Riff with Griff on Notary Compliance
You may know him from YouTube as, Griffin Notary, or Griff. He's my guest this week on the Sign & Thrive Audiobook Podcast. Our topic is Notary Compliance-both legally, and with compliance with our hiring companies. Griff shares his perspective and approach to integrity and cultivating relationships that are built on trust and fidelity.
Guest Information:
Owner of Griffin Notary Services since 2018. Started being a notary to help out the general public by providing an affordable option to get notarial services for those that do not have an account with a traditional bank. Moved into providing loan closing services once I understood the growth of the housing market in my area. Married with two sons, oldest son joined in the business in 2021. Teach notaries via my YouTube channel about being in compliant with state law and building proper relationships with those that need our services.
Visit Griffin Notary on YouTube
Episode Highlights:
13:32 Be part of the solution and find a way to "yes," that is both in integrity with the law AND, as Griff says, "gets everyone paid."
18:16 Griff shares that one of the ways he learns this business is reflecting back an taking notes on certain signing situations. This is often called an "After Action Review." What worked? What didn't? What can you do better next time? Check it out in this episode of the Sign & Thrive Audiobook Podcast.
28:55 Don't learn tips and tricks from unvetted trainers that teach you how to cut corners and pinch pennies. Find yourself a mentor or a system that keeps you focused on the money building aspects AND integrity of your role as a Notary Public.
--- Full Raw Transcription Below ---
Bill Soroka:
Welcome back to another episode of the Sign and Thrive Podcast. I'm here with another super special guest Seben Griffin III, otherwise known as Griff. You may have seen Griff as founder of Griffin Notary Services and Griffin Notary on YouTube. Griff, thank you so much for being here with me today.
Seben Griffin III:
Oh, thank you, bill. Thank you very much. I'm very appreciative. Was excited when I got the the invitation and everything, and I did my little happy dance and everything
Bill Soroka:
Me too. Yeah, me too. I, I love having you on I am one of your super fans. I love your style of delivering information, no nonsense. And that's really what you've come come to be known for is just telling it as it is, and really delivering quality information to notaries who are trying to figure out this business. And I know we get to talk a little bit about that a little later on, but I wanna, I wondered if you could just share a little bit about your story: how you became a notary, what drew you to this business?
Seben Griffin III:
Okay, well, when I was a kid, I used to sit down in Jacksonville, Florida. I would see people with notary public signs in their yard. And, and all I knew was that people got paid for folk coming to their house and they signed some documents and stamp 'em. And I said, well, you know what, that's pretty cool that all I gotta do is sit at the house and you come. And I never pursued it. And then fast forward, many about four years ago back pretty much I would say 2015, I started getting interested in it again, 2016, 17. I really started looking into it because I noticed there was a pattern where people couldn't get anything notarized if they didn't have an account at a bank.
Bill Soroka:
Ah,
Seben Griffin III:
And there was all of these, you know, celebrity cards, you know, bank cards coming out where you put your money on that and say, get away from the traditional bank. But if you went that route, you could not actually go into a bank and get anything notarized. So I said, well, man, that might be a area where I can help some people out. So I went ahead on and became a notary in 2018. And as I, I was looking up the proper instructions on how to notarize documents because I Virginia just gave us a general idea, but nothing specific, no breakdown of what these terms mean, what serial number and title and all of that. So as I started looking course, I came across a bunch of California stuff. So California was like, this is how you do it. That's how you do it.
Seben Griffin III:
And I'm like, okay, I'm gonna take as much as I can, but I know they're different. Yeah. And then I came across you and I saw you and others. And I was like, well, bill sings down to earth bills, real laid back a lot. He's in his car. I like being in my car.
