Alice, thank you so much for giving me a full picture of the “how to” get back to work after the Stay at Home order.
You have a good plan and I can tell that you are taking all the precautions to be safe and healthy.
Thank you so much for sharing.
Hi ~ have enjoyed your comments on this site. We are working in a very active market right now. I listen to financial stations on tv now and then. Recently Zillow commented how people are buying new homes or refinancing to enlarge current homes since people are working from home. I value myself according to my experience and amount of current mobile notaries in my area. Mileage is next factor. Within 10 miles $125 basic refi, etc. Within 20 miles $150. Within 40 miles $175. Scan backs add $25 to fee. For instance when $80 fee is offered, I respond with my fee. Usually response is for my fee. There are other specialty signings where my fees have gone up to $300. If not, entity does not value my service. Work smarter not harder. If I would work on Sunday, fees would be the same. Not too many requests for Sunday work in my neck of the woods.
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I can’t believe I just canceled one of my signings for Friday so I can go get my hair done before I start tripping over my own hair! 
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Is NC an attorney state or can you do closings on your own? I live in Florida but would love to move up to be closer to my grown children.
I am do my signings in Las Vegas, and I have been doing an average of 2 signings a week. I can’t handle more than that, because each signings can be very tasking. I get loan Signing throughout the day, every day so I can pick and choose which assignment to take. The work is plentiful. But my main problem is…I’m not getting paid. I love doing the Signings but the these loan companies, banks etc, does not paid on time or even at all. I have to constantly keep calling or emailing them. I am owed over $700.00 since May. I not sure if I want to kept taking assignments. Something has to change. We are doing a great service, but they don’t seem to appreciate our work; if they did, they would happily paid us.
An attorney state, if I am not mistaken.
It’s an attorney state but I’m doing plenty of signings for attorneys and signing companies… anywhere from 2-5 a day!! I’m near the Raleigh area.
Well, does that mean that they go to closings with you or that they are on the phone while you do the closing or that they hire you and supervise the work you’ve done??
Alice, I appreciate your rate info. I’m in Everett, Snohomish Co; and have only been a notary for one year. While I don’t charge as much, and dont have near the travel issues you do, you give me a good idea where my rates should be in a couple of years. Thanks.
And yes; my business is exploding! Maybe I should be charging more anyway!
Hi David ~ have been an Independent Contractor with my Mobile Notary Business for 4 years + now. All those classes we take don’t touch on business expenses. In an Excel spreadsheet I have created my Average Signing Costs and update annually or sooner if necessary such as with COVID expenses. I pull data from my Signing Accounting spreadsheet to calculate average cost per signing. Items included calculation are costs for paper, toner, fuel, insurance, cell phone, internet, PPE, my time which averages 3-4 hrs including travel. Scan backs additional fee of $25. People under value their time and keep accepting low ball fees which hurt us all. What do you consider your time to be valued per hour?
Forgot to mention on my Signing Accounting spreadsheet I keep track of pages printed for each signing.
I actually block out one day a week for a me day. It’s all good! 
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At the moment, I shoot for $30 an hour. It ususally takes me 2.5- 3 hours per appointment, including printing, inspecting documents, travel, scanbacks and the time at the signing table, and say, $30 average for travel and printing, you can see why my minimum right now is $105. Nowhere the minimum offers out there.
With more experience, I expect to be earning $40-$50 an hour, just like anyone working a trade would. And if I manage my time better, a $150 signing fee would make such an hourly wage achievable.
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I found one more question to ask this week…do you have 6 children that will be running around us while we are performing the signing. I have raised 3 children but this was a nutso situation with none of the children wearing masks. I requested adults wear masks but the children…just didn’t think about that situation.
I am new to the business also and not seeing a lot of activity either. Lots of C2C texts coming my way but only did one because it was literally down the block from me. I want to start getting business direct from title companies and am on all the list sites I can find. Maybe NJ is just bad because everything is so expensive and taxes are so high here.
I’ve actually gotten much busier since my background check finally came through. I have another friend in NJ who is new & not very busy, finding low paying jobs. Not sure why people anywhere wouldn’t refinance now but I suggest signing up with new signing companies everyday.
I got so sick of the C2C $30 spam texts for partial signings more than 30 miles from my point of origin that I actually blocked all their different numbers on my phone. I repeatedly asked them to check my signing fees and service areas prior to them contacting me for assignments. Instead, they started spamming me MORE!
I’ve never done an assignment for them, and they’ve guaranteed that I never will do one. This is a company that clearly has zero respect for what we notaries do, no respect for our time, and they seem to forget that we are self-employed and trying to make a buck.
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I don’t take ANY lowballs - EVER! But I understand why you did. I thought about doing it - like you - for the experience because I’m also relatively new at this. But I figure I’m going to get paid - low or high, regardless. (Well, assuming I’m not dealing with scheisters who don’t pay or drag it out forever). Luckily, I’ve had great signing and received timely compensation.
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I just got 29 closing for the month of Aug I don’t feel it that busy
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My friend in the San Francisco area is doing 20 signings/week. She could be a lot busier but is a single mom and needs to take care of her daughter. She just started at the beginning of the pandemic and is making over $8k/month!