I keep seeing new notaries get assignments and some even are able to negotiate their fees very early in the process. How come I can’t get a hit? What am I doing wrong?
I have signed up with over 50 signing companies and all of the major directories. Someone please help!
I’m a new notary just got started in September. Here is what I’ve figured out so far. You have to be patient! Ultimately you are waiting for someone to drop the ball so you can get your foot in. When you do make it count and do good work. These companies will try to low ball you if you are new I turned down my first 6 signings because the fees were too low. If I go within 10 miles of my home I charge $100. They can take it or leave it but I don’t go out for less. I am not churning out signings but I am getting some. They are good quality and I’m not wasting my time. Also I’m only signed up with a few companies and I will eliminate them if they are not productive. Hope this helped.
Hey Edward,
Thanks for the feedback!
A lot of this business is location, Maurice - where are you located? Also, keep signing up with companies - when I first started in this business I made a goal of signing up with at least 5 new companies per day - no I didn’t get signings from all of them but I got my name out there.
Again, it’s all about location - and marketing. Training and experience also play a major part in companies looking at your profile and saying “yes, lets call him”.
Good luck
Hi Maurice,
I agree with LindaH I think it is about location. I am in the SF East Bay Area and it is dense with people refinancing, buying and selling. I am new as of Dec 2nd, and I have had 6 signings in two weeks. I started with a well discussed here low-baller and had a truly bad experience on my first time out. I posted and everyone said, "you went with a low-baller! " Then the phone rang. 
I have had people call me off of here! I took the advice of the people who respond to the forums and asked for a larger fee. Having the larger fees have slowed me down and I make less errors–though the low-ballers also micro-manage which might have caused the errors. If you are having a 3 page document do you really need 4 additional pages of requirements? They also HAVE A LOT OF REQUIREMENTS TYPED IN ALL CAPS THAT EACH AND EVERYONE OF THE INSTRUCTIONS MUST BE FOLLOWED BECAUSE IT IS CRITICAL AND MUST BE DONE CORRECTLY. SOME OF THE REQUIREMENTS ARE CONTRADICTORY LIKE SCANBACKS ARE OK THEN TWO INSTRUCTIONS LATER FAX ONLY! ANYWAY WITH THE NON-PRIORITIZATION AND LOTS OF REPEATED INSTRUCTIONS, OR THE SAME BUT WORDED DIFFERENTLY INSTRUCTIONS I have noticed instructions like that are harder to follow and really drive me nuts. The other 5 companies treated me as a professional and I was more professional, quicker and it was easier to have less errors I could slow down and focus on the NSA tasks that I was hired to do.
I have 5 invoices outstanding now! I am worried about all the posts about non payments. What I am learning is it is location and market saturation because most of the text from the signing services are for areas just outside of reasonable for me, so I turn them down about location and up the fee to what I want. However, yesterday I kept getting one for Southern California and they specifically kept asking for input on a fee. I did not respond because they were probably at a call center somewhere else in the world saying to themselves, “California looks so small on the map the whole state is commutable, if I get approval for $25 more they will take it.”
Today, I went out on a good job with good pay, and it was 1,000,000 times more pleasant and easier than the first job with the low-baller, but it was on the boarder of my area. I am now certain that it isn’t me. This is a very do able job with a high success rate of accuracy if you take the time and are not harrassed with follow-up texts urging you to go faster. (I will confess that the 4th job was another one from the low-baller because I wanted to go to a big box store next to the location of the signing, but it was almost as bad as the first–I did get some holiday shopping done though.) Good luck and Happy Holidays!
@maurice.yeldell I am having the same experience in New Jersey. I have gotten two hits, both assigned to other agents in the last month. Meanwhile, my friend is complaining that she is getting too many hits and they are closer to where I live. I have registered with SnapDocs…officially verified, Xome, Notary Resume, FASS Notary and Notary Dash. Some other companies are asking for experience or a minimum number of signings before you can sign up with them.
@LindaH-FL What other companies should I sign up with to get out there and get the experience that I need for the larger companies?
Maurice - you haven’t responded as to where you are but you did show up in google - if I found the right person, which I believe I did - you’re in Maryland…in MD you need a Title Producer’s License to be able to do loan closings. Do you have that? If not, that may be why you’ve not received any assignments.
Hi Maurice,
A few things to consider would be your E&O, what is your liability? I had mine at 25k and wasn’t getting any signings at ALL but, once I upgraded to 100k I started getting them like crazy! Also, if you have any mortgage background use that for you advantage add it to your profile. Hope this helps!
Maybe you could make a flyer on Canva and print/send it to Title, Escrow, and Real Estate companies in your local area. I am a new notary and went to 3 companies after calling and asking if I can come. And one called me back the next week! I did it today actually, my first signing ever, and charged $175 because it was an hr and 20 min drive there and back. I also printed and dropped the docs off after appt. I hope they call me for more appts! Good luck to you Maurice!!
People are gonna start hating me - but…
@Edward you’re in Indiana? You know Indiana is a TPL State? You have to have a title producer’s license to do closings in Indiana.
Hello @LindaH-FL I have all necessary credentials. I was just asking is upgrading to $100,000 E&O is worth the expense? Does it really improve your offer rate?
@Edward thanks for responding… Good to hear. The $100,000 protects you from lawsuits and, remember, only covers “notarial” errors - covers nothing relating to your handling of a loan signing or any other legal documents unless you buy either Signing Agent E&O or a Professional Liability policy.
But, to answer your question, yes some companies require the $100,000 - there are also a handful who require $500,000 , which tells me they really don’t know what the E&O covers - there’s also the question of the notary being covered under their umbrella policy as a subcontractor.
Hi @savannahmnotary I have 100K in E&O insurance and my activity has been picking up since this post.
So update! I have been pretty busy with signings. I have made sure get registered with several signing companies and directories and I’ve been able to luck up into getting signings even when I counter-offer. I have completed my very first signing last night (Refi) and 2 more signings today (Loan Mod and Refi). I have another signing tomorrow and 3 scheduled for next week. Thank you all for your kind words. Seems things are picking up for me pretty quickly!
How did you change your E&O liability , I was told my was low as well?
Hi Gabrielle,
With my E&O company I had to cancel the 25K policy first then, I was able to build a new policy with 100k.
I am glad it’s working out for you. Happy new years!!!
@LindaH-FL Thank you for your insight. I live in NJ and have been doing research. Your answers are always great. Can you give examples of a great profile that would make a company want to work with you.
So happy for you Maurice. Reading your journey has given me the courage to keep going.
