Posted by Curious George on 8/27/04 7:17pm
Msg #6850

Notary Fee frustration...

Hi Everyone,
Hope your month of August went well..... I am steadily getting more repeat business, and great reviews from the companies I have been working for......So Thank You, to you senior folks out there that have soooo patiently answered my questions which I am sure were repetitive. You know who you are Sylvia, BrendaT, Hugh, Roger,Cali, Paw,Carolyn, Mike, Lawrence, etc., etc. The more I read your postings the more informed I become.

I will have to agree with a few prior postings........I've noticed that many of the SS out there are trying very hard to pay $40-$50. a signing, some of them state that to include a 100 mile round trip. It is extremely FRUSTRATING that other notaries in the industry are taking such jobs....I read that even the NNA states that's too low of a fee to accept, yet I constantly hear of Notaries in my area accepting low paying jobs. I've become very picky of the SS I will work for, if not because some of them still try to under pay a Notary/SigningAgent, then because some companies are continuously late on paying there invoices. It's very disheartening that some of these SS aren't regulated, and downright watched like a hawk.... Anyhow, I haven't posted in awhile so I had to vent...........lol.......
I hope everyone has alot of business and much success in the coming month!

~Anthony
Oregon

Reply by BrendaTX on 8/27/04 8:56pm
Msg #6857

Good to hear from you!

Reply by CaliNotary on 8/27/04 11:01pm
Msg #6859

The way I figure it is that the signing services who are paying $40/signing are getting the signing agents who come in here and ask questions like "what's the difference between an acknowledgement and a jurat?" You get what you pay for and I'd like to think the title companies figure this out quickly enough when they keep getting back docs with a bunch of errors.

$50 is the bare minimum that I'll accept for a signing, and there ain't no way I'm traveling 100 miles for it. Anything that I'll accept $50 for is going to take me no more than 15 minutes to travel one way. I figure an hour and a half total work max for $50 ain't too bad, and quite often they take me less time than that. I have to deal with the LA freeways on a daily basis, so it's always nice to have a local signing and stay out of traffic.

Boards like this are a godsend for letting us know which companies to avoid. There are plenty around who are willing to pay reasonable fees, we just have to work a bit to find them. Just take comfort in the fact that these cheapo signing services won't last too long - if the quality of their work sucks, the title companies are quickly gonna abandon them for a better one.

Looks like 24/7 NNN might be on that downslide right now. During the one of the busiest days of the month Liz, the owner or manager of the place, had plenty of time to browse through months of messages on this and respond to anything she saw about 24/7, defending her company against the NUMEROUS complaints about them on the board. It was pretty amusing, transparent, and desperate. It just goes to show that karma does have a way of working, sometimes you just need a bit of patience.

Reply by mike mchenry on 8/28/04 10:58am
Msg #6884

i've taken some $50.00 signings from veri-docs, but they fedx the docs and they are all within 5 miles of my house. any more than i would want my base fee.


mike

Reply by Butterfly on 8/28/04 12:02am
Msg #6866

Nice to see your back. Stick to who you are and what you know. Never sell yourself short. It bothers me too that nortaries take the low paying jobs, it drives our income down as well. If the rest of us stick to our guns we will drive the prices back to where they belong.

~Lori
California

Reply by Andy_WA on 8/28/04 5:39am
Msg #6867

Welcome back George, hope you've been busy making the $BIG$. I've gotten over the $40/$50 fee schedule grief not long ago. I decided to spend my time reading notary boards and cherry pick the rather sweet ones from post like, "any info on XYZ company please" then look them up. Believe me, its stress free and higher based fee.

Just to let you know how I'm doing George; I've been asked by some to travel south, therefore, I'll be crossing the I-5/205 bridge pretty soon. Awaiting my OR commission.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 8/28/04 7:57am
Msg #6868

Thanks Anthony

Now, before everyone starts e-mailing me, I am a Florida signing service only, so only have a need for experienced Florida signing agents.

