Posted by AJ_in_CA on 7/8/05 11:06am
Msg #50561

Slow Biz in S. CA?

Is it just me or is business slow for other S. Cal notaries...a few months back things kept me hopping, but now i'm lucky if i get 2-3 signings a week. I'm fairly new at this loan doc signing biz (almost going on for a year now). I've signed up with about a 100 SS, made calls, visited and passed out business cards to title companies and mortgage lenders and made follow-up calls. I'm not getting the regular calls from SS that i have in the past. Perhaps its demographics...I live in the Coachella Valley (Palm Springs area. Is it just me or is business slowing down in general?

Reply by Charles_CA on 7/8/05 12:04pm
Msg #50575

Re: Slow Biz in S. CA? And its probably going to get slower

I believe that you will find that business flows in cycles and Signing Notaries are very much tied to the Real Estate business. The last few years have seen unprecedented activity in real estate because of the extremely low cost of money. Unfortunately every time you see Alan Greenspan on TV raise the prime another quarter point it means that business is going to slow down. The last raise last week is already having a chilling effect and it was promised that there would be more raises in the near future. Also when interest rates were at 4.75% last summer most everyone who wanted to refinance got thechance to do so and the result was the phenominal rise in the need for signing serivces.

As the business regains normalcy (wnatever tht means) you will see even more reduced activity. Real estate and its support service cycle in about a 10 to 12 year cycle. Those of you who may remember the downturn in the 90's have an idea of what a low period can be. So be braced for it I believe we crestsed.

If you track real estate sales like I do you will know that as each month goes by there are more properties in the inventory on any given day and the time form listing to sale has increased steadily. I would say that unless something happens to force a return to the low interest rates of the last few years that we will see a reduction in the need for signing services and it will continue for several years before it starts back up. I have been in the usines for over 20 years and I have seen two cycles with drastic swings in between. Property in southern California actually lost value int he Early 1990's something no one would have thought would ever happen.

Reply by AJ_in_CA on 7/8/05 12:32pm
Msg #50582

Re: Slow Biz in S. CA? And its probably going to get slower

Thanks Charles. I believe you are right and you've obviously been in this business for quite some time as you stated. Like most industries, they are cyclical....and i suppose i got into this business just before the downturn was to begin.

Anyone solicit to other industries out there that keep them busy...or is this it?

Reply by anonymous on 7/8/05 1:52pm
Msg #50610

Re: Slow Biz in S. CA? And its probably going to get slower

Well said and the key word here is be prepared, don't give up your day job would be my advice.

Reply by TitleGalCA on 7/8/05 9:44pm
Msg #50685

Nary a call since 7/1...

in Ventura County...but I'm not heavily advertised either (or much at all). For what that's worth, it tells me that in general biz is slowing....that's ok as I'm not full time yet. I'm in for the long haul and building a rep in my area.

As to my day job, things are slow as well in this green county of California (as in agriculture). Very, very few recordings and that says alot as I do a lions' share of recordings in this area.