Posted by Victor Cardi on 1/22/11 6:10pm
Msg #369660

Wells Fargo Called close to home. what do i charge

HI ROOM!!! NEWBIE HERE!!! Just got my Stamp and swore my oath Wed. I filed me fictious business statement and got a call from a wells Fargo close to my house... I have my home and cono notes thru them so they wanted to help with a business account. He then mentioned that they need a mobil notary to help out...what do i charge for doing a loan signing if its about 4 miles away and i want the business... help help help

Reply by JanetK_CA on 1/22/11 6:45pm
Msg #369662

First of all, do you know anything about loan signing beyond having signed your own papers? There's a lot more to it than just having done your own loans through them. It's very different being on the other side of the table.

Reply by Victor Cardi on 1/22/11 6:56pm
Msg #369663

Everybody starts out that way. I was just wondering what do i charge them when they call me for a loan signing...........

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 1/22/11 7:15pm
Msg #369666

"Everybody starts out that way"

No they don't - now...what experience do you have with loan signings?

Reply by Frenchie/TN on 1/22/11 8:29pm
Msg #369677

I am not trying to be negative here but please Victor, before you push the "post" button, re-read what you typed, correct your typos and spelling mistakes, then and only then, hit the "post" button. Signing companies read these posts and you do want to be professional in your posts and not come across as an ignoramus. As far as what to charge, you need a business plan: how much does it cost you to drive your car (gas, oil changes, depreciation etc...IRS says .50c/mile), operate your equipment (toner, wear and tear on your printer), what do you spend on paper and assorted office supplies, your costs for insurance, memberships, web site if you have one and finally, how much is your time worth once these other costs are taken into consideration. Good luck to you in this new venture.

Reply by Victor Cardi on 1/22/11 8:57pm
Msg #369680

Frenchie T/N
Thanks for the Tips!! Sorry about the typos!!
I have not done any loans yet. I just got my seal and swore my oath Wed....I am just trying to figure out what to charge. The class I took said not to underprice yourself. What do you charge to go to a Bank to sign loan docs? Thanks for all your reply's!! VICTOR

Reply by JanetK_CA on 1/22/11 11:00pm
Msg #369689

What we're wondering is if you have taken additional training - unless you have a strong background in the industry and you already know about loan docs. If you had, however, I suspect you would have mentioned that, instead of just the fact that you've done your personal loans with WF. Think about this: you will have someone else's transaction in your hands, with a great deal of money at risk. If something doesn't get handled right, it could be very costly to everyone involved - including you.

No offense, but your posts gave the impression that you don't really yet have a full grasp of what is involved. Until you have that part down, there's no point even discussing how much to charge.

BTW, on another note, you should also be sure that you've re-studied the Notary Handbook issued by the SOS office and that you know it backwards and forwards. Passing the exam is not nearly enough. A loan signing should NOT be the thing you cut your teeth on as a new notary. I'm sorry if this sounds a bit brusque, but some of us who have been in this business for a long time have seen this business change - and not for the better - in part because of people who get in over their heads and mess things up.

Reply by MistarellaFL on 1/23/11 12:03am
Msg #369691

Are you assuming this is a loan signing?

Banks call me all the time for work that is NOT related to loans.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 1/23/11 12:06am
Msg #369692

Re: Are you assuming this is a loan signing?

He asked how much to charge for doing a loan signing, so yes, that was my assumption. If not, hopefully he would know to charge the state allotted fees.

Reply by Cari on 1/23/11 1:20pm
Msg #369753

Google your Notary or Loan Signing Agent and your zip...

check out your local competition in your area, and town...some post their prices....and take Frenchie's advice....figure your expenses FIRST, then your time, per hour, then driving time to and from....

Search using the orange button here, NSA fees or something similiar...read all of the posts!

Reply by Scriba/NM on 1/23/11 1:15am
Msg #369697

Hi Victor - If you are looking for advice or help, you are looking on the wrong place. The purpose of this "forum" if you will, is to belittle new notaries and wander as far as possible from your original question. You are asking about fees, so you get as a response, complaints about your typing which is typical, along with a myriad of other unwanted and unnecessary comments that do not even pertain to your question.
If you review many of the responses to the various questions posed by (quite often) new members, you will clearly see the superior attitude on display, along with snippy and derogatory responses to their questions. I work directly for Wells Fargo - you can PM me if you like regarding your question.

