I am surprised how many people do not get a chance to look at a draft set of documents prior to showing up at a signing. I showed up this evening to a cashout refinance signing, and they took one look at the settlement statement and were instantly furious. We called the afterhours numbers (both of them) of which neither answered (which is very frustrating as they were specifically listed as afterhours contacts). We did have the Loan Officer’s cell number and to our surprise he answered. The signers chewed out the LO on the phone on speaker because they never informed them of some other debts that were being paid off as part of the transaction. The signers were nice and mentioned that I had to drive out and print up a rather large signing packet, to which the LO stated I would be paid the full fee for my troubles as well and they may offer me the 2nd signing with corrected documents.
I’m still a bit shocked at how frequently signers don’t know until I show up with docs what things look like…
I’m not sure what will happen with my fee. Hopefully they pay me the full fee, but I have seen sometimes they just give a smaller fee, but it was a 200 page packet x2, 25 minute drive x2, and we sat there for half an hour.
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I’ve gotten $35 typically for a print and drive fee. It’s sad because typically I spend close to the amount of time I normally wouldve had we signed. But it’s just part of it unfortunately.
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Invoice the whole fee. Don’t be surprised. I see surprise at a CD all the time. I don’t assume the loan officer is to blame after watching people sign documents and not even glance at what they say. Who knows what they were told and didn’t listen to? Not me.
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Question regarding invoicing @johnsonps306 A lot of the time, I just receive payments without invoicing. Do you invoice for each job? Just curious if I should be. Sometimes if it runs closer to 45 days I reach out and give them an invoice and I typically collect pretty soon thereafter.
The only people I don’t invoice are Jot Bancserv Title 365. I even invoice signature Closers but probably don’t need to. And Mortgage Connect and Townsgate you use their templates and invoice on their schedule
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It is essential to clearly establish that our role as notaries is solely to provide the signing service, and we are not accountable for the loan closing itself. The application of trip fees and print fees is specifically intended for situations involving “no shows” or unforeseen cancellations that occur while I am already en route to the designated location to perform the service. Throughout my ten years of experience in this field, I have encountered comparable scenarios, and I consistently and firmly request full fee payment, particularly when there are disagreements regarding the agreed-upon terms. It is my standard practice to clearly communicate that I have fulfilled my contractual obligations, and therefore, payment is due as originally and mutually agreed upon.
Not to mention other jobs which you may have been able to fulfill for full price during the time slot allotted for the transaction that didn’t sign.