Seben Griffin III:
I believe I could do the business. But I said, I got to find an affordable way. And then at that time you were less than what you're charging now. And I was like, I can justify that because I'm working GrubHub and I make enough money from GrubHub to cover this for at least six months. So I'm gonna pay this monthly fee for six months, figure out whether I can do the business. Even though other companies were offering a 30 day money back guarantee. But I knew my schedule. And I said, if I find out on the 31st day, when I actually have time, I'm going to be ticked. My wife is not gonna be happy that I still am obligated to pay that fee. And I said, and I don't wanna put myself in that situation. So I got onto your course. I started learning things.
Seben Griffin III:
And then next thing I know, you know, I went through the process, signed up with the N a and then bam, I get this notification in July to July 27th. I remember the day, July 27th, 7:30 PM. Metropolitan home mortgage in California. Never worked with them ever again. They just came and found me that day. They said, can you do a closing for us tomorrow at seven 30? I'll like these random checks. I don't know who these people are. But my entrepreneur side said say yes. Yeah, heck yeah. Said yes. And then I will figure it out later. So I said, yes. And then I went and did a deep dive into your course real quick, like on how to present the documents and what to do. And I was like, okay. I said, I can't remember everything that bill did, but I'm gonna just flow the way he flowed.
Seben Griffin III:
And I literally, in my first closing, mimicked your personality, your vibe, everything as much as I could remember and got through it. And once I came outta that house, I sat in my car and I said, I can do this. Yeah. I was like, I can do this. So July 28th at about eight 30 quarter to nine at an evening, that's when I made up my mind. I said, I'm, I can do this. I can make money doing this. And I said, I'm have to find a way how I can go full time in this. And then couple of months later, actually about a year later, that's where you came out and said to understand how you can do this business full time and make money in it. Every house out here that has a mortgage on it requires a notary. And you said, every house is bought, sold, refinance, and possibly reverse mortgage. Each house can go through those five trans in this lifetime and a notary is required for all five. I said, I'm going full time in this business.
Bill Soroka:
Oh man. Griff.
Seben Griffin III:
So the moment, yeah, the moment you said that before you even explained the whole thing, the moment you said, I said, I got it. I'm going full time. This is a done deal. And I said, all I need is about 60 houses a month averaging about a hundred dollars a pop. That'll be my start. So that was my goal. And I, and I wasn't restricting myself to that, but I said, I gotta have a goal to aim for. And that's what I worked towards. So from basic 2019, that's when I started working toward that. And I just started taking orders, pulling money, you know, just pulling all the, as much money as I could. And before I left and went full time, I said, I gotta hit five grand in this month as a part-time person, because in July of 2019, the first week of July, 2019, I calculated all of the orders that I could not respond to for a whole week. The first 15. I mean, for the first 15 days of the month, it was over $3,000 of worth of orders that I couldn't respond to because I was working right. I was pulling in about three grand and I missed out on three grand. I was like, that's my sixth that I want to aim for. I gotta find a way to get away from this business. And then that's when I started putting a plan together. And when the opportunity came and actually came later and sooner than I thought I was going to leave in June of 2020 when the pandemic hit. But before the pandemic hit, when due pandemic hit, I said, I'm gonna milk this job a little longer and leave in January of 2021. And then in November, they got on my nerves one last time. And I was like, I'm out,
Bill Soroka:
That's it, that's it. And now you're doing this full time time
Seben Griffin III:
Doing it full time over a year. And enjoying every moment of it. I didn't know at the time when I was planning on going full time that my dad was going to be moving in with us. So I got a phone call saying, Hey, you need to come check on your dad. He's not doing good. He ain't really been taking care of the house. I go down to Florida thinking I'm going to do some quick repair work on the house. And when I got in there, I was like, oh, heck nah. I said, Nope, Nope, Nope, this is bad. And he had some roof leaks and I was like, come on back up with us thinking for maybe a month or two, he's been up here since October.
