I am really tired of signing companies calling to offer me $ 60 for a signing. Then when I tell them I charge $ 125 they say they will have to get it approved. Then call back later expecting to give me less. In most cases the companies have the amount you charge on their records. No one can get by with notary costs and time for $ 60. This particular job they wanted me to do that evening at 7:30, like I would have to rush to print and disturb my evening for $ 60.00. All notaries know that when they offer $ 60 they are trying to keep your share of the money being charged and let you do the work. I feel highly insulted when they call me and offer me $ 60 to do a signing. I feel like just telling them when they call to offer me $60.00 âsorryâ and donât call me again unless you are wanting to pay me my fee of $ 125.00 I donât like the cat and mouse game they want to play.
Canât argue with that. I just hate it when theyâve offered $x, you counter with $XX and then they try for something in the middleâŠor keep increasing fee by $5 or $10. Also, often I get a low offer and immediately counter with maybe double or more and they say âNo problemâ. Well, if itâs âno problemâ, why didnât they offer a decent fee to begin with?
Answer: because they hope to find an idiot sucker on the cheap.
byrainbow
3d
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I am also really tired of signing companies calling to offer me $40. to $60.for a signing. Then when I tell them I charge $125. they say they will have to get it approved. Then they call back later expecting to give me less. In most cases the companies have the amount you charge on their records. No one can get by with notary costs and time for that small fee. All notaries know that when they offer that low of a fee they are trying to keep your share of the money being charged and let you do the work. I feel highly insulted when they call me and offer me less than I charge to do a signing. I have told them when they call to offer me under my fee âsorryâ and donât call me again unless you are wanting to pay me my fee of $125.00. I donât like the cat and mouse game they want to play all the time.
As Arichter said below. They will offer cheap prices until they they find some idiot. If we all stand up and no one took it they will increase the price. I have seen on the hud where the signing company get paid 350 for a closing and the notary get paid 65. I do not work for that anymore, I have learned. I cant work for free. I simply state my fee. Let the other idiot do it. At the end of the year when they add up their expenses they will eventually realize they have worked for free. Too late then as the signing company have made out like a bandit while the notary canât even pay their bill at the end of the month. Until those idiots stop taking those cheapies it will never stop.
I do not do signings for less than 100 dollars period.
Calculate your travel expenses to all those places you go. Calculate your timeâs worth (I recommend a $$/hr. rate).
Add taxes, PROFIT. Edoc &/or scanback expense. This will take time, but you will never again work at a loss.
SET YOUR FEE & FORGET IT if they canât/wonât meet it. Youâll thank yourself.
I do not take them either. I have to print, drive, scan back for starters. Not worth your time. If I wanted to work for $10.00 an hour I would work for Walmart. You know they are making more than they are offering you and your doing all the work and taking on all the risk. I wish no one would take that kind of an offer and until they stop neither will the low ball offers. I have a minimum charge as well as add-ons. How far I have to travel, how many pages I have to print, is there scan/fax backs (is it critical docs or the entire package), evenings, weekend, out of area.
That is how professionalism and quality die in any industry. I just simply tell them that I have been in the real estate and finance business for over 28 years. They pay me for my professionalism and my expertise. I have my standard rates. If they are not willing to pay them then I recommend that they call someone less qualified. I do that because sooner or later thray will loose the business because they donât use quality people.
I agree, so much lowballing. Our time isnât valued
THE trouble is people are taking these loans and it is bringing down the price they only want to pay $75.00 it is a joke
I refuse to take less than $100. I would rather stay at home. If we stick together on this then these low ballers will have to increase their fees to us. I cannot understand a notary who does all that work for $60.
