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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Haha LOL………
LOL:joy:
I don’t care how quickly you have to accept an order to have any chance of getting it. I will AWAYS look at the fee, the appointment time and the location before I click the ACCEPT button. Otherwise, I may be stuck with something I REALLY don’t want. Sure, you can give it back but the more you do that, the more dings on your credibility with that signing service. If you don’t care about that, well…
do whatever.
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I look at the fee and the location. I was offered $100 for a regular refinance, BUT it was a minimum of TWO hours away. Not to mention the “required scan backs within two hours”. Yes, I’d like to work more, but I am not doing it a loss. I don’t think there is a signing out there worth 4-5 hours of travel time…
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There certainly isn’t any signing out there that will pay enough to cover 4-5 hours of travel time. I’m pretty much limiting my travel radius to 30 minutes each way with the low fees and high gas prices that are prevalent these days.
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For real! I base my decisions on travel time mostly. Like you, I try to keep it at no more than 30 minutes away depending on the fee and the client of course.
where do you sign up to do these inspections?
TIA 
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And I was offered $40 for a seller package… I didn’t accept, I requested more of course and got it… After looking at the Notary Fee the title company is charging the Seller it’s outrageous… they were charging them $250 for a notary and then they want to only offer it to us for $40, WTF? They are ripping the clients and notaries off.
It is the golden rule. He who controls the gold makes the rules. Sad
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