Seben Griffin III:
And so I've been able to be home with him, make sure he's good, sit back and chill with him. And my wife, she's moved into a new building with her business and she needed my help. So I've been able to be available to my dad, to my mom, to my wife to my sons. Now my son is in the business, so I've been able to be there with him. So it was a good move. It came abruptly, not the way I wanted it, but I had the mindset to flow with it and information to you, Laura, Carol, and everybody in the Facebook group that you have put out the Tuesday Titans and all of that gave me the confidence to know that I have a team of people that will help me out if I get stuck on anything. So there's really nothing to be afraid of.
Bill Soroka:
Yeah. Wow. That's an awesome story. Griff. I took so much away from that and I got the chills. When you said after your first signing you had that realization that, yeah, I can do this. I can build a business with that. I had something similar happen to me. I couldn't believe people are willing to pay me a non-college grad 150 bucks an hour to do something like this. Thank you for sharing that. And the
Seben Griffin III:
Yeah. Compliance is very, very important. And I would have to say probably more so came from my military background. Cuz when I was in the Navy, we, I was an engineer and then I went into the Intel field. So the give you care person being an engineer is like, say the guys who are out here, building cars, working out industry blue collar, straight hardcore blue collar Intel. We are the people who you see briefing and showing the general Schwarzkopf where the troops are at, where the tanks are at, where the enemy at. So I went from just doing the, the, the grunt work to actually briefing people like general Schwarzkopf, and Collin Powell, you know, providing them the Intel that they needed to stand up there and say, this is what's going on. This is where this missile is. This is where it's not anymore. And that was a huge change for me. But on both ends as an engineer and as an Intel specialist, there was things you had to be compliant with and more so with the Intel because of the security clearance, you know, one location where I worked before I went full time. If you did not show up to who work within 30 minutes, they was looking for you. And if you didn't show enough, nobody heard from you within three hours, they were sending armed guards to your house, looking for you to find out why you didn't let anybody know that's how you know. So, you know, they were very strict, you know, on things. So when I got into the notary business and as I started listening to you and others, and then talking to different title companies and lenders, I started realizing there are certain things that I have to make sure that I stay in compliance with so that in short, everybody gets paid. That's really what it boils down to. So I I'm the last person, as you always say, with the fraud prevention and everything, and I gotta make sure I'm understanding what I'm supposed to do in accordance with the state. Some people who are in the process, this mortgage process, the lenders, the title, escrow people, even the signing company owners and their staff may not understand proper notarial law and the things that we are allowed to do and should be do. Can't do. So it's up to me to make sure that I understand it for myself so that if I'm ever asked to do something, I can legitimately tell them, no, that's not what I'm supposed to do instead of them saying, oh, you're just not doing your job or just the normal phrase of well, if you don't feel comfortable and I'm like, well, that's code for you ain't doing what we want. So we just going say, we gonna use that as an excuse. And I'm like, no. And I tell people all the time. I say, if you can show me how I can legally do this, I'm all in. And the reason why I started using that phrase is because when I talked to the state of Virginia about things and they would just tell me, they was email me back and say, you need to consult an attorney. And I got tired of that. So I called 'em. I said, why y'all keep telling me that? Why don't you just answer my question? They said, we are not attorneys here. All we do is process your application. Mm-Hmm so we have no legal background to answer the question. And they say, what you're asking us is anything. Can I legally do my job as a notary because it's not outlining your, our handbook. So if it's not outlining the handbook, you're really asking us, can you legally notar? And we're not in a position to do that. So you have to consult an attorney. And that's when the light clicked on. I was like, okay. So anything I'm asked to do, I have to be able to do it legally. And that's when I started asking the company, I said, I'm not refusing to do anything. I'm just saying, if you can show me how to do it legally so I can stay and come plans with the state law so that everybody can get paid. So that, and then I also found out from one lender, he said, what? Oh, it was a 45 0 6 C a customer was really upset about having to