Posted by Glena/NV on 1/23/05 2:04am
Msg #17781

A tip for everyone...about Fee's

I read the posts about $50 fees below and I cannot help but shake my head. I have been a business woman for more than 12 years and how you negotiate could mean between making money and just making it. When someone calls me for an assignment, I make it a point that they name the price first. For example, if they say, how much do you charge? My normal reply would be: What is the maximum amount you would pay? This way, I have the leverage. If I name my price, what if they are willing to pay higher? Naming your price ahead of time is cutting your chances of being able to negotiate. That is why I let them name the price first. In most cases, title, mortgage, and escrow companies are willing to pay higher than what I thought they would pay and by doing it this way, my average fee has gone way up.

Let us say, they name a lower price than I normally would accept. I then tell them what my minimum fee is and whether it is acceptable for them or not. If they like it ... we are in business, but if they don't like it then I decline. This trick has always worked to my advantage.

Reply by Glena/NV on 1/23/05 2:04am
Msg #17782

Sorry for the typo...Fees

not fee's.

Reply by fiKS on 1/23/05 2:27pm
Msg #17805

No Excuses! Can't spell, don't type.

.....just kidding! Happy Anniv.

Fi

Reply by Glena/NV on 1/24/05 3:05pm
Msg #17919

Hey! Be nice, Fi! It is my sepcial day!

Thank you! You remembered, but of course I am spending it with my signers. Today is a very hectic day for me. Anniversary can wait for tomorrow. Thanks for a good laugh! Wish you guys are still living close by....miss that a lot!

Reply by Sue/AZ on 1/23/05 11:03am
Msg #17786

Re: Good Advice

Reply by Notorious Dave on 1/23/05 12:06pm
Msg #17789

Trouble is, some companies know this and won't allow themselves be put in the position of quoting a maximum fee. They just simply put it back to the notary: " Well, what's your fee?"

Reply by fiKS on 1/23/05 12:50pm
Msg #17790

It's a tried and tested method, and it does work. I took a $90 job which I was prepared to ask for $65 because it was just two blocks from my house. After receiving their $90 + $25 edoc confirmation a call came for another job which was way across town and I'm glad for the $90 i/o $65 because now I had to rush back like mad for it.

If you quote your fee and they feel it is too high, you can always negotiate.

I have been in business for quite a while myself too, and became a victim to the people with the "Wallmart" type business practice. They ruined the whole industry.

Reply by Usually Identified on 1/23/05 5:19pm
Msg #17821

Try this

I usually do not post without my handle, but will this thime
Make a bit of a joke when they won't quote fee first
Say something like "how about a $500, I'll split it with you"
T

Reply by OOPS on 1/23/05 5:23pm
Msg #17822

Re: Try this

They usually laugh and then come back with a number
If you have to go first, do so, but leave yourself some room to negotiate if you can
Also try
"that is about 20 miles, how much do you usually pay?"

Reply by HisHughness on 1/23/05 6:25pm
Msg #17831

Re: Try this

In any discussion, whether for possible employment, contract negotiations, dickering for a raise or a bonus, the party who mentions a figure first always loses.

I simply ask them what they pay. If it's a previous customer and I don't remember, I ask them what they've been paying me. Works every time.

Reply by Becca/FL on 1/23/05 7:04pm
Msg #17833

Re: Try this

That's my fav. to, Hugh.

If I have never worked with them OR accepted edocs for the Co., I always say, what fee do you pay for this service? Sometimes they come back with "what is your fee" and I always quote HIGH.

By using this script, I have been able to up my average by $25 per signing. DO NOT SELL YOURSELF SHORT!!!!!

Reply by Nicole_NCali on 1/24/05 12:57pm
Msg #17889

Re: Try this-thanks for the advice

Reply by BrendaTX on 1/24/05 1:11pm
Msg #17891

And, call me crazy, but I stick to a pre-set price list

See...I just hate the bickering...my prices are what they are.

I agree, I have the Wal-mart mentality: Here's my price: $_____ for overnight - Add $_____ for eDocs - To travel to 00000 zip code add $______ = My drive out price of $______.

