Where is Norma Rae when we need her?
If you don’t know who she is Google it.
We need state regulating or perhaps a union so our voice is heard!
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I now never accept anything less than $90 as my bare minimum but usually I required over $100. But I never would have gotten to this point if I didn’t accept $75 at first. I’m THANKFUL for lowballers who offer $75 b/c they give newbies a chance. Then once business picks up, your fee should increase. I thought of it as an internship I had to get through before I could demand more.
Sorry, but I think you’re wrong. It would be one thing if Companies were thinking to themselves that, “Let’s give the new guy a chance but we’re going to give him $50 or $75 and then after a few months, he will move the rank and start earning $150 jobs.”
That is literally the last thing they are thinking. They are trying to lowball us plain and simple. They want to make as much money as possible while squeezing us.
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Sorry my post probably wasn’t clear. I know low ballers have no intention of paying us more. They’ll always lowball. That’s why you move on to better companies as you gain experience. McDonalds will always pay minimum wage but high schoolers get a job there to add it to their resume so they can later get a higher paying gig with Google. I have no problem with lowballers… I just don’t accept them bc I have plenty of higher paying options.
What gets me is to see the charge for notary on the ALTA. Often it’s more than double what I am receiving.
I am new at this and so sorry to say I started off taking some of these low ball offers not knowing any better and was so desperate to get my first loan signing assignments. Now that I have been educating myself with websites like this, plus experience with some loans (12 max), I quickly learned to stop taking these offers. The problem I have is that when these assignments are sent to me there is zero information as to how many pages, how many notarial acts and signatures, and instructions. I have asked before accepting the job but was told they could not provide me with this information until after I have accepted the assignment. My loan assignments have ranged from 30 pages up to 185 and with such a huge range my costs exceed what I end up making. To print out two full sets of 185 pages each is a lot of paper, especially if they request legal size. Assignments also have a wide range of notarial acts and again it has ranged from 6 entries in my journal up to 23 (which has been the norm lately). I also have to use my own certificates because they do not have the correct wording required in California. My latest disappointment was an assignment I took at a very high price ($300), and I assume its due to the coronavirus risks. I turned down several other assignments with a decent price, printed out two sets of the loan documents and the borrower then called me wanting to change the Deed to include his wife. The job was cancelled after contacting the signing agency, the title company and then back to the borrower via instructions I received. The job was cancelled and I received nothing for all the work I spent and expense of my ink and paper. I asked for at least a cancellation fee and they refused, I asked for reimbursement for my expenses and again it was refused. I am still very new at this and just wondering if this is the normal thing to expect. Also keep in mind that I completed about 7 assignments with this company with no complaints and so disappointed with how they handled this assignment. Another complaint I have is many times they send the documents just an hour or two before the scheduled appointment. This has left me with no time to print out and review all the documents, read the instructions, prepare my journal, and drive at times 35-45 minutes one way. I am also surprised at how many errors there are in these documents i.e. incorrect dates, signature lines, missing Riders to the Deeds, etc. They make sure to include all the deductions in my fee if I don’t do this and that, but what about all of their mistakes I have to address to them and wait for new documents to print out? I also thing this is unfair. A $25 deduction if the staking order is not correct, but conflicts with the instructions from the lender or signing agent, etc. Advice from the experts would be greatly appreciated, I am new and confused on how this has been working out for me. Thank you for reading.
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I think you need to say b-bye to this company. Or, when you get a large package (which I consider to be anything over 125 pgs)…promptly e-mail with RETURNING THIS ORDER in subject line. In body tell them ‘I require $XXX for this due to pkg. size. Please send new Confirming Order or Re-assign & advise.’ Mostly, you’ll get the requested fee. During the ‘canudo’ call or upon receipt of order, TELL them you’ll need docs X hours prior to Appt. Also, they truly may NOT know how many pages, but if this co. is doing many loans for the same lender…they darn well have a pretty good idea and are just trying to con you. Which is why I said to say b-bye.
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Was it signature closers. Similar thing to me yesterday. I turned down 3-5 offers and they just canceled it Not one cent
It’s awful the signing companies are truly low balling us. They were afraid of us gouging them. Companies that were offering and paying 125 are only offering 65 & 85 for the same work some are even adding scanning the entire package back that adds another trip to the shipper. I understand these are hard times and there are notaries that are taking these jobs and making hard for the rest of us to maintain our worth.
Though I will agree with what you are saying, I feel like that would be true for seasoned/experienced notaries. I myself being new and getting all my required certifications and other paperwork done by the beginning of the year; It is not as easy as turning down anything under $100.
I have signed up for about 25-30+ signing companies now and have been turned down (for lack of experience) by companies that are well liked on these Forums. i.e. Xome, Service Link, BANCSERV ect…
Most offers I get are $80 and most are out of my Service Area, which I have made rather large because I dont want to be picky coming into this with no experience (25-30 miles one way). A lot of them are $30-$50 for a debt resolution or Loan Modification but are on the other side of Houston (2 hours 1 way).