I am amazed sometimes when I call a notary for a signing that I haven't used before, and I always ask their fee (now I try to use a notary that is close to the signing, no more than 10 miles) and invariably they will say $50!
I tell them I cannot pay $50, I can only pay $75! I think it is an insult to pay less than $75

Reply by PAW Notary Services on 8/28/04 8:18am
Msg #6869

Tell you what, Sylvia... You pay them what they want ($50) and then you can send me the difference ($25) to help clear your conscience.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 8/28/04 8:37am
Msg #6870

Re: Notary Fee frustration... Paul

Nice try Popsie!

Now, you know how fair I am, you have done signings for me that you said were in your $100 area, but you would do them for $75 for me, and I have paid you $100 any way.
I have had signing agents accept the $75 then when I have checked Mapquest and figured out what I would charge for the distance, I have increased the fee to what I would bill for the signing.
I appreciate the good notaries who do signings for me, and want to keep them.
That is why I pay a fair fee and pay promptly.
You will never see (I hope) a complaint about my company on the message boards.

Reply by Bob-Chicago on 8/28/04 8:47am
Msg #6872

Real Good Tip, Silvia

Have to run out for some signings plus get out a 20 ome packages from Thursday and Friday, but wanted to pick up n what you just said.
When I get a call form somone new, and they ask what I charge, I say "hat is about xx miles, what do you usually pay?" frequently they will quote a $ number above my minimum to go to that location, and I can say fine. If their $ is too low, I can always ask for more and then make a decision. Let the potential buyer of your services make the first offer. That way you are not bidding against yourself.
S, this info is only for your info as a NSA, you may not use it whem you are wearing your SS hat, gotta run

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 8/28/04 9:43am
Msg #6875

Re: Real Good Tip, Sylvia

That is a good tip Bob. But I rarely take signings from new signing services. I work mostly with title companies.
I just like to ask the signing agent when I call what their fee is. If they tell me anything under $75, as I said I tell them I pay $75, and I always tell them not to sell their services so cheaply.

Reply by Bob-Chicago on 8/28/04 10:54am
Msg #6883

Re: Real Good Tip, Sylvia

Works with any new customers, and sometimes and old one also
Anyone who uses my tip owes me 10% of any additional fee they get
They can send that amount to you guys for huuricane relief and re-building
Maybe out of gratitude, Florida will give us an honest count this November so as to green up Texas by replanting a Bush there.
You like that one Hugh?

Reply by Dotti_CA on 8/28/04 11:31am
Msg #6891

Re: Real Good Tip, Sylvia

Bob, I'll second that!!! Gonna do my best come November.

Reply by brobinCA on 8/28/04 6:09pm
Msg #6911

Re: Real Good Tip, Sylvia

Good for you and I will do my best as well.

Reply by HisHughness on 8/28/04 1:26pm
Msg #6900

Re: Real Good Tip, Sylvia

Bob-Chicago, Chicago said:

***Maybe out of gratitude, Florida will give us an honest count this November so as to green up Texas by replanting a Bush there.
You like that one Hugh?***

Democrats are persons of high principle, Bob, and we think it is inappropriate to turn this into a forum about what self-serving, puerile, lying, cowardly, self-aggrandizing, soak-the-middle-class scoundrels George Bush and his cronies are.

Reply by Bob-Chicago on 8/28/04 4:22pm
Msg #6904

My Bad

You're right, I should be ashamed of myself, especially now when we know that Saddam did, in fact , have a "weapon of mass destruction". It was this guy named Charley. If our Texas /Alabana Air National Guard , fighter pilot, war hero, had not led us into Iraq when he did, heaven knows what may have happened. The damage might not have been limited to the property of white shoe wearing, bad drivers who have dinner at 4:00 in the afternoon.
Next time that I post a good tip a promise that I will not couple it with an off-topic comment, unless, of course, I think of one too good to pass up.

Reply by Paul_IL on 8/28/04 10:57pm
Msg #6940

Re: My Bad

Ah! More of the Kerry Kool-Aid drinkers here I see. So when will you be changing your minds? There must be a flip-flop coming soon! How can you possibly vote for a man who does not know what he stands for?

