My advice to anyone who signs as a sole income

Notary Experiences
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Is to get a “real job” now…refi’s are gone, for good-or, at least for several years, and title companies are opening to the public again.

We won’t be seeing anything even remotely close to what we have enjoyed these past few years! Rates are climbing and folks who refinanced (many more than once) are done. For purchases and sales, escrow officers will be handling the signings because a) their client prefers them to do so, and b) they get paid for signings. Not sure anyone knows this, but an EO charges buyers, borrowers and sellers for their notary services. Shoot, I used to pull in a minimum of $2000/month in addition to my salary as an escrow officer and I know for a fact, the EO’S want that income back. They won’t be looking for a notary!

We can strategize all day long about how to boost our signings now, but the fact remains that the volume is just NOT there anymore.

Personally, I came to a screeching halt this month and went from 7-8 a day (and turning down so many I couldn’t keep track) to 1 or 2, and I’m a preferred notary for 7 SS’s and 3 direct lenders.

Fortunately I didn’t get into this as a permanent career, I knew I would be riding the wave and OHHHHH boy has it been fun BUT I saw this coming in October and started looking in January. I start a new job Monday, in an entirely different industry where my income will be good, but not even close to what 2020 and 2021 were…however, it’ll be stable and I’m personally sick and tired of the instability of the real estate industry as a whole.

In this industry, when things are good you can command high fees because of the sheer volume and the lack of notaries available due to said volume BUT when things are bad, it’s horrid. Escrow officers will be laid off left and right, lenders just simply won’t have work for notaries, and it’s about to get miserable - there’s never a gray area in real estate.

Good luck to all, it’s been wild!!

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:white_check_mark:

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:sparkles: :tada: :clinking_glasses: :owl:

Wishing you the very Best in your Endeavors! :swan::hibiscus:

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You know that side of the business better than the rest of us! You are right. I found this out from a director of escrow they are also looking at performing their RON in-house! Yikes! That’s going to hurt!

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Yup. BADLY. :cry:. I’m soooo done with it!!

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I agree…what I am most surprised about honestly is that during covid when no one would go out, I suited up and weathered the storm for the signing companies…my fault was believing that loyalty would pay off…suddenly not only has the business dried up but the attitudes have changed…rude women at these title agencies must have been holding it in all this time…now suddenly…yikes it’s changed! I can deal with anything but disrespect for no reason. They should not have onboarded so many notaries who made their lives miserable…and BTW we put up with a lot as well…closings on cars, patios, through windows and doors in all kinds of weather. Sad to see how this industry like so many others feel loyal partners are disposable. One more sad life lesson learned.

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Yep, me too. Loyalty? What is that? :thinking:.

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Wow…I did not know this!!! That does away with all of us-escrow officers are masters at multi tasking…they’ll be doing signings along while doing funding packages, draws and eating lunch- simultaneously! :+1:

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Well, think about this…it’s not a loyalty matter, but more that EO’S are simply returning to how life was before COVID. Remember, they all took a serious hit to their own pocketbooks when COVID struck, and if someone chose to become a notary because of how much of a demand there was, this should have been kept in the back of your mind. It was never permanent - ever.

Also, with the slowdown, there will be many, many, and I mean TONS of EO’S without a job which is the nature of the beast we call Real Estate. They get laid off and trust me, they will not be able to find a job easily omg nooooo. Also, it makes sense they’ll handle them in the office themselves-they’ll save valuable days not waiting for fedex OR a notary to return docs, etc. They’ll sign them, walk over to their assistant and plunk it down on his/her desk and DONE.

As I said, I’m through with this industry for just this reason! :smile:

Soooo it’s not personal. It’s business. And time to move on. :+1:

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I will never forget those days when I was out on the road I felt like I was the lone survivor. Felt like I was in some sort of post apocalyptic kinda movie when driving down those long stretch of highways without other cars around, sometimes there were very few cars here and there. The whole thing was spooky. I remember I had my essential workers letter in my briefcase in case they pull me over!

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Omg I live in California, I LOVED those days, LOL!!! Traffic is miserable here, and I loved leaving my house 5 minutes before I had to be at a signing…spooky but awesome, LOL!

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Yep, spooky but awesome!!!

