That makes a lot more sense than being available at any time on a moment’s notice or being woken up at 2am to run to a stranger’s house.
I used to work 7 days a week when I first started. Now I never work on Sundays and very rarely on Saturdays, if they want to meet my Saturday fee.
1 Like
When I say 24/7, I mean literally on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And yes, I do answer my phone all hours of the day, including 2:00 AM, although no potential client would call at that hour unless it’s a real emergency (it does happen, but it’s very rare).
Additionally, even though I serve all hours of the day, it doesn’t mean that I charge the same amount for requests for odd hours. Those only happen in real emergencies, and when it does, I would also charge a major premium and also require payment up front before getting out of my bed to travel for the notarization.
1 Like
I don’t think you could make it just nights and weekends. Most title companies and lenders try to get their closings done business hours in case there is something needed or calls coming in from the closing. You may get a few trickling in for refi’s, but they probably won’t use you unless you already established yourself during business hours first. Good luck.
I’ve been working as a signing agent for about a year now, but I still have a regular office job so I only take evening and weekend jobs.
There have been significantly fewer opportunities overall lately. And many of the jobs posted are in the middle of the day and more than an hour drive for almost nothing. I’m not sure if it is a market issue or not. I’m in South Louisiana and would love to get feedback.
As for my experience with offering after hours and weekends, everyone I work with is so thankful that I offer that option so they don’t have to take time off from work. So, I keep chugging along. I have had a few tell me that the mortgage company tried to push them to schedule a middle of the day appointment, but they pushed back. I would guess so they don’t have to worry about the after hour questions and they get the documents shipped the same day. Again, feedback would be appreciated.
Same here. Everyone has their price, including me. If someone needs me at some late hour (or early like 7AM), I just counter with what it is worth to me. Definitely not GN work. Only for Signing Services and Title Companies that I know and trust. Early mornings, evenings, and weekends are the most profitable signings for me.
2 Likes
I get my night and weekend work mostly from general notary work generated off myt off my Free Google maps business page
I always quote the travel fee separate from the $5 notarization fee.per state of Idaho requirements
The travel fee is non refundable and paid in advance digitally via Venmo or. Paypal. If that is not an option then they can pay at the door. Cash chec.
I advertise normal work hours, so I no longer get random after-hours requests. But when I did, I got at least one or two per night (24/7). Some callers wanted to drive to me to save the travel fee. After hours GNW is dicey, especially because you’re so vulnerable to factors you can’t anticipate and guard yourself against. At least with a loan signing, your client has been vetted, and a third party knows what’s supposed to happen.