Champion Mobile Notary Services: Serving Santa Clara and South San Mateo Counties, California

Phone: 650-290-3550 or 408-355-3700
Email: info@championmobilenotary.com

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Champion Mobile Notary Services: Serving Santa Clara and South San Mateo Counties, California
30 Jun2010

Should A Notary Communicate with the Signer?

Written by cathy. Posted in General Notarizations, Mortgage Loan Signings, Realtors/Mortgage Brokers Accommodator

I received a phone call asking about mobile notary service to a local Silicon Valley hospital. During our phone conversation the caller mentioned the signer only speaks Portuguese. I informed her that unfortunately, I do not speak Portuguese. She would need to find a notary who speaks Portuguese to communicate with the signer. She found this frustrating and wanted me to still notarize the documents using an interpreter, their niece. I shared that notaries must be able to communicate directly with the signer. It is important as the notary must determine if the signer understands what they are signing and is signing of their own free will (no duress). Our state law requires notaries communicate directly with a signer. Otherwise, notaries may face penalties.

“The completion of a certificate of acknowledgment that contains statements that the notary public knows to be false not only may cause the notary public to be liable for civil penalties and administrative action, but is also a criminal offense. The notary public who willfully states as true any material fact known to be false is subject to a civil penalty not exceeding $10,000.”
California Secretary of State Handbook 2010

I encouraged her to find a notary who speaks Portuguese to complete the notarizations.

Stay in touch, join my Facebook Page www.Facebook.com/ChampionMobileNotary. You will also learn more about the daily happenings of a mobile notary public and loan signing agent in the San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula and South Bay and Silicon Valley.

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14 May2010

Notary Public Oath

Written by cathy. Posted in General Notarizations, Mortgage Loan Signings, Realtors/Mortgage Brokers Accommodator

I just renewed my notary public commission. Well, according to the Secretary of State, “You are appointed for another term. There are no renewals of commissions.” The final step in this process is filing and taking an oath of office and filing official bond with the County Clerk’s office where my principal place of business is located. For me this is the Santa Clara County Clerk’s Office. After submitting my various paperwork and paying my dues, the County Clerk Recorder asked me to sign the Notary Public Oath and Certification of Filing Forms. Then, she asked me to raise my right hand. I stated my name and she stated from memory the following oath:

“do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter.”

I responded, “Yes, I do”.

Wow, I wondered if I signed up for the military, CIA or FBI. This is the oath for California Notary Public’s. I wonder what the oaths are for the military, CIA or FBI.

I thought you might find the Notary Public of California oath interesting. Starting June 5, 2010, I officially start my new notary public appointment term.

Is there an oath you have for your profession?

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26 Apr2010

Employer ID: What is Acceptable to Notarize Documents?

Written by cathy. Posted in General Notarizations, Mortgage Loan Signings, Security/Privacy

Recently, I communicated extensively with a family who is trying to have a Police Clearance letter notarized for their son who is teaching English in a foreign country. Some police departments have policies that do not allow their employees to show their driver’s licenses for identification. They only allow their employees to use their employer issued identification cards. The California Secretary of State, the governing body for notary public’s in California, has specific policies too for identifying a person who is notarized. In other words, the Secretary of State is the boss for notary publics. The penalty fee for improperly identifying a person is $10,000 (Civil Code 1189(a)(2)). This penalty was passed in 2008 due to mortgage fraud that occurred in the years previously.

An employee identification card issued by an agency or office of the State of California, or an agency or office of a city or county in California can be used as identification ONLY if it includes the following items:

1. Photo
2. Physical description
3. Identification number
4. Issue date and/or expiration date
5. Signature of the person (not anyone else)

These are specific requirements issued by the Secretary of State of California. They are non-negotiable. If you give $10,000 to the notary public, maybe the notary public will be willing to notarize your document. That will cover their penalty (Civil Code 1189(a)(2)). It won’t cover the negative mark from it on their record for the violation.

If you would like to learn more about these matters, you can review the 2010 Notary Public Handbook.

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22 Mar2010

What Type of Identification Is Acceptable for Notarizations?

