Posted by m_fl on 11/5/05 8:05am
Msg #74530

How would you respond to this ???

Last week my sister called me and said her husband K had a friend who was a notary and wanted to know what i did to get into the business. I told her to tell him to figure it out himself that i was not going to train someone i dont know to take business away from me! I was hot and left it at that but thought no more of it. Well I have been having computer issues so my brother was over here fixing my computer for me and he says to me "hey did you here K is a notary now" ummm "no" brother says "yeah i was over there last week when he took the test" ... My OWN FRIGGIN BROTHER in LAW was trying to get me to give him info on how to start this business but my sister LIED to me about this .... I am fuming over this ... how would you handle a situation like this??? I want to blast my sister for not being honest with me and my Brother in law for doing this behind my back ... augh .... I know i cant "own" the industry nor do I ... I had a friend help me get started but i have never overstepped my boundries and listed on places she has her name and we communicate and do alot of business together and back and forth when we cant do a job or whatever. SO i am thankful for that but mad that i was stabbed in the back at the same time ... thanks for listening ...

Reply by LawrenceOK on 11/5/05 8:19am
Msg #74533

Don't you just love family. Their demands can be worse then some SS's. I would flat out tell sis & bil, that you are not training family memebrs or their friends period. Now if you want to be nice, you can point this frind to the boards and let us take care of it from there.

Reply by Cris_AR on 11/5/05 8:35am
Msg #74535

I have a nieghbor who is always trying to "learn" what I do. She mentioned to me it is illegal to charge more than $5 to notarize, her Sis in law (notary) told her, I just stated that she was right and that I do more than notarize, I have expenses and I cannot do this for free. Yea it bugs me that they try to get info from me, however I am more than willing to help anyone who will ask me straight out.
Signing is just part of my business, all parts of my business are very competative, I will not compete, I refer clients to others when I cannot do a job, I just do the best I can and try not to worry about what others are doing.

Reply by Anonymous on 11/5/05 8:37am
Msg #74536

I do not talk about my business to anyone. If so, I tell them the fees are terrible. You do not get paid if a transaction does not close, so the real margins are terrible. There is $3.00 gas. You have to be 100% accurate, or you do not get paid and have to do the signing again for free. Cost of liability insurance going through the roof. Lots of fraud problems. Interest rates rising and the business to slow down. If I found something better, I would take it. Now, that is not true, but I just mention all the negatives and it turns people off.

Do not talk about your business to anyone!

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 11/5/05 11:06am
Msg #74562

"If so, I tell them the fees are terrible"

LOl - I have had borrowers ask me about the business. I tell them what they need to get started and the approximate cost (which usually puts them off right then), and then I tell them that some companies are even willing to pay $45 per signing

Reply by CarolynCO on 11/5/05 11:35am
Msg #74571

The other night I had a signing where Mrs. B was a Spring 2005 NNA graduate. She has not done one signing in what, 8 or 9 months since she paid for the seminar. I didn't ask if she took the certification test or not. After the signing was said and done she said, "well, that's not so bad" and her husband said "now you are ready and have the experience to do your 3 or 4 signings a day." I just smiled, thanking them for their time and said good-bye.

Reply by PJM/MI on 11/5/05 8:43am
Msg #74539

I'd be fuming mad!!! I trained a "friend" of mine as she was moving out of state and wanted to learn this. No problem. She has an older brother that was un-employed and she asked me if I would train him. I told her that I do not train my competition. Well.. SHE went ahead and trained her brother un-beknown to me! I was called to do a closing as another notary cancelled. When I got to the closing, the bo informed me that "M ----" had called to say he could now make it. I said, ""M----?" Hmmm.
I was pretty upset and called my "friend" to tell her she had stabbed me in the back BIG time.
The brother is no longer doing signings...he couldn't handle all the stress.
If you are doing t his full-time, I would suggest you tell sis & bro in law that they have taken away your income and if they are willing to supplement it, then you'll be very happy to pass on business to the Newbie".

