A few weeks ago my parents sold one of their homes and the signing agent that showed up at 6pm said ours was the 6th signing he’d done that day and still had another one after us. This prompted me to look into being a signing agent as part time income with the plan to go full time. The RE market is very hot here, but when I use the “find a notary” feature on this message board, it doesn’t look like too many people are getting signings. Lots of ‘0’ for the 3mo and 12mo fields. Are these self reported, and is it possible people just aren’t saying how many they are actually doing? Is the problem that the signing agent market is flooded?
I’ve already sent in my notary application, but I don’t want to go down the signing agent path if I can’t get to 3+ (~$200 worth) signings a day within a month or so. I’d appreciate any info anyone would be willing to provide.
I have been a signing agent in San Antonio, TX for 13 years and I am extremely busy, but if you look here on Notary Cafe though you wouldn’t see it because most of my business comes directly from title companies and a builder that don’t use Notary Cafe to find me. And, you could ask another signing agent in my area and they could tell you that business was super slow because THEY weren’t being sought after for work.
I can’t say how things are in Arizona, but in general, this business is what you make of it. Some people are wildly successful and others fail almost immediately. Now, if you think you’re just going to get a notary stamp and people are going to blow up your phone with signing requests without you putting any additional work into it, you are wrong. This is a business, and you have to be willing to invest time and resources into making yourself a knowledgeable and skilled signing agent. Are you willing to WORK at this, or do you just want to sit back and have money come to you effortlessly? Do you have any previous real estate / mortgage experience? Do you have any knowledge or training on loan documents? How do you expect to get business? Do you have a plan to get these 3+ signings per day?
Bottom line, in general, this business is what you make of it! If you want it to be successful and you are willing to work at it then you will be!
I do have a YouTube channel for new signing agents, check it out, it may be helpful to you:
Signing Agent Basics YouTube channel
I wish you success in your notary endeavor!!
2 Likes
@klewis31975 Thanks for responding!
My initial plan to get signings is to register with all of the signing assignment companies i can. I see a lot of posts here about not accepting low ball offers. I suppose that’s a balancing act, especially for a someone just starting out. After i get a couple months of experience, i would like to work directly with title agencies, although I’m not really sure at the moment how to approach that task. My sister is a RE broker and has some contacts she said she would share, so I’m hoping that will be a good start.
I plan to take a training course (any recommendations?) to learn the details, but i have a small amount of RE experience from helping my sister with a few of her listings, and also from the two houses I’ve purchased.
I’m definitely not afraid to put in whatever time and effort, but i want to minimize the amount that is wasted due to dumb mistakes. I’m here to learn and absorb as much as i can.
There are several people with a LOT of free informational videos on YouTube (including myself). I would suggest watching as many of those free videos as possible. You will honestly get a LOT of great information and training that way. And you should be able to quickly determine who is professional and knows what they are talking about and who doesn’t 
Several of those people have training courses (I will actually be coming out with my own 4-week live training course in January). I have never taken any of those other courses so I could not suggest one in particular to you. I would say go with whoever you “connect” with the most from watching their free YouTube videos and looking at others reviews of their courses.
Even with additional training and courses, this is definitely a self-motivated business with no one right way to success. If you ask 10 different signing agents how to be successful you will get 10 different answers. You kind of have to find a way that works for you using information from others as a flexible starting point.
1 Like
You are so right! I could not have said this any better! I have been a signing agent in NC for 3 years and the second year is when my business took off. You need to be organized and I believe experience in the banking world. So many people think they are going to make a quick buck and that is not the way it is at all. Like any start up business, usually the first 2 years you do not show a profit, but it all depends on how hard you want to work.
1 Like
I’m a signing agent in Maricopa county. You can definitely get signing jobs but it takes a bit to create a relationship with both escrow companies and signing services. It’s also pretty competitive here, I’ve had places not take me on because they were over saturated with agents and that’s with me having 13+ years of lending experience and previously doing loan signings for four years. So I think the best advice is to be prepared for it start off slow, you have to earn your stripes in this business and it’s not a quick job to make a quick buck. It can take off if you put in the work, best of luck to you!
1 Like
