Author Archives: Daniel Lewis

How to Save Money on Gas for Notary Signing Agents

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The cost of gas can be a major daily expense as a Notary Signing Agent going from appointment to appointment each day. Gas prices can fluctuate weekly or even daily in some areas. Here are a few tips that can help you save on this expense.

Whenever possible, the night before route your assignments

If you are like most full-time Notary Signing Agents that have multiple assignments each day it is a great investment to plan the night before on which route you will take to travel to each assignment. When I first started as a Notary Signing Agent one of the mistakes I made was to not plan out the next day travel. Doing this can cut down on unnecessary traveling to and from your office or FedEx & UPS drop off locations. Proper planning prevents poor performance.

Use Gas Saving Apps

Thanks to smartphones, we can now download an app for just about anything, including saving gas. Here are a few of the top gas-saving apps that can help you save on gas expenses daily – Gas Buddy, AAA Mobile, Gas Guru, Waze, and GetUpside.

Use Reward Programs

One of the best ways I have found to reduce the weekly gas expense is to become familiar with your rewards programs for gas at your local gas stations, grocery stores, etc. Fortunately for Notary Signing Agents, the competition is fierce among gas stations, grocery stores, etc. to have you come into their location to become a repeat customer. As an incentive, these merchants use different types of reward programs to entice you to come into their doors weekly and daily. Make sure you take advantage of this to keep lower the fuel expense weekly.

Know the Best Days of the Week to Buy Gas

According to a recent study of GasBuddy, depending on what part of the country you’re in, Mondays offer the lowest average price.

According to GasBuddy, depending on what part of the country you’re in, Saturday and Sunday is the day to avoid filling up. Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy says that as the week progresses and our excitement builds for the weekend, gas prices also have a tendency to rise.

Don’t Wait Until You are Near Empty to Fuel Up

Waiting until your fuel light comes on will not only have you stuck paying for whatever gas is readily available in the location near your assignment but it can be even dangerous and inconvenient, according to Consumer Reports.

Check out these other post by the author:

Daniel C. Lewis resides in Carmel, IN.  He was named in 2010 Notary of the Year by the National Notary Association.  He was also named in the same year an Honorary Secretary of State by the Indiana Secretary of State.  Daniel is currently serving as the President of the Indiana Notary Association.  Daniel is an entrepreneur, writer, video editor and Managing Partner of Lewis Notary Services Inc.  Daniel has recently obtained a license as a Financial Advisor. 

Tips on Wearing Masks for Notary Signing Agents

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There are a lot of discussions nationwide about wearing masks during this pandemic. Just this week, for instance, while out on assignments, I have had some signers state to me prior to arriving at their location that they will only meet with me if I have a mask on. While other signers have stated that they will not be wearing masks during the transaction and would prefer I didn’t wear one because they don’t believe the pandemic is real. No matter where you are on this issue, we recommend you implement systems to keep yourself safe.

For those notary entrepreneurs that wear masks during this pandemic, here are a couple of tips.

Invest in a More Breathable Mask

Masks can be uncomfortable, especially when it’s hot and humid. Experts say, however, that wearing a mask reduces transmission, helping to curb the spread of coronavirus and to quite literally save lives. Choose a mask that has more structure than those that lie flat against your mouth. Ensure that the material in your mask doesn’t cause heat rashes. The latest recommendation is to use multiple layers of fabric to produce the most effective protective barrier to the virus. So, instead of using a thick cotton, consider a thinner cotton fabric, but layering it.

Bring Backup Masks

Wearing masks consistently can make them literally sweaty and stinky. This can also cause acne breakouts. Make sure to pack a few extra fresh clean masks daily. Put these in a sealable baggie so it won’t be exposed to any germs before you slip it on your face.

Be Aware of Overheating

According to experts, wearing a mask over your mouth and nose can make it more difficult to breathe, especially for people with existing conditions, such as asthma, claustrophobia, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. That can actually lead to shortness of breath and allow heat to build up in the body, resulting in illness like heat exhaustion or heatstroke. Avoid being outside in the direct sun for too long and stay hydrated. You may need to drink more water than usual during this time of year to make up for increased sweating.

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Click here to register for the Indiana Title Pre-Licensing Webinar Online Course

More Changes for Indiana Notaries

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Whether you’re a seasoned notary veteran or a first-time notary applicant, it’s critically important to keep track of all the new guidelines, resources and requirements in Indiana. Here are just a few of the changes over the last couple of months.

NEW APPLICATION FEES FOR NOTARY

A new person wanting to become an Indiana Notary will now pay an application fee of $75.00. Commission Revision Fee is now $8.67. Click here to become an Indiana Notary or renew your Indiana notary commission.

