Notary Signing Agent
Real Estate Transactions and Mortgage Documents by a Loan Signing Agent
For most people, selling, buying, or securing additional interest in their home is a big deal and an important step towards building and securing wealth. When you reach the closing stage of any home ownership transaction, you may feel like the process is almost over. However, the closing stage is a very detailed process. If any of the paperwork is incorrect, missing dates or signatures, it could jeopardize the transaction. That’s why your title company will use a real estate notary signing agent or a loan signing agent to facilitate the home close.
A notary public or signing agent can notarize real estate documents, turning a signed agreement into a legal document. As a licensed notary and signing agent, we at SW Florida Mobile Notary and Signing Agent Services can help you ensure all your paperwork is official and properly signed. We have successfully completed well over 10,000 real estate transactions.
Types of Transactions that are considered part of the Mortgage Process:
- Builders / Construction Loans
- Sale of Real Estate
- Purchase of Real Estate
- Modification of Real Estate
- 2nd Mortgage
- HELOC – Home Equity Line of Credit
- Reverse Mortgages
- Placement of Real Property into a Trust
What Loan Documents Need to be Notarized?
Although all of the documents in the closing packet are important during a real estate transaction, only some of them require notarization, such as the following:
Deed
The deed is considered the most important of the documents and establishes the property’s ownership history. It indicates the transfer of property, including all interest, rights, and title, from the grantor through sale or other forms of conveyance to the grantee, known as the buyer or the recipient.
Its form and language may differ for every state, but it will always be filed in the public land records office of the property’s governing jurisdiction. Once made public, anyone can verify that you obtained the title from its rightful owner. Notarization ensures the document’s integrity, since the recorder records the document without checking its validity.
Mortgage or Security Instrument
If the transaction is financed, there will be a deed of trust, mortgage, or security instrument. It contains the property’s legal description, purchase price, repayment period, and interest rate. This document must be signed, notarized, and put in public records similar to the deed. If the borrower fails to meet the terms, the lender will have rights to the property and foreclose it.
Subordination Agreement
Homeowners with a home equity line or second mortgage on their homes will execute a subordination agreement. The lender agrees to be of second priority after the first mortgage in the event of foreclosures. After the borrower and lender sign, know that notarizing refinance documents should also be done.
Affidavit of Owner Occupancy
The borrower must sign an affidavit certifying that they will occupy the property as their primary residence. This means that they will not rent or lease it out – doing so would change the loan terms, for example, higher interest rates due to increased default risk.
Seller’s Affidavit
This document is a sworn, notarized statement from the seller confirming their property ownership. It also discloses title defects that can result in future liens, potential disputes, and other issues affecting the sale or transfer of the property.
Borrower Affidavit
In this notarized statement, the borrower swears or affirms that all disclosed information in the documents is truthful.
Name Affidavit
If you use another name besides your legal name on accounts and important documents, you will sign this affidavit using the disclosed name and have it notarized.
Signature Affidavit
This is a commonly notarized statement verifying the legitimacy of your signature on other signed documents.
Error & Omissions / Compliance Agreement
If you use another name besides your legal name on accounts and important documents, you will sign this affidavit using the disclosed name and have it notarized.
Document Correction Agreement / Limited Power of Attorney
This notarized document grants limited power to correct errors in the documents due to a clerk’s oversight.
Various Affidavits
Marital status, refinance, property survey, homestead, and debts and liens affidavits are notarized statements attest to the truthfulness of information disclosed during the transaction. You will only have to execute the documents applicable to your situation.
Notary Signing Agent Questions and Answers
Does a mortgage have to be witnessed in Florida?
In Florida, MORTGAGES DO NOT NEED TO BE WITNESSED. DEEDS OF CONVEYANCE DO NEED TWO WITNESSES: one can be the notary. Acknowledgment and proof; validation of certain acknowledgments; legalization or authentication before foreign officials.
What Is a Notary Signing Agent?
A notary signing agent, also known as a real estate notary signing agent, is responsible for physically conducting the closing and reviewing all documents with the borrower at closing. Most loan document packages include between 100 and 150 pages, and many of these pages need signatures, initials, and dates.
A real estate notary/signing agent walks you through your loan documents and witnesses you signing the paperwork. Several pages of the loan documents will require a notary acknowledgment. For that reason, a real estate notary/signing agent must also be commissioned as a notary public. You can be a notary without being a signing agent but can not be a signing agent without a notary license. For this reason, only hire a licensed Signing Agent to help you handle any real estate transaction.
What Does A Real Estate Notary / Signing Agent Do?
A notary signing agent is an integral part of the home buying process. They are responsible for ensuring the closing is carried out correctly. They also ensure that all of the documents are in order.
A real estate notary/signing agent is responsible for the following:
- Verify the identity of the homeowners signing the closing documents.
- Ensure that all documents can be read and understood by the signer or sufficiently translated by a third party.
- Ensure that all documents are signed, initialed, and dated correctly.
- Notarize the documents correctly.
- Ensure the documents are returned to the title company.
Notaries will also sometimes travel to a borrower’s home to facilitate remote closings. However, they do not offer advice about the loan or share their opinion about the information contained in the closing documents.