What I am seeing is that a couple of my title companies are trying to pay less. Even though I am contracted for more. One sent an email saying " We know the jobs we are posting are below your contracted price but, it is the going fee in your area".
They have made a killing for quite some time but now trying to cut notary fees? They said that the lesser amount was the going rate in the area! LOL I have been in the mortgage industry for 40 years, Closed for a title company for 5, then as a contract closing for the last 4, for local title companies and online companies, believe meâŠI know what the going rate is and it is not what they want to pay. I wonât bend even if it is less business from them. Other title companies seem to be picking up the slack but, I really hate to stop working with them. Anyone else seeing that?
You can thank the platforms and newbs who donât know any better for this.
That was my first thought⊠yes, Iâm technically new (16 months) but I understand your point. Still I refuse for low ball offers.
Itâs more complicated as itâs really all about the ânumbersâ. The higher the population of a given area, the more signings AND notaries available; and the higher the likelihood that many of the notaries are newbs whoâve *bought into the 6-figure income hype, but havenât bothered to figure out their costs.
They spend a ton of money getting set up; take low offers just to be doing something; eventually many realize they arenât making enough to survive and move on, sadder but wiser; only to be replaced by the next batch who *. Itâs a never-ending cycle and the people who hire us KNOW that.
But I have been working for these people for the last 4 yrs. One company actually asked me to take more money and then keep the price for all loans. I went along with that but now, the story has changed and they want to lowball it. I wonât budge. I have 40 yrs experience and an A rating with the companies I work with. While I like the additional cash, I am retired and do not need the volume. I know my value and wonât work for less. What I charge is the going rate in the area. Too bad the newbies donât know their value.,
I brought this up on our another post. I trying to gain NEW business with some TCâs, at a reasonable rate. But, they have sooo many noteâs who work for peanuts⊠$90 or $100 for anything. I point out that we, always dress professionally, know what weâre doing, Experience, etc. But, PRICE plays a BIG part. How do we compete?
As long as the market is saturated with NSAs, Title Co. and Signing services have no motivation to keep rate fees high. Iâm seeing a rise in wonky signings, bad notarial acts, and illegal (Texas) activities by Notaries. At this time thereâs a low risk of criminal prosecution or administrative action by the SoS. There is a real possibility that loans may be invalidated due to Notaries bending the lawâŠespecially if a particular Real Estate market turns sour and foreclosures rise. A clever attorney could claim that a lender canât foreclose on a loan if that loan wasnât close following legal requirements or if the Notary was negligent.
To answer your question, how do we compete? You may not be able to if your costs exceed the signing fees. If you have another source of income or sufficient savings to sustain you, you might be able to ride things out until the economy improves.
I have great equipment. Point was too many notaries taking jobs for peanuts and of course the title companies are taking advantage. I wonât compromise. I am worth more than that. My experience is worth more than that. I just noticed that a couple of the companies I have been working with for years at a contracted price now want to pay less. If they want a less experienced notary and issues at or from closings, they can have at it. I will ride it out.
I seen a comment stating that newbs do not know any better. Iâm relatively new to this - only been doing this for about 7 months now. Still not sure exactly what the charge. In your opinion what would be the best rates.
Cannot really say. Thatâs called price fixing. But,⊠I have a flat fee for closing anything, then +$ for distance, +$ for critical fax backs, or +$ for full fax backs. +Additional for miles over typical and +$ for large packages. I use 125 pages as my max. You need to find what is typical for your area.
The point was is that people (esp newbies) are taking packages for $80/90 and that is really low. I may take a deed for that but it better be within a couple miles.
Iâve been doing that (sad face)⊠Now I know. Its a lot easier for me to charge exactly what I feel is necessary through my direct partnerships that iâve made, But those from like Signingorder, NotaryDash, etc⊠I for the most part accept what they offer unless I have to do something extra such as provide a 2nd witness.
This is rather detailed.
Pricing structure is based on the local market. Always start with your fixed costs (expenses); Insurance + NNA Membership + Background Checks + Banking + Utilities + etc.
To this fixed cost add in your variable costs; Per-page costs for printing (include cartridge replacement and eventual printer replacement) + Mileage (per hour, per mile, or actual : thereâs nothing wrong iwth making a profit on travel) + Processing time (Doc Preparation, scan backs, signer contact (location, time, what your State needs) + etc.
After youâve figured out your cost of doing business you need to consider what you time (profits) is worth. Where Iâm located some of my signings can be 100 miles away. For example I just received a request for a 7 PM signing thatâs half way between San Antonio and Houston (3 hours round trip) for a 180+ page package, factor in 1-1.5 hours for the actual signing with a $75 fee. Overall this would make a 4+ hour signing. At $75 Iâm pulling in $16 per hour. I can make $20 per hour working at the local truck stop.