sign that again at the closing and said, well, why do I need to do this? And honestly, I didn't know. He said, well, I need to talk to the, the, the somebody. So I got the lender on the phone and the lender said, the reason why is because in case I have done something to coerce you into getting this loan, and then you can't afford it anymore. They want to have that document so they can pull your tax records to make sure that your income is right. Or if you get the loan and then you come back a few months later saying, I can't pay for this loan. Even though we help you get a three or $400 reduction in your mortgage, and now you still can't pay it. They want to know, did you lie? And if we have this 45 0 6 C or T already signed, we can request your tax transcripts, whether rather than going to you and asking you to give us the permission, we already got permission. And that's when it even clicked even more. So I'm like, okay, so they have a compliance department that they're making sure and this. And then as I started doing things, coming across people whose names weren't spelled correctly and they were like, well, can we, we can just cross it out. And I was like, well, let me just check with the title. Just to be on the safe side title would say well, and they would always say, well, let us check with the lender and see what their compliance people say. Then I found out, depending on their state laws, whoever that company is stuff that they might have been involved with from 2008. And they have different requirements that company said, well, we cannot have that. We have to redraw the whole document or another Linda will say, we talked to our compliance department, have them line this out, spell this, do this, matter of fact, one time they had me do this, have the person sign incorrectly then correctly, and then make the correction on their name on the printed thing, because that what the compliance department told them. So did that
Bill Soroka:
Sounds like attorney would do that Sounds like something that sounds like something an attorney would do.
Seben Griffin III:
Right. So I said, okay. So as I started, cause after I do my closings, when I don't have much going, I start reflecting back on what I've learned, things I've heard from the, the title companies and all of that. And I make note of the, those things and say, okay, well, this is what they said. So I need to be aware of this. I need to be aware of that. Okay. Got it. Because I might see this situation again, not that I'm going to give advice to the client, but just so that I'm aware that if I come across that situation, I'm like, okay, I most definitely need to call somebody
Bill Soroka:
For the exactly. So, but its it triggers a, just a, a red flag for you to say, oops, I gotta call somebody. I'm gonna need some guidance for this.
Seben Griffin III:
Correct.
Bill Soroka:
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New Speaker:
What I love about your approach to this, what I'm hearing Griff is that, you know, you're not, you're not digging in your heels to jam things up because you wanna be right. Or the boss you are staying compliant and in integrity and helping to, you wanna find a way to yes. Correct. And you wanna be in compliance,
Seben Griffin III:
Correct? That is it. Because as when people call me to do orders, even at the last minute and yes, I might want a particular dollar amount. They're like, well we can't at this moment. And I said, well, you know what? It's no big deal because at the end of the day, we need to get the deal done. Right. And they're like, yeah, because it's all about getting the deal done. They need it done to customer. If y'all need it done, lender need done. And I want it done. So, okay. We'll worry about the, the dollar amount later. Let's go get it done. And if the deal gets done and everybody can record the deed, that's really what it boils down to. So once I understood that part of the process, cause coming into this, you don't know that nobody really teaches that aspect of it.
Seben Griffin III:
That once you notarize that document, they send it to the courthouse and the courthouse looks at it and they're like, no. So when you, as a notary says, you, you said, you know, the foregone instrument was acknowledged on this date by, you know, by me acknowledged before me on this. And then you put your name after the word by the courthouse gonna be like, yeah, yeah, ends up. So one of the things that I've learned is that people tend to wanna go to the top of the mountain, open up a sign, a company, be an expert witness, be a instructor, all of these things. And what I've learned in life is that if you can't master and you said perfectly nail it before you scale it, if you can't master being in compliance at the level, the entry level that you are at, how you going to manage something much more important as a signing company, a title company or any of that, where you have people that you're depending on and you gotta keep them in compliance so that you can get the deal done for your client, which is the escrow or the lender.
