Hello there , I am new to the notary world and looking for tips to get started. Any helpful suggestions on how to get into the population for signings so that I can get some signings and experience under my belt. Any help would be amazing.
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If you have not setup an account with SnapDocs I would get on it ASAP, and you’ll start receiving signing notifications in your areas of coverage. Good Luck!
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Thank you so much. This is very helpful
Make sure you get an EIN at irs.gov before you do anything - never give out your social
Yes, this broken record is at it again 
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How far are you willing to travel? Do you know how much it costs to do so and what to charge for your travel time/car expenses? What is your cost/charge for 100 pg. pkg? 150? 200? What is your charge/cost for scanbacks? What is your cost/fee for a refi? piggyback? Loan Mod? Reverse Mtg? Appl. for same? Seller pkg? Purchase w-w/o loan? VA loan? How much income/PROFIT do you require? Know these answers before you sign up anywhere or you’ll soon be oob & broke.
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One more thing
Click on the “Forums” Tab up above - then click on “Beginner’s Questions” - I just did that and see that many of these questions have been addressed, including good companies, bad companies, newbie fees, etc. Read down the list of threads and read the ones that may help you - I’m sure it’s there.
Okay…one more thing - make sure you know your notary laws cold before you start loan signings - and don’t be coerced into doing something that goes against your notary laws just for the sake of getting the signing done (which, I promise you, WILL happen). And please make sure you’re not in an attorney-only state or a TPL state
and you’re allowed to do loan signings where you are as a notary public.
I’ll hush now
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In addition to the rest of the posts here, I highly recommend taking “the hit” from the start and getting a $100k E&O policy for 2 reasons: One because your just starting out and having that extra protection takes a lot of anxiety away as your trying to learn. And two, you’ll get more calls because of that higher protection you possess.
Good Luck!
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Getting more E&O just paints a bigger/deep pockets target on your back. Fact is, whether you’re right or wrong has little to do with the insurance co’s decision to pay up or go to court and fight it. They find it’s simply cheaper to pay but there simply isn’t that much that we can screw up!
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I see your point. But I didn’t imply getting the extra coverage as so much to “clean up” mistakes, but rather to have that extra “cushion” of protection that you pay for to have that extra security. No different than ALL the other insurance policies you have that you never use (auto, homeowners, renters, etc.), but you feel good that your covered nonetheless. And its a fact that the phone rings more when you have the higher limits for the mere simple reason many require you to have it to work for them regardless. If your confident in your abilities, the amount of your coverage is pointless anyway. In case any missed it, I myself got the higher limits to get more work that pays more. It’s how I got Fidelity Approved and Title direct work.
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Also as a side note, E&O insurance protects you for errors you made while performing a “notarial act”. I put the definition below. (read your policy for details on this because most don’t). So to put it in simple form, if you lost the $10,000 certified check the borrower gave you, or lost a set of signed documents with copies of ID’s and other PII in the packet, claims can be made against you, and these are not covered under the “notarial act” clause, meaning you get no protection coverage through your E&O policy. This is where “Professional Liability” insurance coverage comes into play. In perspective I have $100k E&O policy and a $1MIL PL policy, and a $1k 4 year Bond (required by my state). All combined I pay $470/year (3-4 signings). Bundle and save!
"Notarial act " or "notarization " means any act that a notary public is empowered to perform under the general statutes and includes taking an acknowledgment, administering an oath or affirmation, witnessing or attesting a signature and completing a copy certification.
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If you want regular notary work too - Get on Yelp & Thumbtack once you get going but this costs an ad price. Regular people who don’t want to go to their local bank will contact you, travel to them & do regular signings outside with a mask if that’s what they want. You can also just do word of mouth on your own social media pages. (Obviously not for family)
KL, NSA_AZ
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To be a successful notary you need notoriety: the state, quality, or character of being notorious or widely known.
thank you very accurate info
You’re so good with responses and experiences. I want to become a giver like you…
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