Written by cathy. Posted in General Notarizations, Mortgage Loan Signings, Realtors/Mortgage Brokers Accommodator, Security/Privacy

Sometimes people who have documents that require notarization are unaware of the proper photo identification they need. The governing body that regulates California notary publics is the Secretary of State. They determine what forms of photo identification are allowed. Following are acceptable forms of current identification (or issued within five years) to notarize documents according to the Secretary of State’s Notary Public Handbook 2010 (some wording modified for easier reading):

1. US passport;
2. California Identification Card (is similar to California Driver’s license. It states “Identification Card” instead of “Driver License”)
3. California Senior Citizen Identification Card (same as above);
4. A passport issued by a foreign government that is stamped by the US Immigration and Naturalization Service or the US Citizenship and Immigration Services;
5. A driver’s license issued by another state or by a Canadian or Mexican public agency authorized to issue driver’s licenses;
6. An identification card issued by another state;
7. A US military identification card with a photo, physical description, signature, and identifying number;
8. An inmate identification card issued by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation;
9. An employee identification card issued by an agency or office of the State of California, or an agency or office of a city or county in California;

Please note the original photo identifications must be presented to the notary public before your documents are notarized. Copies of your photo identification or expired original photo identifications are not acceptable. The fine for notary public’s not properly identifying someone is up to $10,000. In addition, it is to protect you. Please understand the responsibility notary public’s have in identifying you before they notarize your documents.

Stay in touch, join my Facebook Fan Page www.Facebook.com/ChampionMobileNotary. You will also learn more about the daily happenings of a mobile notary public and loan signing agent in the San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula and South Bay and Silicon Valley.

The contents of this blog are copyrighted. No portion of it may be reproduced without written permission.

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18 Sep2009

How a Mobile Notary Public Helps Realtors

Written by cathy. Posted in Mortgage Loan Signings, Realtors/Mortgage Brokers Accommodator

Realtors do you ever wonder how a mobile notary public may help you and your clients?

Here are a few ways as a mobile notary public I help Realtors and their clients:

1. When the title company is out of the area. The title company couriers the documents to me and I meet with you and your clients to sign off.

2. When your clients are elderly and are unable to leave their homes. I meet with them to sign off the documents in the comfort of their homes.

3. When your clients have young children. Minimize stress for parents to sign off in their home. They avoid the hassle of finding a babysitter or bringing the kids to a title company office.

4. When there is a Quitclaim Deed, Power of Attorney or Grant Deed and your clients are unable to meet with the escrow officer during business hours. I meet with people who have medical challenges or with former spouses who want nothing to do with each other.

5. When the loan documents are with an out of area title company and there is not enough time to courier the documents to sign off and close on time. The escrow officer emails the documents to me. I print them and meet with you and your clients.

When your clients are unable to sign off at the title company, do you have a trusted mobile notary who can meet with them at their work office, home, your office or wherever to sign the final closing documents?

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06 Mar2009

What Type of Documents Do You Notarize?

Written by cathy. Posted in General Notarizations, Mortgage Loan Signings, Realtors/Mortgage Brokers Accommodator

This is a common question I hear from people. I believe the best way to answer it is by sharing some of my recent notary appointments, as it will show the types of documents I notarize and the various types of people with whom I have the privilege of working.

* A law firm in Springville, Texas, needed an affidavit from a General Counsel at a company in Sunnyvale, California. I worked with the paralegal at the law firm in Texas and the paralegal at the company in Sunnyvale, California to schedule the notary appointment to notarize the affidavit.

* An attorney in Redwood City, California wanted a couple of consent forms for text messages notarized with his client.

* A former husband in Seattle, Washington required a quitclaim deed and court settlement document to be notarized with his former wife working in Santa Clara, California. He called me to meet with his former wife to travel to her office to notarize the two documents.

* A business in Redwood City, California is opening bank accounts in Great Britain. A commom requirement with opening foreign bank accounts are copies of utility bills, passports, and or drivers licenses. I met with a couple of their business executives to notarize their copies of identification documents.

* A business in the construction industry located in San Jose, California, called me to bring notary services to them to notarize a progress payment form. This form states the final payment in a particular phase of the project.

* A business located in Redwood City, California contacted me to travel to their office to notarize power of attorney documents for a product they developed to expand into foreign markets (they are helping our trade deficit!).

* A couple in San Jose, California called me to bring notary public services to them. They had a pension election form that required notarizations.

* A title company in Palo Alto, California contacted me to complete a refinance mortgage loan signing with a couple at their home in Milpitas. The wife just had surgery, so the convenience of executing their loan documents at their home instead of the title office in Palo Alto was important.

* A fiduciary person (aka registered guardian) in San Jose, California 95128 contacted me to meet with her client in Sunnyvale, California to notarize a power of attorney.

* An estate planning attorney in Santa Rosa, California contacted me to meet with her and her clients at the husband’s office in Menlo Park, California. The attorney worked with the couple to do their estate planning and had a few documents requiring notarization (trust, grant deed and durable power of attorney).

* A former wife at the Family Court in San Jose, California 95113 called me on short notice. She was in the midst of a divorce and needed to file an interspousal transfer deed. The supervisor of the court is one of the people who signed it and I notarized it. The former wife also signed it and was notarized.

