Posted by kathy on 1/10/05 9:55pm
Msg #16161

nations direct

I received a phone call today from Nation's Direct asking if I would accept a rate of $40.00 per signing if they gave me "primary status", meaning that I would be 1st call for any signings in my area. Although this might be tempting to try to increase the number of signing opportunities I might get, I feel very strongly about supporting the minimum fee schedule suggested by the National Notary Association. I hope that other Signing Agents also feel the same way. If Nation's Direct is unable to get anyone to agree to a $40.00 fee, they will probably see that they need to increase their payments.

Reply by carlosnyc on 1/10/05 10:03pm
Msg #16162

Kathy I recieved the same phone call this past Saturday also. I also turned them down. Not for $40.00

Reply by PAW Notary Services on 1/10/05 10:13pm
Msg #16164

How many "primary" signing agents can they have? They always tell you that. They tell EVERYONE that. Unfortunately, there are some that are accepting it, believing they will be their "primary" agent and get tons of work. Wrong. It doesn't seem to work that way.

Reply by kmnotary_CA on 1/11/05 10:02am
Msg #16225

Money and Loyalty do not always go hand in hand. I am involved in a large transaction at work, and am intrigued with the behaviors of some of the other people involved. One of my colleagues is jumping hoops for the client, and acts like a little boy in a candy store, while another one i swear I see $$$$$$ signs reflected off his glasses.

I too was told I would get all the business in my area (not for $40) yet went to a signing that 2 other Notaries before me had tried unsuccessfully to close. So much for the loyalty. It just takes one or two to do these for $40 and they get the calls.

Reply by LawrenceOK on 1/11/05 10:05am
Msg #16227

Come on all you "Primary" signing agents, speak up! are you being flooded with an overload from Nations Direct.

Reply by ray on 2/12/05 2:32pm
Msg #20389

yes, i do get alot of work from nations and their sister company Global Notary, and i do them for $40. they are both very good at giving me the work in my area, and in return i do everything i can for them. if you guys were smart, you would think about them because the keep me very busy.

Reply by PAW_Fl on 2/12/05 2:39pm
Msg #20390

Sorry, but I don't work for a maximum of $13.33/hour. I very rarely get a signing that takes less than 3 hours TOTAL TIME. (That includes pre-signing preparation, travel to/from, the signing itself and post-signing preparation, travel to FedEx/UPS drop.)

Reply by Anonymous on 11/11/05 5:25pm
Msg #75992

I did not want to jump into this one but if it takes you an avarage of 3 hours per closing you in the wrong field. I do alot of thes Ditech closings for the $40 fees, not alot of money but not many other companies can offer you 3 to 5 closings a day. second the Ditech packages are so easy it take me 30 min to close with two borrowers less time if only one. if you add that to your 30 min drive time its $40 an hour before tax and not many people can make that much.

I have other notarys I know that have been doing ditech closings for over 3 years and are in and out in 15 to 20 min. of course for you nay sayers every once in a while you will get a stuborn borr that will take longer but that is to be expected. I under stand that $40 is not alont of money, I work for alot of other signing services that pay me between $50 to $85 and indepented mortage compaines and title companies that pay me $150 to $250 per closing. although I would much rather make the big money I get maybe 1 to 2 closings per week from each of the other companies where Nations Direct and Global Notary can ofter mass volume makeing up for the lake of fees. also alot of companies will only pay a trip fee for a nosign where these two pay the full fees. If you get 5 closings in a day all within 20 mi of each other then your makeing $200 a day. and I can live with that.

Reply by PAW_Fl on 11/11/05 5:43pm
Msg #76002

Normally I don't respond to "Anonymous", but here I'll make an exception.

First, there is no way you can do a signing in 30 minutes of table time for a standard refi and two signers. Just notarizing the signatures, journaling and the act of signing the documents will probably take longer than that. If you are taking less than 30 minutes, I suggest that you are doing a "point and sign" signing which is a disservice to the borrower. Yes there are exceptions. Citibank HELOCs with one signer can be done in about 15 minutes of table time, including the notarizations and journal. But my work load isn't made up of HELOCs. All too often they are at least 80 page refi's and some have the dreaded SOI that can take up to a half hour for the borrowers to complete.

Second, average travel time is 45 minutes ONE WAY in rural areas. So a 45 minute table signing, plus 90 minutes of drive time, already makes for over two hours invested in on signing. Add to that time to download and print, package, repackage afterwards, and possible fax back, then your quickly approaching 2 hours and 45 minutes. Finally, add in your bookkeeping and record keeping time and lo and behold, your pretty close to 3 hours. All that for $40!!

Reply by Lee/AR on 1/11/05 10:26am
Msg #16229

Sooo.. "Primary Status" is the fancy new word for 'cheap'~~

Say NO and stick to your fees, ladies & gentlemen. We have to stop this trend--and NO is the best way to do it.

Reply by carlosnyc on 1/11/05 11:57am
Msg #16237

Re: Sooo.. "Primary Status" is the fancy new word for 'cheap

Like others have mentioned here, what's really sad is that their are other notaries doing it for that price. Shame shame.

Reply by Bobbi in CT on 1/11/05 6:00pm
Msg #16261

There's a sucker born every minute. P.T. Barnum of CT :)