Directs vs. Signing Services: Who’s Better? 💭

Notary Experiences
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(Spoiler: Neither is winning any awards.)

“Go direct!” they say — imagine me yelling this in my best Bruce Willis Die Hard voice. Supposedly, accepting closings from Directs means you’ll never have to chase payment. Especially if it’s a title company. Sounds dreamy, right?

But let’s pump the brakes. Is that actually true? Or is it just another bedtime story notaries tell themselves so they can sleep at night?

Here’s my reality check: I bought into the hype. I thought direct assignments were the golden ticket. No middleman, no nonsense, just smooth sailing. And yet… here I am, chasing a title company for payment like it’s the last bus of the night. Déjà vu, anyone? Because this feels exactly like chasing those slow‑pay signing services we all love to hate.

So let me make this public service announcement loud and clear: Notaries are not bottom feeders. We’re not beggars. We’re professionals who flawlessly execute loan documents while juggling FedEx deadlines and cranky signers. Directs call us because they need us. We agree on a price, we agree on a schedule, and then — poof! — the money vanishes into the Bermuda Triangle of “Accounts Payable.”

Cue the industry playbook:

  • “The check is in the mail.”

  • “We don’t use tracking numbers.”

  • “We don’t do e‑checks, PayPal, Venmo, or anything invented after 1995.”

  • “If the post office lost it, that’s not our fault.”

Oh really? So, whose fault is it? Mine? Should I start camping out at the post office with binoculars and a metal detector?

The audacity is breathtaking. You call to follow up, and suddenly you’re the problem. Meanwhile, they’re blissfully unaware that you’re pulling your hair out waiting for a check that never arrives.

And now, the pièce de résistance: the “reissued” check. Supposedly sent via 2‑day priority with tracking. Except the tracking says, “label created” and nothing else. Translation: the post office has never even touched this mythical check.

So stay tuned, folks. Will the check arrive in two days? Will it arrive at all? Or will it join the growing graveyard of “checks in the mail” that never made it past the printer? Place your bets. :joker::diamond_suit::heart::club_suit:

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Thank you for sharing your experiences; I completely resonate with the challenges you’ve highlighted regarding the payment practices of signing services compared to direct title companies. As the old saying goes, “knock on wood,” but fortunately, in my own experience, I’ve only had to deal with one instance of a non-paying signing service. In stark contrast, all of the direct title companies I’ve worked with have consistently demonstrated excellent and reliable payment track records, which is a significant positive in this line of work.

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Thank you for response. It is my deepest prayer that this particular title company does not ruin it for all the others I had the pleasure in working with. But as another old saying goes, “one bad apple does not spoil the whole bunch!” I so do enjoy sharing my experiences as it allows me to reflect on the situation by writing it out to see how it sounds outside of my head! LOL!

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Definitely direct is always better

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Working direct is always best.

Which title company are you having problems with?

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I concur! Working with direct clients are always my go-to. I will drop the name of the title company if I don’t receive my payment. I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt that the payment was reissued with the new check via two-day priority Mail. Stay tuned!

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Direct sucks if the title company wants you picking up, signing, delivering the signed loan to escrow and standing in their back office scanning and packaging the signed documents. But remote witness closing is the sweet spot of loan signing. Hey, some of the “Title” companies are operating secret signing service on the side and not cutting you a check out of escrow funds. This is probably your issue and it’s happened to me on more than a few occasions.

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…Hmmm. never thought about that!

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It’s usually the BIG TCs that don’t pay from Escrow (and have their own ‘SS’ to decrease fee offered).

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Do you have any tips on moving toward direct relationships? I’m still new (just under 6 months in the business), but I’ve completed well over 100 signings, have my Title Producers License and over $100k in E&O. I also live in a somewhat rural area of Indiana where companies are often willing to pay extra to have me drive 60-90 minutes (each way) for a job. Do you have any tips for marketing myself for direct work to local title companies? Thanks in advance!

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Lower your day-to-day expenses; for example, buy supplies in bulk, obtain a mobile scanner, and purchase an electric car that you can charge nightly in your garage. Then create a website that highlights these capabilities to potential clients. Aggressively market yourself by showing up in person to potential businesses.

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Yes, I’ve done/do all of that. I buy paper by the crate and have a mobile scanner, etc. I’m just wondering about the process of actually developing direct relationships with title companies.

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Don’t know what city or state you are in, just be aware that Direct w/TC only seems to happen in large cities on a regular basis. Or with small town TCs who infrequently have a ‘one&done’ out-of-their area signing. Repeat business from these is a unicorn. In my small town, they have enough people on staff to handle it and, honestly, see me as the competition. But, if you do land one, the pay is double, triple or more of what you’ll get from an SS. Some of the bigger national TCs have either moved to the platforms or have their own branded SS…. Like JOT

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I am just here to say, thank you for the great read! I feel your pain but your comedy in writing this, out weighs your frustration! Well done lol

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:partying_face::partying_face::clinking_beer_mugs::birthday_cake:

UPDATE: cue the drumroll…

The check finally strutted in, two‑day priority, complete with a tracking number—as if it were some VIP guest arriving fashionably late. And the “original check”? Yeah, that mythical creature never existed. Pretty sure they never mailed it and were just waiting to see if I’d notice. Spoiler: I did.

Of course, they put on a whole Broadway production about “canceling the first check” before “reissuing” the new one. Bravo, folks, truly award‑winning theatrics. Meanwhile, I’m over here trying not to yank my hair out, laughing at the absurdity of it all.

Carry on, notaries—because apparently chasing checks is part of the job description!

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If we are self-employed periodically chasing a check goes with it.

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Just asking, have you ever had to chase down a check and endure the stresses that comes with it? Because I can assure you, it’s no fun. For my business model, chasing checks is not at the top of my list and I refuse to just roll with it like “it comes with the job!” Self-employed or not no one deserve this treatment. It certainly shouldn’t be ‘par for the course’ either!!

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Have Chase to check maybe three times in six years it’s not the end of the world to me because it’s the end of the day I get paid. Do you think business owners don’t have to work to get paid or that it’s super unusual that’s just not my experience.

At one of my jobs I used to have to chase Kmart for payment and you just haven’t dealt with non-payers until you’ve dealt with the largest corporations in America who do not pay their stuff on time.

There’s a remarkable inability on the part of some Notaries to roll with anything that doesn’t fit exactly the way they think it’s should the world doesn’t work like that. It’s not a personal attack. It’s a simple observation.

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:white_check_mark:

:white_check_mark:

@csmallsnotary :partying_face: Thank You :partying_face: for the status update!

:swan:

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