Posted by Jenny/CA on 7/21/05 6:18pm
Msg #53730

Bilingual signing fees

I am wondering for those of you that speak another language besides english, is it acceptable to charge extra if doing a signing in another language? I speak Spanish.

Reply by CaSigner on 7/21/05 6:20pm
Msg #53733

So do I, and I never charge extra. I think that would be disciminatory (in my opinion).

Reply by Calnotary on 7/21/05 6:41pm
Msg #53739

I also speak Spanish, and it takes me a little longer in every signing, I dont know why. I dont charge extra. Where are you located?

Reply by calipat/ca on 7/21/05 7:04pm
Msg #53743

I also speak spanish. Takes the same amont of time. I do not charge extra.

Reply by Jenny/CA on 7/21/05 7:10pm
Msg #53746

Fresno, CA.
It does take longer. Perhaps it's because most people can usually read the titles or info on the docs. For a second language the titles have to be read and translated in to their language.

Reply by Ted_MI on 7/21/05 9:59pm
Msg #53772

Hi Jenny,

I have done two or three signings in Spanish. And yes they do take longer. But then one of the ones I did was an Ameriquest; I had to translate all those questions on the information sheet. Boy was that a pain !! I really didn't charge enough - not so much because it was in Spanish, but because it was an Ameriquest loan.

I picked up a new phrase in mortgage lingo , I guess. An affidavit is a "declaracion jurada " by the way. Interestingly enough I was doing a signing with a Korean couple. They spoke excellent English, but she did look that word up in her Korean dictionary.

Reply by Jenny/CA on 7/21/05 10:24pm
Msg #53781

I admit my Spanish is not as good as my English , that would have been pretty hard for me.

I have a tip for you and the other gals that answered my post. If you don't already know
this ,there is a Spanish/ English glossary that has most of the loan/real estate vocabulary ready to print. Don't know all the terrminology but I intend to take the glossary with me when I need it.

I spent many hours researching this I hope that every one that is interested in it likes it. :-)

www.realestateespanol.com

Reply by JanetK/CA on 7/21/05 11:54pm
Msg #53806

I've done quite a few in Spanish and I, too, find that they sometimes do take longer, depending on the sophistication and literacy levels of the borrowers. I didn't used to charge extra, but have done so on occasion, depending on the circumstances, more recently, as I've gotten better clients and a fuller schedule. Also, I guess I feel a bit more of an obligation to be thorough in introducing the docs for a borrower who can't read what they are signing. And, on average, non-English speaking borrowers seem to be less likely to be involved in work where they are familiar with forms and lots of paperwork because of the language barrier. I've done several for people who can barely write their name and those seem to take forever. The very worst ones are where it looks like they may have been taken advantage of by a predatory lender and I have to hold my tongue! Fortunately, I haven't been doing too many of those any more!

BTW, the website you listed looks interesting. I'm looking forward to checking it out. Thanks for posting the url.

Reply by Jenny/CA on 7/22/05 1:48am
Msg #53816

Janet,
you are right about everything you said. I went on a "ride along" tonight and it was shameful to see how the borrowers were beign taken advantage of. They did depend on and trust the SA to tell them everything on the forms. She said the same thing you did, knowing what she does and having to hold her toungue.

After seeing that I don't think I can charge extra knowing it comes out of their pockets on top of the horrific fees/interest they are paying.

Reply by JanetK/CA on 7/22/05 2:49am
Msg #53819

Awesome site! Thanks again...

...for posting the info. I checked out the realestateespanol.com site and was *very* impressed. It's the most comprehensive I've seen, and I like the way the glossaries are in both English and Spanish, side by side. From the little bit I looked at, there's explanations of many terms available in either or both languages that would be useful for anyone, especially new people.

Re: your comments above... First, we always have to keep in mind that we don't know what their financial situation is, including their credit score, etc. That will have a big effect on the loan terms. Also, I eventually had to ask myself why I am in business - and that is to make a profit. Personally, I do plenty of other charity work and don't care to put my business into that category, so I'm not interested in giving away my time. I'm not saying that I will always charge extra in future, just that I try to carefully evaluate each potential Spanish assignment as it comes up and decide whether or not it's worth it to me.

Reply by BrendaTX on 7/22/05 2:50am
Msg #53820

Re: Bilingual signing fees - Jenny

THANK YOU! I am working on learning Spanish in the car/tapes. THIS is exactly what I needed.

Reply by Liz on 7/22/05 9:52am
Msg #53859

Re: Bilingual signing fees - Jenny

Hi guys!

Yes, I am a signing service, and I do think you should get paid more for bilingual. You don't have to just SPEAK spanish, you have to take the time to interpret the docs. It seems that these signings take longer, and are a little more involved. You are offering an additional service.

Reply by Jenny/CA on 7/22/05 10:02am
Msg #53862

Re: Bilingual signing fees - Jenny

Plenty to think about, it's great to know the perspective of others.

I am so glad you gals/guys like thewww.realestateespanol.com web site. As some one new to the signings it's fun for me to post something that will help others. I found it by mistake while looking for sample of docs.

Brenda, I think they are located in Texas.

Reply by Ted_MI on 7/22/05 1:46pm
Msg #53922

Re: Bilingual signing fees - Jenny

Brenda,

I do that all the time - (listen to Spanish CD's in the car). I just drove over across the state (of Michigan) to lake Michigan where my folks have a cottage last night, a three hour drive and listen to cd's the entire way. This was not so much in an effort to learn Spanish but to keep it up.

By the way, so far I havehad three signings in Spanish. Two of which were totally in Spanish and the third partially as the daughter of the borrower was there and she was bilingual. And the ones that were totally in Spanish were a first and a second and then an Ameriquest. WOW - very tiring !!

Reply by Claudia_NJ on 7/22/05 10:17am
Msg #53866

I always charge a premium....

for a foreign language closing. they take longer and after all it is a commodity.

If they can find someone else in the area that can speak Spanish/Portuguese/Italian/French that is willing to do it for less than me please go ahead and hire them.

The borrowers are usually more worried about the loan and concerned with what they are signing because they do not speak the language and are often preyed upon by "con" artists - I mena LO's - sorry Freudian slip.... They ask many more questions and very often need the documents explained in a much more detail.

Just what I do