So I took an order which was 210 pages, 2 copies required, one to sign and one for the client. I will tell you what I charge but I am curious as to what others would have change. Oh and 23 miles each way.
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$170 (but travel TIME would be a heavy factor). Around here 23 miles could be done in no less than 1/2 hr., but could also take an hour and I do factor time (table time, too) into my quote.
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For me - $125 for the signing within my county; if that 23 miles takes me outside my county it’s $150; plus $35- $50 additional for overly large package/printing.
You don’t mention if scanbacks are required…that would be additional too - the time to scanback and also the mileage - I’d have to come back to my office to do them then go out to drop the package (no drop boxes in my town) so, 46 miles round trip for the signing, fee for the scanback, then an additional 30 miles round trip to drop the package unless they want to pay for pickup at my location.
All in all this would be a $175 - $200 job - for me in my location and with my circumstances
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Hi Linda, i definitely undercut myself with this order. Taking a pay of $130, I am in Boston BTW. But what I did do was print one full copy to be signed and printed a copy of the closing disclosure, the settlement statement and the first payment letter for the client. I have to really put my feet down and not settle. Supplies are very expensive especially INK. Not to mention the gas and mileage we put on out cars. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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Well…a couple things…
Borrower is supposed to get a copy of the complete package so hope this doesn’t come back to bite you - unless you got permission from the hiring party to do this. At the very least they should have been given a copy of the CD, NORTC (2 for each signer), Note, Payment Letter and Security Instrument
The other thing - you ARE aware that Massachusetts is an attorney-only state for real estate closings? I hope you had an attorney involved - my understanding is the attorney has to be actively involved in any of these deals in Mass.
Linda to answer your question only one copy was requested. And there have been some change in reference to Attorney and nototization due to misuse however as an agent we are allowed to complete signings without attorneys. When I purchase my home I didn’t have any representation just the bank notory that stamped my documents. So I guess it depends. However, I will do a bit of research. Thanks
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What do you charge for Scanbacks?
Honestly, what others charge isn’t what you should be asking–except to check if you’re in the ballpark. What is more accurate is what it costs YOU in time, labor, drive time, mileage, equipment, supplies, taxes, insurance etc. to be profitable,
There really aren’t any shortcuts to figuring this out based on your realities.
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I charge an additional $25.00 for scan backs.
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Also, the question of WHAT you have to scan back - just the criticals? or the whole package? How big is that whole package that needs scanning back - AND do I have to wait for approval to drop package or can I scan and drop? …could be anywhere from $20 for criticals only to $40-$50 for scanning back an entire 200 page package…would have to be done in installments due to email restrictions.
JMO… and only ME in MY circumstances
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I am in NC and have long standing relationship with title companies and attorneys who only ask me for same day Scanbacks when it is a Purchase. I will not charge them extra if it is a 30-40 page scanback and I do not have to sit around and wait to drop. I have third party vendors that do not want to pay anything for scanbacks that are 200 pages long. I will not work for them.
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I’m in south Florida and I am rarely offered signing assignments that pay over $150 and most are offered at $90-$100. The zip codes here don’t make a lot of sense so the same zip code could be either 5 miles away or 30. A lot of signing service jobs won’t even tell you how large the document package is and if you accept it and then explain you’ll need more money for any reason get insulted. Even my regular companies have stared paying less and when I question it they say “that’s all I could get” even though I see on the CD they got much more. The other day I even had one tell me that because my fee hadn’t been specifically stated on the CD that I needed to “just tell the signer they needed to pay me directly.” I told them I would not do that and they got angry and said all of the paperwork would have to changed. Am I the only one dealing with these kinds of shady companies and being offered way less than I should be?
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Also, one company wants pictures of certain docs while at the table which adds more time to signing. I stopped accepting jobs from them because their packages were always large and time consuming and they wanted all kinds of extras but would only pay 90-100 dollars bet 30 days. Has anyone else been required to send photos of signed pages during the signing appointment?
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I’d have to have $150 if there are also faxbacks… I couldn’t get more than that around here, other notaries are willing to do 400 pages for less.
That is exactly the answer I would give. No one can tell you what to charge and costs differ greatly from area to area. I think I “confessed” earlier that for the first year and a half I took whatever came along and worked at really low fees, but I was in a learning curve and felt I had to “pay my dues” as a new Signing Agent. Be that right or wrong, now I negotiate and get what I want, and more companies call me without my having to jump on every text message or email. But please know I’m not saying this is the right way or wrong way to do this. It’s how I did it and now I’m very much enjoying getting paid more and being sought out. But I don’t regret how i operated at first because it was all I knew at the time.
There is a learning curve, but it can be done in a hurry IF a notary takes the time to actually figure out costs and drive time/mileage to EVERY area they are willing to go to so they can require a fair fee for the job. If it’s not met, it pretty easy to say “NO, I’m not working for $12/hr.!”
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I charge $175 to print 2 sets of a 200 page assignment and I charge $.50 per page for scan backs. This is for the 23 miles each way trip. I also base my fee on travel time not on miles to the location because I do not have any freeways, just country roads and mountains.
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i use $.80 cents per mile for travel time and cost plus $.10 per page for printing and $75 for signing time, fax back etc. But its good to keep in mind tat $150 seems to be a magic number so i use $100 in small town of 12,000 pop, $135 within 25 miles and $150 within 50 miles but it seems there is a shortage of notaries near me and i often go 100 miles for which i only ger $225-275 depending on how close to closing time the offer is made. My auto cost is actually only about $.25 per mile including depreciation so any day i earn $200 or more is a good day. I average about $5000 per month but do work hard and long hours, however at 78 years old it not bad pay.
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Given all that is involved, printing, travel, notary signing for 1 hour, delivering package to UPS or FedEx, $225. I have found it’s not worth my time for anything less. I will NOT accept any Notary Signing assignments. They are given $250/$275 by title companies and they want you to do their work for $70.
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I was contacted by coast2coast and offered an FHA’s refinance for $30. The job was out of my county 61 miles away, 2 1/2hrs round trip. With scan backs. I countered with $175 and then they contacted again with different agent and offered the same $30.