Posted by njslim on 2/8/09 1:03pm
Msg #276879

signing service

With all I read on this site there seems to be issues with various signing services. My question is how does someone go about starting up such a business....

Reply by Patricia Manatt on 2/8/09 1:18pm
Msg #276880

use orange search button then enter message # 33325. That message is a "must read" for anyone getting into the business and don't be hurt but now is not the best time to jump into the signing agent business despite whomever may have lead you to believe so.

Reply by njslim on 2/8/09 1:31pm
Msg #276881

The signing company/service is contacted by the title company to do the closing. The signing company/service then contacts a notary to do the closing. The notary is paid by the signing company. My question is how does the signing service/company get formed into this business

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 2/8/09 3:48pm
Msg #276893

"My question is how does the signing service/company get formed into this business "

Hard work! Capital! Contacts! Database of EXPERIENCED signing agents whose work you can guarantee!

Reply by Lee/AR on 2/8/09 1:35pm
Msg #276882

If you're talking about opening a Signing Service--where you hire other notaries to do the work, you'd better have a lot of money in reserve before you even think about it. Most SS have the same problems we do (collecting from whomever hired them). Plus, while they usually pay for a no-sign, the TC generally does not, so you'll be paying the notary for some signings even tho' you didn't/won't get paid. As many have already gone down, this is not a place for someone who needs to ask how to start this business.

Reply by njslim on 2/8/09 1:45pm
Msg #276883

I am looking to invest/open in a signing service. I do agree with you that are deadbeat title companies as well as signing companies. I do have contact with several established title and mortgage companies.

Reply by desktopfull on 2/8/09 2:21pm
Msg #276887

RE: signing service

"...I do have contact with several established title and mortgage companies."


I did too, and one by one they started filing bankruptcy and I didn't get paid. Good luck, you're going to need it!

Reply by GA/Atty on 2/8/09 2:16pm
Msg #276884

You have to first establish a database of notaries

Then - once that is done - you have to try to get the TC's and lenders to use you.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 2/8/09 2:40pm
Msg #276889

Re: You have to first establish a database of notaries

and the only way to do that is to undercut all the other signing service fees each tc uses so the TC's will save money using you - and what comes next? - you pay notaries less because "you don't even charge your client that much"...

Reply by Les_CO on 2/8/09 2:19pm
Msg #276885

Re: signing service n/m

Reply by Les_CO on 2/8/09 2:20pm
Msg #276886

I’m sorry…but if you have to ask these questions you have no business trying to get into one of the most complex, and risky businesses on the entire planet.
First: you need a background in the Title business. Second: you need to know the Lending business. Third: you need to be well versed in all the various Federal, and State regulations that could affect ‘your’ signing business. Forth: you need to know the Notary regulations, rules, and law in all 50 States, and some in foreign countries. Fifth: You need to have done at least 500 closings yourself. Sixth: You need at least fifty thousand dollars in capital to start! Seventh: You need thousands of contacts in the title/lending business…..If you have all this you have a 10% chance of making it. If not you will become just another deadbeat.

Reply by desktopfull on 2/8/09 2:24pm
Msg #276888

Great response Les. n/m

Reply by njslim on 2/8/09 7:20pm
Msg #276896

Thanks for being honest. My request is sincere and I do have the contacts and no I am not a deadbeat. I am just looking to invest in a business that seems to asking for loyalty.

Reply by Roger_OH on 2/8/09 9:52pm
Msg #276901

Loyalty begins with your commitment to the notaries you hire.

Pay them fairly and in a timely manner, and you'll earn their loyalty. The NotRot forum is chock-full of signing services that didn't, and ended up on the ash heap.

Listen the to wisdom of Sylvia, a longtime SS owner who sets the gold standard, and emulate her.

Reply by Susan Fischer on 2/8/09 10:36pm
Msg #276902

There are many to emulate. Ocean Pacific, for another, just

another example.

Point is, if you can't guarantee your payables, you ain't ready.

Reply by njslim on 2/9/09 5:28am
Msg #276903

Re: There are many to emulate. Ocean Pacific, for another, just

I can guarntee my payables and I do know the importance in taking care of the notaries first and foremost since without them you have nothing.

