I could not disagree more! Tricks of the trade is the kind of thinking that makes our industry so competitive we can be taken advantage of by these title companies and signing agencies…There is enough money for all of us to make living wages in this business… Forget the title companies consider the profits banks are making! We need to get out of the scarcity mindset and into an abundance mindset, We have been walked over for so long its not surprising to see the competitive thinking that runs rampant in our industry. NONE of the money these companies make could happen without us… from the lenders to the signing agencies… No recordings, no funding, nothing
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Lets not kid ourselves. Its not just the new notaries accepting low-ball bids. . Why try to divide like that. There are far two many signing agencies operating successfully for only having new notaries accepting their bids. stop with that
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The notaries who take the jobs for very little pay are the people giving us the reputation of “not worth anything.”
In our area we have notaries with several years of experience accepting the low ball jobs.
Not sure what area you are in but I am in the Portland Oregon metro area and we are saturated with low balling undercutting notaries so when you have dozens who will take under $100 for a closing the companies WILL take those notaries over us…I have closed over 6000 loans since 2005 so I am not a newbie. I get top rate fee when I travel outside the immediate Portland area because all the squirrels are scurrying around Portland for pennies GRRRRRR
A little seasoned closed over 6000 loans since 2005. When I started AND when it is slow I used to do fax…old school no more…Now I only mass email/ If you haven’t registered for Notary Rotary you may want to get the list. Make a great introduction resume style email, I even attach my notary commission and $100,000 E&O cert to the email to it and mass email every lender, title and signing service with a 3 star or better. I google for title and signing service - hunt them down on their websites, get personal emails if I can. I also printed out a nice quality introductory page with Vistaprint, add a copy of my commission and E&O and drop it off with my card also made with vistaprint, at all of our local title companies. I offer them a cheaper 'in-house fee with no printing involved - they print I show up sign leave and get a check usually in less than 10 days from them. Once you get in with one of these they will call you to do ‘courtesy signings’ for them at their clients after hours and you will get paid top dollar. For the close ones I offer dropping the docs back off the next day free, others further away I charge a reasonable fee to deliver.
Once you do the groundwork you play the waiting game.
As a newbie I never accepted less than $90 and we were saturated with notaries in my area then but it seems since the crash (2008) we lost the tough ones that would hold out and not take low ball fees so the market here (Portland,OR) is a feeding frenzy. This is the first time I’ve ever shared this so I hope it helps.
If all the newbies would stick with us and not take anything lower than we might get our fees back up but until that happens you have to do what you have to, to survive or go get a ‘clock in clock out’ JOB 
Some of the newbies will eventually realize that they are LOSING money by the time all costs are covered or at best working for minimum wage and will hopefully come around.
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I am a licensed Real Estate Agent in the state in which I reside. You make some interesting claims about real estate agents that simply are not true and I feel I must come to the defense of hard working real estate agents. First of all, It is absolutely not true that “it is impossible to conduct a real estate transaction for less than 6% The Seller of the home determines how much commission is paid. And just like a notary, supply and demand, dictates whether or not an agent will and often does accept a lower commission in order to get the listing. More often than not it is the Selling agent that works for a reduced commission so they can offer the Buyer’s agent enough to want them to show the house they are listing. Second, real estate agents pay thousands of dollars each year in required association memberships which includes the MLS, licenses and renewal fees and required continuing education not to mention their Broker Fees. They also incur marketing expenses which for some includes radio and television ads, social media and guess what, when you search Zillow and see 4 agents faces pop up, that isn’t a coincidence. Agents pay thousands each month to appear in those searches. Third, real estate agents are regulated by state boards and local board memberships. The Brokers liability for each and every agent that hangs their license is huge. You the client are protected by federal laws including the fair housing law and other laws that DO NOT allow real estate agents to price fix or any other business entity. It is simply against the law. One final note. While we all would like to make top dollar for our efforts, competition is what drives prices down in every area of consumerism. It is what drives this country and keeps prices down and stable. It is an acceptable way of conducting business in America.
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I agree and I’m a newbie.
I turned down the lowballs.
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Never start your car for less than 125.00 then add 25. For scan backs
You are still out toner, paper, gas etc. also certain purchases or refi are 148 pages x 2
Reverse for me start at 200.
Buyer & seller present 250.00 and I get it so stand your ground.
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Because they show up in tennis shoes walk to the closing with a pen behind their ear
I agree with a lot of what you all are saying. But so much depends on your area and how many other signing agents are in your area. I often ask for more if it’s an unreasonable offer and they find someone else and I am a seasoned agent. Perhaps the agents who demand these high fees live where there’s not as much competition and that is great for them.