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Well, I’m going to keep doing this job until I can’t do it anymore! Especially when I see the NSAs who are in their 60s, 70s, maybe even in their 80s still doing it. I honestly think this job is awesome for older people to stimulate the brains and keep the body moving for health.

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:white_check_mark:

@notarybyangela16 :owl: Absolutely Accurate! :100: Percent.

:swan:

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I’m not sure about everyone else’s experience here, but COVID scared a lot of people, especially when it comes to sitting around a table in a small room to conduct their signings. It started with the banks themselves, even some UPS stores and libraries. In house notary services was the first to go with them for this reason alone. They wanted to minimize CONTACT/EXPOSURE in “their house.” Some loosened up, but many are planning on keeping this in place. Regardless of who/where the signing is taking place, the cost gets absorbed by the borrower (one way or another), so why bring them into your office when you can PAY LESS to have them go to the borrowers house? Yes, RON is out there now, but most counties still require that “wet ink” to record/file a title or deed. So while “business” itself is slowing, I feel its due to demand, not the need for our “convenient” service. On a side note, as I stated in a previous post, regardless of the volume of business, I never recommended anyone do this full time as a living, but rather as a side gig or supplemental income. Why? I have yet to meet anyone who predicted what was going to happen on Wall Street BEFORE it actually happened (which also effects the housing markets)! We went through a pandemic, and the markets did quite well throughout. Inflation is through the roof at an historical high, and a war has just begun, and as of the date/time of this email, all markets are in the green. Then there was the 2008 crash. Most lost everything in less than 8 hours. Who would have known?

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In California, there is a maximum the escrow officer can charge for in office signings, which is, on average, $80 for a two person signing…so it’s actually much more expensive in most cases to the borrower for the title company to send a mobile notary out-as you know, we can charge for our time in addition to signatures. So, no, the borrower really isn’t saving money…and everyone throws safety right out of the window when it comes to closing on a sale or purchase-which is pretty much the extent of what we will be signing (refi is essentially gone). Everything needs to be done day before yesterday, ugh.

There will be some demand still for mobile notaries, as there will still be some borrowers who are keeping up with COVID safeguards, BUT not many.

This being said, my clients who are direct will continue to use me (I’ll sign them in the evenings) and I’m fortunate that I have a great relationship to them and, I hope, will retain them and their loyalty but that remains to be seen. There will definitely be cases where the borrower has to sign at a time when I’m unable to accommodate their schedule which is why I have a backup notary to refer to them. :blush:

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About the 2008 crash…I’m not a Wall Street mogul but I did see that coming. EO’S saw these impossible stated value loans all day long, and when I was sitting across from a 22 year old stating income high enough to buy a 500,000 home with no down and a negative amortization loan-yep. It was kind of a no-brainer.

What I’m curious about now is how these rock bottom rates will affect lenders in the long run? I think I see trouble again.

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Just think everyone was all over my posts when I warned them (Newbies) that this was not a “quit your day job,” venture.

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I live and work in Yuma AZ… what I have experienced is the snow bird affect. 75% of my signers are from out of state escaping the cold north. It will be interesting to see what the volume will be like in the summer when they all migrate home. It kinda makes me nervous. The one kinda good thing is that there is not that many title offices here I can pretty much count them on one hand.

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Am I allowed to say CA is “special”…lol I never insinuated the borrower saves anything on using us, but rather the title/EO’s save risk by not bringing them into the office. It cost them much more if their staff call in because they got sick (and quarantining), hence calling us anyway. This is the “idea” out by me anyway. Not to get political, but more factual, considering the measures CA took on their population during COVID, what you stated you are experiencing is quite intriguing! On a side note, I never let their misfortune (poor planning/prep) become my emergency unless they pay for it. I’m not aware of “notary fees” being standard across the board, as each entity charges differently in my experience, so whether they save or lose on us is moot. For most out by me, if they suffer a loss on us, they gained by not dealing with a potential exposure on their end. I definitely agree with you on REFI’s, pretty much done, but that’s not on us.

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You are definitely right here. A 5th grader saw the housing thing coming, but most underestimated the collateral damage it did to the stock market. It was the government bailing out all the banks that ultimately crashed everything (as they had to “print more money” to make that happen as well). And whether it is real money (or what I call printing more money) Monopoly money, everyone gets stuck paying it all back.

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