Notary loan signing agents often lack proper training, leading to borrower frustration and escrow errors. Better training improves customer experience and reduces mistakes in handling loan documents.
Chapters
Signing agents are the most overlooked part of the entire escrow transaction. Yet they are the last impression the borrower has of escrow. And with such a high level of responsibility, notary public loan signing agents have the least amount of training required of anybody involved in the real estate transaction outside of a notary commission. The typical notary training is a certification that requires no more than a 70% to pass and the certification covers what a signing agent can't do, not what they can do. With such a low bar to obtain a certification, it should come as no surprise that the last impression a borrower has of escrow is usually of an uneducated loan signing agent. I mean nervous first time home buyers do not want a notary who doesn't know how to go over a closing statement or can't show them whether they have a prepayment penalty or not. Borrowers want to know what their margin is if they have an adjustable rate mortgage and a notary public loan signing agent should be able to point that out. Fact of the matter is, borrowers have questions at the signing table and a signing agent should be able to give a general description of every loan document and should know where specific information exists the loan docs to be able to answer a borrower's questions. Even According to the NNA's very own signing agent code of conduct, a signing agent can generally describe loan documents, fees and note terms. So how come notaries aren't required to go through training on how to effectively describe loan documents, fees and note terms? The customer experience should be the most valued part of the entire escrow process. And yet the person who has the most face to face time with the borrower has the least amount of training. What's wrong with this picture? What's even more overlooked in the customer experience is the fact that notary public loan signing agent mistakes are so common they have become a part of the fabric of escrow. I mean, the reason the litany of errors don't go upstream to upper management is because uneducated notaries are the expected norm. Poll any of your current escrow officers on how many times the notice or right to cancel is not completed properly as a result of an uneducated notary signing agent. You may be surprised at how many times that error has cost them a rate lock and has even cost some of your escrow officers a client or two. And that's just the loan documents. Let's talk about the forms in the escrow package such as its trust certification disbursement program.
