
Several individuals are claiming to have qualified to work as notaries as signing agents. This would mean you may end up hiring unqualified individuals with fake credentials. So, it’s good you confirm your qualifications and prove that they are suitable for your mortgage closing processes.
NSAs Association body
Most notaries usually have associations that they work under. These professional bodies may have certain specifications and requirements they need their members to meet. Therefore, choosing an agent for your signing mortgage closing from a legit associate adds odds.
Location
How convenient can you meet the notary agent? Of course, they could be qualified and with proof of their legitimacy in the nortary field but they are far from your region. Therefore, it is good if such individuals are easy to meet for your real estate processes.
Fee charges
How much will the notary signing agent charge you for the services? It is something you need to consider. In other words, choose an NSA whose cost per service is friendly to your budget.
Conclusion
Notary signing agents are important to your real estate closing process as they make sure the needed documents are signed perfectly. As well, they ensure all those documents are the right parties. For benefits, NSA helps keep the property’s title free from any issue that would arise in the future. Besides helping complete home or house sales, notary signing agents will help documents and signatures legitimize for other several purposes. For example, writing up a living trust or a will. Although it’s important to have a notary signing agent during your mortgage closing, there can be a bit of a challenge to find a trustworthy and qualified individual. In other words, getting a qualified NSA will increase other DDS to keep your real estate closings legit and secure. You can get these individuals through an online notary, or lender affiliate notary. Be sure with the notary signing agent you hire.
