Category: In the News

The Federal Reserve defied expectations last week and left interest rates unchanged.  The decision boosted the value of the dollar in the international markets.

Still, there is an impending raise in rates before the end of the year.  The majority of analysts still believe that the rate will be bumped by a quarter of a percent at the Fed’s December meeting.  How does the Fed raising interest rate affect notaries?

New economic projections released after the Fed’s two-day policy meeting showed 11 of 16 officials see the “appropriate” level for the federal funds rate, the central bank’s benchmark interest rate, to be in a range between 1.25 percent and 1.50 percent by the end of 2017, or 0.25 percentage points above the current level.

— Reuters

Low rates still abound, and are great for the market. And expectations of rate increases is always a good motivator to get people into the real estate or loan market before they are charged a higher rate.

The kicker that we are seeing right now, as that in the short term, housing sales have taken a hit. It is a small percentage, so it is nothing to panic about, but low housing inventory is leading to rising prices. Whether this motivates potential buyers to pull the trigger before prices get higher, or if it causes people to hold off on purchases remains to be seen. But, consider this:

Homes are also selling quickly because of the lack of options for buyers. The average number of days on the market was 30 in August, down from 36 a year ago.

— USA Today

Optimism for the housing markets in 2018 is higher, as a larger influx of newly constructed homes are expected to hit the market and raise inventory levels. Which will hopefully increase sales and increase work for notaries.

There has been a lack of newly built homes in the last decade since the crash. With new home construction up, we are finally seeing concrete (or wood) evidence that developers and their investors are confident in a growing marketplace for home buyers.

If that happens, it will help mobile notaries make more money.

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Sometimes a state does a great job of letting everyone know that new rules for notaries are forthcoming.  Sometimes, not as well.

The state of Arkansas quietly had new rules for notaries go into effect yesterday.  It is part of act HB 4150 passed in Arkansas 91st Assembly.  The changes have deftly avoided the news feeds, and we were led to the text of the bill just yesterday.

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We recently covered upcoming rules changes for notaries in Pennsylvania.

New notary education rules were passed in Pennsylvania, requiring all new and renewing notaries to complete a three hour course. The course must be completed within six months before filing an application, or filing a renewal, to be a notary in the state of Pennsylvania.

The update here comes for current notaries. In the initial language of the rules, current notaries were “grandfathered” in and not required to meet the same educational demands as new notaries.

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You can add Indiana to the states lined up to update their notary laws soon, as Indiana has approved changes to take effect in 2018. The changes will bring Indiana closer to the rest of the nation in regards to notarial law.

Of course, we’ll see tighter testing requirements for notaries, as we are seeing across the country, as well as changes to reflect traveling and other common notary issues.

Indiana did previously have testing for new notaries, but the test was not very substantial, and allowed potential notaries multiple guesses to get questions correct. That is going away and will be replaced by a new, more comprehensive test for prospective notaries. Current notaries will need to re-take the test every two years, as well.

A big update is being made to reflect the fact that notaries are traveling more and more to provide services. Previous law only allowed a notary to charge up to $2 to travel to a signing, even though many, if not most, signings required more than $2 worth of gas to travel to.

Seriously, two dollars!

Fortunately, the new law allows for notaries to charge for travel expenses at the federal mileage rate. It also raises the amount notaries are allowed to charge for their services.

Another issue being addressed is who can become a notary public in Indiana. Current law states that you must be a resident of the state. The new law states that you only need to work in the state to become a notary.  We have also seen this issue recently in North Carolina.

This is yet another reason you need a nationwide notary company like Sunshine Signing, who has notaries ready in all 50 states.

It is common practice for many businesses to have someone in the office commissioned as a notary. This has been a problem in border areas of the state. Many of these businesses employ individuals who live out of the state. These employees were automatically disqualified from being an Indiana notary due to their residence. To eliminate this inconvenience, Indiana will allow individuals primarily employed in the state of Indiana to become Indiana notaries.

— Eagle Country Online

Another issue that will affect notaries directly are bond requirements. Currently, a notary has to hold a $5,000 bond, which will be raised to $25,000. For current notaries, though, there will be no change until the end of their commission. Their current bond will be grandfathered in until their current commission expires, and won’t change to $25,000 until then.

Laws affecting notaries are changing all over the country now, to reflect the changing times we live in, and to protect notaries and their clients. Expect to see more states update their laws in the coming months and years.

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The Revised Uniform Law of Notarial Act will take effect on October 26, 2017 in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Department of State published its notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

This long awaited Notarial Act will replace previous laws enacted in 1941 and 1953. The law was actually passed in 2013, but compliance requirements for the state are just being completed. The law was always scheduled to take effect 180 days after approval from the when Department of State completed its work on new programs for the education of notaries in the state.