Seben Griffin III:
And more importantly for the consumer who wants this deal. And a couple of weeks ago, I had three between three different refinances, over a million dollars of equity being pulled out over a million dollars of equity. One gentleman was pulling out over $300,000 just so he could go pay cash for, for a vacation cottage for him and his life vacation cop. Yeah. And I'm sitting here like, and he said, yeah, we'll have a couple of, couple of grand left for us to just kick around and do whatever. And he was very, very amped up and like, I wanna make sure, cause I meet them on Wednesday. I'm meeting him on a Thursday. He's like, I wanna make sure that I get this money. And we, he had little lenders on the phone bank, people. I mean, he was like, because I can't miss this opportunity.
Seben Griffin III:
And even at that moment, even though I knew I was gonna do everything right. I started reflecting back on what I call the pandemic notaries, who just come in here saying I wanna make money. I'm like, there's notary. I'm like, I can see them messing this deal up because they're not paying attention. As I did on my YouTube channel. Talk about how you gotta learn to read the room. You gotta read the room. This man. I'm like, okay. And I had to even slow down further and say, what do you need, sir? What is your concern? Okay, what do you want me to make sure that happens for you? Okay, no problem. Let's get so and so on the line then, and we got it on and he calmed down and then we just started having a good old conversation. And he was like, man, I remember when we bought this house, it was 17% interest.
Seben Griffin III:
And we refinance all the way down to like three or 4%. He's like, that is awesome. So you can tell, you know, how old they were. Yeah. And I'm sitting here like, this is what we do, people. This, we bring joy to these men and women expect actually the ones who are much older than us in their golden years when there he's like, man, I'm on retirement time. Now I want to get this cottage. Me and my wife going to chill. It's gonna be paid in full. And I said, I don't wanna mess that up for him.
Bill Soroka:
Right.
Seben Griffin III:
You know, that's how I look at this.
Bill Soroka:
I love that Griff. Cuz we do, we meet people. I mean through all kinds of life situations. Right. But it really is. It can be such a beautiful experience to share with somebody when you're present and you're confident in your abilities and it really does make a difference. This work matters.
Seben Griffin III:
Correct? Yeah. It matters a whole lot. So when the way compliance has, has benefited me and my business is that the more I have focused on doing things correctly and then getting them fixed in a timely manner, which is still in compliance because they give you instructions. They say, Hey, we need this done. Okay. Boom. I did it. Hey gr something came up and you missed the signature or you missed the stamp. Can you go back and get this done? You know, quick like, well, will I E will I be compliant or not? Cause see, a lot of people think compliance is only in the legal aspect. The compliance also that I'm talking about is in your attitude and the way you conduct your business. So if they come and ask you, Hey look, you know what we, yeah, we know we sent you out there and it was a 30 minute drive, but we forgot to include the new CD.
Seben Griffin III:
Can you go back? How compliant are you to do that? Do you have an attitude about it as a good friend of mine? She works in the signing company and she gave me my first start with consistent work, she told me recently, she said, look, go if there's there's several notaries that do great work for us. She said, but what we learned is that no matter how good of a notary they are, no matter how error free they are. It's like the moment there's a mistake. And we asked them that's when we see a different side of them. And she said, there's notaries that have made good money from us. And we've paid them very, very well. And they might have missed a signature or a date or, or stamp. And then we ask them to go back to do it. And then they have the nerve to tell us, you don't pay me enough to go to do, to fix mistakes. And they're like, but that was your mistake. And we are paying you $300 on this. And you're saying that ain't enough money to go back to fix what you messed up.
Bill Soroka:
Yeah. That's drives me crazy. I'm cringing over here.
Seben Griffin III:
Speaker 4:
Me too. Thanks for the clarity.
Seben Griffin III:
Yeah, but they don't, you hear notaries bragging about, I only print letter, even though the instruction says print mix pages, but they brag about I only print letter. I always print double-sided or I only print legal even though it's I only I do this, I don't do this. I don't do that. I mean, I, when you, when I sit back and think, and I know where you are, you, you are at part you're part of the business. You probably don't hear it as much as I do, but I hear notaries asking. I mean, I think even in T and T yesterday, somebody asked about printing on double-sided. So if somebody's asking on T and T about printing on double-sided that mean they was in a social media somewhere or kick somewhere with the meter that is saying, Hey, this is what I, so I'm like, so the majority of the notaries are, are taking pride in talking and bragging about how they aren't compliant.
