(CA) With refi’s tapering off to almost NONE, I’ve been thinking about how/when orders come in and what the reduced fees have been (under $80 in many cases). Two things seem to be happening: 1) you’d better be the fastest gun in the West if you want to grab an order because the competition is fierce; and, 2) there is NO TIME to look for the fee when you’re moving as fast as you can to grab that order. Consequently, you may be accepting a low fee simply because the mechanics of getting any order are working against you. In other words, you accept [blindly] and are stuck with the fee that was offered. Of course you can try to negotiate afterwards and good luck with that.
Given the scenario I’ve outlined above, I’m wondering what all y’all’s reaction is to it. If you agree, please say so and if you have other ideas about it, I’m certain we’d all enjoy reading your responses. Besides, it gives us something to talk about whilst we wait for the next order to flash before our eyes.
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And you think the companies that hire us don’t count on that? As long as I’ve been in this business, for 1 stupid reason or another, I still can do ‘stupid’ about once a year. Then I run the numbers and usually give it back unless it turns out only ‘slightly stupid’ AND it’s a good ‘repeat’ co.
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I hear ya loud and clear, Arichter. 
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For the most part, I’m gonna hold as close to my price as I can… I have a $10 buffer built into my price point.
Ok, here is my prospective. I have only been an LSA since 8-21. My goal was just a side hustle job. I am retiring from my FT job soon. I use signing services, but because of the low fees and ridiculous travel miles… I have learned I make more money from the following: Keeping in mind, I am only part-time as of right now.
Free WIX website-
Facebook
-Linkedin-
Nextdoor App
-Google Business
-word of month-
Yelp-
Alignable
-NNA SigningAgent page-
This platform-
and… old school, call my local “in this industry” companies & yard sign.
SO YES, I AGREE WITH YOU !!!
I am just grateful like days like today I have 4 vehicle inspections that will pay me as much as one refinance with no hard printing cost and 2 hours out of my day including travel and inspection time. Three are at one location and the 4th is 4 miles away. The times are scheduled but I have that window of time to complete them which is good. I will finish the first three in less than an hour and the 4th 15 or 20 min max.
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(CA) Well, that sure keeps the kettle boiling 
I tried that inspection gig but found that jobs were few and far between, that others grabbed them quickly and that the most I was offered was $25 but usually only $15. Guess it’s not so great in my region. I can see it happening for you in Yuma, though. Kind of an ‘island’ community in some ways. I used to audit several banks in town.
Yuma… is growing a lot of new construction. Cost of living is lower and you can still find rents as low as $600 a month in some areas. Hotter than heck in the summer but beautiful in the winter months. Signing jobs are also low but the pay in my opinion is fair.
I turn down more inspections than I accept due to me wanting to stay within a 10 mile radius of my home. Most are offered at $22 and up. The ones I show total $105 and I get paid via DD weekly.
Distance and transaction type are my key decision makers. Transaction type is rarely disclosed in advance, so I always accept initially. After looking at the details later (takes 2 minutes) and crunching numbers, I determine if negotiation is warranted, and if need be, make a call. To me, a conventional REFI and a VA/FHA/USDA REFI are not the same (as far as doc/prep and table time counts go). If I make the determination that I need to call to negotiate (because the offered fee is a loss), and they don’t budge after explaining why, I then tell them to reassign. After all, they shouldn’t be where they are if they haven’t been where we are. I have no respect for those who forgot where they came from!
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I’ve been running into the same scenarios… quickly accepting a signing then noticing the low fee afterwards. If it’s a refinance I usually call or message them right away to request an additional printing fee since most of the time the closing package is around 200 pages, and then they usually want me to print a copy to leave with the borrower which means I’m printing out close to 400 pages or more. And then they want scan backs as well which can be time consuming. Certain companies have been good with negotiating and raising their fees, but there are others that tell me I shouldn’t accept the signing if I don’t agree with the initial fee. It’s frustrating, but I guess it’s the nature of the business when dealing directly with platform companies.
There are way too many hungry notaries out there waiting to grab what they can. Grab low and go is not as bad as grab and give back, titles and SS don’t like it.
I’m still able to get the markup on the “offer” price that I usually counter with, but it’s getting harder and harder, with fewer jobs being offered and (seemingly) a huge number of notaries to compete with. It also takes longer to type in a counteroffer than to just click “Accept”, so those who are willing to take it for the base fee offered have an advantage in that they can respond quickly and the system is programmed to automatically accept the first notary who responds positively. When you counter, “someone” has to approve it.
The only reason I ever give back a signing that I have accepted is for a scheduling conflict…where I mistakenly had forgotten that I was already booked for that time slot. Sometimes you’re in such a hurry to grab the signing that you don’t check your schedule first to make sure you’re available. If I take a signing for a low price and regret it later, that’s on me. I made a conscious decision to accept that signing and I’ll live with it. I choose to believe that integrity still counts.
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It’s nice not to be bombarded with too many signing notifications. I either block or deactivate my account with low fee senders. I only get maybe a handle from my normal companies and they have my set fees. So the only time I give back is mainly due to schedule conflict. And sometimes, if the distance is farther than expected, weather conditions, if too many signers or number of pages larger than expected I ask for fee increase if they say no I ask them to take it back. I’m better off working at McDonald’s or Walmart if I’m taking $62 closing, plus print 2 set, plus signing time, plus drive time, plus high gas, plus wear and tear on car, plus paper, plus toner, plus printer, car insurance and, plus E&O and more. It is not cheap to run this business. I don’t know how a lot of notaries are doing so low some as low as $35.
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They won’t be in business long accepting $65 fees
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Transparency counts just as much as integrity does (as transparency is one of the main ingredients in integrity). If your going to serve me a meal without telling me what’s on the plate in advance, then the server shouldn’t be surprised if I give it back because I don’t like it.
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Well… thanks for reminding me to never have you over for dinner😛
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LOL… I wouldn’t invite you over if I didn’t have the time to entertain. And if my kid calls in the middle of dinner and says “Dad, I missed the bus home from soccer practice,” guess where I have to go? Just save some food for me!
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