* A wealth management firm in San Francisco, California contacted me for traveling notary services. They had clients in Los Altos Hills, California and in Cupertino, California. The forms requiring notarizations were trust certification forms.

* A sister with a brother at O’ Connor Hospital, San Jose, California 95128 called me for traveling notary service. Her brother had an advanced healthcare directive they wanted notarized.

* A paralegal at a law firm in San Francisco, California contacted me to meet their clients at the clients home in Atherton, California. They had several grant deeds requiring notarizations.

* A wife (and future mom) contacted me to meet with her and her physician in Portola Valley, California to notarize a couple of forms for adopting an international child.

Thus far, my furthest client is an attorney in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. She needed her working visa which required a couple of documents being notarized with the Registrar at Stanford University in Stanford, California. Her assistant sent me her transcripts and a letter. I met with someone at the Stanford University Registrar Office to notarize the documents.

Join my Facebook Fan Page www.Facebook.com/ChampionMobileNotary to learn more about the daily adventures of a mobile notary public & loan signing agent in the San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula and South Bay.

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23 Dec2008

Are There Advantages Using A Full-Time Mobile Notary Public?

Written by cathy. Posted in General Notarizations, Mortgage Loan Signings, Realtors/Mortgage Brokers Accommodator

For you, there are a couple of advantages using a full time mobile notary public. The first one is a flexible schedule to work with you. The second is experience. The third is knowledge.

Appointments are available Monday-Saturday 9AM-8PM. After hours (which includes before hours) are available for an additional fee. My schedule is flexible to best work with your busy life to schedule an appointment for a notarization or mortgage loan signing. Being a full time mobile notary public and certified loan signing agent allows me to better serve you. Below are examples of notary appointments I had yesterday which show how short notice availability, experience and knowledge helped my clients and can help you.

Yesterday morning, just after I finished a meeting in Santa Clara, CA 95051, I received a call for morning mobile notary services in Menlo Park, CA 94025. I arrived within 30 minutes and notarized the court documents for the signer who was bedridden. They had security concern with the document (with multiple pages), so in addition to the loose notary certificate, I embossed each of the pages. The loose certificate was needed, as the document did not include a notary block. On the loose certificate, in the bottom portion I wrote details about the document so it could only be used for the detailed document. The embossed pages can not be duplicated or exchanged, as the only person who has my notary embosser (which imprints the same information as in my notary stamp) is me. In addition, they had a Will. They wondered about executing the Will. I explained to them the Will required two witnesses present while the signer executed it.

Just after my Menlo Park, CA signing, I received a call to notarize a passport application for a minor in San Carlos, CA 94070 which was needed within the hour. I arrived within 20 minutes and completed the notarization for the busy business executive at his office.

After I dropped off executed loan documents at a title company in Campbell, CA 95008, I received a call for mobile notary service in San Carlos, CA 94070. An elderly man who just returned home from the hospital needed the bank’s own power of attorney document notarized. I worked with him and his family and notarized the power of attorney. The bank also required his wife to be notarized on the document. Unfortunately, she did not have a current valid photo ID.

Plan B was to obtain two credible witnesses with current valid ID’s who could take a oath stating his wife’s identity. The easiest source of credible witnesses are neighbors, as they are close. (Credible witnesses should not be immediate family members). With some exploration we discovered the neighbors were not available.

Plan C, the daughter tried to talking with the bank to see what they could do to help. It was going nowhere fast. I talked with the bank in bank lingo to see if they would witness his wife’s signing the bank’s power of attorney at the bank, as they usually do this instead of notarizing it (the only time it is notarized is when it’s executed outside the branch office). The bank said they could as she is their client and would further confirm it with security questions that only she can answer. Problem solved with all family members at ease.

I enjoy helping clients in their time of need in notarizing important documents for them.

When you find yourself with a document or documents requiring notarization or a mortgage loan signing, I would be glad to be of service. For experienced, mobile notary public services, call me today. My territory includes the counties of San Mateo, Santa Clara and southern Alameda, California.

I look forward to working with you.

Join my Facebook Fan Page www.Facebook.com/ChampionMobileNotary to learn more about the daily adventures of a mobile notary public & loan signing agent in the San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula and South Bay.

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11 Oct2008

Traveling Notary Public with Odd Meetings Places

Written by cathy. Posted in General Notarizations, Mortgage Loan Signings, Notary Public/Loan Signing Agent Fun, Realtors/Mortgage Brokers Accommodator

As a mobile notary public, I bring notary services to you at your office, home or any other location throughout the counties of Santa Clara, San Mateo and southern Alameda. Appointments are available Monday-Saturday 9AM-8PM. After hours are available.