Seben Griffin III:
You don't hear notaries bragging about, Hey look, no matter what goes down, I make sure I read this instructions. I make sure that I do the things right. I see what the instructions says. I do what they say. I don't hear notaries encouraging other notaries to do that. I hear them talk about how to skirt the system, how to take these the, as they call 'em TTN tip tricks and nuggets, which I don't like to that phrase from the standpoint of the way some people look at it as I look, I'm looking for tips, tricks, and nuggets on how to circumvent, what I should be doing. And I'm not, I'm not against the tips, tricks and nuggets, but if it's going to Def, if it's going to detour you from doing what you're supposed to it do to being compliance, which helps everybody get paid. That's what I'm against is that the information you're being given or you are sharing causes people to be outta compliance. And then when that notary gets in trouble, where are you at you? Ain't nowhere to be found.
Bill Soroka:
Yeah, that's exactly right. Good point. Griff, cuz I, I think vetting these Facebook groups and vetting the, the information that you find is so important, but I think to your point is you know, there are some really good, solid forums out there for, for notaries. But a lot of times or at least I've found mm-hmm
Seben Griffin III:
Correct. And that is, that is exactly it. You know, that's why I even encourage people and sometimes, and I'll be honest with you. I make statements on my channel to try to pull out the truth of people from people. So I go against the grain sometimes on purpose mm-hmm
Seben Griffin III:
So we can all do things correctly. And that's one of the things that I found is that a lot of people like to share stuff over here in the corner, but they won't come out publicly and put their face to their words with their stuff because they, I believe they know that if somebody really was to scrutinize it or investigate it, they find, okay, wait a minute. What you're telling me is gonna get me in trouble. So that's why even recently I said, well, if you are bragging about what you're not going to do for us, I'm not gonna take an order for this amount of that amount. I think it will be best if you just go ahead on and put that in your profile up front, the first line so that when a sign company looks at your profile, they already know we are not gonna send you the notification because you're saying I'm not going to do. I said, but they won't do that because they know that'll kill their business.
Bill Soroka:
Yeah, exactly, exactly. Because if I saw that on somebody's profile, there's even if I have a $300 signing, it's not going to that notary.
Seben Griffin III:
Right. So that's the thing. And that's why I say people won't own up. So there's a lot of information that I've learned in the over almost three, four years that I've been in this business that moves a person from being in compliance one with their state and two with the people who are paying them. And those people that's paying them could be the signing, the title, escrow people, or even a direct lender. Yeah. So whether, right. So, so as the N a calls it, the contracting company. So whoever's contracting you, they have requirements. They have things that they want you to do for a reason to make things go smooth. And what I've learned is, as I do those things, it has made my signing smoother because it's taking the guesswork out of what should I do? So I gotta reverse mortgage. I'm doing later today.
Seben Griffin III:
I got many pages of instructions. I sat down last night and went through all 20 pages. And one of them said, they have to fill this out. Even if they're not getting money out of this reverse mortgage or whatever, they still have to fill out this this, this funds transfer document. Yeah. So I put a right. So I, I put on the sticker on that thing must complete. So I, so no matter what they tell me, oh, we're not just like, it says they name, they have to sign their name exactly. As it stated on the line there's instructions that says that. Yeah. So I share that with them and it, and it has helped me. I, what I know is me outta trouble is kept me out of being on somebody's black list because I focus on being compliant. In other words, I'm not trying to do my own thing.
