Supporting lower fee's

I just received another low-ball offer. This one from Prestige notaries: $60 to do a mortgage signing… If we support companies like this we are destroying our industry. Don’t just negotiate an appropriate fee, tell them not to low ball us and that we will not work for them until they return to appropriate fee’s. There are ligitimate companies will to work with us on a fair structure. Send them a message… we will not support you in any way until you support us. Otherwise we will see our industry go the way of the “service station”.

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I agree with you 100% , when they offered me low ball I ask how many certificates I need to notarize because if is 10 documents to be notarized I charge 10$ for each,so for mortgage package minimun need to be 100$

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I used to do refis for SigningTrac at $60. Now the (same) lender left them to another signing service and they pay me $100 for the same task and lender.
Another experience today with NotaryGo, they offered a signing in the countryside for $30, no one accepted. Then they raised it to 50, 75, 90 and ended up with $125, at that point I hit “accept”.
Bottom line, these companies are getting paid generously by lenders and title company so WHY THE GREED?! smh

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I start raising my base fee with every request. One that started out at 85 with my first reply for 125 went to 140 the other day

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Nice🤣…gotta do the same

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I only accept Title companies and no signing companies! Why? Because the notary signing and settlement companies get paid $250 by loan and title companies to find a dumb notary who works for peanuts. How can you even break even printing g out 200 pages, traveling 15 miles, staying there for one hour and then returning package to FedEx? You cant! You are nothing but their slave. Wake up notaries! I accept no notary assignment under $195.

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Wow DominionNotary - I don’t know who you are or where you are but this statement is a pipe dream for most of us. If I, in my area, could have gotten that kind of fee on each of my signings I’d never have stopped doing them. Got to be I was lucky to squeeze $125 out of my best clients - keeping in mind I did loan signings in the pre-SnapDocs era - when direct contact was the way of the world.

And if you’re doing signings through SnapDocs? I don’t buy this fee for one minute…based on what I’ve read elsewhere.

Cost of living in Washington DC is the second highest in nation after New York City. Housing is now the highest in nation. We get signing services from rural areas wanting us to do Closings for $50 —$75. We turn them down In a New York minute and so does everyone else. It’s laughable to see notaries on here accepting 1 hour notaries with 200 pages 20 miles from your area and accepting $75.

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These signing companies get$250 flat fee to go find a dumb notary will accept their closings.

Hang on a second - you need a TPL in DC right? Maybe that’s why you can command those higher fees?

I agree as well. This is why we notaries that do this full time need to start a national notary union to protect our selves from non-paying companies or companies that simply don’t appreciate the work that we do by their insulting fee offer. If more people stop working with these companies, they’ll get the point. But, I have been burnt by signing companies in the past. We must understand that this notary industry is mostly unregulated and signing companies know that (wild west mentality). They request a million of things for us to do, which we comply. However in the event that we disagree with a company or we make a simple mistake, they’ll simply not pay you. Or they hire you, nothing goes wrong and they still wont pay you. Or, my favorite, the signing company/title office will wait until you inquire about your payment in order for them to issue payment; even though an invoice was provided to them the day of signing. SO, again we need to start a national notary union to stop these predator companies from prying on us. A fee of $125 is reasonable for a loan closing deal that’s remote in your working area/zone.

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I just received an offer from Field Choice to do a full refi for $80. I declined, and asked to be removed from thier list as they continually low ball. They responded that this assignment was accepted by one of my calleagues (shame on them). Here was my response:
**There are companies I choose to work with, and others that are now lowballing. **
Notaries work 3 to 4 hours on every assignment, if they are doing it right. We incur office expenses, travel, we have to secure a bond, 100,000 in liability insurance. We frequently take classes, renew licenses, and then we are faced with a huge liability. How does this job compare with your position that you feel entitled to half or more of the available fees?

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Low ballers are getting out of business. Just started getting spam emails and random phone calls, promising to pay $120 and more🤣.
Why you didn’t do this first? Make me happy, I’ll make you happier. Oh boy …

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I actually do get fees in the hundreds from companies that go thru SnapDocs BECAUSE…basically, I CAN! The simple reason is there isn’t much competition in my area--and none at all who are willing to accept the ridiculously low fees offered.
So, basically, while I want–& get–fees that range from $125-$150/local to over $200/travel…it all works out for everyone’s benefit because, even tho’ I want/get $200, I AM still the closest notary. Do I get that always? No, but the notary who is closest IS GETTING more than the chump-change they originally offered, so it works out well for all the area notaries. Get together; get smart–start saying NO!

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Amen brother. I’ve seen thispractice escallate with their new software (blanket emails and text msgs), i’m betting the sales person for that is telling them they can make more money … I still have a few signing companies that call direct and pay a resonable fee, I call that a relationship. So…fight back, don’t be a bottom feeder.

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Many title companies pay upwards of $150 to tops at $250 for Refi, Top of $375 for purchase ( however SCANBACK always on all purchases + you have to print YOUR OWN FEDEX label to ship back.\

So notaries, work a lot for little fee, or step up and refuse and outright shame the middlemen or title company that is low balling.

I had once a settlement lowballing fees. I gave them a blast of my pure rage and that seems to have rattled them. They eventually shaped up and offering a decent fee. $125 for a heloc, from $75.
Some lucky notary got it… But it happened because of my response.

That is what I want you notaries to do.

Have guts and let your rage at lowball fees be know is in the most raw form of response. Many of these lowballers will be shaken and shape up.

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