I have figured exactly what it costs me to do a job - out of pocket costs. I know exactly what my best competitive price is and that's what I quote. If I lose a few extra dollars - so be it. I have been known to call post receiving an assignment and lowering the price previously quoted once I see that the job I have agreed because it is less than what I have quoted for.

BUT!!!! Let me just state that I have great respect for all who do it differently than me. I just don't haggle well and fall back on my price list for the final word.

One interesting thing to note is that my best competitive price is often more than they are willing to pay. But, those I work for regularly keep calling me. Business is slow right now, but I still have the phone ringing and I can tell I still have a business. So, for me, this is an okay way to be.

Reply by Ted_MI on 1/24/05 1:26pm
Msg #17894

Re: And, call me crazy, but I stick to a pre-set price list

Hi Brenda,

With respect to your pricing for overnight (and for edocs too for that matter) do you differentiate between HELOC'S and refinances?

Reply by BrendaTX on 1/24/05 1:43pm
Msg #17899

Thanks for asking Ted...



In Texas, we cannot do HELOCs, so I refer HELOCs to a local attorney because they have to be closed in (a) an attorney's office (b) a title company (c) a lender branch. I have called on the title companies to try to work out a situation where I could be accommodated, but I have found that it's a very spicey situation here to request this.

I don't blame them one darn bit after hearing the complaints repeatedly of the same problem that they encountered.

Here, title companies have gotten burned out by inconsideration, so they have told me.

The problem they ran into was trying to accommodate the closings and being told someone would be there at 11 am....and they would not show up...or, the last minute problem of edocs made their rooms be taken up at 4:35 pm until 6 pm with HUGE packages of loan docs that just take awhile and it burned them.

They had to keep an employee there to accommodate the notary closer--the same who was essentially taking money out of their pocket even though a token fee of $25 was paid to them for the use of the room.

Therefore, I am sensitive to this issue and don't even bother them about it any more. I have found an attorney who is willing to send refi closings my way when he cannot accommodate them, and I do likewise with HELOCs. We've worked it out.

Reverse Mortgages (HECMs) are so similar in size to Refi's that I don't distinguish them in size from one another.

And, like I noted in my earlier post, I quote and if the job is smaller than the fee I quoted, I call and drop the fee if it's enough so that I should--no matter what.

Reply by BrendaTX on 1/24/05 1:50pm
Msg #17902

Re: Thanks for asking Ted...CORRECTION

I should have stated - we cannot do HELOCs in the borrower's home.

Reply by HisHughness on 1/24/05 3:12pm
Msg #17922

Re: Thanks for asking Ted...

Brenda lamented:

***In Texas, we cannot do HELOCs...***

Brenda just wasn't thinking when she made the above comment (I will, out of concern for my safety, refrain from attributing that lack of cognition to all members of her gender). It isn't that we can't do HELOCs in Texas, it's that they must be done in the office of the lender or an attorney or title company.

I've done many HELOCs for Chase at Chase branches, and also for a few other banks. Occasionally, an out-of-town title company or lender will ask me to do one when they're unable to get a courtesy closing in another title company office. In such instances, I have an arrangement with a local attorney to rent his conference room for $25 for an hour and a half. Generally, they HELOC will take about 45 minutes to an hour, as opposed to a refi, which will take an hour to an hour and a half. Texas loan packages, because of some quirky Texas laws, are larger than most.

If the closing is with a busty divorcee who has a large trust fund, owns a liquor store, and likes to dance, the closing can take two-three hours.

Reply by BrendaTX on 1/24/05 5:16pm
Msg #17943

Query for Hugh...

Hughness drooled: "If the closing is with a busty divorcee who has a large trust fund, owns a liquor store, and likes to dance, the closing can take two-three hours."

Hugh, Darlin' - Why must the busty woman be a divorcee?
Why not a never-married woman? What are you implying about women who have been divorced?

I understand the trust fund part, but the way you qualify things, you limit yourself. For one thing, you are overlooking Anna Nicole Smith! She's a widow! And, rumor hazzit that she likes to dance and...well...as far as busty goes....enough said.