Seben Griffin III:
I'm trying to do what I'm supposed to do as a notary, what I swore oath to. And then here's what y'all need me to do it. Doesn't conflict with my state law. And if it does, in Virginia's case, collecting in closing funds, we can't do that here. Unless we have a, like the tip license, I let them know. They're like, oh, okay. We didn't realize that. But other notaries are doing it. They tell me, they say, why don't, why can't you cause other notaries collect the funds for us. I can't, I give 'em documented proof and then they back down, but get on me because they say other notaries do it anyway.
Bill Soroka:
How often do we hear that? Right, right. Other notaries do it.
Seben Griffin III:
Correct. And I find it weird is that they want us to be in compliant when I'm they want us to be in compliant when it's best for them.
Bill Soroka:
Yeah. Yeah. I think that's such a huge lesson and it was a shock to me. I think it's a shock to probably everybody, maybe even you when I first started in this business, I kind of assumed that all the other like that my escrow clients who are also notaries were knew all this stuff. They knew the, the laws for Arizona, they knew what could be done and couldn't be done or lenders I've just figured everybody would know what can be done. And it's exactly the opposite, right? We can't, we cannot rely on anybody else to know what we can do and can do.
Seben Griffin III:
Correct. And that's what I learned. And that gives me confidence. So, you know, I know some people feel, and this is I put the best way I can put it is. I told my sons when they graduated high school, I sat 'em down. And I had a, you know, man, to man conversation with them. And the one, one thing that I told him, I said, look, the hardest thing to do as a man and really as an adult is the right thing. Because so many people are going to present you with other options. And that's what I was alluding to earlier, where people are bragging about all these other options, all these other ways of getting over and around and cutting call and all of that emailing documents and things of that nature that they're not supposed to be doing. I'm like somebody, somebody got away with it and now they bragging about it.
Seben Griffin III:
And they probably even paying people, making people pay them for that information. And I said, well, what is the right thing to do? And as a, as a grown up as an adult, as a business on owner, the hardest thing to do sometimes is the right thing. And what makes it hard to do the right thing is the fact that you may not know what the right thing is because you never looked into, okay, well, what is the right thing to do? And I think once you understand what the right thing to do, and you have confidence in yourself, and you're not trying to yourself to other people's success or propose success, and you see what man they're doing it, and they're making all this money. But if I do it, it's gonna be a little bit slower going, doesn't matter. You ain't gonna be in jail.
Seben Griffin III:
You don't have the potential of being in jail. Right. You see what I'm saying? And when again, compliance, I recently found out that like in Florida, and this is what I've been hearing from people that's outta Florida sign. They said a lot of the people in Florida and probably even Virginia, cuz we don't, we're not required to have a notary log book that at the mortgage closings, they're not recording the, the clients in the log book. They don't even bring one. So they're not even doing that at all. And one lady told me out of Florida, she said, I've been a notary for six months. I ain't never recorded a single closing. I've done about 115 of them. And I'm like, you didn't. I was like, I told her straight up. I said, you probably need to go back. And to all to all I say yes, yes.
Seben Griffin III:
Because what happens is sometimes the, the lender's compliance department may request to review something. And if they get all the way down to you and you don't, I said, you get in trouble. And then I found out that a lot of notaries across the board, aren't doing the oath. They're not doing the oath at all. And I'm sitting here like this is and, and just so you can understand bill, the part that my heartburn with this is that I hear so many notary trainers and even signing company owners, being emphatic about notaries, being in a position to assist the closing agent, to make sure the deal gets done, that we as notaries need to make sure we help close the deal. And I'm like, okay, you are asking me do something like in North Carolina, they can't go beyond the title of the document. So you're telling a North Carolina notary, they gotta do more than what their state law allows, but you're not ensuring that they're recording them in the book and that they're giving the oath. So the stuff that they legally required to do, you're like, well, that's on them, but this ancillary stuff you want them to do because it makes it look good to your, to your client. You are on that. And I'm like, okay, but if they're not swearing them in and they're doing an affidavit, I think that whole thing, it becomes null and void. I'm not sure the legal ramification, but there's a issue there cuz they didn't do what they're supposed to do, what they commit.
