That's the thrust of my comments in this whole discourse. You just simply say "NO"! You tell them what your fees are & stick to them. As far as a list of expenses, they're endless with some not so easy to discern & I'm only going to focus on one...TIME. The amount of time you invest in a particular signing from start to finish.
There's the time you spend in the initial phone call from the signing company. There's the time involved in placing that information into your database. There's the time you spend on the phone making the phone call(s) to the borrowers to verify the appointment. There's time invested in receiving the e-mailed or faxed confirmation from the SS. There's the time you spend receiving the overnight document package (I won't address the issue of e-mail docs in this missive) & separate it out. There's the time you spend reviewing any specific directions the SS may give you. There's the time you spend making a phone call to the borrower on the day of the signing to make sure they're there & ready for the appointment. There's the time you spend driving to the appointment. There's the time you spend performing the actual signing. There's the time you spend coming back from the signing. There's the time you spend preparing the doc package to be sent back along with any invoicing you may have to do as well. There's the time you spend driving the package to a drop off point. There's the time you spend driving back from the drop off point. Last but not least there's the time you WASTE chasing down your money from some of these companies one or two months down the road.
I'm quite sure there are a few more listings under the category of "time" if I put my mind to it. None of this takes into account the other costs of doing business such as computers, printers, auto, insurance, telephone, advertising, etc, etc. Even though there's a very minimal initial "investment" cost to become a signing agent, you soon realize there's much more to invest in if you want to stay current in this industry.
As I said previously in this thread, I've only taken two $50.00 signings in my entire career. They were both back when I'd just started & were "lesson learners" for me. I hope you learn your lessons early on as well & graduate to higher fees.
JMHO! |