Refinance Signing Notary vs Purchase Closing in Massachusetts: What Changes at the Table

Refinance signing notary vs purchase closing: what actually differs

From across the table the two look alike. Somebody hands you a pen, the pages have yellow flags on them and a notary stamps a few of them. The structure underneath is different, and it changes what you should expect on the day.

The rest of this page fills in that table. Most of what goes wrong at a signing comes from somebody expecting the other kind of transaction, like a borrower who thinks the money arrives tomorrow, or a seller who assumed the buyer’s attorney would come to them.

Who runs a Massachusetts closing, and where the signing notary fits

Massachusetts is an attorney-closing state. A licensed Massachusetts attorney conducts the closing and records the documents. That holds for a two-family purchase in Lowell and for a ranch refinance in Tewksbury alike.

A signing agent is a notary who has trained in loan packages. The National Notary Association certifies signing agents, and Hanson Webb holds that certification. It means we know what a closing disclosure is, where the initials go on a note, and which pages need a notarial certificate. It doesn’t make us lawyers, and it doesn’t make us the lender.

In practice we’re usually booked by a title company or a closing attorney’s office, and occasionally by a borrower whose lender has told them to find a notary. The package arrives by email or courier with instructions. We print what needs printing, meet the signers, notarize the pages that call for it and send everything back the way the instructions say.

Borrowers often mix up the notary and the loan officer, and the signing agent sits somewhere in between. Our guide to notary public vs signing agent vs loan officer sorts out who answers which question. Our loan signing service page covers the kinds of packages we take.

What a refinance signing notary does at your table

A refinance is the more common job for a mobile signing agent, because there’s no seller to coordinate and the borrowers are usually signing at home. Here’s how the appointment runs from the notary’s side.

1. The package arrives and gets checked

   The title company or attorney sends the documents. We look for the obvious problems before we drive: a misspelled name, a missing page, a signature line for someone nobody mentioned.

2. We confirm the time and the signers

   We call the borrowers to confirm who will sign and where. If a spouse who isn’t on the loan has to sign anything, this is when we say so.

3. Identification at the table

   Each signer shows a current government photo ID. The name on the ID has to match the name on the loan documents, or the signature affidavit has to cover the difference.

4. Page by page through the package

   We tell you what each document is called and where to sign or initial. We don’t explain your interest rate or the loan terms. Those questions go to the lender, and we’ll wait while you call.

5. Notarization of the pages that need it

   The mortgage and certain affidavits carry notarial certificates. We complete each certificate and seal it, then record the act in our journal.

6. Right to cancel notices, if the loan has them

   Each borrower gets their copies of the notice, dated as the lender instructs. We double-check the dates, because a wrong date here can push the whole loan back.

7. Return of the package

   Signed documents go back by the method in the instructions, usually a prepaid overnight envelope. You keep your copies.

Most borrowers are surprised by how many pages there are and how few of them are notarized. The bulk of a refinance package is disclosures and acknowledgments that you sign without a seal. The notarized pages are the ones that will be recorded or that contain a sworn statement.

The three-day right to cancel on a refinance

This is the biggest practical difference between the two kinds of signing, and the one borrowers most often don’t expect.

Under the federal Truth in Lending rules, when you refinance a loan on your primary home, you often get a right to cancel the new loan for three business days after signing. Home equity loans and lines of credit usually come with it too. A purchase mortgage doesn’t. Neither does a loan on an investment property. Whether your particular loan carries the right is the lender’s call, and the lender’s notice tells you. We explain how the notice works. We don’t give legal advice about whether to use it.

What it means on the ground:

• The money doesn’t move on signing day. The lender waits until the cancellation period has passed before funding. If you’re paying off a credit card or another loan with the proceeds, plan around that.
• Each borrower gets the notice. Everyone with a right to cancel receives their own copies at the table. Keep them with your closing papers.
• The dates matter. The notice lists the signing date and the last day to cancel. If the signing moves to a different day, the dates on the notice have to move with it, and the lender may need to reissue it.
• Cancelling is done in writing. The notice explains how. We don’t accept cancellations on the lender’s behalf.

A typical case: a couple in Dracut refinances on a Thursday afternoon. The notice runs past the weekend, so funding happens the following week, and the old loan is paid off after that. They’d assumed it would all happen on Friday. Nothing went wrong. The process just has a built-in pause.

Purchase closings: two sides and a deed

A purchase has two sides, and each side signs different papers. The buyers sign the note and mortgage for their loan, plus the attorney’s closing documents. The sellers sign the deed that transfers the property, plus their own affidavits about the title. Many Massachusetts buyers also sign a declaration of homestead, which the attorney records with the deed.