INITIAL EDUCATION

All applicants must take a notary education course and pass an exam. The education course and exam are available after paying the application fee. Once the exam has been passed, your application will be submitted to the Indiana Secretary of State’s office for final review. Allow 5-10 business days for processing. If you’d like to learn more about becoming a Indiana Notary Public before submitting the application fee, please review the Notary Guide.

REQUIRED CONTINUING EDUCATION

All Notaries Public are required to complete a continuing education course every two (2) years. You may access the course by clicking the link below. The fee to complete the continuing education course is $50.00. You will be required to complete 3 continuing education courses, for a total of $150.00, over the course of your 8 year commission. Failure to complete the continuing education course will result in the expiration of your commission. Click here for Continuing Education Course

UPDATED LIST OF APPROVED REMOTE NOTARY TECHNOLOGY VENDORS

Indiana Remote Notaries Public may only conduct remote notarial acts using an approved vendor. When applying for Remote Notary Authorization, you will be required to select at least one vendor you intend to use. Once the vendor has given their approval, your application will be processed by the Secretary of State’s office.

Here is (as of August 8, 2020) an up-to-date list of approved Indiana Remote Notary Technology Vendors with their website.

Notarize Inc. 745 Boylston Street, Suite 600, Boston, MA 02116 www.notarize.com

Digital Delivery, Inc. 440 Alpha Road, Dallas, TX 75244 www.digitaldeliveryinc.com

NotaryCam, Inc. 2901 W Coast Hwy, Suite 200, Newport Beach, CA 92663 www.notarycam.com

Pavaso, Inc. 2901 North Dallas Parkway, Suite 400, Plano, TX 75093 https://pavaso.com

Simply Sign LLC 260 Airside Drive., Moon Township, PA 15108 www.simplysecuresign.com

DocVerify, Inc. 2030 Main Street, Suite 1300, Irvine, CA 92614 www.docverify.com

To stay up-to-date on the latest notary trends, news and events make sure to sign up with us for updates.

Click here for information on an Approved Ten (10) Hour Title Pre-License Online Course

Click here for information on an Approved Seven (7) CE Notary Online Course

Click here for information on an Online Indiana Notary Basics

New Background Requirements for Indiana Notaries

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As of July 1, 2020 all Indiana Notary Public Applicants and all Indiana Notaries Public wishing to renew their commission, must submit an Indiana Criminal History Record with their application. This process is handled electronically through the Indiana State Police (ISP) online service.

What this means is that the State of Indiana is no longer accepting outside background screening vendors reports from commonly used vendors like the National Notary Association Background Screening to process applications. The only authorized background screening vendor as of now in Indiana is the Indiana State Police online service.

NOTE: If you are a Notary Signing Agent you may still need to obtain an additional background screening from national organizations like the National Notary Association to meet requirements from your vendors.

The Indiana State Police Limited Criminal History Record can not be older than 30 days from the date of application. After running the limited criminal history record, you will have 14 days to download it from your profile you create on the site. There is a $16.32 fee for obtaining this record. See the instructions below.

OBTAIN AN INDIANA STATE POLICE LIMITED CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD

  1. Visit: https://www.in.gov/ai/appfiles/isp-lch
  2. Scroll to the bottom, click the acknowledgement box and click start search
  3. Login or create a new account
  4. Start a new search and follow the prompts to complete your request
    1. At the Reason for Request screen, select option 4: Is a candidate for public office or a public official
  5. Results will be available instantly, and may be printed or save to your desktop
    1. If you receive an “unresolved request” message, click here to email INBiz for next steps
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New Law Affecting Real Estate Transactions in Indiana

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Starting July 1, 2020, SEA 340 will go into place requiring a witness be present to witness the signing of recorded documents at the real estate closing. Here is a copy of the new law

CLICK HERE FOR A COPY OF SEA No. 340

Members of professional associations around Indiana that are stake holders in the closing process indicate the law seems to have come into place by mere accident. The Indiana Notary Association, Indiana Land Title Association, National Notary Association did not lobbied for this change according to sources in each organization.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD WITNESS CERTIFICATE

Apparently the word “OR” was accidently marked out and the word “AND” was put in its place in the new law according to sources.

NOTE: Current law requires only that you have either a notarized acknowledgment of the grantor’s signature OR a notarized proof signed by a disinterested third party.

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Check out the New Notary Permit Runner Online Course at LEWISTRAINING.ONLINE

Several professional associations are currently seeking ways to properly repeal this part of the law with either potentially enjoining the enactment or even getting an injunction.

So, just who is responsible to supply the witness?