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Always counter offer on Snapdocs. As with any business, start up is hard. That’s a fact. Befriend a mentor. Try to remember your business fees (printer, ink, drum, paper, pens, computer, dress, car, insurance, AAA, background check fees, etc.). Know your monthly costs. Are you relying on a spouse’s income to support you. Is your spouse (if you have one) paying for the gas in the car and car insurance? Most of all, how much is your knowledge and time worth. Perhaps you’re only worth $10/hr. Is your car worth $11/hr. My car is priceless. If I hit one deer or have an accident, I’m out of the game for > 3 weeks in all areas of my life. Renting a car is an option but it cuts into profit margin in notary and life. I’m a $100/hr notary + expenses. If I’m sent out to clean up another notaries work, I do give a courtesy call to the original notary and let them know what’s up. Its a nice way to connect. With each and every phone call, speak professionally, confidently and contain any frustration. Use proper English sentence structure. Now your on your way. The seasoned Notaries know the unseasoned are out there. We know our friends, competitors and who we will refer to. We’ll let you take the notary gig for $60 and travel 2 hours to the site, print, prep and time. We know the unseasoned can’t keep up that loss and truth be told, the seasoned do ‘clean up work’ from other notaries. We mentor, if asked. Take a leap of faith. Get to know the notaries in your area. They don’t bite. I highly recommend everyone to routinely check the sexual predictor list before going out on a signing. Make it part of your computer checks. Our company does not do Debt Resolutions, consolidations or consults. Maybe wet your feet here and in Car Titles. Build a route and do nursing homes (Comfort One and DNRs). Hospital A at 10:00 and Nursing Home XX at 1:00pm. Go to these places even if they say they don’t have any work for you. It’s a route, you show up, stay for 15 min or so. You are then a regular and people know it. Wear a name tag. If you want to do a refi for $40 and volunteer for an unknown company, that’s your choice. I’m sure they’ll love you and speak nice until you figure out at the end of the month you made now money, actually lost. Then go to your spouse and thank them for paying for the car, car insurance, gas, maintenance oil change, GPS, etc. The seasoned notaries will always be there. We take vacations when unseasoned folks come on. Don’t worry, Title does reach us on the phone and wants to know when we’ll be back. We don’t hurry.
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This thread is great and plenty of ideas and knowledge to learn from. I am also a newbie and I understand the pitfall of accepting lower fees. But as mentioned, since we newbies do not have the experience (nor confidence in my case) to command high fees, we will consider low fees for the practice and also gain confidence in doing a signing. Doing a single acknowledgement or POA or other single document notary tasks is different from loan signings. Single docs I have done and I would say that my first document was scary enough. This may be the reason for my hesitation to fully dive into SA offers. I may have missed it here but can someone suggest on a way to gain experience without having to accept the lower fee jobs? Has anyone actually been mentored when there’s a chance you may cut into that person’s revenue (either intentionally or not) and have that person still willing to show you the ropes? I do agree that even as a newbie, we need to understand our costs and have a number in mind as the lowest fee. I do agree that we do provide a valuable service to the public as well as other professionals so we should take that into account when thinking bout that lowest number. For now, I am looking for help/ideas on how to gain experience and confidence without hurting the industry.
Try and look at it this way signing companies are cropping up all over the United States they’re getting paid anywhere from five to a thousand dollars per signing so the cheapest they can farm a job out by doing nothing but sending a text and getting someone hired as cheaply as they can & the rest is profit. They bare no expense and make more than we do. NOT RIGHT
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I completely agree! I am a real estate agent as well in my state and you have stated our case very well. Most of the public has no idea that 1. Our commissions are not set 2. That our job is not a cake walk and very high stress. (3 mis- carrages). 3.Our cost to do business and list homes are very high. Costs to work with a buyer are high (gas, entertaining buyer, maintenance on cars, babysitting my children, hours to days of contract negotiation, hours spent on home inspections, more hours spent on negotiating repairs, etc) 3. In the end of all this work and the sale does not go through? We don’t get paid for all the work we did for our client. We could show 15 houses to a buyer and never go to settlement with that buyer for any number of reasons. That house that we listed could end up not selling by the end of the contract.
You are so right we hold the GOLDEN TICKET, I have make a decision a while back that I will value my work and that I deserve to get a good pay. I do not get $200 yet but my normal signings give $125 to $150. I always bargain with the companies that want to pay less. If I like the fee I take it. Please NOTARIES VALUE YOURSELVES AND VALUE YOUR WORK! Even if you are a beginner you should not take a low job. A $50 signing is a NO,NO,NO.
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So glad to hear that some of you are finally taking notes in telling these signing company to take a hike. They are raping all of you. I do not take signings under 100. Most of my closings are 150 and up. These signing company knows not to waste my time. You do hold the golden ticket. I just cant believe people are taking a full refi for $50.00 Unbelievable
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Real Estate agents also spend over 40 hours for one transaction, which includes a whole lot of expenses. Comparing brokers to notaries is apples and oranges.
how did you get in with xome? I tried but they rejected my application because I did not have 2+ years under my belt…! I’ve done almost 75 since I started in June, but that didn’t seem to matter.
I have gotten in with several companies that require 2+ years experience, including Xome/Title 365, because I have 14 years in as a construction defect paralegal.