Posted by NJW/FL on 1/24/11 4:26pm
Msg #369919

curious??

What do you accept as fees when you confirm the signing, print the docs, make the trip then the borrower has questions you cannot answer so they call the lender, the lender rep is not available so they leave a message and will not sign even after you explain the rtc. Another situation, was that the borrower decided to set the signing up at the local branch of the lender and not call me to let me know, after I had confirmed. Wife pulling out of the driveway when I get there and tells me the husband is at the bank signing documents instead. The title company knew nothing about this change and assured me I would get full fee. I am just curious how this goes for everyone else.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 1/24/11 4:34pm
Msg #369921

Situation #1 - I charge half of the agreed fee for no-signs - sometimes a bit more if I'm at the table for any length of time trying to iron out "issues"...

Situation #2 - "...the husband is at the bank signing documents instead. The title company knew nothing about this change..."

How did he get the documents without title knowing, assuming you drove up with them...now *I'M* curious..never had that happen, by the way.

Reply by trnsa_IL on 1/24/11 4:42pm
Msg #369923

Linda, I have just had the situation where I picked up docs, lender and title, at the title company, drove to the bank for the closing, and arrived early to find the LO half way through his own set of docs. He motioned for me to sit and when he was finished I went through the title docs, and fifteen minutes later I was done! Let title know he closed his own loan and off I went. I did not double check his work, I just turned it in as is. Paid full fee.

Reply by NJW/FL on 1/24/11 4:47pm
Msg #369925

All I can figure is that the lender sent the local branch the documents and never notified title company. In fact, the title company employee in charge of the documents phoned me to make sure I was at the signing that a.m. and I told him I had already called and told another title company employee what had happened. He was baffled himself. The other problem that would have arisen is the fact that the wife was not with him and it was there homestead property. She was not on her way there when I pulled up. She was told she wasn't needed and her name was on the spousal docs. Go figure......

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 1/24/11 6:06pm
Msg #369937

Ouch...will you be available for the re-sign??..LOL n/m

Reply by NJW/FL on 1/25/11 9:06am
Msg #369985

Re: Ouch...will you be available for the re-sign??..LOL

Thanks for the humor. I love that!

Reply by A S Johnson on 1/24/11 4:43pm
Msg #369924

You ran into a question that you could not/should not answer. They tried to get it answered, but no one was thier to answer. You made the Br aware of the RTC which they would not accept.
Call who assigned the job from the signing table for instructions. If you can not get them, leave a message on thier VM, "fold you tent" and leave.
This re-sign appointment is up to the lender/title/escrow/SS not you.
If Fl is like Tx, the docs are date senstive, MUST be sign the date they are dated, would need to be re-drawn.
For me this happens with BoA, Wells Fargo, CitiBank or other bank loans and it was reset at one of thier branchs.

Reply by NJW/FL on 1/24/11 4:48pm
Msg #369926

ASJ I did all of that. My questioning was on fees, not how to handle the signing.

Reply by A S Johnson on 1/24/11 4:58pm
Msg #369932

Sorry misunderstood.
I've been around 11 yrs so if the assignment is from a SS I don't know, that is one of the question I ask.
The answer is "we pay full fee". If they don't want to agree to that, then I don't need to take that chance.
I am a Notary, a dis-interested third party. Once I have the docs and have meet with the Br, paymnet of my agree fee can not be if the loan is completed.

Reply by NJW/FL on 1/24/11 5:31pm
Msg #369934

Agree with you on that. This title company has always paid my full fee when that has happened in the past, but now I am fighting for it. The closing agent has to submit approval which each one of them told me they did. I have done work for them for over 6 years and never had this problem. They are a major title company. This is just so frustrating to me as I cannot control that outcome.

Reply by CF on 1/24/11 6:41pm
Msg #369939

If this is a company that you have worked for many time

then "take one for team". Why argue over 1 assignment when you have a long history of payment? It does not make sense for you to ruin your relationship with them over this. JMO

Also, you did not start out your questioning telling us that you were now fighting for your fee. You win some you loose some....do you want to be there "go to" person....then move on from it. No it is not right or just....just the way things go from time to time.

Reply by NJW/FL on 1/25/11 9:04am
Msg #369984

Re: If this is a company that you have worked for many time

It is for three different signings. That is the problem. One in October, one in November, and one in December. One time I would have let ride, but it may indicate a direction they are taking. It is also a matter of people keeping their word. Three different people. I hope it will all be ironed out. I am one to give people the benefit of the doubt, but I was instructed on what to do to make it okay and I followed those instructions only to not get the pay I was promised. I have had a long relationship with this company that has been beneficial to both of us. Just worried about the trend and wanted input on fees that other notaries agree to concerning this situation.

Reply by CopperheadVA on 1/25/11 10:45am
Msg #369995

Re: If this is a company that you have worked for many time

There is a company that I used to work with that I did a fair amount of work for over a two year period. They certainly were not keeping me super busy but they would call several times a month. I used to go everywhere for them, but they would not pay a travel fee. I took the farther-away jobs just to keep busy. They paid my minimum fee and would never go higher. The packages were always large, with 20 pages of title docs and about 30 pages of broker docs in addition to the lender package. So at least 150 pages every time. One positive - my name was on the HUD and they paid at funding.

However, the docs were always late, with frantic multiple emails with multiple attachments at the last minute. Every time. The docs did not seem to be checked, because I found quite a few errors which I would bring to their attention (such as wife's name on title docs but on none of the lender docs - not on DOT, TIL, RTC). Then I had a couple of situations where I really began to feel taken advantage of. One in particular I felt completely sandbagged and the closing took three hours. I ended up limiting my travel area for them after that one, but the problems continued.

Bottom line, there were three files that I did not get paid on - none of which were my fault. One was a no-sign, with me reprinting revised docs which then got called off by the borrower, and then a successful resign with a third set of docs. I got paid one regular fee for that one. The second one was a completely signed and notarized package, and then the lender pulled the loan before funding because they did an employment verification check and discovered that the borrower had changed jobs without telling them. I did not get paid on that one. The third was a fully signed and notarized package and the borrower rescinded because he was not happy with one of the broker docs (and I remember that we had spent 25 minutes on that one doc and with calling his loan officer - I was at the appointment for at least 2 hours).

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. I had been a team player up until then, but they didn't pay a high enough fee to absorb all the hits. And there were plenty of other screwy situations with them that ended up in successful closings, but after the three no-pays I was done with them and let them know that I could no longer work with them until they changed their no-pay policy. That was August 2009.

So NJW, you will have to weigh everything and decide how to proceed. I hated to lose a client, but I just got to the point where I was not going to allow myself to be taken advantage of by this particular company any more. The good news: I have survived and have gotten some other really good clients and I don't miss that other company one bit!!!

Reply by NJW/FL on 1/25/11 4:10pm
Msg #370049

Re: If this is a company that you have worked for many time

Thank you for your input, Copperhead. I will see how they respond to this latest situation and base it on that. I am hoping it will all get taken care of and we can continue with a good relationship. We will see.......

Reply by NJW/FL on 1/24/11 4:51pm
Msg #369930

ASJ I did not want that reply to sound rude, hope it doesn't n/m