Common places where I meet clients are at their offices, homes, healthcare facilities, coffee shops and restaurants. One of the most unusal signings I have done so far is for a couple purchasing a property in Florida who lived in Mountain View, California. They were packed and just cleaned their carpets as I arrived. They were scheduled to leave the next morning to drive to Florida. They signed their loan documents with me in their garage on their dryer. We could not walk in the house with the wet carpets. The only place was in their garage, with everything packed the dryer was the only large flat surface we could use. Another unusal signing was in a parking lot. Three parties were required to sign a grant deed. Logistically, meeting in the church parking lot next to the school, where one of the signers worked was the easiest place to meet. Otherwise, more time was required to clear security to enter onto the campus.

What I enjoy most about my job is helping people. Delivering prompt, professional, efficient service to business people who have important, time sensitive documents requiring notarization. Offering flexible, professional and diligent service to people in hospitals or health care facilities with advanced health care directives and/or durable power of attorneys for finances that must be notarized. Being available on short notice with loose notary certificates to parents traveling with a minor child out of the country who need a travel consent form notarized. Offering prompt, professional and reliable mobile notary service to people adopting international children with various documents requiring notarization at different locations (physcian’s office, police station, place of employment, etc.).

Clients are located locally here in the San Francisco Bay Area, throughout the States and internationally. In fact, my furthest geographical client is in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

A partial list of clients:

* Estate planning solo-attorneys:
Custom Estate Planning, John Ruzzo, Anthony Earle, Ramin Mossafar, Robin Bevier and EJ Hong

* Escrow/title companies:
Old Republic Title, LandAmerica Title, Cornerstone Title, Chicago Title, First American Title, North American Title, Fidelity National Title, Santa Cruz Title and United Realty Center Escrow

* Mortgage brokers:
Bay Advantage Online, Allied Home Mortgage Capital, University Investments, Primerica, Princeton Capital, Rapid Funding Mortgage, California Capital Group, and Freedom Lending Group

* Construction and related companies:
Lyncon Construction, Rescue Air Systems, and Platinum Roofing

* Inventive companies with patent applications and patent assignments:
Proteolix, Brocade, Pivot Medical and CoAdna Photonics

* Venture capitalists
Riverwood Capital, Foundation Capital, and Scion Capital

* Wealth management companies:
Morgan Stanley, Merril Lynch, Edward Jones, and YCMNet Advisors Wealth Management

* Large and small companies:
Ordinate, Elance, Fleming Jenkins Vineyards & Winery, Kaiser Permanente, Log Logic, Affymax, Inc., Presidio STX, Packet Design, Brocade, Xojet, All Covered and Yodlee.

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08 Sep2008

Are You Calling on a Reliable Notary?

Written by cathy. Posted in General Notarizations, Mortgage Loan Signings, Notary Public/Loan Signing Agent Fun, Realtors/Mortgage Brokers Accommodator

Last week Wednesday, afternoon just after 4:30PM, I received a crisis call from an attorney’s office. The notary they scheduled for their 4:30PM appointment cancelled at 4:20PM. The documents requiring notarization were estate planning documents, a trust and grant deed. The client drove to Santa Clara, California from Fremont, California (about 25 minutes, with rush hour traffic it’s more than double). The attorney drove from her law firm’s main office in Gilroy, California to their office in Santa Clara, California (about a 45 minute drive, with rush hour traffic double the time). I arrived within 20 minutes of their call to notarize the estate planning documents.

Another time I received a call from the adult son of his dying father. They needed to have life insurance documents notarized and the scheduled notary did not show up. Certainly, the additional stress of scrambling around to find another notary was the last thing they needed.

One time a business called with a time sensitive document signed by one of their executives that required notarization. They were in a pinch, as the planned notary did not show up.

Another time, I received a call from a frantic mortgage broker, the borrower needed to sign her date sensitive loan documents. She missed a day of work to be available to sign the documents. She could not afford to miss her rate lock due to a no-show notary.

Occasionally, I receive these crisis calls because the scheduled notary did not show up.

Do you have a reliable mobile notary you can call?

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Counties Served

Santa Clara County

South San Mateo County

Some of the Cities I Serve

Campbell, CA
Cupertino, CA
Los Altos, CA
Menlo Park, CA
Mountain View, CA
Palo Alto, CA
Santa Clara, CA
Sunnyvale, CA

Contact Me

Phone: 650-290-3550
Phone: 408-355-3700

HOURS:
Mon-Fri 9 AM - 6 PM
Sat 9 AM - 2 PM

Email: info@championmobilenotary.com

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Mailing Only Address

Champion Mobile Notary
809 Cuesta Drive #B2150

Mountain View, CA 94040

Mailing ONLY Address
Actual Office is Mobile

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