The risk is if the signer has a question and canât reach the lender or title after 7 PM on a Friday the signing may not conclude and Iâm getting paid $8 per hour.
That is a good point, not to solely rely on notarial signings as your main source of income, especially when youâre starting in the business. Luckily, husband and I have full time regular jobs, thus I can just wait for the right offer, or the most decent one.
Iâve been a notary since 2006 but have only been a loan signing agent for 2 years. during this pandemic I am averaging 75 - 100 signings per month mostly direct (I rarely take signing service jobs) Do you have any idea how much I am going to slow down when these crazy times slow down? Iâm trying to budget for the future on what things will look like during slower ânormalâ times. Thank you 
There is absolutely no way to answer your questionâexcept via anecdotal experiences over many years. But Blockbuster video stores rise & fall seems to me to provide the best parallel cautionary tale.
The Rise And Fall Of Blockbuster - Bing video (Pay particular attention to the very quick mention of Blockbusterâs early âcompetitionââŠthe little local business that rented out a few videosâŠthatâs US.)
As I said earlier in this thread, itâs ALL about the NUMBERS. What numbers? Area demographics (home-owners or renters?), population density (condos or suburbs/rural or urban?) Competition (this is a big factorâas I see so many whoâve bought into the hype and 6 months later are wondering âwhere is the business?â) Fees (seems few bother to do what exeter notary explained, so they take whatever is offered with the predictable outcome of ânot enough/any profitââonly to move on to some other job that will sustain themâonly to be replaced by the next batchâŠand hiring parties KNOW & TAKE ADVANTAGE of these foolish people. Also, as Iâm sure youâve seen on this forumâmany either have a full-time job or are on SS, so have a good âbase incomeâ & this gig just provides a little more. Interest rates (once they start rising, nobody is going to be doing refisâwhich is the bulk of our business).
Now add the advance of technology and the NUMBER of people who are willing to âdo it all on their Smartphoneâ. Normal doesnât existâonly the ânew normalââŠand I have no idea what thatâs going to be, except to say, so farâevery âchangeâ hasnât been to our advantage.
I see a lot of comments about new notaryâs accepting low offers. Please tell me when you were new at this what fees were you getting? Yes there is an influx of new signing agents and many wonât make it but some of us will. With many companyâs telling us we need x amount of time or x amount of signings how do you propose we get the experience we need to not make a mistake or get the better paying jobs? How does someone go to a title company with no signings and ask for $150 or more? This has nothing to do with which training course someone took everyone has to start somewhere. I pay attention to different post on different forums so I can learn. Iâm out there trying to make my name. Any advise is appreciated as I donât want to work for $70 a signing.
Thereâs a lot of comments regarding FEES. Just look for the Signings for $125. This would at least make sense, unless itâs for a 10 page that you can WALK to.
Unfortunately I have never see an offer that high. I have signed up with a 100 or so SS and all the platforms. I receive notifications from several SS majority I donât get. I take whatever I can to get the experience so maybe I can get the better offers.
$150âŠway back in 1993 and docs were overnighted to us. When edocs began (1998-2000), they added another $50âŠand packages were MUCH smallerâŠwell under 100 pages. Newer technology, the âboom yearsâ from 2002 to 2006ish adding a vast influx of newbs changed that.
Prior to 2002-3, we were highly valued. (I used to get all kinds of snailmail âwelcome packagesâ with little âgiftsââmousepads, letter-openers, monitor-cleanersâjust for âsigning upâ with a co.) Now weâre a dime a dozenâŠand headed for a penny a dozen. Most areas are over-saturatedâŠand still they come. I am particularly saddened by the posts I see where folks are thinking about quitting a decent job with benefits (that we donât have) because theyâre dazzled by the 6-figure income hypeâŠwhich IS possible if all the NUMBERS I mentioned above all line up perfectly...which is quite rare. Most of us, self included, are just scraping byâdue to the NUMBERS stated above which DONâT line up perfectly.
Oh, yeahâŠshould mention that I get the same low offers that everyone else gets. Difference is I donât take them and neither does my competition.
Appears you have the experience to demand higher fees. I would think you also have escrow and title companyâs that call you directly. Again I ask how to get the experience if I turn down the lower paying jobs? Above you talked about blockbuster. At one time to be a stock broker or investment broker one would work for 6 months with no pay (watch the movie Pursuit of Happiness itâs based on a true story. I almost choose to do that just couldnât afford no pay for 6 months) to get the experience.