Are we in Jr. High?

Now that would be against the Signing Agent Code of Conduct.

A code of conduct made up by an organization that was investigated by the DOJ for price fixing when they posted a list of fees signing agents should charge.

There is no law says you cannot divulge your standard fee…we do it all the time here as markets and fees vary from state to state and assignment to assignment.

My standard fee for a refi or buyer’s loan within my home county here in FL is $125 with extra charged for out-of-county signings, scanbacks and extra-large packages. This has been my fee since 2006.

It’s easy to find a notary’s standard price page if they have it published on line. JS.

@bpalmernotary2019 You may already be cognizant; however, fees do vary from State-to-State as well as from one region of the country compared to another region.

If you haven’t yet created your own personalized Schedule of Fees, review this thread which was created to Guide you through the Process of designing a Schedule of Fees tailored to individual Professional Services within your local region:

:swan:

It’s ridiculous..i tell them im dropping at x sunday signing goes out monday..you want me to take pictures of my printing? Extra $25.
I hold docs for 24 hours only then u get them back for a sunday signing.
I turned down a job from one on these morons last week.i told them i have 000s of signings ..i know how to print…if u want me to take time for this nonsense. You pay me.." oh well we’ll find another notary" good ..stop wasting my time dont dare call me again.unkess you learn respect for professionals.

There is no law preventing open discussion about the fees we charge. The Code of Conduct says this: “Guiding Principle 7. Fees…7.4 Collusion. The NSA will not collude with other NSAs to set fees for signing services.” If I share my fee schedule with you, it’s simply sharing and exchanging information.
The SPW Code of Conduct is a product of the NNA who invited Lenders, Title companies and others who utilize the services of NSA’s, to develop “rules” and “standards of practice” for how they wanted the NSAs to perform their services. Essentially, a book of “how can the NSA make your life easier”. If you’ve ever read the CC and the “guiding” principles, you will find there is nothing that protects the NSA. There is no reciprocal language. It’s all about what the NSA is expected to do, or not do, in accommodation of those who hire them. They pretend that this was an open participation event and make sure they announce that they did not collude in any way, but most know that if any NSAs had participated it would be a vastly different Code of Conduct. It’s interesting to note that after the CC was published some major Title companies would only hire NNA certified NSAs, and the NNA became known as the industry training standard! But I digress, over the years we have been told that the subject of fees is taboo. Pish. I say discuss away. Information and education are power

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@daren I understand your perspective; however, you may benefit from the insights & direct experience provided within the following post:

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:swan:

JS. i dont publish my standard rates online for this part of the business.

I understand his perspective also. But the point in sharing my fees on here when we are all spread throughout the country. We all have different costs of living and working. Places like California for example probably make double of someone like me in Pennsylvania. On the other hand, I can easily put 100 miles on my car to get to a signing and back so may charge more than the city dweller that lives an hour from me.

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@jennifer.shaffor Please know that I certainly AGREE with your position of not sharing & your rationale for that perspective.

As you’re more than likely cognizant, I regularly express that each Business Owner/Professional Signing Agent [PSA] needs to create their OWN personalized Schedule of Fees for their specific region of the country.

Reference the thread: 🤩 IMPORTANT => Guideline for Creating Your List of Fees

That’s the reason I created the post above & specifically directed it toward @daren regarding the intervention via the DOJ & price fixing/setting: Are we in Jr. High? - #47 by cNsa5

===>>> Uncertain :person_shrugging: of your intent in directing your reply post to my attention . . . ?

If there is something I can help you with, please let me know. Thanks!

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:swan:

I agree. I’ve been told for what I do in this rural area I don’t charge nearly enough. But the gal that mentored me had raised her price over the years and now she has difficulty getting assignments. I think part of getting enough activity is understanding where the sweet spot is for fees in your region, and it doesn’t have a lot to do with other people’s regions. I have a bare minimum I charge, and I have learned to hold that line. That’s what everyone should do.

Thank you for your reply. I’m new to the forum and may be missing something. How does my comment relate to the information in your post?

That “code of conduct” was created by an NNA employee who is neither a lawyer nor a notary. I remember him setting the fees at $60, which created quite a stir among the then-small group of certified signing agents.

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Many Banks and Mortgage Lenders REQUIRE you to have your NMLSR # to discuss Mortgage Rates and Terms. I don’t know how a signing service asking you to do something that a licensed mortgage lender is supposed to do…

You can point to a Closing Disclosure list of fixed numbers and that’s not discussing anything.

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Most of you haven’t been around long enough to remember that dreaded “Truth in lending” statement. We were expected to explain it in a logical manner. Hard to do when for example the signer was getting a stated income loan.