Having Your Documents Notarized

As I've mentioned before, I undertook the whole process of purchasing a property in Florida from the UK. (Although, yes, I have said that luckily my parents were able to view the flat on my behalf!)

Doing everything from the UK doesn't really present any problems. But you will have to be very organised. I've talked before about transferring funds to the U.S., and setting up foreign exchange accounts. I've also spoken about sending various documents back and forth - as long as you have a printer, fax machine and/or scanner (to email them instead), it's relatively easy to get these documents back to your lawyer or realtor.

There is, of course, an exception. The documents relating to the close of the sale - when the property finally becomes yours - need to be signed by you, then notarized (or notarised, to use the British spelling!) and witnessed. If you're in the U.S. for this step, it's easy. All you'll have to do is attend your lawyer's or the vendor's lawyer's office to sign the necessary documents. They will be able to notarize them.

If you're in the UK, you can still get closing documents notarized - at the US Embassy in London. Be aware, however, that they only schedule notarial appointments Tuesday to Friday, 9.30am to 11am. This means that appointments tend to get booked up pretty quickly; having just checked appointment availability, the earliest available day is Tuesday 15th April - two weeks away.

It is possible to book notary services appointments online. See http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/acs/scs/notary.html and read through all the instructions carefully.

On the day of your appointment, make sure you're there on time and not before. Don't bring any electronic items, as these will be taken from you at the security post (and obviously given back to you when you leave!), so you might as well just leave them at home. Although your appointment may be scheduled for, say, 10am, you'll find that several other people will have an appointment at the same time!

When it's your turn, you'll approach the counter and explain what your documents are and where they need to be notarized. You'll need to pay for each notary stamp, and this can be paid in U.S. dollars or pounds, and in either cash or by credit card. As well as having the documents notarized at the Embassy, you'll also need to sign them and have your signature witnessed by two different people. For this, it's best to ask two kind strangers in the waiting room!

Another tip: I was told to sign everything in blue ink - which I understand is a very important distinction - so make sure you tell the notary this.