Posted by Anonymous on 5/6/05 9:22am
Msg #36225

I think SS wants to put us notaries out of business

They have reduced their volume and they want to stick on the 50.00 dollars fee.
So in order for them to survive they want to do it almost for free. If you do the math you will end up
working for free. I did one the other day for 60.00 and after doing all the math I end up getting like
6.25/hour.

60.00 original
30.00 Loan didnt fund, so I get half
1.20 wear and tear of vehicle
5.30 gasoline
4.70 Income tax of the 30.00

It took me 3 hours, 2 with the borrower and one for confirmation, fax backs preparing package to be dropped in fed ex. etc etc.

Reply by ColleenCA on 5/6/05 9:31am
Msg #36227

What I have been curious about, is why the lender, tc, escrow co's, etc. bother using SS's anyway. Why don't they just hire us direct, pay us 1/2 what they pay the SS saving money on their end and paying us more on ours. It would also remove the "middle man" aspect of too many people involved , and lack of communication between borrower, notary, ss and lender. I had one in which the ss cancelled and then I get a call from the lender 2 hours after the appt. was scheduled asking if I was going to be able to make the 8:00pm signing! Not only did I have to tell him that I had been told it was cancelled (after printing 120 pages) but that the appt was for 6pm originally not 8pm. My opinion is that the whole industry needs to be "re-vamped" in the closing process.

Reply by Charm_AL on 5/6/05 9:41am
Msg #36228

because the title companies simply do not have the man power to hire directly and they are typically not reachable after hours if needed from a closing table. So they pay extra to make sure the SS deals with getting the notary, job done and checked before it gets back to Lender. I agree, I wish more would deal directly with us.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 5/6/05 9:46am
Msg #36229

Colleen
As a SS I can tell you why some title companies use SS's.
If a title company has, say, 20 loans to have signed, it is easier and more cost productive for them to give the list to a SS and have them take the time to call around and find a signing agent, than for them to call around.

Also, I had one scheduler that calls me, not as a SS, but as a SA, and when I was talking to her she mentioned that she was having problems finding a signing agent in a certain area.
I found a SA for her and called her back and gave her the info so she could call the SA direct (it is not a title company that uses me as a SS). She told me that they can only use signing agents who are already in their database, and they couldn't add any new ones on, so she would have to go through a SS - so she used me as a SS on that one. I had given her the information on the SA, so she could quite easily have called him direct if she had been allowed.


Incidentally, although volume is not what it used to be, I have not reduced the fees to the SA's, I still pay the base fee of $75 - and they get paid whether the loan gets signed or not, if they go out there, they get their full fee, plus they get paid very quickly.
The SS is still getting the same fee for each loan, even if they are not getting the same volume, and so they should be paying the SA the same "cut" out of every loan.

Reply by BrendaTX on 5/6/05 9:52am
Msg #36230

Sylvia -

I am currently discovering that premier signing services like yours (those that can produce quality on an ongoing basis) are not having a problem bumping my fees up a bit.

My base has gone up across the board so that it is still profitable to be in business. I realize I will lose a few clients, but those who will pay a reasonable fee are usually able to get my checks to me on time as well.

Reply by HisHughness on 5/6/05 11:15am
Msg #36244

Re: Sylvia -

BrendaTX notes:

***My base has gone up across the board so that it is still profitable to be in business. I realize I will lose a few clients, but those who will pay a reasonable fee are usually able to get my checks to me on time as well.***

I went up on my prices in both 2004 and 2005. My 2004 volume was down 14% over 2003, when I was still doing $50 signings, but my income increased 50%. My 2005 volume currently is running slightly behind 2004, but annualized income is up 25%.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 5/6/05 11:42am
Msg #36246

Re: Sylvia -

Same with me on the signing agent income side. My volume has gone down, but the income has increased.

Reply by ColleenCA on 5/6/05 10:05am
Msg #36233

Re: Hi Sylvia!

Thanks for the response. I was just thinking that the title co's, etc could have notaries sign up in a database just like the SS's do. The loan officer could schedule the notary thus eliminating the need for the SS. For very busy times of the month, they could use quality SS's like yours to help with overflow as needed. That would keep you busy and rid the industry of the "fly by night, low pay, no pay" SS's.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 5/6/05 10:21am
Msg #36235

Re: Hi Sylvia!

Colleen
Before I had a SS I worked with a particular title company in Florida, I did a lot of work for them. Then I didn't hear for a while and I called the title officer, she said they were very happy with me but the powers that be decided it was too much trouble to keep their own notary database that they had decided to go through a SS. I did get calls from the SS they were going through, but they didn't meet my base fee.

Even when a title company has its own notary database,they still may need to make several calls to find a notary available for the time they need, so this also takes time.

Reply by Kevin Ahern on 5/6/05 11:07am
Msg #36243

Actually, you are right. The whole process was much more efficient when there was a single attorney that handled all phases of the closing process. The attorney did the title search. The lender overnighted the closing package to the attorney 24 hours in advance. The borrowers came to the attorney's office at the agreed time. The closing was completed, and the mortgage was recorded. End of report.

Now you have approximately four or five different players involved. There delays from late transmissions and downloading of edocs.No one coordinates information with the signing agent, resulting in gaps of performance, and the signing services expect it all done for a whopping $50. Great system.