Reply by janCA on 1/23/11 10:37am
Msg #369726

Ralph, Everyone is being honest here.

So many times when someone jumps into this business they have not done their research on what is actually involved. I agree that the dialogue could be toned down, but it is what it is. I would not want Victor hired to be the SA for MY loan. It is evident, he has had no training whatsoever with loan documents. And for Wells Fargo to even consider someone that not only just received their notary commission, but more than likely has no experience presenting loan docs, is it because they know they'll be able to pay him a paltry (sp) amount; do they even care how this will reflect on them, or do they want just a "point and sign notary"? Victor, please get some educational material on loan signing. NR sells an excellent course. Go back to the beginning of this forum and read it up to the present. That should at least give you some perspective on what this adventure you're about to begin, is all about. I wish you all the luck in the world and believe me, everyone on this forum wants you to succeed in this business because it makes us all look good.

Reply by Scriba/NM on 1/23/11 1:09pm
Msg #369748

Re: Ralph, Everyone is being honest here.

I have received an avalanche of email and PM's from notaries echoing my previous thoughts. Sure Victor is new, and somehow, some here perceive him as less than human, or anyone for that matter who broaches a question. "Aha! Let's not answer the question, let's castigate him/or her instead and send them references to some archaiac message # that talked about the subject previously......we'll show him!" "We're smart, we research things and we know stuff - Ha! - let's make 'em feel dumb!"

All that does is inhibit people from posting anymore. Maybe that's what is actually desired here. A little private message board for the so-called experts. I've only been a NotRot member since I joined in late 2003 and I can only say that this board used to be useful and helpful - it was a kinder and gentler place to go where notaries could go and get assistance from others. But not anymore.

As to Victor's inexperience, yes, I agree - sure he needs more training and general grounding. It would help to point him in the right direction - without all of the added (and unwanted) invective. I think Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote something to the effect: "Life be not so short, but there is always time for courtesy." Something sorely lacking here.

Reply by upnorth/AK on 1/23/11 1:36pm
Msg #369756

Amen Scriba/NM

We all had to start somewhere and I thought this web site was a place to get help. Silly me.

Reply by aries/CA on 1/23/11 1:43pm
Msg #369758

Re: Amen Scriba/NM

I agree with Scriba. "We all had to start somewhere". Now that we have knowledge, why not give to others and guide them.

Reply by kathy/ca on 1/23/11 3:50pm
Msg #369767

Amen Scriba! n/m

Reply by HisHughness on 1/23/11 3:18pm
Msg #369763

Re: Ralph, Everyone is being honest here.

***All that does is inhibit people from posting anymore.***

I would not have a problem with that. As I stated in another post, I come to NotRot to learn from the experience of other professionals, and in return I contribute to those professionals from my experience.

I do not wish to see the forum clogged with posts from notaries who have had a seal for 24 hours and are asking how to send an invoice, and other such basics not just of signing agentry, but of the very fundamentals of running a business. The value of the forum is severely diminished for me if I have to wade through mounds of that sort of trivializing material to get to something of value.

There must be other Internet venues where beginners can go to find out how to be a notary public. You know, things like the difference between letter size and legal size paper, which end of a ballpoint the borrower signs with, and what side of the road to drive on when they're going to an assignment.

I would suggest some site maintained by an organization, like the NNA, that offers training, since the questions propounded by this poster quite clearly indicate he/she is still in training, seal in hand or not. I'm not in the business of training people, and I'm not interested in spending my time doing it on NotRot.

You, of course, have the right to regard that attitude as discourteous. And I have the right to suggest that if you are that concerned about trying to teach people who are totally clueless about how to conduct the business they have selected for their livelihood, you consider just establishing a direct connection with them. That way, they get trained, you get to fulfill all those good instincts you have to be a Good Samaritan, and I don't have to spend time on the process.

Isn't it wonderful when everything comes together?

