I received an email from a signing service (with whom I like to work) basically asking me if I would lower my fees because their lender clients need to lower THEIR costs and because with the interest rates dropping, they are seeing more signings come in so there’s more opportunity for me to work. I’m puzzled because doesn’t the title company collect notary fees from the borrowers’ closing costs and pay the signing agency which does not create any cost to either the title company or the lender? Also, if there’s more signings to be done, wouldn’t this create higher notary fees because the demand is higher? 
1 Like
ok this is MY OPINION so if I’m wrong , I’m wrong. but the way I understand it is this. Let me preface with today I read that despite the feds dropping rates , mortgage rates actually didn’t drop as expected. That may or may not be true.
so - from there - regardless of whether the rates dropped or not the flow of business hasn’t changed , at baseline, and if they are actually lower , they do NOT need to lower their costs because more closings is more money and notary fees are paid for by signers . So imo this company is in a way " double dipping/ skimping/ dare I even say scamming" thinking you don’t know better and how it works. They’re just trying to line their pockets with money that should be yours.
I also agree no extra costs are incurred . The only thing that could lower the fee is more available notaries , less competition, some notaries will accept fees lower than what other notaries will, despite demand .
You could write back that you enjoy working with them and respect your mutual business relationship, however you are unable to lower your fees as you have a profit margin you must meet just like they do, remind them you’ve had x amount of years or x amount of closings with them however they are paying for your experience and knowledge as well as just a person with a notary stamp. then “in conclusion” you look forward to continuing your business relationship under the current fee schedule.
If you are willing to bend on the prices, write a reply stating similar things with new pricing , but this for me doesn’t pass the vibe check.
You can form a rebuttal if needed explain exactly what you wrote .
5 Likes
It’s a recurring ploy they’ve used for decades so their profit is higher at your expense.
Never believe the ‘volume’ lie as our expenses do NOT decrease due to (non-existent) volume.
3 Likes
@janelle You’re wise to reach out & query your colleagues here on the Notary Cafe forum about this topic.
Of course, as I state in this thread, you must create your own List of Fees that are based upon your expenses (see referenced thread that follows).
So, the alert you’re referencing is normally only blasted out to specific target areas where the PSA saturation is high.
======
I’ve shared multiple times over the years to calculate your individual cost of providing your services so that you have firm knowledge of how much it will cost you to provide those services. Ergo, you’ll immediately know precisely what your rate should be in order to make a living. 
I’ll add that with the low volume of Signing Orders [SOs] and the proverbial flooding of this business sector with newbies, it sets up the race to the bottom of the barrel for fees . . .
The “volume” increase DOESN’T elevate the bottom line of profit for your business as there are “hard” out-of-pocket expenses that are incurred with EACH & EVERY Signing Order [SO].
======
If you’re uncertain about the data regarding the saturation of PSAs in your region, access the Find a Notary tab (above on the Top Ribbon) to populate the appropriate fields & view that data.
HA! I got the same email and am ignoring it. If you look under the latest column, there is a whole thread on this.
@janelle You may find this thread insightful/helpful . . .
I recently received an announcement that volume should go up and would I consider lowering my fees because other notaries in my area are doing the same signings for much less. This explains why for a while in 22 and 23 I was so busy I couldn’t do much of anything else in life. I dropped my fee for small Heloc packages and took a lot of business. Then it stopped. Someone undercut me. That happens, I would then get offers for those assignments far afield because the bargain notary was wise enough to realize that travel and time eat into margins. I did those at a higher fee and I adjusted all my fees upward.
I would rather work less and be paid fairly than work a lot and barely break even. My fees now are still not at 2020 range when it was easy to name your fee. I simply replied that I hoped to continue our relationship but I would like to keep the fee structure we have already agreed upon. I am still receiving assignments at what I consider an equitable fee.
3 Likes
@keaton4notary @keaton4notary This is a “standard” line they use, in order words "here fishy, fishy . . . "
===>>> This is Negotiation 101
Trying to get Professional Signing Agents [PSAs] to “take the bait” that someone nearby is actually providing these professional services for that low fee . . .
Akin to the Used Car salesman stating that “this number is as low as my manager will go on that car!”
Uh-huh => tell me another whopper . . .
======
As I regularly state, as a business owner you owe it to yourself to create your own List of Fees for the professional services you provide based on your actual out-of-pocket expenses.
Honor yourself by standing firm on your calculated Fees based on expenses.
I stand by my fees. You may notice that in the last year or so, there are pages and pages of “do’s and dont’s” because these signing companies are using either inexperienced or sloppy signing agents.
My attitude is - they can use inexperienced and sloppy signing agents to save $25-$75 and hope for the best. I have continued to be very busy without lowering my fees and the title companies and builders who call me directly do not ask to reduce my fee.
OK, color me stupid! Volume will go up, for who? They service well will say all of the 50 states and volume will go up for them. We notaries live in a finite area, can they validate and promise volume in your area will go up? No they can’t and won’t. Never fall for that carrot. Further I have been doing this for over 21 years. Costs have gone up for us, paper, toner, drums, E&O insurance, yearly Background screenings, electricity, fuel, cost of vehicles you name it. We have the high end cost as we are the ones printing, driving etc. They on the other hand are basically paperless, so their costs have gone up a fraction of ours. The cost to them for their employees may have gone up, but I am sure they are under the federal minimum of employees so they pay no benefits, yet we pay all ours out of pocket. Fools walk in where we with years of experience have sucked up those costs while they prosper off the backs of the notary. NNA still tells people they can make 6 figure incomes doing this work. Yet we print more pages per signing and have to scan them back now as well. You can only do so many signings in a day so we can not work on volume, its per signing. They have volume, we used to use drop boxes when available now its at a facility to get a reciept adding mileage and time to our jobs. Never undercut your worth to them. Still need our faces in front of the client. When they can get RON working the Title Companies will have in-house notaries doing the signings and eliminate us all together, NNA is helping them in that indevour but that is the future.
3 Likes
Nah…you’re experienced. All us oldies have been there/done that…and know better and try to help the newbs learn from our experience.
1 Like
If they have so many notaries accepting low fees - why are they contacting me? And the promise of more work is horse hockey. The pile of notary instructions that now come with files tells me - they are getting what they pay for.
1 Like
This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.