As the Notary Signing Agent it is recommended that you ask the hiring party to provide a witness. The witness would be someone who must:

– Be 18+ years of age with a valid ID
– Not have an “economic interest” in the transaction
– Not be a close relative of any of the parties in the transaction (it is our understanding that it can be a relative of the notary in the transaction as long as the person meets the previous two criteria but check with your attorney for confirmation)

There has been some discussion on compensation of the witness if the Notary Signing Agent is supplying this portion of the transaction. Signing companies, as a way of keeping their cost down, have been contacting Notary Signing Agents in their network stating that witnesses are not be compensated for their services. After reviewing the statues and the Indiana Notary Guide some agents have found evidence that this is not completely accurate.

Keeping in mind that several professional mobile Notary Signing Agents drive all across Indiana during the day conducting real estate closings it doesn’t seem to be reasonable to not compensate a witness offering this service. It is, however, recommended that each Notary Signing Agent contact their attorney for options when supplying a witness for a transaction.

For more information on Notary Supplies and Professional Notary Online Courses go to lewistraining.online.

Approved Indiana RON Technology Vendors

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Here are the latest Approved Remote Technology Vendors as of Monday, June 15, 2020 at 8:30am.

Notarize Inc., 745 Boylston Street, Ste 600, Boston, MA 02116 www.Notarize.com

Digital Delivery Inc., 4400 Alpha Road, Dallas, TX 75244 www.digitaldeliveryinc.com

Pavaso Inc., 2901 North Dallas Parkway, Ste 400, Plano, TX 75093 https://pavaso.com/ron/

NotaryCam, Inc. 2901 W Coast Hwy, Ste 200, Newport Beach, CA 92663 www.notarycam.com

Simply Sign, LLC, 260 Airside Drive, Moon Township, PA 15108 https://www.simplysecuresign.com

These vendors have ben approved by the Indiana Secretary of State’s office as a remote technology vendor. To prepare for the statewide exam on RON check out our Approved 3 CE Hours Course toward your Title Producers license at Remote Notarization Self Study Course.

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Check out some of these other courses from Lewis Training Services

Indiana Approved 10 Hour Title Pre-Licensing Online Course

Approved 7 Hour CE Online Course

Approved 3 Hour Indiana Remote Notarization Online Course

Approved 4 Hour Ethics and the Signing Professional

Notary Permit Runner (NPR) Online Course (Most Popular)

5 Notary Tips to Mentally Cope with the Pandemic

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Notary Entrepreneurs are not only essential but truly the backbone of our nation. We are on the front lines of all transactions. That alone can be stressful but then add:

A Pandemic – New Accelerated Remote Online Notary Laws – Clients that Demand you meet Face-To-Face with their Signers (despite Stay-At-Home Orders)

All this can be quite jarring in this emotionally charged atmosphere that is full of dread and panic around the world. With that in mind I took a break from the fear-based and negative headlines everywhere and decided to put pen to paper (or just typing it out on my laptop) some tips that may help us all cope with this pandemic.

1. Be aware of your thoughts and talk to someone you trust about your feelings. As a Notary Entrepreneur you will have several demands on you. Professionally as well as personally. Remember that your duties as a notary is different than any other career. Sometimes it is good just to network and talk with other notaries that know what you are going through. This has helped me a great deal over the years.

2. Limit the amount of time you are watching, reading or listening to the news. News cycles are on a 24 hour loop. It’s very tempting to try to keep up and watch every second of what’s going on. Experts say constantly checking for updates is not good for your mental health. Try to check, if needed, only once or twice a day to keep up with important updates and be firm with yourself to leave it at that.

3. Practice Self-Care. Make sure you are getting plenty of good sleep at night. Meal planning is also very critical for the notary entrepreneur because of the go, go, go schedule we usually keep. Also make sure you are hydrating well by drinking plenty of water throughout your day.

4. Set proper boundaries with others. Make sure you keep negative people at bay. This is critically important at this time in the world. When you go out on assignments, even if they are remote online notary assignments, you may encounter people that have been in quarantine for a couple of weeks and may want to share with you every opinion they have about the pandemic. Set boundaries and explain (in a professional manner) that you are trying to take care of your mental health and you’d like them to change the subject.

Professional Notary Kit

Professional Notary Kit

“Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.”            -Bobby Unser

 

This Professional Notary Kit is for the notary entrepreneur that wants to get all their notary supplies in one place.  This kit includes you need in order to do General Notary Work as well as taking on assignments as a Notary Signing Agent.  It includes:

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5. Monitor your mental health. Make sure you are keeping an eye on your thoughts and moods. If you notice signs that you are struggling try some self-management tools like going on a walk, meditation, breathing exercises or praying.