Reply by upnorth/AK on 1/23/11 3:33pm
Msg #369764

One can only hope that you give your borrowers who normally

know very little about what they are signing more courtesy than you do the newcomers to the profession on this site. Shouldn't borrowers know the ins and outs of what they are doing before they show up for a signing? And yet most of the time they have no clue. Just because the poster asked about billing, doesn't mean he doesn't know about how to run a business. I took his question to mean does he have to bill or do the companies that hire him keep track of what jobs he has done and pay accordingly. Obviously he needs to keep his own records, but why assume he doesn't know how to run a business, hold a pen the right way, or which side of the road to drive on? I might suggest that if you don't want to read through stuff that isn't up to your superior level of knowledge, that you create your own web site for those in your elite group? Or, lacking that, don't read the threads on topics that are beneath your high intelligence. There are certainly plenty of us glean information and reminders from even the basic questions and answers and if we choose not to get involved in something, we don't.

MHO

Reply by janCA on 1/23/11 3:58pm
Msg #369768

upnorth, Hugh has probably forgotten more than you know.

Reread Victor's post, he has never done a signing. The borrowers knowing or not knowing what they are signing is beside the point. The SA IS getting paid to know these documents and be able to point out vital information to the borrower, among other things.

As an aside, you have to know Hugh's humor and wit. I read all his posts because not only is he a very intelligent man, but he just "kwacks" me up. Sometimes I have to pick myself up off the floor.

Reply by upnorth/AK on 1/23/11 4:01pm
Msg #369769

There is that superior attitude again,

thanks for contributing.

Reply by HisHughness on 1/23/11 4:22pm
Msg #369774

Re: upnorth, Hugh has probably forgotten more than you know.

***Sometimes I have to pick myself up off the floor.***

Wouldn't happen, Jan, if you'd just lay off the sauce.

Reply by janCA on 1/23/11 4:28pm
Msg #369778

Mixed with your humor, Hugh, you're probably right. n/m

Reply by JanetK_CA on 1/23/11 9:48pm
Msg #369797

I can't speak for anyone else, but my intent was not to belittle Victor or anyone else, but to express a concern for the borrowers. I've been in this business long enough myself to have seen multiple consequences from new people jumping in before properly preparing themselves. It reflects poorly upon all of us and, as I said, can have serious, costly consequences for all parties involved. It seemed to me (and apparently others) that he was not taking this work as seriously as warranted.

Like most people, I didn't start in this business as an expert, but I made sure to invest time and effort in at least getting some basic training and preparing myself as best I could before I ventured out to do my first signing. I don't think any of us would want to hire a person to install brakes on our car, for example, who had just received his driver's license and decided he wanted to be a mechanic. That may be a somewhat extreme example, but I don't think it's all that far off the mark.

As for the purpose of this forum, I have no idea how long you've been coming here and I'm not even going to comment on your remarks. However, at the very top of this page, it describes this place as the "Premier Web Site for Professional Notaries", not for newbies to bring all their questions for which they were too lazy to do even basic research on their own. For many, many years now we've been seeing the same questions asked over and over and over again by new people. That's why there's a search button and why many here have collaborated to put together the famous "message # 33325". Lots of time and effort went into compiling that over the years. The information is there free for the taking, so patience tends to run thin when people can't even be bothered to look.

Conversely, we have seen a fair number of "newbies" with good attitudes come here and at least try to find the information on their own. They've shown at least some effort and have displayed a sincere desire to do the best they can with where they are and to learn and grow. I've seen many of those folks warmly welcomed here. And their questions invariably get quick, thorough answers.

Finally, lots of times, this so-called "superior attitude" you describe depends on how you read the posts. I've seen people get defensive about statements that I didn't read that way at all and sometimes people get upset if someone just disagrees with them, regardless of how it's done. But we obviously don't walk on eggshells here. Most of us assume we're all grown-ups and just make our points.

However, I'm not blind or naive enough to not notice that there are some who feel the need to throw in a zinger or personal insult along with their comments. Personally, I don't feel that that ever enhances whatever point a person is trying to make and I TRY to avoid that. But as I've said before, I've learned some of my best lessons here by getting wire-brushed after a post. If that happens, I just recommend that people develop a thick skin, learn what they can, and move on. (And if it's just useless invective, ignore it and move on!) jmho.