As long as we (as NSA signing agents) refuse to take the low offers the clearing houses will eventually have to either pay you going rate or figure out how to get their own people to do the signing. We do not accept refi work for under our standard rate and then we add mileage (we are in very remote area and cover about 200 miles). If a company sends us a low offer we almost always return with an offer that is somewhere around where we would be willing to do it for. IF they continue to play the game we tell them this offer will expire in 30 minutes, at which time it will be increased as our time is precious and âtime is moneyâ
Well, Notaries Expressed called me today and off me 90.00 for a Refi. of > 150pg so I told her my Refiâs start at 140. and she said canât do that so I told her letâs agree on a reasonable amount. I asked how many pages and she said under 150 so I told her is 180 ok she said 100. I canât do it. I told her where is this signing she gave me the zip code. She made it seem like the signers in Boston over charge so I told her if the signing is in the city for 90.00 I would be paying for parking and letâs assume I paid 25.00 which is usually between 25-45. I told her I would be walking away with 70-75 and letâs factor my ink and paper then off course my time which I can never get back and cannot take on another signing with free parking. At the end I would be making 50. on this transaction. So at this point sheâs getting annoyed so I told her sorry I donât want the signing because itâs a deficit for me. She said okay. Then I said Bye. Now, this company hustle me on a signing last week Thursday which when I was very upset at myself because she was like this signing is paying 100. and I cannot do anything more than 40.00 I said sorry then she said I can do 60.00 and she said she was desperate because the client really needs to sign but she cannot find anyone to do so I said ok since I had some time I would do for 65.00 she agreed so I when I got to the signing, as we are going over the numbers and noticed she was paid 350.00 for the signing I was baffled, upset, annoyed and irritated because who does that??? So, I added them on my DNN list so I was ready for her when she called. Do not take those low balls because only a dummy or an idiot would be wasting gas, ink, paper and time on companies that donât give a damn about them or how you feed your families. So I say stop and pay attention because the settlement statements will disclose. They are friendly after you take the BS but when itâs time to get paid you must go thru collections.
Iâve never heard of a realtor dropping their % for a signing. Weâre all in the same market. Our profession is equally as important as the next person in this transaction. Agreed. If we all stick to a minimum rate, plus, there would be no low balling negotiations.
When asked to do a signing, I like this: My fee is generally 175. I deal directly with the title/escrow co, you put me in touch with them. I bill them and they pay me directly. Signing co bills them separately for their finders fee. Case closed. Thatâs how I roll with companies, and esp low ball types.
You are absolutely right!
There was a company who even asked for a signing offering $45 on Reverse Mortgage Loan. I was very disappointed on this offer and told them not to underestimate all loan signing agents or notaries for this matter. Can you imagine how much work to do and process for a Reverse Mortgage loan especially if the signers are too slow in signing those documents? I often tell them my price is $250 /loan package (or even $275) on RM loans. It would be nice if all loan signing agents or notaries not to accept very low price for signings. It is only a waste of time plus they are only putting other signing agents or notaries into a very low profile to a low ball paying companies.
NSAs need to learn how to market themselves and businesses so that they can obtain DIRECT WORK from clients. TOO MANY NSAs are depending on these platforms like SnapDumps, and others to make a living, and the worst part is that these platforms directly interfere with the fees that they offer. In fact, SnapDumps informs their client, like Exos btw, of how much the âaverage feeâ is for NSAs in any given area they need an NSA for a closing.
The more NSAs rely on these platforms for work, and accept their low ball fees, it will just make those that do direct marketing much harder, but Iâm always up to a challenge! 
Remember NSAs, youâre independent contractors, DO NOT ACCEPT LOW BALL FEES. Negotiate YOUR FEE, or at the very least industry norm, and industry norm is NOT $90 for a single refi under 150 pages!
I exited out of Snapdump. Too many lowball offers. Tired of the constant texts for the exceptionally low balls for debt consolidation. It is slow in northwest ohio but I refuse to run around for nothing.
Excellent post and a very good warning to anyone who thinks SnapDocs/Dump/Dogs has the notaryâs best interests anywhere in their platform. $90 really is unacceptably low everywhere.
It appears that the other platforms out there are all following SnapDogs lead as well with those low ridiculous fees, its very unfortunate.
Direct marketing, is an everyday job duty in this business, but these platforms makes it easy for the NSA to become lazy.
the norm has become $75.00 and with the price of paper and travel that is a joke