The Vesting Mismatch and the Homemade Deed
A refinance closing. The title commitment shows vesting as 'Robert Chen and Linda Chen, husband and wife, as joint tenants with right of survivorship.' The lender's documents list the borrower as 'Robert Chen, a married man, as his sole and separate property.' Only Robert appears on the Note. Linda is at the table and expects to sign the Deed of Trust. Robert also hands you a quitclaim deed he printed from the internet and signed last night, adding his adult son to title, and asks you to 'just put your stamp on it' since you are already there. The courier is waiting.
1. How do you handle the mismatch between the title commitment and the lender's documents?
Read the worked answer
Flag it before anyone signs; do not paper over it.
- Why it matters. A deed of trust secures the lender only if every title holder with an interest joins in. If the commitment says Robert and Linda hold as joint tenants but the security instrument recites Robert alone as a married man holding sole and separate property, the lender's lien position and the vesting record are in tension - and the mismatch may reflect an unresolved community-property or title issue.
- Who decides. Title and the lender decide: a corrected Deed of Trust, a vesting deed, or an additional signature. That is a legal and underwriting determination, not a notary's.
- What you do. Note the discrepancy on your report, call the title officer and the signing company, and continue only on their written direction. If Linda is required to sign the security instrument, she signs; but you do not simply let the deal proceed on the theory that the extra signature cures the recital.
2. What is your response to Robert's request to notarize the quitclaim deed?
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Decline to handle it as a table-side errand.
- Scope. The quitclaim has nothing to do with this closing. It affects title, the lender's collateral, and possibly triggers the due-on-sale clause in the new security instrument. Robert should get legal and title advice before it is recorded.
- Certificate. If you ever notarize it elsewhere, you must do so properly: an acknowledgment can generally be taken later if Robert personally appears and acknowledges the signature he already made (state rules vary), the certificate must be the correct one for the receiving recorder, and the son's signature would require the son's own appearance. You do not draft or select certificate language.
- Judgment. A rushed, unrepresented transfer of a residence at a loan closing, with a spouse and a lender's interest in play, is exactly the scenario where undue influence and fraud claims are born. Say no, and tell him to talk to an attorney or the title company.