I countered $150 and completed
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Hence why I did not reply to him, I am not a whiner by any means, however this a place for positive conversation and really it a simple discussion rather than a whine…but everyone is entitled to their opinions and fee’s I suppose.
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If I get an order that has a huge number of pages I usually go back and ask for a small print fee. I never pay attention to the fees on the CD. They may have to send someone back if we make a mistake. I accept what I accept. But when pages come back over 200 I ask for a print fee. Ask for any extra money before you go. You still may not get it. I use platforms for assignments a lot of work through snapdocs.com. All messages via snap docs get answered. I also listed myself on another forum and I included a fee structure. I have noticed I get offered fees that comply with what I listed. I have no idea if that’s related or not. I just know for fairly local down the interstate trips in 3 of the closest counties I charge one thing. I will go to some very rural counties that are underserved and I charge more. I charge for after dark driving. I charge for inclement weather. This is my first year I have done about 75 closings. I have some companies giving me a lot of repeat business and sometimes I charge fees according to that. I also charge a fee for a weekend signing. I try to bump my fee before I print anything in the event I decide to say perhaps you should find someone else. I’ve done contract negotiations for most of my professional career and the advice I have is you want a win/win. You get a win but the client company also needs to feel like they got a win as well. And sometimes that means you say “you really need to find someone else”.
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I agree with you. I am a new signing agent and I had to learn the hard way. It’s all about what I do moving forward that matters now.
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Never take any lowball offers from now on. It is better to take less higher paying assignments than more lower paying assignments.
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Hi , the same thing happened to me. I also had to drive 45 minutes to the appointment. Never again
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Hello
I been there…I just started and took a Refi for $80. CRAZY! 266 pages for the signing and 266 pages for the client’s copy. 4 people at the table, its was a horrible signing. My whole pack of paper and then some. It took 2months for them to pay me. I was done!!! I only do Refi’s for $150 or more. That is my price and there is no negotiations on thier part! Please always know moving forward Refi’s most likely is a huge document. More money Always!!! Don’t accept those small fees. They get more then enough. This is a learning lesson don’t allow them to make you feel you can’t counter bid. If you don’t like the price, politely decline. Its ok. Know your worth!
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For weekend signing orders, I always charge more anyway. But I always review the docs before the day to see the amount of pages & if I have any questions.
If I think I may need assistance I contact them during the week & get a good number for after hours assistance; just in case. You can still negotiate your fee even after, at least you tried. If not you know for next time. Live & Learn! 
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Me I would either tell them that I need $275 since I have to print almost 600 pages or I am not able to complete the signing. I have done this before too.
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Certain companies send 200+pages and it’s ridiculous cause many of the pages are duplicates. I once had a title company and lender send two brochures. I was like noooooope. Not printing YOUR brochure. Lol.
For sure;
- Confirm first
- Review docs second
- Print last
I’ve also had appointments changed and cancelled.
You’ll learn who are the better companies to work with. Keep notes
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@Tdelay considering you have already selected the assignment without asking the proper questions for the signing it’s going to be within your best interest to follow through on the fee and assignment. I know it’s a tough pill to swallow as this will hone your skills next time when selecting assignment. Always slow the signing service down upon them calling you. Don’t allow the company to fast talk not providing you room to assess assignment. Good Luck to You!
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Id just take it , then take note of the SS and not do business with them. Or make a mental note to counter when they send you work.
What do you suggest for situations when you only have the text alert and have no idea what the size of the package is until you’ve already accepted the assignment? This happens to me most often.
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Sorry, that’s the biz. You knew it was underpriced. Caveat emptor! That’s the hard way to learn how to price your service. Low ball offers hurt everyone.
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Not that it matters much but I have all but stopped taking signings from most signing services for that very reason and have worked at beefing up my general notary work. I learned very quickly that taking a $70-90 signing fee from a signing service for most loan packages will net you a loss of between $150-200 when you factor in the true cost of that signing. Your true cost goes much farther than just your time and printing costs. In most cases, my general notary work nets me more than what I earn from most signing services for a loan signing and I don’t have to deal with printing costs, scanbacks, improperly formatted documents, excessive time spent reviewing documents, and all the other headaches that come with loan packages. Just something to think about.
I should mention that the financial loss you suffer can be written off as a business loss on your taxes but the IRS will only allow you to do this for so long before they require you to close your business. I track every dollar it costs me to perform a signing on an invoice and the loss is written off as a flat dollar discount for tracking purposes. I use Quickbooks for my accounting.
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Man it would be nice if other notaries learned stuff like this quickly too, that way they wouldn’t look like a fool accepting $76 refinances.
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Sadly. When I counter back before acceptance knowing thar type ofclosing is big, I never hear back. If I counter after I find out how big itvis, I get removed. I have yet to figure out a solution.
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just because… No, the IRS won’t force you to close your business, but they will declare it a hobby unless profit is shown and then disallow any/all deductions. Of course, it’s more complicated than this, but point is you can’t operate in the red forever.
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You are correct. They won’t require you to close your business (although it’s almost tantamount to that since, from a financial standpoint, there’s no benefit in continuing to operate when a business is not profitable). I should have worded my statement better. Thank you for the clarification.
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And they may also not only declare your business a hobby for the current year, they may go back and look at previous years’ returns…and assess penalties and interest.
It’s why demanding professional fees and running a profitable business is vital…it’s why we preach it over and over and over again
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