I am a newly commissioned Notary Signing Agent in Houston, TX and have been waiting for the first assignment for several weeks. I’ve posted my profile on several of the platforms. Please advise what I should be doing.
Thank you in advance for sharing your knowledge and experience.
A. Marshall
Rumor has it that TX has more notaries per capita than any other state…so way too much competition is but one factor in the slowest market in over 20 years. If you were thinking this would be a full time income…think again. That ship sailed long ago.
Dear Arichter,
Thank you for your reply : ) I’m finding out that the rumor you are talking about is true! I’ve spent a lot of money-to me it was-to be commissioned but failed to do a sufficient homework before I even dipped my finer in this field. Now I am having to look for another way to make a living.
I appreciate your reply because I needed to hear from someone.
Take care,
patthedog3338
Hello. My advise is to call every signing service out there. Introduce yourself and let them know you are available. This has done wonders for me. Best of luck.
@patthedog3338 Definitively can CONFIRM Arichter’s accurate status of this business sector.
I linked a thread that you’ll probably find insightful & helpful - here is the direct Notary Cafe url link though for you:
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I also have included a few more below that will provide you with insights:
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All this to say that Old Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard is Bare . . . very minimal work due to the cyclical nature of the Real Estate Industry and the ever-INCREASING interest rates continues to WHITTLE AWAY at what few Signing Orders are available . . .
Great advice! I will go out there and show my willingness : )
Thank you, pattie6813!!
Just PLEASE take a few hours to calculate your costs accurately. Because if you don’t do that FIRST, I’m very much afraid that you are liable to accept a fee that will end up costing you more in expense than you’ll be making. There are many threads here on just that topic and it will serve you well to read them before you go making a lot of calls.
Hi, Ms. Arichter,
I understand and hear your wise advice and thank you.
Do I have a choice as a brand new Notary? I don’t intend on being reckless but do believe I would take an assignment with lower fee than I would prefer. I will have to start getting experience somehow.
I do appreciate your concern.
And that’s the hook that’ll get newbs every time. Take a loser for the experience. The only experience you’re likely to gain is finding our that once you’ve put yourself in the bargain bin, it’s hard to get out because…guess what? there is always another newb doing it for the experience. Forget the koolaid, just drink the water we’ve shown you.
Dear Ms. Arichter,
Aha ha ha : )
You are so funny! At this point of my new carrier as an NSA, I feel like I should take any and all advices from y’all experienced ones : ) By the way, anything tastes good in this disgustingly hot Houston weather. Ok…I will try to drink the water you’ve shown me : )
I so concur!! And now, we have postal stores and “free” bank notarizations taking even more business!!! It’s not even reliable as a part time income source any longer…
Should I even bother learning to become RON???
Thank you for your input : )
I’m in and around the New Braunfels, Texas area, originally from Houston. To give you some perspective there’s about 500,000 notaries in Texas serving 30 million Texans. This puts the ratio at 60 residents for every Notary. What @Arichter and @marysdesertnotary has stated is spot on. The Texas market is saturated. My notary services are now a value added service to my Tax business.
The best thing you can do is go to the find a notary tab & check out how much competition you have within 5 - 20 miles of your zip. Then understand that the closest notary will also most likely be the cheapest…which is ALL that’s important to hiring party in current market.
Hiring party used to make money filling many jobs; now they can only do it by finding the cheapest notary and keeping as much as possible of TC fee.
The biggest VARIABLE cost factor is car expenseS and time spent driving. Understand that you will generally have at least 1 1/2 hours involved in a signing across the street. Now add your drivetime. If you don’t place a value on your time, nobody else will. RON may be an option that avoids above expense, but it generally pays MUCH less. Nor will you make it up in volume…cuz there is NO volume due to high interest rates.
@patthedog3338 Excellent suggestion by @Arichter above about researching the market saturation within your region.
That and many other items were presented in my post a few days ago directly to you:
When you reviewed the information there, was it helpful?
Riverpointe,
How can I get into the Tax Return profession? Not kidding. 
Mary I sent you a PM.
Dear Mr. RiverpointeTax,
May I, please ask you what “PM” is?
Thank you!
Dear Ms. Arichter,
Thank you again for your insight! As Mr. Riverpointe Tax said, Houston is saturated with Notaries. I do regret not doing my homework before I got into this business. On the plus side, I’ve gained knowledge in a brand new area. I will, of course, keep all you are teaching me in your messages and will keep moving on.
Take good care : )
Dear Mr. Riverpointe Tax,
Thank you for doing the math! It’s nice to hear from another Texan; I became one two years ago.
All the best to your business!!