This is a sweeping change of notarial law, and includes many important updates. Some of them are simple and common sense. For example, the new law requires that a notary to identify the identity of any person for whom a notarial act is performed. It also simplifies the process to notarize electronic documents.

Some of the other changes are more complex and should make you take note.

Users of notary services are protected from errors and omissions by notaries and challenges to the validity of notary certificates. The failure of a notarial officer to perform a duty or meet a requirement of the law will not invalidate a notarial act. Instead, any remedies for misconduct by a notary aided or abetted by a user of notarial services must be sought under other laws. In addition, a rebuttable presumption is provided regarding the validity of the signatures and titles of notarial officers and a conclusive presumption is provided with respect to the authority of judicial officers to perform notarial acts

— Lexology

This section in particular is of note, and we are going to have to see how it plays out. While it disallows a notarial act to be invalidated because of failure to have perfect documents, it also opens an avenue to pursue “remedies for misconduct” through other channels, presumably civil.

Sanctions for violating the law will also increase. Greater enforcement powers have been granted to the Department of State, and sanctions have been increased.

Of course, this is accompanied by new notarial forms to help keep you in compliance, as well as new, mandatory training for new notaries, as well as those seeking to re-instate their license.

Pennsylvania is now the 7th state to adopt the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, with more states likely to follow in upcoming years.  It was also the birthplace of the notary that helped found a nation.

This is just another reason you need a nationwide notary service that can navigate the changes laws for you.

Edit:  Important Update for Pennsylvania notaries.

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The North Carolina Secretary of State faces impeachment charges after it was revealed that over 300 notaries in the state were non permanent residents.

Representative Chris Millis, a Republican from Pender County, NC held a press conference where he levied charges against Elaine Marshall, the North Carolina Secretary of State.  His office poured over 1,700 pages of documents that show that over 320 notaries in the state did not legally reside in the United States.

“If the secretary chooses not to resign, I will proceed with all legislative actions, including a resolution for impeachment,” Millis said.

There is no law that says a notary must be a United States citizen, but the law does say that the person must reside in the United States legally. The issue focuses mainly on people who used DACA status to become notaries.  DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which began in 2012, and is a limited immigration program offered by the Department of Homeland Security.

Millis says these same documents show Marshall’s office regularly accepted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) cards as forms of identification which he claims on his website are not valid to prove residency. “A DACA card is a temporary employment authorization to facilitate safe and legitimate employment and income for otherwise undocumented aliens but does not confer legal immigration status.” — Fox News

— Fox News

Elaine Marshall called the claims purely political.

“This is simply a rehashing of the political attack used by my opponent [Republican Michael LaPaglia] in the recent election,” Marshall said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has authorized the specifically mentioned notaries to work here lawfully. That federally authorized status continues to be unchanged by the new presidential administration.” — WRAL

— WRAL

For his part, Millis has filed a new bill in North Carolina that would require all notaries to be United States citizens.

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Last week the federal reserve announced for just the third time since the financial crisis, that they are raising rates to a range between .75 and 1 percent.  The fed announced in their decision that they are planning for slow economic growth, which stands in contrast to some in the market who think the market is growing at a faster pace.

But, does this mean anything for the mobile notary?

How will the fed raising rates affect new housing sales, as well as refinances?  The scary answer is that it would discourage buyers from coming to the table.  But, the reality may be far different.

Rates are still at historic lows, and the fed is looking at raising the rates again in the coming months, maybe several times.  This could encourage buyers to close the deal before the rates rise again.

Ms. Zentner said she expected the Fed to raise rates again at its June meeting. The Fed’s policy-making committee next meets on May 2 and 3. — New York Times

— New York Times

Some analysts believe that we may see four or five more rate hikes in the next two years.

Federal Reserve Chairperson Janet Yellen has made it clear that she expects to recommend (a minimum) of three increases in the Federal Reserve interest rate in 2017. The extent of the effects of these rate hikes will depend in part on the size of the rate increase. — Yahoo Finance

— Yahoo Finance

The banks are already bracing for the higher rates.  Early reports had bank stocks slightly increasing on the news.  But, expect them to make a push to get buyers and refinancers to the table before the next hike.

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A contentious battle has commenced in Idaho regarding a new law to set forthcoming rules for notaries in the state.  The notary law passed out of committee last week after a long debate.  Among the topics brought up against the bill were unstable foreign countries, the Hague Convention and the UCC.

The bill looks to modernize the rules for notaries in the state.  It recognizes the use of electronic signatures and other technological advancements that are becoming staples in the field.

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