Reply by Bob-Chicago on 8/29/04 8:51pm
Msg #6987

Sorry about that

I feel terrible about incorporating off-topic comments into a tip to increase NSA fees. Rest assured that as a military veteran, (US Army signal corps) I would never consider (and I think that I can speak for Hugh here also) questioning the heroism and devotion to duty and country of either our Commander In Chief, or the Vice-President, when they served on active duty in the armed services, especially when they were in combat in Viet Nam

Reply by brobinCA on 8/28/04 6:12pm
Msg #6912

Re: Real Good Tip, Sylvia-Way to Go

Wow, this polictical banter has me riled. It is unnecessary on this board and out of place. Keep you polictical opinions to yourself and not inflict your leanings on the rest of us.

Reply by Julie-MI on 8/28/04 10:17pm
Msg #6937

Honest vote? Voters: Follow the instructions!

Our primary vote was 8/3 of this year. I thought, since it was the beginning of the month, and my husband was off and I didn't need a sitter, that I would volunteer to work the election in my township.

I found out it was a paid position; a whopping $130 for the day. I found out you have to be at your precinct at 6 am and stay until all the ballots are counted (ballots not votes).

We use an optical scanners in our precinct. The voter marks in a circle with a black felt tip pen.

Well let me tell you, people are stupid and cannot follow simple directions!

We had 121 out of 1700 in our precinct vote. Of the 121, we had 18 spoiled ballots. That is unacceptable. After the voter is checked in, they are told how to use the ballot, when they receive the ballot, they are given futher instructions. It goes in one ear and out the other.

The most common error was splitting your ticket; in the old days in our state, you had to declare your party. Now because of privacy laws, everyone is given the same ballot, but you can only vote for candidates in one party. This error should not be as numerous in the Nov. election, because Michigan voters can split the ticket as it is a general election.

The other stupid mistake, was voting for more than allowed. Example, if you could vote for 4 township trustees, many voted for 5 or 6.

After my brief experience in the election process, I will never be in favor of "computer" voting as there is no paper backup. I will never be in favor of the punchcard, because of the dangling chad problem. At least with the optical scanner, the machine will reject bad ballots and the voter can have an opportunity to correct their mistake.


I am only posting this here because of the subject deviation in this thread.

If you want your vote to count, take your time and listen to the instructions of the election workers. If you vote absentee, be extra diligent because you cannot fix your mistake.

Reply by Jon on 8/28/04 11:01pm
Msg #6941

Re: Real Good Tip, Sylvia

Hugh joked:

***Democrats are persons of high principle***

Good one Hugh, that the funniest thing I've heard all day!!!

Reply by HisHughness on 8/29/04 12:22am
Msg #6943

Re: Real Good Tip, Sylvia

Jon quoted:

***Hugh joked:

***Democrats are persons of high principle***

Good one Hugh, that the funniest thing I've heard all day!!!***

Thanks for that contribution, Jon. I am at last happy to know what it is that Republicans find amusing, because I'd never seen one smile before except when he was cutting taxes for the wealthy.

Folks, I share the concern about this being turned into a political forum; I don't think that is its purpose. I make a distinction, however, between this type of banter, which I enjoy occasionally, and expounding on the issues, candidates or partisanship. I promise you I won't do the latter unless someone goes there first, which is what happened on the one occasion I remember that I got heavily involved in political sniping. I probably won't let that sort of posting pass unremarked.

I enjoy getting skewered with a bon mot in partisan repartee as much as I enjoy skewering. So, please, don't take it personally. And if it appears to me to distract from the function of the board, I won't do it.

Reply by HisHughness on 8/28/04 1:26pm
Msg #6901

Re: Real Good Tip, Sylvia

Bob-Chicago, Chicago said:

***Maybe out of gratitude, Florida will give us an honest count this November so as to green up Texas by replanting a Bush there.
You like that one Hugh?***

Democrats are persons of high principle, Bob, and we think it is inappropriate to turn this into a forum about what self-serving, puerile, lying, cowardly, self-aggrandizing, soak-the-middle-class scoundrels George Bush and his cronies are.

Reply by Loretta/Maryland on 8/28/04 4:34pm
Msg #6905

Re: Real Good Tip, Sylvia

Republican and proud here.

Reply by Loretta/Maryland on 8/28/04 4:36pm
Msg #6906

Re: Real Good Tip, Sylvia

Sorry, I just had to say that.

Reply by brobinCA on 8/28/04 6:16pm
Msg #6914

Re: Real Good Tip, Sylvia

After the Bush bahing your posting was needed. Does he think we all want to become Demorcrats?

