NSA - Notary Signing Agent Managing the Signing Assignment Questions and Answers 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Upon accepting a signing assignment, which of the following is the most critical set of information for the Notary Signing Agent to confirm immediately with the contracting company?
- The borrower's credit score and the property's appraisal value.
- The complete underwriting guidelines from the lender.
- Signing location, appointment time, contact information for the signer, and the agreed-upon fee. (Correct answer)
- The exact date and time the loan is expected to fund and disburse.
Correct answer: Signing location, appointment time, contact information for the signer, and the agreed-upon fee.
Immediately upon acceptance, the NSA must confirm all logistical details required to perform the assignment. This includes where to go, when to be there, who to contact, and the fee for the service. The other options are either confidential information the NSA does not need or details outside the NSA's control.
Question 2: An NSA arrives at a signing for a refinance. The borrower's spouse, who is not on the loan, is present and asks to review the Closing Disclosure to "make sure the numbers are right." What is the appropriate action for the NSA?
- Politely decline, stating that loan documents are confidential and can only be viewed by the borrower.
- Ask the borrower for their explicit permission to allow their spouse to view the document. (Correct answer)
- Allow the spouse to review the document, as they likely have a financial interest in the property.
- Call the loan officer to get approval before sharing the document with the spouse.
Correct answer: Ask the borrower for their explicit permission to allow their spouse to view the document.
Loan documents contain Non-public Personal Information (NPPI). The NSA has a duty to protect this information. However, the borrower (the owner of that information in this context) can grant permission for a third party, like their spouse, to view the documents. The NSA should not make this decision unilaterally but defer to the borrower's consent.
Question 3: When preparing for a signing, the NSA receives a 150-page PDF loan package. The contracting company's instructions do not specify printing requirements. What is the industry best practice for printing these documents?
- Print the entire package double-sided on letter-sized paper to save resources.
- Print only the pages that require a signature or notarization.
- Print the package on a mix of letter and legal-sized paper as formatted in the PDF, defaulting to letter size if unsure. (Correct answer)
- Convert the entire package to legal-sized paper to ensure no text is cut off.
Correct answer: Print the package on a mix of letter and legal-sized paper as formatted in the PDF, defaulting to letter size if unsure.
Loan packages are frequently a mix of letter and legal-sized pages. The best and most professional practice is to use a printer (preferably a dual-tray laser printer) that can print each page on the correct paper size as designated in the PDF file. Printing everything on one size or double-sided can lead to document rejection.
Question 4: An NSA arrives at a signing appointment and is greeted by the borrower's son, who states he will be signing on his father's behalf using a Power of Attorney (POA). The NSA was not informed of this arrangement beforehand. What is the NSA's immediate course of action?
- Halt the signing and immediately contact the contracting company for instructions. (Correct answer)
- Proceed with the signing if the son presents an original, notarized POA document.
- Notarize the signatures but make a detailed note in the journal that a POA was used unexpectedly.
- Ask the son to sign his father's name and then his own name with "POA" next to it.
Correct answer: Halt the signing and immediately contact the contracting company for instructions.
The use of a Power of Attorney must be pre-approved by the lender and title company. An NSA cannot unilaterally decide to accept a POA at the table. This is a significant change to the signing, and the NSA must stop and contact the hiring entity to receive guidance and approval before proceeding.
Question 5: During a signing, the borrower notices their middle name is misspelled on the Promissory Note and refuses to sign until it is corrected. What is the NSA's proper line of communication to resolve this issue?
- Cross out the incorrect spelling, write the correct spelling, and have the borrower initial the change.
- Advise the borrower to call their loan officer directly to request a corrected document.
- Contact the title company escrow officer listed on the settlement statement for guidance.
- Contact the contracting company that hired them, explain the issue, and await instructions. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Contact the contracting company that hired them, explain the issue, and await instructions.
The Notary Signing Agent's primary point of contact is the company that hired them for the assignment. The NSA should report the document error to the contracting company, which will then coordinate with the title company or lender to provide a resolution, such as sending corrected documents. The NSA should not alter documents or direct the borrower to other parties.
Question 6: Before leaving the signing table, which of the following represents the MOST comprehensive final review a Notary Signing Agent should perform on the document package?
- Ensuring the Notice of Right to Cancel is filled out with the correct rescission dates.
- A full, page-by-page scan to check for any missed signatures, initials, dates, and correctly completed notarial certificates. (Correct answer)
- Verifying that all notarized documents have a clear and legible notary seal impression.
- Confirming that the borrower's signatures on the documents reasonably match the signature on their ID.
Correct answer: A full, page-by-page scan to check for any missed signatures, initials, dates, and correctly completed notarial certificates.
While the other options are critical individual checks, a comprehensive final review involves systematically going through every single page of the package to ensure no fields have been missed. This includes all signatures, initials, dates, checkboxes, and ensuring all notarial acts are fully and correctly completed. This final quality check prevents errors and follow-up requests.
NSA - Notary Signing Agent Managing the Signing Assignment Questions and Answers 1
Upon accepting a signing assignment, which of the following is the most critical set of information for the Notary Signing Agent to confirm immediately with the contracting company?