Reply by MW/VA on 2/9/09 8:00am
Msg #276904

Re: There are many to emulate. Ocean Pacific, for another, just

That's the right attitude. After all, ss are middle-men, and sometimes they are there to skim the monies we notaries work very hard to make. Mutual respect is a key. Also, if you are knowledgeable about this business you will hire only top-notch notaries and pay a decent fee.
I detect the ss that go "shopping" for the cheapest notary so they can make a bigger profit.
They usually get what they pay for. I heard a story recently of a notary that had printed docs on "waxed" paper, and everything had smeared.
There are some very professional ss out there, and I enjoy the positive relationship we have.
There are also a lot of companies that I wouldn't work with in a million years.
Reputation is everything in this business, whether you are an ss or a notary.

Reply by Dorothy_MI on 2/9/09 8:23am
Msg #276906

I can not think of a reputable SS that didn't

start out, out here in the trenches. Someone mentioned having completed a minimum of 500 signings you've personally completed before even thinking about starting your own SS. I've been doing this for over 7 years, stopped counting after I reached 3500 a few years ago and I still run across something that I've never seen before. If you have the experience, contacts and capital (and dedicated to paying in a timely fashion - 15 - 30 days), then I'm sure there are a number of very qualified notaries who will be willing to give you a shot. "Burn me once, shame on you, Burn me twice, shame on me".

Reply by njslim on 2/9/09 11:30am
Msg #276914

Re: I can not think of a reputable SS that didn't

I would without hestitation and being upfront would pay in 30 days. No more no less.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 2/9/09 12:11pm
Msg #276916

Re: I can not think of a reputable SS that didn't

I started out "in the trenches" Dorothy - as you probably know
After several years as a signing agent I started my signing service in 2003. In the beginning I used to pay every Saturday (if you did a signing that week, the check went out on Saturday).
In 2006, after being hospitalized, I decided that I needed to pay my signing agents as soon as they completed the signing. So, the check goes in the mail the morning after the signing. As I, as the signing service, am responsible for paying the signing agent whether I get paid by the title company or not, then it seems reasonable to send the check out immediately following the signing. Having worked both sides of the business I don't see any valid reason the signing agent should not get paid right away.

Reply by njslim on 2/9/09 11:28am
Msg #276912

Re: There are many to emulate. Ocean Pacific, for another, just

I'm a firm believer in you pay for what you get. Therefore, lowballing any notary would be out of the question.

Reply by Cari on 2/9/09 11:31am
Msg #276915

good luck njslim....let me know if you....

need help from Chitown!

Reply by njslim on 2/9/09 2:54pm
Msg #276924

Re: good luck njslim....let me know if you....

I will definitely let you know when and if this becomes a reality

Reply by CaliNotary on 2/10/09 12:18am
Msg #276988

"I am just looking to invest in a business that seems to asking for loyalty."

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. We heard the same thing from Andy Le when he decided to start a signing service, he swore up and down how he was going to do things differently and to the benefit of the notaries he used. Then reality set in, his payments got slower and slower, then he suddenly disappeared off of the face of the earth, screwing over a bunch of notaries in the process.

This would be an idiotic time to start a signing service. While things are slowly getting better, the industry is still a disaster, why on earth would you want to invest your time and money into something that has devastated so many people financially already?

Reply by njslim on 2/10/09 6:05am
Msg #276991

I agree with you that this may not be the best of times. However when investing sometimes the worse times for most can be the best for others. I understand what you are saying however the difference depends on your client base. I believe I have a limited but a financially secure client base. I don't forsee them bellying up to soon.

Reply by CaliNotary on 2/10/09 5:59pm
Msg #277100

"However when investing sometimes the worse times for most can be the best for others"

Yes, but it's not the best of times when someone is trying to do the same thing that has caused it to be the worst of times for others. The collapse of the real estate market created a great investment opportunity for buyers. What you're doing is akin to seeing what's been going on the past year and saying "hey, this is a great time to become a real estate lender!".

Put it on the back burner and revisit the idea in a year.