In most Massachusetts purchases, everyone signs at the closing attorney’s office, and the attorney or someone on staff handles the notarization. A mobile signing agent usually isn’t needed when both sides can get to that office.

We get called when they can’t. The deed records at the county Registry of Deeds, which for Tewksbury, Lowell, Billerica and the neighboring towns is the Middlesex North Registry on Gorham Street in Lowell. The attorney records it after the closing. Nothing changes hands until that happens, which is why a missing seller signature holds up everybody.

If a property is held in a trust, the trustee signs, and the attorney will want trust paperwork on file. Our trust funding notarization guide explains what a notary sees in those files.

Sellers and buyers who can’t be at the closing table

This is where purchase closings send work our way. The seller moved out of state months ago. The buyer is in the hospital. A widow selling the family home can’t sit through a long session in a downtown office. In each case the attorney sends the documents to a notary who meets the signer where they are.

• Sellers signing in advance. A seller can often sign the deed and seller documents days before the closing, at home or at our office. The attorney holds them until the closing.
• Out-of-state signers. If you’re the out-of-state party, the attorney will usually arrange a notary near you. If a Massachusetts deed has been sent to you for signing elsewhere, follow the attorney’s instructions on the certificate wording.
• Signing by power of attorney. Some buyers or sellers sign through an agent under a power of attorney. The lender and the attorney both have to approve that ahead of time, and the POA usually has to be recorded. The guide to power of attorney requirements in Massachusetts covers what a notary checks on those documents.
• Hospital and care facility signings. We go to bedsides and senior living apartments. These are quoted individually, and the signer has to be able to understand what they’re signing.

For title companies and attorneys who book these regularly, our page on notary service for title companies covers how we receive packages and return them.

The documents in each package, in plain words

Lenders and attorneys use their own forms, so your package may not match this list exactly. These are the documents that turn up in most of them.

• Promissory note. Your promise to repay the loan. You sign it, but it isn’t notarized.
• Mortgage. The document that pledges the house as security. It’s notarized because it gets recorded at the Registry of Deeds.
• Closing disclosure. The lender’s summary of the loan and the costs. Compare it with the one you received before the signing.
• Notice of right to cancel. On refinances that carry the right. Two copies per borrower is common.
• Deed. Purchase only, signed by the seller and notarized.
• Signature and name affidavit. Lists the ways your name appears on records. Often notarized.
• Occupancy affidavit. Your statement about whether you’ll live in the property. Often notarized.
• Tax and income forms. Lenders commonly include an IRS form authorizing them to verify your tax returns.

If you don’t understand a document, say so at the table. We’ll tell you what it’s called and what kind of document it is. If you want to know whether it’s a good deal for you, that’s a question for your loan officer or attorney, and we’d rather pause the signing than have you sign something you’re unsure of.

Common snags at refinance and purchase signings

Most problems at a signing are small and avoidable. These come up again and again, and the guide to real estate closing notary mistakes goes into more of them.

• Names that don’t match. The loan says Katherine A. Smith, the license says Kathy Smith-Jones. Sort it out with the lender before the day, not at the table.
• Expired ID. We can’t notarize on an expired license. See our guide to ID required for notarization in Massachusetts if you’re unsure about yours.
• A spouse nobody mentioned. Lenders sometimes require a spouse who isn’t borrowing to sign certain pages. If that’s you, you need to be at the table with ID.
• Signing early. Borrowers sometimes sign pages before the notary arrives, trying to save time. Pages that need a notarized signature have to be signed in front of us.
• Wrong dates on the cancellation notice. If the signing date slips, call the title company so they can issue corrected notices.
• Missing pages. We check page counts before we drive, but a lender occasionally sends a revised package that morning. Expect a short delay while we reprint.

Booking a refinance signing notary near Tewksbury and Lowell

Most of our signings come from title companies and attorneys who already have the package. If your lender has asked you to arrange your own notary, call us with the lender’s contact and we’ll work out delivery of the documents with them.

Signings happen at our office at 1215 Main St, Unit 115 in Tewksbury, Monday to Friday 10 to 5 by appointment, or at your home through our mobile notary service. Weekend visits are mobile only, with a surcharge. Full loan packages are quoted per file, and the zone rates on our notary pricing page are the starting point for travel. We cover the Merrimack Valley and Metro Boston out to about 40 miles.

Two things make a refinance signing go quickly. The first is having every signer present with ID at the booked time. The second is reading your closing disclosure the day before, so questions about numbers go to the lender before the notary arrives.

Questions about refinance and purchase signings