Interesting topic. Reading your research can be misleading, especially to people that are unaware to how our business generates revenue. Wages/salaries are determined differently, then how business profits are calculated. Our cashflow cycles are so unpredictable comparable to employees wages/salaries. Here’s where a transformation must occur, moving from a employee mindset, shifting into a business owner mindset. It doesn’t matter if it’s a side-gig part-time or full-time business owner. I agree with you on the aspects of skills development and business market opportunities. But as for pay increases, it’s will be determined by what the market will bear. Great discussion…
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Yep ! That’s the correct way to do it. Honors the buyers info.
I will deviate from presenting doc’s in order of receipt. I review the CD first because if the numbers are off…NO point in going further. Otherwise it would be a waste of MY time.
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Yep…CD and Note first - if a signing is going sideways that’s when it will happen
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Agreed… quality over quantity
20-30 mins for both buyers and sellers is not unbelievable. Almosy every company i do work for here in FL and in NC specifically tell me it is my job to witness signatures and call them if borrower/ seller has questions, only point out payment infor and doc name. I have very few that go over 30 minutes.
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Quality is not measured in minutes, only in results. If the buyer/seller is happy with a quickie job, all the better for the notary. If they are not, the job gets done in other ways. One must settle for what works best and get on with it. Quibbling over technique is like deciding if one likes sushi. Some of us duz and some of us duz’nt.
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Awesome report, really sets in reality and possibilities. Thanks for being a blessing!
Thank you for this! It hurts for some, because it’s true!
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I am glad that somebody comes and tells the truth. I’m so sick and tired of people glamorizing this job and promising heaven. So many new notaries come everyday and they think that they’re going to thrive in this business, and the reality is completely different. And when I try to tell the truth to somebody I’m being shut down because I am being negative and discouraging.
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Did the ziprecruiter numbers include the whole or part of last year’s data or were there numbers starting at Jan 1, 2022 and averaged over through May?
No clue… I just report… lol
Last year? My 1099 total in Texas was $51k+ Now? Maybe $500/mth. Last year, 3-5 signings a day. Now? Maybe 1-2 a week. I am a seasoned signing agent(10 + years)
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I’ve seen similar results with my business and that of my NSA Tax clients.
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Thank you for this post. I’ve always wondered where I stand in comparison to the other notaries in my area. I feel that those numbers will fall by next year as 2020 and 2021 were the Gold Rush of the LSA business and may not be repeated for some time. Those years will probably be outliers in most of our loan signing experience.
I also feel like the high-pressure environment of 2021 in dealing with capacity has taken its toll on many newer notaries who simply decided for themselves that the amount of detail and pressure is too much for them and not a good match. It also availed some other notaries to salt away enough money to retire and move to a more affordable place to live. My partner ran into a notary who moved down from the San Francisco area and snagged up every signing for one source in order to move to Utah or some other place less expensive. She was in her wrinkled pajamas at FedEx and it looked like she lived out of her van. She generously offered to send him her reverse mortgages because she simply didn’t have the time. This was late 2021, she has either moved or is now doing the reverses herself because no business came from her.
The figures cited in these articles are probably dependent on loan signings and during a time when notaries could negotiate fees with more success. It would be helpful to see how the numbers stack up by category i.e. Loan Signing vs GNW.
The easiest path to income the buyer/seller/refi will no longer work in a market that is moving towards a trough. It is time to reposition with other services that previously needed time and development to implement that wasn’t available. I am exploring notary-related services, however I have been burned with the site inspections jobs. In 2019 I visited 10 sites for between 25 and 40 dollars a visit and was paid for none. I had to write off those jobs.
When I first started out my only goalpost was to earn more daily that I would being a substitute teacher. At the time the pay in my county was $120 a day for an 8 hour day. That is $15 an hour with no benefits. If I had two signings and cleared $120 I was happy and slept well at night. This was in the days of $65 Refis and $45 Helocs.
Over time and with familiarity of the documents I have been able to sign a refi or purchase in 45 minutes to an hour including creating the journal entries (journal entries fully take up 10 minutes for two signers). A seller package, if there are no arguments over the ALTA statement and they have their trust information and proceeds information available, can take as little as 20 minutes without rushing my signers or doing a point and sign. Buying and selling are emotional events and we should remember that it isn’t always a happy occasion and be attuned to what are signers are experiencing.
My approach is that I am grateful I have been entrusted to help the signers and I don’t want them to feel they were ‘processed.’
I am amazed and enlightened that some Signing Agents earn $200 per assignment, that sounds like the full limit of what Escrow charges our signers. In my experience, this hasn’t been possible through a signing company except if there are special circumstances and those fees must be approved. In office signings typically pay a fraction of what they pay in the field. If I come in to an Escrow office for a signing the pay is half to one-third less than in the field. I once drove 30 miles for a purchase in the Escrow office that only paid $70. They provided the documents and gas was half the price it is now but I took the assignment as no one else was available. I figured I would get repeat business at a better fee which did happen.
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For me personally I have found success outside of LSA work which has made me less dependent on that income source. If Notaries are not looking to diversify their service they are operating like a shoe store carrying one type of shoe in one color and one size…. That makes no sense.
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I’m with you…gnw in my area has more volume and less time …paid on spot… there are some GNW work services that I get over $100 for a max 15mins…but I’m also in Fl.
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Agreed, I do no more than 3 to 4 signing a day. I have 2 signing services I with and the rest are all direct. I refuse to stress myself for a little bit of money. I know my worth and the quality of my work.
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I feel like I’m going to be the “bad guy” for saying this, but feel obligated to say it at the same time. Just like “most of” our clients, our creditors and dinner table could care less about our worth!
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I get the once in a while chatters who try to turn things into a visit. LOL I accommodate to a degree but always get back on task.
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Like most things…. Something is worth what others are willing to pay for it…IMO