Reply by Reenie/CA on 8/28/04 8:33pm
Msg #6929

Re: Real Good Tip, Sylvia

Ditto!!!!!!!!!!!

Reply by HisHughness on 8/28/04 5:21pm
Msg #6909

Re: Real Good Tip, Sylvia

Demure and retiring Loretta uncharacteristically boasted:

***Republican and proud here.***

Recalling the Biblical admonition, "Pride goeth before a fall," I have to say that I am a truly humble Democrat, and I hope that all Republicans share Loretta's attitude.

Reply by Brobin on 8/28/04 6:08pm
Msg #6910

Re: Real Good Tip, Sylvia

Let's keep politics out of this or we are really going to battle on the board. You have your opinion and I have mine. We do not agree, but do not denegrate the President with your cute remarks.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 8/28/04 6:37pm
Msg #6916

Re: Real Good Tip, Sylvia

Yes, please keep politics off this board.
(But to keep things straight, I am a dyed in the wool card carrying Republican! I took out citizenship in 2000, so I would be able to vote for George Bush! (and there were a lot of others getting their citizenship the same day as me for the same reason). Jeb Bush was the first person to sign my citizenship book that evening and he sent the book onto his brother who signed it for me too.)

Reply by HisHughness on 8/28/04 6:42pm
Msg #6917

Re: Real Good Tip, Sylvia

Brobin sputtered:

***Let's keep politics out of this or we are really going to battle on the board. You have your opinion and I have mine. We do not agree, but do not denegrate the President with your cute remarks.***

Cool your jets. Birdie. If I wanted to get political, I'd be a helluva lot more pointed and a helluva lot more effective than simply engaging in some good-natured banter with a participant or two. I have to say, though, that I don't know what country you live in, but I live in the good ol' United States of America, and one of the cornerstones of that wonderful place is that I get to denigrate (please note the correct spelling, which is a hallmark of Democrats) the President if I choose. That's what it's all about. I assume though, that based on your expressed attitude, you never had anything negative to say about Bill Clinton, for which I commend you.

I do want to thank you for finding my remarks "cute." The compliment is appreciated.

Reply by Loretta/Maryland on 8/28/04 6:56pm
Msg #6919

Re: Real Good Tip, Sylvia

I think I'll have a cigar on that one. hahahaha

Reply by BrobinCA on 8/28/04 7:26pm
Msg #6922

To His Highness (oops Hughness)

I live on the left Coast, notice no capitalization. But, seeing we mention spelling shall we go back and look and a couple of yours? I thought someone as perfect as you think you are would never misspell any words. I could go back, reread and find them for you but it is not worth the trouble. Somehow you try to impress at least some of us a being "Mr. Big Know It All." Hard to believe that you feel that important in the state of Texas.
I will get back with another quotation as you think "Pride Cometh Before the Fall." We shall see my friend.
Yes, I did have plenty to say about YOUR president receiving "Blow Jobs" in the Oval Office. Not quite the behavior expected of the president of the most powerful country in the world.
I will close out on this subject but you showed your true colors. If it isn't praise for "His Hughness" then it is bad. Sorry about that but it happens.

Reply by Bob-Chicago on 8/29/04 7:20pm
Msg #6982

Sorry about that

I should not have incorporated any snide 0ff-topic comments into a tip to increase NSA's fees.
I feel terrible about it. I can say as a US Army Veteran ( Signal Corps Officer) that I would never ( and I think that I can speak for Hugh here also) question the heroism and devotion to duty and country of either our Commander In Chief, or the Vice-President, during the period of their active military service, especially when they served in Viet Nam.
Hope that all had a profitable month end.

Reply by Reenie/CA on 8/28/04 10:19am
Msg #6880

I'M MOVING TO FLORIDA!

Reply by Lawrence Goodwin on 8/28/04 10:27am
Msg #6881

I would love to move to Florida, but I dont like hurricanes, I'am used to tornados.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 8/28/04 11:13am
Msg #6886

Florida and hurricanes!

