Updated 1-31-24. You just landed your first loan signing. What do you do now? How should you prepare so the signing goes smoothly?
As an educator and mentor to thousands of Notary Signing Agents across America, this question comes up all the time. I teach a simple, 4-step process to make sure your first loan signing (and all your loan signings) goes smoothly:
- Confirm the details of the signing appointment
- Read the instructions
- Print the loan documents
- Call the borrower to confirm their information
But before you get to these steps, there is something you should have already done before accepting your first signing: Make sure you know how to use your dual-tray, laser jet printer. I cannot tell you how many times I've had students land their first signing and not be able to print the loan documents because they have not taken the time to test their printer prior to their first loan signing.
Here is your first pro tip: Make sure you know how to adjust your printing settings and can print legal and letter size paper prior to your first signing appointment.Now that we have that covered that, let's talk about specific steps you take when you land your first loan signing appointment.
Step 1: Confirm the appointment details.
As soon as you get the signing appointment, confirm the time/date and location with whoever gave you the signing, and plan your time. An assignment from a signing service usually has a pre-assigned time and date. If for some reason you do not see this information on your order, ask your signing service contact if it is your responsibility to reach out to the borrower to determine the time and date.
If you get an order assigned from a signing service and you see “TBD” that means “to be determined” which tells you a time has NOT been set yet, and you need to ask if it is your responsibility to reach out to the borrower to set up the time/date and location. If you received your signing through a direct source the same step would apply.
Once you confirm the location find out how long it will take you to get to the signing location and FACTOR IN TRAFFIC times to get there. Being late to your first appt is not a good look and between Waze, Google Maps and Apple Maps this is easier than ever. The time to get to an appointment is too often overlooked during the nerves of your first signing. So don't forget.
Speaking of nerves, make sure you give yourself enough time to complete your first appointment. I tell my students to give yourself at least 2 hours for your first signing. It shouldn't take that long (typical signings take 45 to 60 minutes), but the last thing you want is the pressure of a time crunch to add to your first signing experience.
Step 2: Read ALL the instructions you were sent.
This is the most overlooked step by new signing agents. Signing services, lenders and escrow officers will send some of the more detailed instructions in the body of the email or as an attachment to the documents. They may want the docs signed in a certain color of ink only, they may need a copy of the borrower’s insurance card sent back with docs, or they may want you to keep the loan docs in the exact order as received. It could be anything.
Make sure you read the entire email you were sent: the body of the email and any or attachments if they are any.
Too many signing agents fail to read the entire email and go directly to printing docs and miss the more detailed instructions.
Needless to say, if something has been missed, this will significantly reduce the chance you get assignments from them in the future.
Step 3: Print and prepare your loan docs.
Another big mistake new Signing Agents make is not printing according to PDF size. More specifically, you need to print your loan docs on legal and letter size paper.
In addition, new Signing Agents too often do NOT actively look for any attachments that may have been sent to them. Make sure to triple-check check you have printed everything that needs to be printed.
Pro Tip: Before you print, be sure you’ve flipped through the documents electronically. Sometimes a document isn’t fully scanned in or is cut off, and catching this now, before you head to the appointment, will let you fix the mistake and save everyone time.
Once you print them, flip through the documents to be sure all documents are printed according to page size (legal or letter) and printed clean (sometimes there can be smears or bad prints). Catching these issues beforehand will prevent a second trip back to the borrower.
Secondly, flipping through the docs gives you time to get familiar with the docs so you can see where signatures, initials, and dates are located.
If you have time before hand, you can mark pages with arrow tags on the loan docs to ease your mind to ensure you don’t miss any signatures or initials. Remember, absolutely NO highlighting the loan docs.
Step 4: Call the Borrower and confirm basic information.
To ensure the signing starts flawlessly, simply call the borrower (the signing service, escrow officer, realtor or lender will give you the phone number. If not, locate the phone number on the loan application) and confirm the time, date, and location of the signing.
Ask them if there is any special designated parking or gated access required.
Confirm the signers (single or joint) and the spelling of their name on the docs.
Lastly, confirm that all borrowers will have an unexpired ID at the appointment.
Follow these simple steps before your first signing and it will make it a lot easier.
If you want a comprehensive checklist that covers what to do before, during, and after every signing, or if you want to receive additional training on how to do loan signings and get loan signing assignments, join the Loan Signing System family.
Mark Wills of Loan Signing System is a Notary educator, a mentor to more than 4,000 Notary Signing Agents and a Forbes Real Estate Council Member. For more information on how to market your loan Signing Agent business, please go to loansigningsystem.com.
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Additional Resources:
Loan Signing System
Notary Signing Agent Resources