Posted by LarryNY on 8/13/12 11:43am
Msg #430273

NNA membership required for assignment?

This was a first for me. I received a call from a signing company that I had never worked for with an assignment. She went throught all of their requirements and we stopped when she told me that NNA membership was a requirement to receive an assignement. I asked if experience counted for anything as I have closed over 500 loans. She told me that membership was a requirement that could not be offset by experience.

Reply by Lexie on 8/13/12 11:51am
Msg #430275

I have never heard that anywhere either. It would stop me since I don't make enough to pay extra dues that don't profit me a thing. LOL

Reply by WINotaryGal on 8/13/12 11:54am
Msg #430276

Companies that require NNA membership typically pay a very, very low fee to the notary.

Reply by dutchcloser on 8/13/12 11:57am
Msg #430277

I agree with the last two posters. I have a NNA membership that is expiring at the end of the month and I really don't see a reason to renew at this point. I have rec'v 2 signing request through them and the pay was extremely low and did not accept the signing.

Reply by desktopfull on 8/13/12 11:58am
Msg #430280

You are sooooo right! n/m

Reply by desktopfull on 8/13/12 11:57am
Msg #430278

Got one this weekend from a new company that not only wanted membership in the NNA, but also wanted you to have their "certification." I politely told them that wasn't going to happen and wished them success on their business venture.

Reply by docs1954CA on 8/13/12 11:57am
Msg #430279

Please share the company name with us Larry. n/m

Reply by Roadie_MD on 8/13/12 12:01pm
Msg #430281

Re: Please share the company name with us Larry.

Can't swear to it but sounds like the same "new signing co." mentioned in post from a day or two ago. That was another thing that put me off. Not interested in putting out money for background check, NNA memebership, etc. unless it GUARANTEES a volume of work. My experience is that they will still call without all that stuff if they have no notaries in your area. JMO.

Reply by desktopfull on 8/13/12 12:02pm
Msg #430282

Check your PM n/m

Reply by HisHughness on 8/13/12 12:10pm
Msg #430284

I think my response would have been ...

... that I don't work for signing services that are not paying members of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America. Membership in the SPEBQSA has about as much relevance to being a successful signing service as membership in NNA has to being a capable signing agent.

Reply by desktopfull on 8/13/12 12:14pm
Msg #430285

OMG! I have to agree with Hugh! Well said!!!! n/m

Reply by panotary1 on 8/13/12 12:23pm
Msg #430289

Re: I think my response would have been ...

I love this response!

Reply by MW/VA on 8/13/12 1:31pm
Msg #430308

LOL, Hugh. :-) Well said. n/m

Reply by bfnotary on 8/13/12 2:48pm
Msg #430316

Re: I think my response would have been ...

I work with one company that pays 100-125. They require NNA certification and background screening, So I did it. And I get so many signings from them. It made it worth the extra fee. But if for some reason, the calls drop back from them, I will not renew it. They are the only company i work with that requires it. But as of right now anyways, I will keep it only because of them, and the volume they give me. And the fact that they dont ever offer me less than 100, close to home signings.

Reply by ArtG/KS on 8/13/12 5:25pm
Msg #430343

Re: I think my response would have been ...

A great chuckle and so very true. Thanks for that one.

Reply by LarryNY on 8/13/12 12:16pm
Msg #430286

National Closing Solutions. Surprisingly a 4 star company.

Reply by Karla/OR on 8/13/12 12:19pm
Msg #430287

I hate being so skeptical (paranoid - call it what you may), but it makes me wonder if the NNA has tactics to try to retain members. Your call, Larry being a good example.

Is it possible the NNA people fabricate signings in order to call members near the time of renewal? I say that because my membership was up for renewal yesterday. I received two calls in the last two months where the caller is VERY specific to tell me that they got my name/number off the NNA site. I was not able to take the signings so no way to tell if they were for real or not. After I read Larry's post, it really made me start wondering.

BTW, I did not renew with NNA. It was a hard decision for me as I felt loyal to them because they lifted me off the ground initially with training and materials to start up. I used their 800 number only a handful of times.THEN I found Not/Rot and have been a loyal and grateful member since.

Reply by Yoli/CA on 8/13/12 1:09pm
Msg #430293

I work with a very well-respected SS, who pays very well. Most of their edocs come to me directly from the TC. Sometimes, I even deliver the completed package to the local TC office.

One Sunday, I get a call from EO I'd just completed signing for the previous day for the SS. She needs loan signed that day. SS is closed on weekends. I agree to do it provided it's billed thru SS as I don't want to usurp that relationship and I feel the SS and I have a mutual respect for one another. It's all good.