But Lawrence, they make life interesting. And we only have to worry about them from June to November

Hurricane Preparations for Floridians:

You should all be aware of hurricane preparations, but in case you need a refresher course:

We are about to enter the peak of the hurricane season. Any day now, you are going to turn on the TV and see a weather person pointing to some radar blob out in the Atlantic ocean and making two basic meteorological points:

(1) There is no need to panic.
(2) We could all be killed.

Yes, hurricane season is an exciting time to be in Florida.

If you are new to the area, you are probably wondering what you need to do to prepare for the possibility that well get hit by "The Big One".

Based on our insurance industry experiences, we recommend that you follow this simple three-step hurricane preparedness plan:

STEP 1: Buy enough food and bottles water to last your family for at least three days.


STEP 2: Put these supplies in your car.

STEP 3: Drive to Nebraska and remain there until Halloween.

Unfortunately statistics show that most people will not follow this sensible plan. Most people will foolishly stay in Florida. We'll start with one of the most important hurricane preparedness items.

HOMEOWNERS' INSURANCE:

If you own a home, you must have hurricane insurance. Fortunately this insurance is cheap and easy to get, as long as your home meets two basic requirements.

(1) It is reasonably well-built, and
(2) It is located in Wisconsin



Unfortunately, if your home is located in Florida, or any other area that might actually be hit by a hurricane most insurance companies would prefer not to sell you hurricane insurance,because then they might be required to pay YOU money, and that is certainly not why they got into the insurance business in the first place. So you will have to scrounge around for an insurance company, which will charge you an annual premium roughly equal to the replacement value of your house. At any moment, this company can drop you like used dental floss.

SHUTTERS:

Your house should have hurricane shutters on all the windows and all the doors. There are several types of shutters with advantages and disadvantages:

Plywood Shutters: The advantage is that, because you make them yourself, they are cheap.

Sheet Metal Shutters: The advantage is that these work well, once you get them all up. The disadvantage is that once you get them all up, your hands will be useless bleeding stumps, and it will be December.

Roll-down shutters: The advantages are that they're very easy to use, and will definitely protect your house. The disadvantage is that you will have to sell your house to pay for them.

Hurricane-proof windows: These are the newest wrinkle in hurricane protection. They look like ordinary windows but they can withstand hurricane winds! You can be sure of this, because the salesman says so. He lives in Nebraska!!!

Hurricane Proofing your property:

As the hurricane approaches, check your yard for movable objects like BBQ grills, planters, patio furniture, visiting relatives, etc...... You should, as a precaution, throw these items into your swimming pool. If you don't have a swimming pool, you should have one built immediately. Otherwise, the hurricane winds will turn these objects into deadly missiles.

EVACUATION ROUTE:

If you live in a low-lying area, you should have an evacuation route planned out. (To determine whether you live in a low-lying area, look at your drivers license; if it says "Florida" you live in a low-lying area.)

The purpose of having an evacuation route is to avoid being trapped in your home when a major storm hits. Instead you will be trapped in a gigantic traffic jam several miles from your home, along with two hundred thousand other evacuees. So, as a bonus, you will not be lonely.

HURRICANE SUPPLIES:

If you do not evacuate, you will need a mess of supplies. Do not buy them now! Florida tradition requires that you wait until the last possible minute, then go to the supermarket and get into vicious fights with strangers over who gets the last can of SPAM. In addition to food and water, you will need the following supplies:

- 23 flashlights. At least $167 worth of batteries that turn out, when the power goes off, to be the wrong size for the flashlights.

- Bleach. (No, I don't know what the bleach is for. NOBODY knows what the bleach is for, but it's traditional, so GET some!)

- A big knife that you can strap to your leg. (This will be useless in a hurricane, but it looks cool)

- A large quantity of raw chicken, to placate the alligators. (Ask anybody who went through Andrew, after the hurricane, there WILL be irate alligators.)

- $35,000 in cash or diamonds so that, after the hurricane passes, you can buy a generator from a man with no discernible teeth.

Of course these are just basic precautions. As the hurricane draws near, it is vitally important that you keep abreast of the situation by turning on your television and watching TV reporters rain slickers stand right next to the ocean and tell you over and over how vitally important it is for everybody to stay away from the ocean.

Good luck, and remember:

It's great living in Paradise.

Reply by Brenda Stone on 8/28/04 12:59pm
Msg #6898

Re: Florida and hurricanes!

