Do I need to create the Certificate of Incumbency and get it notarized?

If the previous sale was uninsured, they will require notarized affidavits from the seller.

I understand the risks, but am curious if closing outside a title company is as simple as recording the notarized documents at the courthouse?

If you are uncomfortable with this, I'd have an attorney draft the MOU for you and then have Uncle Rick and you both sign and notarize it.

In most places the deed signature has to be notarized, in order to be recorded.  

She not only hand delivered it but also signed it and had it notarized. 

@Patrick William's I agree with @Ned Carey to either use a local title company and/or attorney specializing in private and hard money lending.A few things come to mind...you will want a promissory note collateralized against property, mortgage deed or deed of trust filed at court house which is signed and notarized, hazard insurance policy with you listed as "loss payee", and a personal guarantee from borrower.I am curious about the types of properties you are investing in and where they are located.I have a 3 flat not far from Berwyn located in South Lawndale/Little Village.I will send you an colleague invite if you wish to speak further.Best,Ashley

Even if you haven't or don't plan to form an LLC, it's not a bad idea to notarize your contract/operating agreement to spell out "if this happens, we do this" for every conceivable potentiality regarding the property and each other - particularly with regards to if one of you wants to sell and the other doesn't, or if one of you ceases, even temporarily, being able to meet your obligations to the property for any reason at all.Just a few of the things off the top of my head from one of my contracts:Noting which parties contributed how much towards capital.Establishing right of first refusal in the event of one party wishing to sell.Where bank accounts, credit cards etc are held, and who can do what with them.Cash flow protocol (all rental income goes into X account, $Y each money gets autotransferred to savings, $Z each month is put towards maintenance, etc).Disbursements of surplus money in X account can only be made if certain conditions are met.Explicit recognition that all bills may only have one party's name but are a shared responsibility between or across partners.What items require unanimous consent to proceed from partners?

Just write up a WD, get it notarized and tell the lender to start sending payment books and annual recaps to the new address!

In some cases i've asked for notarized copies of such documents.I'm a licensed agent/broker myself, so i say this with love and affection for other similar agents, all too often the numbers you see on the MLS or sites like loopnet suddenly change when you get the tax return from the owner.For example: I made a blind offer on a property based on a listing another broker sent me for a 16 unit.