So for me how do i just not take signings for months because they arnt at least $100 so I can get enough experience to be able to work for the companies that want at least a year of experience or 100+ Signings under my belt?
I suggest you take it to the Federal level and write your Congressional representatives (both House and Senate) about the problem of non-payment, lowball offers, etc. We need legislation that requires all these “signing services” to post a $1 million bond in each state where they do business. Then when notaries go unpaid they can request payment from their state where the bond is filed. The SS then has to repay the state in order to keep their bond in force or face shutdown. This is the only way to stop these greedy SOB’s from ripping off the notaries.
So true! These companies offering low pay for loan assignments are truly fishing for a notary willing to do the same job for the exact same loan types, pages snd comes with the same rules as any loan package! (It’s all the same expectations and guidelines regardless of experience) Just because you want to get experience doesn’t mean you must accept low offers. Same rules applies if you make mistakes on that package you just accepted for $50-$75 you can still lose the chance of doing assignments for that company. Accepting low offers to get experience is a bad idea. You don’t use companies to gain experience you should have taken a loan signing course for that!
I cannot agree with you MORE!!! If we are paid what we are worth I’d say that a $25 job is calling us the lowly bottom of the barrel. The truth is without us there would be no closings or any other important legal documents valid and enforceable instruments. To be respected it starts with us. We set ourselves apart from others by our character and our excellent work ethic. Unfortunately there will always be those who prey upon the desperate and those notaries who grab any and everything thrown their way without counter offering the appropriate fee. Ladies and gents, this comes down to self respect and confidence in our abilities and stepping up to those who disrespect our profession. Trust me when I say this, honey, they pay you $25 and they take the other $200 and you didn’t even pay for your gas. They are laughing all the way to the bank. Low ball fees only exist because notaries keep accepting them. Do you want a McDonald’s drive thru first date or do you want a sit down dinner with a view??? It’s just like any other relationship. People do to you what you allow them to. The lowest fee I’ve ever accepted for signing agencies is $125 and $150. Make your relationships equitable or move on to the next. 
This post is from March, but I concord with you 
I’m basically new at this, not even a year, but I know my time is valuable, saying this I just want to know who takes the $85 refinances that I reject all day by counter offer to $150 plus!?!? In UNION COUNTY, NEW JERSEY AREA !? 
If we don’t stand in this together the only winers are signing services and the rest, but NOT US!
WAKE UP PEOPLE! WE’RE WORTH MORE THAN $85… they needs us, as much we need their business!
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Why do you need to except the low offers? If you want to get paid $75-$85 for a loan signing you minus well go to back to a W-2 job
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Agreed! I always negotiate an extra 25-50 dollars, and on Friday nights when they need an agent ASAP, I have asked $100 extra and I get it… never hurts asking
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Today I picked up a call from Florida prior to business hours. I learned J Lowe Diversified called to offer a low ball refi claiming their usual fee is $85 but wanted to inquire my fee. I didn’t bother, that fee is a sign of their business that can’t afford this San Francisco market. I responded their fee is too low and ended the call. The lady called to curse me out with the “f”ing word accusing me of being rude, then hung up on me.
The J Lowe $85 fee is rude and they should know the fee market their contacting or anticipate being hung up on as a normal response.
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Wow. I didn’t expect this topic to receive this much engagement when I made it, but I’m happy to see that there has been ongoing dialogue regarding this issue. I must say: The issue is still relevant, because as many of you notice, we all still continue to receive lowball offers.
Lately, I have refused to take signing orders. I haven’t taken one since the early Fall of 2020, because I refuse to work for pennies. I would be better off not doing it than I would be going out, placing my health in potential danger by going to someone’s house and doing a signing for $100 or less, during this pandemic.
As I stated before: At some point, notaries must put their foot down and demand better. If we all refuse to take these lowball jobs, then they will learn that they have to pay more. I don’t know if there’s a way to “unionize” what we are discussing here, but I for one am sick and tired of working for pennies when other people are getting paid thousands. I refuse to do a signing for less than $200 right now.
I understand that it may be hard to tell other people to do that, as I don’t know everyone’s financial situation. I have another job that I work. Being a notary was always something that I did on the side. I had hopes of making it more than a side job, but I could never earn enough to do so.
So now I have to do what’s best for me. Printing out 200 pages, and then spending hours and hours at someone’s home during a pandemic isn’t worth it for $100.
For $200, I’ll make an exception. That’s where I am in my life.
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I 100 percent agree with you!!!
know your worth!!!
I am NNA certified and LSS certified. and have done 3 jobs. I have gotten many across my phone but have only won 3. I have done 2 Rifi’s that were not enough money. but I feel like I am not being chosen because of my experience. Many many places want more experience and will not even let you sign with them if you don’t have more signings. I know my papers and haven’t screwed up but to the world having multiple signings shows experience. Its great to say “oh don’t take low pay” but I need those signings to show the non LSA’s that I have experience.
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