Sylvia gives good advice here! She mentions a man I think I know, above in her directive of what to have in case of a hurricane, and I refer to her statement of having

" A large quantity of raw chicken, to placate the alligators. (Ask anybody who went through Andrew, after the hurricane, there WILL be irate alligators.)

- $35,000 in cash or diamonds so that, after the hurricane passes, you can buy a generator from a man with no discernible teeth."

I believe he's the guy that is here in Texas working as general manager at a mfg home sales lot. He YELLED at me. I was there to do notary signing work on a customer's closing documents. I had been hired to notarize documents on behalf of another company working for the lender.

When we came to a doc entitled the Power or Attorney (four originals) and I asked for it to be completed before I notarized it - he went nuts because I was NOT there to change all his company's forms - I WAS there to notarize names.

Uhmm....well, it's kind of hard to do your work as a ethical notary under those circumstances, and I will not bore you all with the details, because it was not pretty. However, I think if I had had the $35,000 in cash or diamonds, or a raw chicken to throw at him, he might have slithered off to a corner to gum his chicken, or count his bounty, and he might have left me alone.

Reply by Dotti_CA on 8/28/04 11:37am
Msg #6892

Me too Reenie. I still have SS's gasping when I tell them $65 plus $25 for edocs. I'm in a rural area of central California. And then there are the SS's from back east who listen to my rates and then tell me they're sorry, they just can't give it to me for less than $100-$140 so I let them twist my arm.

Reply by carlosnyc on 8/28/04 3:53pm
Msg #6903

Re: To Dotti CA......Notary Fee frustration...

Dotti CA wrote:

I still have SS's gasping when I tell them $65 plus $25 for edocs. I'm in a rural area of central California. And then there are the SS's from back east who listen to my rates and then tell me they're sorry, they just can't give it to me for less than $100-$140 so I let them twist my arm.

Dotti I mostly get calls from SS's in your State. Where are those SS's in the east that pay $100-140??? I'm trying to find them. Please point me in the right direction.

Reply by Arant19 on 8/28/04 6:16pm
Msg #6913

Hi Sylvia! I understand that you only have a need for experienced signing agents. But, newbies need to gain experience by the amount of signings they can do. Speaking from a newbie point of view. Also on-the-job training is how we newbies gain experience, isn't it?

No one was born into this world with the knowledge of any type of business, whether it be notary/signing agent or any other business. We had to be taught the business so that we can be proficient at what we do.

How did you gain your experience? Please advise.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 8/28/04 6:49pm
Msg #6918

I agree, it is a vicious circle, you can't get work until you get experience, and to gain experience you need to get the work.

When I started doing loan signings, I had been a notary quite a while, and I knew the notary laws inside out. When I decided to do loan signings I studied the material from the National Association of Signing Agents thoroughly. I was called to do a signing for one company, and I explained I was new, and they said it didn't matter as the docs were always well marked where they had to be signed and where they had to be notarized. So, I accepted the signing, and the docs were indeed marked well. I did several for that company and did get the experience doing those.

But the problem now is the market is flooded with signing agents who have no experience as a notary, they become a notary simply to become a signing agent mostly because of the NNA's hype, and some of them have no idea of the difference between a jurat or an acknowledgement. I guarantee my signing agents work to the title companies I am contracted with, and so I do only use experienced signing agents, I can't afford to lose the work with those title companies. I have had to use new signing agents a couple of times, and they have had to fax me over the notarized pages, and I have had to call them to tell them they need to fill out the notary certificates correctly.

I don't want to babysit the signing agents I use, and I would have to do that with inexperienced signing agents.

There are several signing services out there that will use inexperienced signing agents.

Reply by HisHughness on 8/28/04 7:06pm
Msg #6920

Sylvia FL pointed out:

***There are several signing services out there that will use inexperienced signing agents.
***

Indeed there are. In fact, my observation is that most of the signing service sites don't even ask how many signings you have done.

Reply by Curious George on 8/29/04 2:31am
Msg #6947

Re: Notary Fee frustration...Sylvia...

What states do you cover ??? If you don't mind me asking.......My curiousity always kills me...LOL...

