​Andrew A. Golub

This short piece is designed to explain some of the many difficulties that Title Closer's who do closings in foreign languages, may experience, and to inform the industry about certain steps to be taken in order to avoid a closing cancellation.  Most Agents, Brokers, Attorney's, Title Agents, Loan Originators, and others, are aware of the language barriers we face daily, in the Finance, Brokerage, and Legal industries.

 

New York City has one of the most complex and sophisticated demographics in the nation, especially when it comes to language, nationalities, and a diverse population. Conducting business under these circumstances can be challenging for even the most talented and brightest individuals because of the complexity of certain foreign languages. 

 

I have studied the Spanish language in Grammar school through University.  Spanish is the unofficial second language of the United States and is the second most commonly spoken language next to English.  There is a closeness between basic Spanish and English because they are branches of Latin and other  European Languages.  Many even share the same words.  However,  this is not the case for Latin based European Languages, i.e. English et al., and the Sino-Tibetan Languages, including Chinese.  The relation between these 2 language families is much less than the aforementioned.  In addition,  the Chinese official language (Mandarin) was just recently standardized in the past 60 or 70 years and is still in an evolving stage.  The Chinese Language is by far one of the most complex languages in the world,  more so because of its cultural,  geographical and dialect differences that span throughout China and beyond.  For this reason,  and to assist everyone involved with language barriers and conducting business in their professions, and most importantly for title closers and notaries, I wanted to share some important and relevant information and experience when dealing with Mandarin speakers, which is where I have my personal experience.  It also applies to many other languages as well.  

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It is the function of the Notary public to verify identification, and ensure that the person signing the documents, is the actual person named in the documents.  It is the Signer's responsibility to understand the documents he or she is signing prior to sitting at the closing table.  Therefore, the Agent,  Title Company,  and Mortgage Brokers should address this explanation to the signer prior to the closing. This responsibility should not be placed on the notary.  The TRID Rule serves as a window of time for the signer to seek translation, counsel,  and enough understanding so when he sits at the closing table, he does so with confidence and does not seek unauthorized explanations from the Notary Public. 

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All issues and questions concerning the contents of the documents are supposed to be handled prior to or during the 3 day period as outlined under TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule (TRID or TRID Rule),  which ensures the document is delivered to the client 3 days prior to consummation, which gives him time to review the document with or without counsel, and gain a full understanding of what he is signing.   It is not the job of the Notary Public or Title Closer (even if that Notary public performs closings in a second or even third language), to translate the entire document and explain what the details mean to the signer at the closing.  It is the responsibility of the signer, his agent, title company, and his attorney to have these details explained to the client during the 3 day period afforded to him under the TRID Rule, prior to sitting at the closing table.  A Notary Public can lose their license if they engage in the unauthorized practice of law. 

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If a Non-English speaking signer has not been thoroughly prepared by counsel or translator prior to the closing,  he may not feel comfortable with the circumstances and refuse to close.  His Attorney or Translator should explain the documents to the signer beforehand,  during the allotted 3 day period. This responsibility should not even be placed on a Chinese native speaker title closer as well,  because even a native speaker may not completely understand another native speaker depending on the different dialects.  From my experience and observation, a Chinese person that is seeking counsel,  translation, or other professional assistance,  will, in fact, seek a person they know speaks their actual native dialect and not just any random Mandarin speaker.  Basic words and Instructions are usually no issue, as evinced by me personally as I have successfully closed many loans and transactions in Mandarin,  without complications.   But every once in a while, we come across a signer that was not prepared and cancels a closing.  This can be avoided by having the signer properly counseled during his allotted time period under the TRID Rule.  The signers are given the documents 3 days before consummation of the transaction for a reason.  This 3 day period needs to be thoroughly exercised regardless of who the title closer is, or language capabilities he or she may have. This practice of putting the responsibility on the notary to translate, counsel and close the transaction at the closing table is unacceptable,  even for a Mandarin native speaking notary because there are literally hundreds of different dialects of Mandarin that professional linguists have deemed to be separate languages in their own right.  Many of the dialects are unintelligible to one another on account of this difference being so extreme.  I would be happy to do your Mandarin Closing,  but please properly prepare your client. 

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Thank you. 

 

Please click the link below and read the research I have prepared on the extensive varieties of the Mandarin Language.  This will give you a new fresh understanding of just how complex Mandarin can be, even for the Chinese people themselves. and even for a Native speaking Title Closer / Notary.    Thank you.   

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https://alphabroker.wixsite.com/notary/some-dialects-of-chinese