ServiceLink Requesting I Lower my Fee for HELOCS

Did anyone else receive an email from ServiceLink requesting they lower their fees for HELOCS? If I would lower my fee closer to $90 with a combination of auto assignment, this would increase my volume alone. The HELOCS I have been assigned to are not small packages and they require full scans. When I began working for ServiceLink f/k/a FNF 14 years ago, my fee was $150 to $175 for local signings. It decreased throughout the years to $112 now for refinances and HELOCS. I hope we can all stand together and reject this fee reduction. I am actually getting $20 refinance (with scans) offers from other companies. It is up to us to put an end to these ridiculous fee decreases. Michelle

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The HELOCS around me come in at $50. Unless it is in my back yard, Iā€™m not taking it. And $20 for refi w/scans?! I have no words to that :frowning:

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I agree with you. Anyone signing documents for $125 (refi or purchase without scans)is actually making less than $30 an hour which computes to 60k salary annually. Anyone signing for $80 is doing the signing for $15 hr. You are better off working for McDonalds. I empathize with folks that take on a regular signing(refi or purchase without scans) for less than $125.

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I only do single documents for $50 and that too if I have tiime and its within 5 miles of my location. Even on a single document you tend to spend an hour considering printing time, commute and package drop off. I focus a lot on calculating hourly pay after deducting all costs.

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I truly understand! I started with Service Link in 2000, and the pay was a lot more then now. They were mailing the documents to me and still paying $125. I signed up for the auto assignment and the pay is only $73. Itā€™s really sad! I only do them if they are in my area.

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I got that email also, and ignored it :wink: funny enough they still hire me
I did one this weekend that no one else wanted,
They were happy to pay me a more fair rate $XXX. Keep fighting even if you can only
keep it $10 more than the ā€œarea rateā€. Be encouraged

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Itā€™s been their tactic for years. They ask if youā€™ll lower your fee in exchange for higher volume. (Note: ā€˜volume pricingā€™ does NOT work in this biz. Period.) If youā€™re fool enough to do it, they will repeat the ask with your competitorsā€¦until everyone bails out. Then they just do it again with every new batch of NSAs.

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I agree, none of us got into this business to make $15 an hour. Its way too expensive, time consuming and risky. We have to pay for insurances, gas, equipment, supplies and drive to clients in strange homes that we dont know, get all the documrnts correct, scanned & shipped the samr day to make $15 an hour. Make it make sense.

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Youre blessed, I say that becuase Ive been with servicelink for 4 years, my fees stared out as 115, 3 months later 85, and then 3 years ago went to 65 dollars, in my area we had an influx of newbies that made that possible, it does depend upon the area and state you live in, I can tell you Im in a metro military community where servicelink does an ungodly amount of business! And we have NSAs in an abundance. Still with that being said I can complete 3 or 4 files in less than 3 hours before 11am . So I still work with them a couple times a week. If I went back to 90 bucks a file, the would delete my profile.

What state are you in chelle ? And what are they considering an acceptable rate in your area?

New NSA, are a big reason for these ridiculous fees!!!

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I am in Louisiana. Who is ā€œtheyā€ā€¦Servicelink?

Yes, the topic at hand, apologize for not clarifying! Im in the Wasington DC metro area, where govt and military communities are huge covering 3 states VA MD and DC.

IMO, Just donā€™t do it! Donā€™t drink that Kool-Aid. They suggested the same to me earlier this year, I bit reluctantly and skeptically and lowered my fees $5-10, depending on the zip code. RESULT = all I did was make less per signing, and carved off $5 more revenue for them. So several months back, I increased it back up $5-10 after the failed experimentā€¦and guess what? that didnā€™t seem to change the volumeā€¦but I felt less angst with each signing and it didnā€™t seem to reduce the calls for last minute offers for local or out of the area = lesson learned! Actually Iā€™m thinking of bumping it up another $5ā€¦hmmmā€¦
Some of their HELOCs are 30-75 page counts, but some are 150 with lots of redundancy, as you probably know. However in talking to VM, I understand you can exclude specific lenders from your profile, if you choose, so Iā€™m thinking of screening out the typically high page count (or higher than average doc error/consistent logistic issues) lenders and hold my fees in a range that make sense for the 30-75 page (or less drama lenders)ā€¦Iā€™m thinking of experimenting with thatā€¦will get less auto-assigns (ones that only cause me to say ā€œgrrrrā€ under my breath), but at the same time, not block my schedule, for possible higher priced last minute offers from somewhere elseā€¦ or from SL themselves.

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After the $75 a Texas NSA has to pay to use a law office thereā€™s not enough to cover operating expenses.

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You were told they would delete your profile? or just exclude you from that lender (assuming to Be NFCU),if you asked for $90?

They pulled this same stunt on me 10 years ago. I used to work with them occasionally and got the call to lower my fee to $85 (from $125+) - when I said no they said I wouldnā€™t get any calls at that rate. I said thatā€™s fine - you rarely call me anyway, and the folks that DO call me meet my fees.

Just not worth the time and expense of processing and completing a loan signing (sometimes 35+ miles one way) for a lousy $85.

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They want me to go from $112 to $90 for a HELOC. Said I could keep my measly $112 for refinances. Told them my car will not start for anything under $100.

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I work with ServiceLink and have for quite a few years. In 2020, they sent me a long list of towns in and out of my base service area and asked me to formulate a spreadsheet listing each county, each town, each zip code with the fee for each. My base coverage area is 7 counties but Iā€™ll go beyond that as necessary. It took a while but I got it done. Initially, working with ServiceLink was plentiful and at my stated rate. Now, they call me sporadically but when they do, theyā€™re prepared to accept my fee (still using that spreadsheet). The lowest fee on that spreadsheet is $125 - for my town. If Iā€™m driving 2 hours in the snow to a signing, I donā€™t care if itā€™s a purchase or a HELOC or a 3-page doc. My fee is still the same $475.

Nope. I never lower my fees with the promise of high volume. IMO, thereā€™s no way anyone speculate high volume in any one area.

This is what works for my business. Everyone runs their business according to their own business plan.

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Good for you!!! Havent you noticed the notary instructions, LOL lower fees equals many mistakes!

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