EO asks if I'm approved for Orange Coast Title. Nope. She emails me application. Well, seems I meet all requirements EXCEPT even though I'm certified, it's not through NNA. My background check is through Notary Rotary, not NNA. Sent her a detailed email explaining the differences and why I refuse to join NNA to get their certification and bgc. She understands and agrees with my stance. However, these are corporate's requirements. Last I heard, she was forwarding my protest/appeal to corporate.

Meanwhile, I'm still working with that wonderful SS!

Reply by MW/VA on 8/13/12 1:33pm
Msg #430309

Going back a while, XYZ did a good job of selling cos.

that they were the industry standard. I dealt with a few cos. that required their cert/bgc. I don't have anything to do with XYZ any longer, and wouldn't deal with any co. "requiring" that criteria. Obviously, XYZ is still doing a good job as "snake oil" salesmen. ;-) LOL

Reply by Les_CO on 8/13/12 2:20pm
Msg #430313

She was right about that…… an NNA certification certainly does not have anything to do with experience, or knowledge. JMO

Reply by bfnotary on 8/13/12 2:59pm
Msg #430319

I can tell you one thing, You are 100% correct about that. To be honest everything on NNA test, I already knew. When I am out in the field, I learn so much from the experience, Not from the basic stuff the NNA has. I learned 90% of the stuff I have learned, in the field. Experience is way better than some online test.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 8/13/12 3:08pm
Msg #430324

You want to know another big secret about that certification? You can earn it without even being a commissioned Notary. They don't even check to see if you're even commissioned as part of the BGC. I know of several people who obtained that certification while they were still waiting for their commission.

I've truly never understood how one could be certified as a Notary Signing Agent without actually holding a Notary commission.

Reply by MW/VA on 8/13/12 3:20pm
Msg #430330

"I've truly never understood how one could be certified as a

Notary Signing Agent without actually holding a Notary commission."
So much the credibility of the NNA or their certification. They don't even ask for proof of a commission in order to take the test. I'm sure they don't even say anywhere that a Commission is required for this work. Unsuspecting people might even think they're getting their commission from them. IMO they're snake oil salesmen.

Reply by NVLSlady/VA on 8/13/12 7:28pm
Msg #430353

Experience not counting?

[OP comments: "I asked if experience counted for anything as I have closed over 500 loans. She told me that membership was a requirement that could not be offset by experience."]

All I have to say is, "INCONCEIVABLE!" (don't you love that line)

I think I might be willing to purchase a "can" of certification "snake oil" for marketing tools maybe or to humor the SCs if it comforts them . . . but the VA RESA "requirement" for NSAs ( for hundreds of dollars) is where I get out of the "snake oil line"!
Oh well, you can't really blame the "statesmen" for lobbying vulnerable candidates? The thing is, in this "game" I don't know which is which???

Reply by MW/VA on 8/13/12 9:40pm
Msg #430359

Are you saying NNA offers CRESPA Certification for VA?

As far as I know, it's only available through the VA Bar Association. Yes, NNA is the one who has brought up the CRESPA issue from time to time. It is a TPL, and we are NOT required to have it as NSA's. The "handling funds" issue can be interpretted a couple of ways. We do not act as Settlement Agents, deposit funds, disburse, etc., which would require a TPL.

Reply by NVLSlady/VA on 8/14/12 9:46pm
Msg #430471

Re: Are you saying NNA offers CRESPA Certification for VA?

No - The "snake oil" is being offered freely by more than just NNA . . .
(My comment was VA RESA "requirement" [in quotes] for NSAs - that sadly, fellow notaries were touting as "necessary" for a VA notary to work). I guess they were using TPL Mandatory! cry to scare me away (I am aware that it is Not -- at least, not yet)!

As for companies insisting on "certification" above experience: Yes, sometimes it CAN separate the "men from the boys;" but, unfortunately, entities such as NNA are equipped to follow an industry standard level of certification. Those "in the trenches" know that following industry best practice may be somewhat different depending upon the state (commonwealth) you work in, AND for certification to be valid someone has to monitor whether it is kept updated (whether a check was handed out to somebody). THAT is what makes certification a joke (the barber quartet society posting was hilarious!) - Not the Certification in/of itself (whether association-provided or elsewhere).

Someone, somewhere just needs to educate the companies out there who "spec" their job requests with NNA-Certified vs. XYZ-Certified, BGC, height, weight, printer size (capacity), yahda yahda. I would be bold enough to say that 90% of the notaries here could easily offer "certification" based on all the training & experience you have AND have it state-endorsed.
You'd just have to attend enough State dinners/ Barber Quartet Society functions and bring a large enough check to have the BIG SC spokesmen use YOUR name in their specification/work contract!

Reply by JanetK_CA on 8/15/12 6:03pm
Msg #430594

Re: Experience not counting?

I soooo agree. I got an NNA certification ten years ago before I ever did my first signing. Several thousand signings later, I no longer have an active NNA certification. Does that mean I was better qualified back then than I am now???!!! I hardly think so...