T H E N O T A R Y N E W S Published by Victoria Ring, CNSA http://www.50statenotary.com http://www.bankruptcybook.net ________________________________________________ ������������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������������ Missed an issue? Read all past issues at http://www.50statenotary.com/ezine/ ________________________________________________ ������������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������������ ISSUE 54 � October 2, 2004
IN THIS ISSUE: ** Attend the Next Net Meeting ** Emails and Questions From Notaries ** The Description of a Notary Signing Agent ** Rate this Ezine ** Bible Verse of the Week ** Resource Links for Notary Signing Agents ________________________________________________ ������������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������������ ATTEND THE NEXT NET MEETING Dates: October 6 and October 7, 2004 Time: 7:00pm (Mountain), 8:00pm (Central), 9:00pm (Eastern) Speaker: Victoria Ring Subject: How to Start a Bankruptcy Forms Processing Service At the appointment time, call 712.580.0100 and enter ACCESS CODE 1049497 if you only wish to listen to the conversation and not register. Or, to register online and get the benefit of interacting with other meeting attendees through the internet, do the following: 1. Go to http://www.anniemae.org/index.cfm?id=10018 2. Click on MEETING (top of screen) 3. Click on REGISTER 4. Type your email address in the box and click on SUBMIT If you are not a member of Annie Mae you will be taken to a sign-up screen to enter your information. It does not cost anything to attend the meeting. If you are a member of Annie Mae, you will be taken to the page listing the different netmeetings. Click on the REGISTER link beside the netmeeting titled: Bankruptcy Processing Service - by Victoria Ring If you decide to go into this type of business and partner with Annie Mae, you need to order the basic training information which is available at http://www.bankruptcybook.net ________________________________________________ ������������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������������ EMAILS AND QUESTIONS FROM NOTARIES Dear Victoria. Your web site is great and your information available is awesome compared to all I've seen online. My wife and I are both notaries and new NSAs. We are having our first business cards printed. What information do you feel is most important to have on the card to help get that 'foot in the door' with the various agencies? (PW) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- RESPONSE FROM VICTORIA RING The best deal for business cards is through the National Notary Association. For only $39.95 you receive 1,000 personalized, 2-color business cards. Just provide the NNA with your information and they will design your business card in the proper format. To order your business cards go to http://www.nationalnotary.org/supplies/index.cfm?referID=A23039 and click on �Notary Supplies� then select �Supply Directory� then �Business Builders� and finally �NNA Business Cards� to get to the order page. If you want to design your own business cards online, one company I use quite frequently is VistaPrint at http://www.vistaprint.com/ Not only can you get some good design ideas for making your own business cards on this website � but with VistaPrint�s price of only $9.99 for 250 business cards � it is much cheaper to order from them compared to printing your own on a laser printer. But to specifically answer your question as to the necessary data that should be on a business card, it is: Your name, address, city, state, zip, telephone number, fax number, cell phone number, web site address and email. It is important for you to understand the purpose of a business card. Its purpose is to make it easy for people to contact you. Therefore, your business card should contain as much contact information as possible. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi Victoria. I don't know what to do. I was finally paid for a job that I did back in May. I got the check on Sept 16, 2004. I cashed it and went on my way. Yesterday I was checking my bank balance and the check had bounced and my bank charged me a service charge (65.00 + 10.00). I've left messages for DocSigners LLC on their voice mail and also on the owner�s voicemail. How should I handle this? Can I charge an extra charge for the bounced check? Please help. Thanks. (KC) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- RESPONSE FROM VICTORIA RING I receive approximately 8-10 emails every day from notaries all over the country with complaints similar to yours. My heart really goes out to all these people and I certainly sympathsize with them � however, my hands are tied as far as helping to solve the problem. 50 State Notary is structured as a company that provides training and education for notaries who are building their own freelance business. We have no connection to any legal entities or methods in place to help you get your money back. The company who specializes in helping notaries recover funds is Notary Beware at http://www.notarybeware.com/ On a final note � yes, you can charge the company for the bounced check fee but if they won�t pay you the $65.00 how can you be assured of getting the $10.00? I have stopped accepting personal checks from individuals. They were ordering my notary book and I was shipping the book when the check was received (without waiting on check clearance as to not delay their order.) However, do you think people cared that I trusted them? After many bounced checks and hundreds of dollars in additional bounced check charges (as well as a loss of books) I decided it was not worth the hassle. It is such a shame that the world has come to a point that people care nothing about the harm they cause to others who truly care about them and trust them. It would have been much better for the company to not pay you at all. Now you lost an additional $10.00 you couldn�t afford. Believe me � I know how hard it hurts. The act is nothing but theft, pure and simple. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Victoria: I received a set of loan documents in the mail from a signing company but I do not know where I am supposed to notarize one of the pages. Can you help? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- RESPONSE FROM VICTORIA RING I simply do not understand why people make a long-distance phone to call me about a document within a loan package when they can call a toll-free number and ask the company they are doing the signing for. One reason a few notaries gave me as to why they didn�t want to call the company was that they did not want to appear they did not know what they are doing. Who started this stupid line of thinking? It just doesn�t make sense. Any company would be HAPPY to know that you care enough about the quality of your work that you call and ask a question. Besides, the company issued the loan package and the company knows what every document in the package contains. They can immediately provide you with the answers you need and they will immediately recognize that you are trying to do a good job for them. But as with anything else � you need to be professional when you ask your question. Don�t call the company up and say something like: �Hey, I don�t get this one page that looks like a bunch of chicken scratching.� Instead, say something like: �This is the first loan package I have processed for your company and I want to make sure I am doing my job correctly. Could you tell me how you would like the Statement of Intention document notarized?� While I would love to help the notaries who call me concerning specific documents in a loan package, it would be impossible for me to do so. First of all I would need to see the entire package � not just one page. And secondly, I would need to study and understand your particular state notary laws in order to provide a sound answer. Therefore, if you are bound and determined to call someone else (other than the company) for notary questions I urge you to join a notary organization like the National Notary Association http://www.nationalnotary.org or the American Society of Notaries http://www.notaries.org Both organizations provide you with technical support for notary questions once you are a member. Additionally, both of these prestigious organizations make it their business to keep up-to-date on notary laws for all states. So they are equipped to provide you with the sound advice you need. ________________________________________________ ������������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������������ DESCRIPTION OF A NOTARY SIGNING AGENT I recently joined the American Society of Notaries at http://www.notaries.org and was very impressed with the New Member Package I received in the mail. Inside the package was a copy of an excellent newsletter that provided one of the best descriptions I have ever read concerning the duties of a notary signing agent and I wanted to share it with you. Reprinted from American Notary newsletter, Issue #2004-03 The notary�s contact with the document should be very limited. The notary makes sure that all the pages of the document are in hand, and any blank spaces have been brought to the attention of the signer. The notary checks the document to be sure that it is dated on or before the date of the notarial act. The notary looks to see what name or names appear on the document so the notary can see if all the people who have to sign the document are present. The notary does not read the document or comment on the correctness of the document to the signer. Nor does the notary recommend to the signer how any blank spaces are to be filled. To do otherwise puts the notary at great risk of unauthorized practice of law (also known as UPL). This article from the American Notary newsletter answers a multitude of questions that I receive on a weekly basis from notaries who want to know how to explain documents to borrowers. Just because a borrower asks you what a document is � this is not a signal for you to provide them with an answer that could get you prosecuted for unauthorized practice of law. There are many professional ways you can handle a situation where a borrower asks the specifics of a document in their loan package without committing unauthorized practice of law. If you are unfamiliar with these laws I urge you to find out about them right away and follow them precisely. For more information on handling a variety of situations in the loan signing process, get a copy of my book, How to Start, Operate and Market a Freelance Notary Signing Agent at http://www.50statenotary.com/book ________________________________________________ ������������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������������ Please rate this Ezine at the Cumuli Ezine Finder http://www.cumuli.com/ezines/vote.html?pub_code=thenot ________________________________________________ ������������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������������ BIBLE VERSE OF THE WEEK James, Chapter 5, Verse 11 �Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.� Read online at http://www.servantofjesuschrist.com/kjv1611/james/chapter_05.html ________________________________________________ ������������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������������ OF INTEREST TO NOTARIES: Get listed in the Nationwide Notary Directory http://www.50statenotary.com/directory/order_getlisted.html BOOK: �How to Start, Operate and Market a Freelance Notary Signing Agent Business� ISBN: 1-9761591-0-4 http://www.50statenotary.com/book/index.html BOOK: �How to Start a Bankruptcy Forms Processing Service� ISBN: 1-9761591-1-2 http://www.50statenotary.com/bankruptcybook/index.html FREE: 50 State Notary Desktop Guard Dog http://www.50statenotary.com/freegift/index.html Join the National Notary Association http://www.nationalnotary.org/supplies/index.cfm?referID=A23039 Join the Annie Mae Network http://www.anniemae.org/index.cfm?id=10018 Locate a Notary: View the Nationwide Notary Directory http://www.50statenotary.com/directory/index.html View previous issues of this ezine: The Notary News http://www.50statenotary.com/ezine/index.html Jobs for Notary Signing Agents (updated weekly) http://www.50statenotary.com/directory/company_listing.html Free Introductory Signing Agent Training Course http://www.50statenotary.com/training/index.html My Notary Story � Tips from Experienced NSAs http://www.50statenotary.com/mystory/index.html Free Download of the King James Bible http://www.servantofjesuschrist.com/kjv1611/download.html Visit Victoria Ring�s other websites http://www.victoriaringconsulting.com/ http://www.graphicopublishing.com/ -------------------------------------- Victoria Ring Certified Notary and Paralegal http://www.50statenotary.com Phone: 614-491-9831, Fax: 614-491-9832 _____________________________ Unsubscribe: http://www.ymlp.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] Hosting by http://www.yourmailinglistprovider.com