Bill Soroka:
Yeah. It's definitely out of integrity. Right. And I mean in an office of integrity, it's so important that we know what to do and what not to do.
Seben Griffin III:
Right.
Bill Soroka:
I like the way you're framing this.
Seben Griffin III:
Right. So that is what I'm seeing. So my, my goal is, and going back to like John max, well, he says, you know, basically leave an industry better than what you went into it. And that's where my heart is at right now. I know at one point in time, you and Laura and the rest are probably gonna say, okay, look, we gotta turn this over to somebody. Not that I'm looking for y'all to turn it over to me, but I'm like, I just wanna make sure that I do the way I look at it and maybe I'm wrong. If we don't regulate ourselves, somebody's gonna come and regulate us. So if we don't get it right and we don't make our mind up to do things correctly and in compliance, what's already there, somebody above us might say, you know what? We might need to take a little, little bit deeper, look and come down harder on the notaries or the notary industry to make sure. Cause I heard one person say they were like, well a the notaries don't get this stuff. Correct. And do these closing right. And said, we we'll be all right, because what we'll do is we'll just cut a deal with a local and have them do the closings for us. We'll talk to a local bank manager and say, no, we don't have a branch there, but I don't think that that bank manager's going to be having an issue with me paying them a hundred or $150 or his people to go. And you know, for us to send business in there for them to close because that's revenue for them.
Bill Soroka:
Yeah. I think you bring up a really good point and good perspective there because if we don't, if we don't raise our own bar somebody else is gonna come in and either regulate us or they're gonna take over. Right. We have an opportunity here. And I think what, what it comes down to is that we're there's a lot of notaries that take this opportunity and responsibility for granted. And if we can raise the bar in both those levels, this is unstoppable Griff. Do you have any closing words for notaries new notaries or even seasoned, experienced notaries that maybe haven't dived yet into compliance and they've just done things cuz that's how they've always done them. What's your best advice for 'em.
Seben Griffin III:
One is to find somebody that in your area that understands the law, research it for yourself so that you can have your tail covered and get with somebody. And then I'll be honest. Somebody like Laura Biewer, it was somebody like her who has put in the time and has the heart and the willingness and the resources to help you to understand lean on the NNA. And then the main thing is whoever your mentor is or your notary trainer, talk to them and say, Hey, what do you understand about us being compliance? And if they don't or if that's not, their focus know that you can go to them with regards to that. Okay. I mean, that's you got to, you know, it's like, if you go, you, you want to, if you go into a place to get your oil changed, okay, I got my oil changed, but I need my breaks, but we don't do breaks.
Seben Griffin III:
What do you do? You go to somewhere that does the breaks or you do to the place that does oil and breaks and the state inspection. So you go to where you get your need, man. So in other words, you have, have to recognize it's a need in your life. And if you recognize that and acknowledge it, then all you need to do is find somebody who can help you meet that need. And you'll be the more better for it. And then stand firm on what you know you need to do as a notary in context of your state law and a contracting company. I, regardless of what all the other voices around you are saying, you'll be fine. Just be willing to stand. And sometimes you might have to stand alone.
Bill Soroka:
That's a really good point. Sometimes you have to be willing to stand alone and here's how all even close out. I love your messaging here, Griff. I challenge anybody who's just starting out if your experience or not set the course to become the expert notary in your state, in your city, whatever it is, there is room for you to take this on. There's not, you don't have to bow down to any other experts. A lot of the other experts learn for, from experience and hard work and studying those the state statutes, the probate code mm-hmm
Seben Griffin III:
I agree with you
Bill Soroka:
Griff, thank you so much for spending some time and sharing your story and all of your experience and just reaching the hand back and helping other notaries navigate their way through this business.
Seben Griffin III:
Thank you, bill. Appreciate it. Thank you for being an inspiration to me, which put me on that path.
--- End of Transcription ---
Bill
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