~Anthony
Oregon

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 8/29/04 10:03pm
Msg #6991

Re: Notary Fee frustration...Sylvia...

Curiosity killed the cat

I am a Florida only signing service

Reply by Curious George on 8/30/04 12:03am
Msg #6992

Re: Notary Fee frustration...Sylvia...

Ohhhhhh Sylvia if you only knew how much the curiousity kills me.....well I think you should expand to Oregon ......LOL
Though business has been good and I stay busy, I still am constantly learning & looking for direct work with lenders and title companies.....I notice more & more there are few good SS with good grounded professional ethics. I constantly strive to do most of my work directly and keep just a few of the best SS contracts........A never-ending challenge...... Have a Great Week Sylvia!
~Anthony
Oregon

Reply by BarbaraL_CA on 8/28/04 11:02am
Msg #6885

You state "yet I constantly hear of Notaries in my area accepting low paying jobs"

On many of the message boards advice is given to newbies that in order to get started in this business they should sign up with alot of signing companies as they can. Pay is normally $50, but for a newbie this amount is ok since they are just starting. After sufficient experience they can then be "choosey".

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 8/28/04 11:17am
Msg #6888

$50 is a good fee for newbies - but I wouldn't advise them to go over 20 miles (40 mile RT) for the $50. But there are some notaries who are accepting fees of $40 which is ridiculous.

Reply by Curious George on 8/28/04 12:36pm
Msg #6895

Well Sylvia,
I moved not to long ago from "Earthquake/Traffic Central California" , to " Bring Your Umbrella & Waders Oregon" I don't know if I could handle "Plan to be leveled Florida" though I hear most guys my age take the plunge due to the unique style of thong bikinis that florida has on there beaches.......LOL........Sylvia, if ya start doing some aggressive work in northern Oregon let me know, I'll work for ya... : )

Andy, Congrats on making the Northwest Regional jump......I've had a few requests for Vancouver, and plan to thus haven't yet had the time to get my Washington commission....I should probably get on it and prepare for the winter slow down......

Hey Hugh, if your out there loved your site came across it the other day...and thanks for the post a while back on notary links .....

Lori/CA (Butterfly) You are killin' me, your just flappin those colorful wings around everywhere these days aren't you...Thanks for the great advice the other day....one day in the near future I hope to have the never-ending wisdom as you all.....and can help advise someone like you did for me... : ) and tell your husband, to get off the couch stop whining and get back to work.....hahahahah.... lets talk soon about that marketing stretch you mentioned! Love ya...

And to any newbies right off the truck that are reading this.....my 1 yr. advice/opinion .......... The NNA and other nice companies that advertise "You can make big bucks as a signing agent!" or " Join an un-tapped industry!" how about "Make triple digits now and be your own boss!" Yeah well don't quit your day job and jump into it thinking your going to have overflowing business........ and I, personally knowing what I know now would have started out part-time while keeping my day job.....LOL.(oops) Though if you work hard and understand that in the beginning you'll be doing more hours than you ever did in your day job......and you have padded your savings account for a good 6 months ...... I wish you all the success in the world!


Anyways hope everyone is having a great day!
~Anthony
Oregon

Reply by Patricia McDonald on 8/29/04 12:05am
Msg #6942

I am a newbie. I have done quite a few signings not as many as I would like to have done. But patience is a virtue. So I guess I will have to be patient. I have been lucky that all except 2 of my signings have been only 1 mile away. I got paid over $50 for all of them. Living in Southern Californina I guess I should feel lucky that I am at least getting called.

Reply by Brenda J Khan on 8/29/04 10:03am
Msg #6954

I too am a newbie, however I will not accept an assignment for under $75 for a base price with no printing within 25 miles distance. I did get certified and do know what I am doing and when you factor in the travel time, gas expences, time for signing, faxing back required docs, then getting docs out, it would not be a profit for me to do it for less. I strongly believe that if we all want to keep a good reasonable base pay nationwide we should follow a minimum base fee. National Notary suggests if your certified not to charge less than $65 for base. I guess I am fortunate to be in an area where it is always busy with closings, South Florida, but even if I was not, I have made the extra efforts to prove myself worthy of a better rate than $50! I'm worth it! This is just my oppinion! Brenda Khan- Florida