If you do find that your mental health is declining and you are not able to cope well, call someone that you trust like a love one, a medical professional or a psychiatrist. Remember, your mental health is just as important as your physical health.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

1 800 273 8255

Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs. – Henry Ford

Daniel C. Lewis was named in 2010 Notary of the Year by the National Notary Association. He was also named in the same year as an Honorary Secretary of State by the Indiana Secretary of State in that same year. He resides in Carmel, IN, and is currently the Executive of Lewis Training Services, an approved education vendor by the Indiana Department of Insurance. Daniel is also an entrepreneur, writer, video editor, and Managing Partner of Lewis Notary Services Inc. Check out these other blog posts by this author

Updated Indiana Approved RON Vendors 5/18/2020

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As of Monday, May 18, 2020 12:00pm here is a list of the Approved Remote Online Notary Technology Vendors in Indiana.

Notarize Inc., 745 Boylston Street, Ste 600, Boston, MA 02116 www.Notarize.com

Digital Delivery Inc., 4400 Alpha Road, Dallas, TX 75244 www.digitaldeliveryinc.com

Pavaso, Inc., 2901 North Dallas Parkway, Ste 400, Plano, TX 75093 https://pavaso.com/ron/

NotaryCam, Inc. 2901 W Coast Hwy, Ste 200, Newport Beach, CA 92663 www.notarycam.com

Simply Sign, LLC 260 Airside Drive, Moon Township, PA 15108 https://www.simplysecuresign.com

More to come soon.

NEW Notary Permit Runner (NPR) Online Course

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Lewis Training Services is proud to announce that we will now be offering a new professional notary course called Notary Permit Runner (NPR).

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

A Notary Permit Runner presents applications, plans or the necessary paperwork for a building project to the building or other local and state departments for their permission. The NPR obtains (pulls) the permit; then either faxes or mails a copy to the builder or drops the permit off to the builder. The best part of this job? You get paid IMMEDIATELY!

This course is Nationwide and the duration of the course work depends on your rate of study. You can go as fast or be as detailed as you like and you can always return to review or look up information.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

We will discuss how to start and build a business as a Notary Permit Runner including, but not limited to, marketing, filling out forms, and customer service for your clients.

Daniel C. Lewis resides in Carmel, IN. He has had more than 43 years of business experience. Daniel is a Navy Veteran and is the Director of Lewis Training Services. He was named in 2010 National Notary of the Year as well as named Indiana Honorary Secretary of State. Daniel is the co-author of the business guide MAKE YOUR BUSINESS OUR BUSINESS. You can contact Daniel at admin@lewistraining.online.

4 Reasons for having a Legal Service Plan

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by Daniel C. Lewis

With the current pandemic we will be experiencing some very dramatic changes to our laws across the country.  Record hospitalization, death, unemployment along with new standards for social distancing is ushering a new era. With new social guidelines happening across the country it is a smart choice for the professional entrepreneur to have the proper legal protection against looming legal issues.

Here are 4 reasons that professionals should carry some type of a legal service plan in their toolbox

1.  Legal Service Plans can give you access to an entire law firm.  Imagine if you, as an entrepreneur, had access to a Contract Attorney, Tax Attorney, or Estate Attorney.  Imagine being able to talk with an attorney about how to help you lower legal risk of operating your business.  Imagine even if in the process of going to each of your assignments you receive a traffic ticket and having an attorney represent you in court.  Would that be a benefit to you?

2.  Laws are becoming more and more complicated.  If you are not a lawyer it probably a mistake to try to interpret the laws on your own without the counsel of a trained and license attorney. Would it be a benefit to have an attorney to consult on business decisions?

3.  Not having a legal service plan will cost you.  As an entrepreneur you will be dealing with companies in a different states which means contracts that will be under the jurisdiction of that state.  Sometime you will even be asked to sign documents that is not quite clear to you and may even seem like it is in a different language.  If you are an employee you may be asked by your employer at times to sign documents that you would consider questionable.  If an unintentional mistake is made on documents by you, would you feel more confident in the outcome of a legal proceeding if you had an attorney to help you through the process?

4.   Having a Legal Service Plan helps you operate an Efficient/Effective Business.  Using a Legal Service Plan effectively helps to keep you out of litigation and becoming a Defendant in a court case.  Remember the old saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.  Could you benefit with consulting with an attorney about lower risk factors to your business?

Daniel C. Lewis resides in Carmel, IN. He has had more than 43 years of business experience. Daniel is a Navy Veteran and is the Director of Lewis Training Services. He was named in 2010 National Notary of the Year as well as named Indiana Honorary Secretary of State. Daniel is the co-author of the business guide MAKE YOUR BUSINESS OUR BUSINESS. You can contact Daniel at admin@lewistraining.online.

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