Today I was contacted by a signing service to have a signing with a local customer.  All of the major documents were dated November 20, 2009 ..yesterday.  They said that I could notarize as of today but not change any dates on the document.  Why? Because if I did, the loan might not disburse.   It got to the point that I could change the date on the front page of the mortgage and have the borrowers initial where I lined out the old date and insert the new date and the lender did not require initials on the bottom of the mortgage pages.  Does this sound familiar?

The response of the signing service was: Do you know how many loan closings I did yesterday... Every notary I know does this, what is the big deal?...I want you to insert the dates in the Right of Rescission.

I don't think that, despite the number of closings they handle, that these signing companies are aware of the law.  If they do, I think they are willing to skirt the issue for the sake of completing an assignment.

Every notary knows or should know, that the standard mortgage acknowledgement taken by a notary is that the signature was voluntary, the signer understands what kind of document he is signing and that it was signed on the date shown on the document.   The date of the acknowledgement can be after the date of the signature unless it says :sworn and subscribed before me: or any other language which shows that it was witnessed by the notary.

Cutting to the chase, the lender or closer can insert a preprinted page with the incorrect date after the closing unless the page is signed or initialed by the borrowers.  Even then the initials could be forged by the closer if the document has to be back-dated.  I know, in this age of getting things done quickly, a lot of people will cut corners to please a customer.

I always will scan my mortgages and notes from any signing as they were signed before they leave my hands.  I will always scan the Hud One, Rescission, Note and TIL as well.  With the cost-effectivenes of data storage, I always store the package I received from the lender as well. 

The authorities are very eager to prosecute mortgage fraud and when I see an FBI notice in the closing packages, I am pretty sure they mean business.   The bad part is that I called the borrower and told them why I was not making the appointment and he said he would not sign documents dated the day before he signed them.   The signing agent, who says she does thousands of closings a year, was furious and told me her company would never call me again for a closing and implied that I would be black balled by other signing companies.  I told her my title insurance license was worth more than the $100.00 she was going to pay me in 45 days (months?).    I also don't like having to dress up and raise my right hand.   I hope everyone is not going along with these requests from these signing companies as she said.