Posted by Gigi/CA on 4/4/07 8:08pm
Msg #183758

Nations Direct Recruting in my area for $40.00

anyone get a call from Nations Direct wanting your profile? Fast talkin Jamal wants to pay $40.00 for overnite docs and $60.00 for email. Please just say no to $40.00 dollar offers.
They are apparently low balling the loan companies charging $100.00 for all loan closings. JERKS

Reply by Rhonda Skansi on 4/4/07 8:11pm
Msg #183759

and the $60 ones. n/m

Reply by Linda Juenger on 4/4/07 8:30pm
Msg #183764

They called me last week and only wanted to pay $30 because it was only 4 miles. I politely said No thank you and hit end button.

Reply by JanetLA on 4/4/07 9:16pm
Msg #183769

for $40.00 and you only have to wait 60 days +for payment

This company is famous for low pay. They are also very demanding and want you to call them when you get to the signing, call them with the witness names and then fax backs plus more. What a joke. I have no interest in all of this work for such low fees. And to add insult to injury, they are slow slow slow to pay... I guess they do need to check up on the notary who will do all this work for such a low rate... I have a friend that is new to the business and she has made the error in judgement to accept $60 signings from these folks and is still waiting on her money. You should all say NO to stop this company from this insulting pay scale.

Reply by ZeeCA on 4/4/07 9:44pm
Msg #183773

they have to be overly involved w/ the notary as they only

can get newbies....

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 4/4/07 10:32pm
Msg #183778

They were offering me $65 for e-docs last year!!...Some things never change..

Reply by JanetK_CA on 4/5/07 12:10am
Msg #183782

Some perspective for newbies

Amen to that!!! Since I just spent a record $ amount at the gas pump today, I thought it might be interesting to put some numbers to this. If you have an assignment that is, let's say 30 miles round trip and you're fortunate enough to get 20 mpg, in CA it's going to cost you about $5.00 just for the gas. (In my area, it's darn near $3.40/gal. and rising.) That brings your fee down to $35.00, right off the top.

For the moment, let's ignore all overhead (like taxes - including SE tax, phone, car depreciation and maintenance, insurance (auto, E&O, healthcare), pc and printer depreciation, supplies, misc. services like internet access, cell phone usage, utilities, fax service, advertising, business cards and promotional materials, directory listings, websites, etc., etc.) And if we assume roughly 1 hour travel time, 1 hour signing time (rt) and about 30 minutes for admin (printing directions, scheduling, answering a gazillion phone calls to check on you, re-scheduling, invoicing, returning docs, trying to collect your fee when it becomes past due - what else am I forgetting?), that comes to 2.5 hours. That's probably in the ballpark, especially when you're new (and easy to calculate...) Divide your $35 remaining fee (remember, all we subtracted was gas for the car), and your GROSS profit was only $14/hour.

Now, try to put on a business owner hat. At your job, the company pays your benefits (including 1/2 social security tax), pays for your supplies, provides you with a place to work, and takes on the liability for any mistakes you might make. As an independent contractor/business owner, you are responsible for all these things on your own. Have you calculated what your overhead is costing you? I'm sure I've left out some things, but this has been covered on this site a bajillion times. After you calculate your overhead costs, you'll have a better idea of whether or not you are even making a profit at the rate of $40 per assignment. I think you'll find that you couldn't stay in business at that rate. And if you have another job, does it make sense for your other work to subsidize your notary work? I don't know about you, but when I do non-profit/charity work, I want to make sure it is for a worthy cause, not someone else's personal profit!

Why do companies offer such absurdly low fees? Because they can. Because they are looking for ways to cut corners as business volume is dropping. Because they don't want to reduce their OWN personal/company salaries and benefits. Because they'd rather not have to lay off employees, even though they may not need as many anymore. Again, because they CAN - but only as long as they can find independent contractors who don't know any better and are willing to work for next to nothing. What is YOUR time worth?

That's just my 2 cents.

Reply by Andrew Webster on 4/5/07 12:53am
Msg #183783

Re: Some perspective for newbies

Excellent points all the way through...but if you're "fortunate" to get 20 mpg...perhaps you need a different vehicle.

Reply by John_NorCal on 4/5/07 11:57am
Msg #183800

Excellent points made by Janet, but Andrew......

think about it.... if a new car is needed as you suggest, the $40.00-$60.00 signings won't help you buy one.

Not saying that you support those low ball signings, just responding to your suggestion.

Reply by BetsyMI on 4/5/07 10:52am
Msg #183785

Re: Some perspective for newbies

In addition, the companies that hire notaries do not pay any overhead for an office in the borrower's city...so they are saving on things like rent, electricity, gas, water, desks, computers, phones, etc. by having you go to the borrower's home. Sending a notary out for $100 or so instead of paying costs to maintain an office in every city sounds like a deal to me.

Reply by Judy Bobbitt on 4/5/07 7:43pm
Msg #183874

Re: Some perspective for newbies

Your message is awsome. If everyone would turn down these cheap o's then we wouldn't have to haggle over our fee. I never leave my house anymore for less than $100.00 and most times I get more. I stay busy too.

Reply by Terri/Fl on 4/5/07 1:33pm
Msg #183820

STRANGULATION.......Nations Direct!!!

Let me paint a clear picture about closing loans for Nations Direct. Not only will they pay insulting low fees but they will also STRANGULATE you with never-ending phone calls. Usually 12 to 15 calls per closing. In other words they ........RUN UP CELL PHONE BILLS! I believe the office people at Nations Direct to not speak to one another and they do not add information into their computer system. Instead of asking a coworker a question about a closing they will call you. It is non stop phone calls. Babysitting......no stangulation. After all that you get to fax in 20 pages and must wait for approval before you can ship the docs. Drives me nuts! Its been years and years since I closed a loan for Nations Direct and to this day I sometimes get phone calls for closings......my response is "I don't do $40.00 closings!" Their constant nagging isn't worth it......maybe for a couple hundred plus......but we all know that is wishing thinking and will never happen. Basically because they are too cheap and GREEDY! After all your expenses you'll be lucky to clear $10.00. Good luck running a business on that amount!

Reply by cara on 4/5/07 2:42pm
Msg #183832

Re: STRANGULATION.......Nations Direct!!!

Agreed. It has been a long time since I worked for these folks since it is rare that they will meet my price and yes, their many phone calls were very annoying and distracting. I remember that after about 2-3 interruptions during one assignment (they called as I was driving to the address, they called as I was unloading my gear in front of the BOs home and they called soon after I had started having the docs signed.) I explained (through clenched teeth) that I was never going to get finished unless they stopped calling and that I was going to turn off my phone (I only turned off the ringer) to expedite the completion. I reported my completion of the assignment by text msg!

If you work for them, you must be assertive about YOUR ground rules: price, no telephone interruptions, etc. I have no problem texting that I have arrived at the assignment or that I have completed.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 4/5/07 7:02pm
Msg #183869

Re: STRANGULATION.......Nations Direct!!!

I thought I was estimating high with 30 minutes of admin time... sounds like that isn't enough!!