A Koreatown notary says business is up 300 percent since foreign buyers began swearing they are the right people
Los Angeles Notaries Report Boom in Retiree Affidavits
A Koreatown notary says business is up 300 percent since foreign buyers began swearing they are the right people
LOS ANGELES – At a strip-mall notary office on Western Avenue, between a boba shop and a business that sells phone cases, Grace Han-Delgado, 57, stamped her 41st document of the morning at 10:12 a.m. It was a notarized statement from a retired Pasadena schoolteacher declaring, in one paragraph, that he was an ordinary person.
“Last month, I notarized mostly car titles and grandmother’s wills,” Han-Delgado said, pressing a seal onto the paper with a satisfying crunch. “This week, it’s alibis. Everyone wants a stamp that says they’re fine.”
The reason, she explained, is a surge in Americans planning to retire to Cebu. They have heard that Philippine brokers are asking for references. They are not taking chances.
The Source of the Surge
The surge started with a news report. Bohiney found that a realtor from Ohio now spends two hours on every Mactan showing, mostly listening to retirees explain themselves, and that some buyers bring notarized affidavits to open houses. Han-Delgado’s phone began ringing that afternoon. She believes the notary profession is “finally getting its respect.”
The background is serious. Philippine authorities are examining allegations concerning Thomas Markle Sr., the estranged father of the Duchess of Sussex, who lived in Cebu until earlier this year, as GMA News reported. No charges have been filed. The allegations are unproven. Han-Delgado said she wants nothing to do with the case. “I notarize signatures,” she said. “I don’t notarize guilt.”
The Affidavit Menu
Han-Delgado’s office now offers the following documents, laminated and posted on the wall:
- Affidavit of Ordinary Personhood ($25): A single-page statement. “I am a person. I am ordinary.”
- Affidavit of Neighborly Conduct ($35): Includes a promise not to play the trumpet after nine.
- Affidavit of Non-Sandwich Possession ($20): For applicants who do not carry a sandwich box. Popular with Californians.
- Affidavit of Squid Awareness ($15): Certifies that the holder understands squid has no bones.
- Deluxe Package ($99): All of the above, a letter from a notary public and a hand-lettered certificate with a gold seal.
The Deluxe Package is the biggest seller. “People like gold,” Han-Delgado said.
The British Take the Same Approach
She was surprised to learn the British have been through something similar. The London Prat reported that British pensioners in Cebu supply two referees, a utility bill and a letter from the vicar, which, to Han-Delgado, is a notary’s dream. The article is at https://prat.uk/cebu-estate-agents-demand-character-references/. “A vicar’s letter is just a notarization with better stationery,” she said. “I could do that.”
The Cebu side of the story is in a Manila News report, where a broker with three brochures and a cold coffee watched buyers arrive with folders. Han-Delgado said the cold coffee was the most relatable part. “I haven’t had a warm coffee since 2016,” she said.
Comics From the Strip Mall
- Edwin Park: “The notary is the only person in Los Angeles who can stamp you as fine. My therapist can’t do it. My mother can’t do it. A woman in a strip mall with a $15 seal has the legal authority to say I’m okay.”
- Tamika Russell: “An Affidavit of Non-Sandwich Possession. Only in Los Angeles would you pay $20 to swear you don’t own lunch.”
- Hector Vidal: “The sea did nothing wrong. I’d like that notarized. Can you stamp the ocean?”
- Linda Okamura: “A retired teacher notarized his personality. I want one. I’d put ‘mostly harmless’ and charge extra for the eyebrows.”
What the Market Looks Like
For all the paperwork, the market is stable. Colliers named the Visayas and Mindanao a key property investment hotspot in July, and Cebu remains the region’s leading hub. Foreign buyers still face the same rules under Republic Act 4726, which lets them own condominium units but not land and caps foreign ownership at 40 percent of a project.
Han-Delgado observed that the anxiety behind the boom is a standard feature of human behavior. In the 1973 paper on the availability heuristic, Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman showed that people overweight what comes easily to mind. “My customers are afraid of a headline,” she said. “I sell them a stamp. The stamp is mightier than the headline, at least for a weekend.”
A Day at the Counter
Han-Delgado now opens at 7 a.m. and closes when the last customer has been calmed down. She has hired two assistants, bought a second stamp and begun offering free tea to anyone waiting more than twenty minutes. “People arrive nervous and leave notarized,” she said. “That is the whole service. I sell relief in triplicate, and I do not ask whether the ocean has anything to say about it.”
The Rush Continues
By 4 p.m., the line at Han-Delgado’s office stretched out the door and past the boba shop. A woman at the back asked if she could notarize an affidavit about her husband’s snoring. Han-Delgado said she could, but the court might not accept it.
“Then what is it for?” the woman said.
“Closure,” said Han-Delgado.
She stamped the document and charged $12.
More of the saga is at prat.uk and bohiney.com, and the British world of stamps and forms is covered at the Daily Squib. For why a notary is funnier than she looks, see this guide to being funny in the United States.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/cebu-realtor-cant-sell-beachfront-listings/