Allantnotary,
Thank you for your insights into this business. I agree with you on your points. I would like to offer my insights into your comments.
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Each market is different. Much of the advice that’s offered to new NSAs doesn’t take this into account. What happens in Detroit doesn’t happen in San Antonio…what happens in Dallas is different that what happens in Houston.
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Each State is different. When I’ve closed on a California Refi closings that have far fewer pages than a Refis in Texas. A Texas Refis contains (typically) between 175 to 240 pages. This factors into how much a NSA needs to charge to close a loan. More on fees further down.
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Regarding Fees. You state that NSAs should take reasonable fees. I wholeheartedly agree. This has many dependencies that are market dependant. New Notaries needs to analyze their cost of doing business, distance to the closing, printing costs, etc., before deciding on what’s fair for the market. In my situation I cover three counties in central Texas. These three counties cover nearly 2000 square miles. Round trip mileage for some covers 100 miles round trip. Factor in a 200+ Refi closing that takes 4 hours to prep, print,travel, and scan…my fee are as much as 3-4 times what a freshly minted NSA will accept. These newbies don’t realize they’re paying the SS or TC to close the loan and will soon be out of business by strangling their flow.
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We are a commodity service. I’ve seen far too many NSAs who bought into the ‘get rich quick’ taking anything that comes their way regardless if they will earn a profit. As such they’re the ones accepting low ball offers that drive the cost down for all of us. In my market its generally not quality that TC’s and SS are looking for, they decide on price only. Finding the TCs and SS that do appreciate quality are sometimes difficult to find, but when a NSA does find one they are a wonderful to work with. You’re right that relationship building is foundational to success in this business.
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Marketing. You advice is spot on. Unfortunately, this advice we both agree on is seldom transmitted to the new NSAs. Often they hear that marketing oneself yourself to TCs and the world will become sunshine and daisies with an overfilled bank account. They’re seldom told that to get the daisies to grow one has to do a lot of hard work weeding the pasture.
Some markets are over saturated with NSAs, meaning TC have a plethora of agents to draw from. Signing up with meetup groups, business groups, Chamber’s of Commerce, local real estate gatherings, etc., take a lot of time an effort that not many are willing to do.
Again, thank you for your insights. I wish you much future success.