What You Need to Know About Notarizing Easements
An electric cooperative in northern Pennsylvania wants to make notaries aware of an issue they are encountering.
PAN member Rosemary Bryan, executive assistant for Wellsboro Electric Company and engineering assistant for Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative, said easements are being rejected by recorders of deeds for mistakes on notarized acknowledgments. The Cooperative is a consumer-owned, non-profit electric distribution cooperative that delivers power to more than 19,100 meters in seven northern Pennsylvania counties: Bradford, Cameron, Clinton, Lycoming, McKean, Potter and Tioga.
In order to install and maintain the equipment necessary to provide electrical power to a member, an easement is necessary which permits the Cooperative right-of-way access to the property. All rights-of-way easements are notarized and recorded at the appropriate county recorder of deeds office. Members who are installing a new electrical service are required to sign a prepared easement in front of a notary and to record their easements. Members who are going into an existing account are required to sign a prepared easement in front of a notary and return it to the Cooperative to have it recorded on their behalf.
“This has turned into quite the process and begins with the member receiving a compliance statement to fill out with the names on their deed, mailing address, parcel identification number, 911 address of the site and the names and addresses of any adjacent property owners whose property the Cooperative may have to cross to supply power to the member,” said Rosemary. “Copies of any deeds involved must accompany the return of the completed compliance statement. Once the statement and deeds are returned to Tri-County, I prepare an easement based on the information provided from the compliance statement, as well as information from the deed(s).”
This information includes names exactly as they appear on the deed, township, county, deed book and page numbers, instrument number, tax parcel identification number and acreage. The easement is then forwarded on to a field technician who will research maps or make a site visit to determine a physical description of the easement required to supply power to a new account or one that already exists on the property.
Once the description is entered on the easement, it is mailed to the member along with a page of instructions for both the member and the notary to follow, Rosemary added.
“Tri-County has begun to use Simplifile to record easements from Bradford, McKean, Potter and Tioga counties. For the other three counties, we physically take the easements to that particular county recorder of deeds office for recording,” said Rosemary. “Our initial attempts at recording proved very enlightening. Who knew there could be so many reasons that would cause a rejection letter from the recorder’s office?”
These reasons include:
As a result of these lessons, Tri-County is no longer accepting an easement as notarized without first searching for the red flags that would result in a rejection from the recorder’s office. Specific instructions for both the Cooperative member and the notary are issued with each easement requested. Tri-County is also taking the time to type the names in the signature area the way they need to be signed as well as typing the names on the acknowledgment page.
“As a notary public myself, I am now much more aware of how closely I need to look at the items I am notarizing. I continually defer to my Practical Guide when I have questions about a particular document,” said Rosemary. “If I’m not comfortable notarizing a particular item or question whether I am doing the right thing, I have always been able to count on PAN to steer me in the right direction.”
PAN member Rosemary Bryan, executive assistant for Wellsboro Electric Company and engineering assistant for Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative, said easements are being rejected by recorders of deeds for mistakes on notarized acknowledgments. The Cooperative is a consumer-owned, non-profit electric distribution cooperative that delivers power to more than 19,100 meters in seven northern Pennsylvania counties: Bradford, Cameron, Clinton, Lycoming, McKean, Potter and Tioga.
In order to install and maintain the equipment necessary to provide electrical power to a member, an easement is necessary which permits the Cooperative right-of-way access to the property. All rights-of-way easements are notarized and recorded at the appropriate county recorder of deeds office. Members who are installing a new electrical service are required to sign a prepared easement in front of a notary and to record their easements. Members who are going into an existing account are required to sign a prepared easement in front of a notary and return it to the Cooperative to have it recorded on their behalf.
“This has turned into quite the process and begins with the member receiving a compliance statement to fill out with the names on their deed, mailing address, parcel identification number, 911 address of the site and the names and addresses of any adjacent property owners whose property the Cooperative may have to cross to supply power to the member,” said Rosemary. “Copies of any deeds involved must accompany the return of the completed compliance statement. Once the statement and deeds are returned to Tri-County, I prepare an easement based on the information provided from the compliance statement, as well as information from the deed(s).”
This information includes names exactly as they appear on the deed, township, county, deed book and page numbers, instrument number, tax parcel identification number and acreage. The easement is then forwarded on to a field technician who will research maps or make a site visit to determine a physical description of the easement required to supply power to a new account or one that already exists on the property.
Once the description is entered on the easement, it is mailed to the member along with a page of instructions for both the member and the notary to follow, Rosemary added.
“Tri-County has begun to use Simplifile to record easements from Bradford, McKean, Potter and Tioga counties. For the other three counties, we physically take the easements to that particular county recorder of deeds office for recording,” said Rosemary. “Our initial attempts at recording proved very enlightening. Who knew there could be so many reasons that would cause a rejection letter from the recorder’s office?”
These reasons include:
- Signatures do not match the names as typed in the caption area at the top of the right-of-way easement.
- Names on the acknowledgment were not entered as they appeared as typed in the caption area at the top of the right-of-way easement.
- Names on the acknowledgment do not include middle initials as typed on the top of the right-of-way easement.
- Names on the acknowledgment include middle initials that do not appear on the easement.
- The date line by the signatures was left blank.
- The month entered on the acknowledgment was entered as a number, rather than being written out.
- The signatures do not reflect the generation as typed at the top of the easement, e.g., John Smith III, Joe Doe Jr.
- The acknowledgment does not reflect the generation as typed or signed on the easement.
- Notary acknowledgment is missing the notary stamp.
As a result of these lessons, Tri-County is no longer accepting an easement as notarized without first searching for the red flags that would result in a rejection from the recorder’s office. Specific instructions for both the Cooperative member and the notary are issued with each easement requested. Tri-County is also taking the time to type the names in the signature area the way they need to be signed as well as typing the names on the acknowledgment page.
“As a notary public myself, I am now much more aware of how closely I need to look at the items I am notarizing. I continually defer to my Practical Guide when I have questions about a particular document,” said Rosemary. “If I’m not comfortable notarizing a particular item or question whether I am doing the right thing, I have always been able to count on PAN to steer me in the right direction.”