And, as I read your posts along these lines I am reminded of a woman named Patsy who used to liven up parties I (once and faraway many years ago) used to attend wherein said Patsy coined the immortal words:

"I'd hurt you, Old Man."

Reply by HisHughness on 1/24/05 5:34pm
Msg #17944

Re: Query for Hugh...

Brenda gibes:

***I am reminded of a woman named Patsy who used to liven up parties I (once and faraway many years ago) used to attend wherein said Patsy coined the immortal words:

"I'd hurt you, Old Man."***

And I would reply to Patsy:

Yes. Yes! YES!

Reply by BrendaTX on 1/24/05 5:37pm
Msg #17947

Re: Query for Hugh...

LOL!!!! - Excellent come back!

Reply by CaliNotary on 1/24/05 3:07pm
Msg #17920

Great Minds Think Alike

I do the same thing as you Brenda. When I'm asked my rate, I simply quote whatever I have on my rate sheet. I keep meaning to try the "what are you willing to pay" approach, but honestly I just forget to do that when I get calls from a new company, lol.

Most of my business comes from the same handful of companies and they all have copies of my rate sheet so it's just habit for me to do it that way.

The only time I'll charge a lower fee is if the signing location gets switched to someplace closer. I figure that I would definitely charge more if it got moved to a location further from me so the opposite should apply as well. And what I "lose" on those occasions by charging $10 or $20 less than I could have, I more than make up for in goodwill, which is a commodity that I don't think enough people take seriously in here.

Reply by BrendaTX on 1/24/05 5:37pm
Msg #17946

Re: Great Minds Think Alike--about fees

I added "about fees" because I made a promise to Eatha/PA that I'd do better with my subject lines, and I intend to keep my promise, at least until I forget tomorrow sometime....

But on with this post--->Said the Kinder Gentler Version of CaliNotary who is now dedicated to being Warm, Fuzzy and Oozing with Sensitivity toward all mankind:

"And what I "lose" on those occasions by charging $10 or $20 less than I could have, I more than make up for in goodwill, which is a commodity that I don't think enough people take seriously in here."

I agree that when I do something to show my willingness to be fair or to adjust a fee downward, I get repeat business--so far 100% of the time. HOWEVER, I am not quite ready to say that there is a any amount of loyalty in this business for doing so. I think goodwill counts as long as there is not another SA who is willing to do it $5 cheaper. What say you, Cali?

Reply by CaliNotary on 1/25/05 3:37pm
Msg #18082

Re: Great Minds Think Alike--about fees

"I think goodwill counts as long as there is not another SA who is willing to do it $5 cheaper. What say you, Cali?"

I think that applies in some situtations, but definitely not all. I don't think most companies continue to call around after they've scheduled a signing with us; once we've agreed on a price and taken the signing, they're happy.

I guess my view of goodwill in this industry is getting to the point where I'm the first person they call when they have a signing in the LA area. Or returning a call 10 minutes after they left me a voice mail and finding out that they actually waited a bit for me to call them back before calling another notary. I may make a few bucks less on certain signings, but I'm getting more business and making more money overall because of it.

But do I think that it fosters loyalty as well? I'd have to say no overall. These companies had to be calling somebody else before I got into the business and now they're calling me. And it's quite possible somebody cheaper and better could come along and bump me from the top of the lists that I'm on top of.

Reply by Glena/NV on 1/24/05 3:20pm
Msg #17925

Hi, Notorious Dave! I know what you mean...but

most of the time the trick works. Today, I got a call from National Title Partners, LLC. He asked me what my fee is. I turned around and told him, "Let me put it this way, what is the maximum amount you would pay?" He said, $100. I asked him, "Is that for overnight docs?" He said, "Yes". I then asked, "Is $150 for for eDocs be okay then?" He said, "Yes". So, now I have a written confirmation for $100 with $150 if the docs were to be emailed.

I do agree with you about what you said, however, do not assume without trying the trick. It worked for me more often than not and my average has gone wat up. My philosophy is that, never give up without trying. Now, if they are really persistent about my giving them my fee first I would tell them how much I charge and go from there.