Reply by SLP_VA on 11/5/05 10:02am
Msg #74548

I personally don't see anything wrong with helping folk out that's interested in the biz. I don't take them under my wing and guide them, but I do tell them what website they can go to, to learn more about how to become a Notary Signing Agent (mostly signingagent.com or the NNA website). I also tell them to call me if they have any questions about anything and I'll help them out as best I can. With the exception of 1 person, noone that's expressed interest has ever called me, so I assumed they were no longer interested. I don't really worry about having the business taken away from me, because I'm secure enough with the SS and TC that I do deal with to know there's enough work to go around for everyone. As long as a good job is done, then you'll know that SS or TC will continue to call you for signings.

I remember how it was when I 1st started. I didn't have anyone to go to for questions. I had to learn on my own and read alot. I was not aware of this board until about 2 months ago and it's been GREAT. I've gained more knowledge and knowledge is Power!

Reply by BetsyMI on 11/5/05 10:07am
Msg #74551

The original poster said the person wanted to know "what she did to get into the business". Although they lied about WHO wanted to get into the business, what they asked was not about training them, but just what they did to get started. I too would have referred the person to this site, or to the National Notary Association website and let them take it from there. Anyone has a right be be in this business, just as you and I do. Yes competition may be fierce, but I know what it took for me to get started and it wasn't an immediate success. It takes trial and error, training, persistence, marketing, etc. If someone else thinks it's easy, let them try. I don't think someone trying to get into this business is stabbing me in the back. But lying and saying it was someone else is stupid. Didn't they think she was going to find out?

Reply by Jen/CA on 11/5/05 10:32am
Msg #74559

I don't mind at all helping others learn the business. I have enough confidence in my own ability not to worry about losing my customers! Remember the Golden Rule!

Reply by SLP_VA on 11/5/05 10:36am
Msg #74560

Ditto Jen/CA!! N/M

Reply by Mischell/MA on 11/5/05 1:31pm
Msg #74587

If one has a negative attitude regarding *competition*, then please, never think about becoming a mentor.

Reply by Anonymous on 11/5/05 2:48pm
Msg #74600

I guess a lot of you on this thread boasting no fear of competition have not been around long enough to realize that unfortunately it is not how good you are anymore. Due to the influx of new signing agents, it's how cheap you are with too many companies today.

With that said, it appears that not only are the NNA, Companies that advertize training,and other venues to blame for the saturation, it's also a lot of Signing Agents who don't realize the negative effects of an over-saturated market. For that awareness you don't have to have an economics degree, only common sense. Perhaps you don't live in the same type of environment as the original poster so your experiences are diferent. I work for companies that are loyal to me; however I realize that I still have to keep my prices very compeitive due to this industry as well as good business sense.

Not trying to jump all over you; just something to think about.

Reply by PAW_Fl on 11/5/05 3:12pm
Msg #74607

I don't fully agree your statement. I would have been more inclined to agree a couple years back before everyone and their grandmother was enticed into "quick money" and "big bucks" with "just an hour of time". Companies are realizing that many (maybe as many as 50%) of the signing agents, even the 'certified' signing agents, do not fully understand what they are doing and are causing problems that the title company and lender have to spend more money repairing had they hired a fully competent signing agent in the first place. The beginning of this year, I was doing quite a bit of "fix it" work for signings that were done incorrectly. That has tapered off a bit, but in its place, I'm getting more work with less money hassle because the companies know that I will deliver a clean signing, with all the eyes dotted and the tees crossed, the first time. So what this amounts to is a less expensive closing for the title company having paid a higher initial cost for a professionally and competent signing.

Reply by PJM/MI on 11/5/05 3:59pm
Msg #74626

I guess I should have added I live in "cow country", and we do not have a highly populated area. I cover 4 1/2 counties to keep my head above water, so competition for me could be quite costly. Also, I am sole provider for my household (heck.. I AM my household), and this is my full-time job.

Reply by Anonymous on 11/5/05 5:10pm
Msg #74638

As I stated......different locations and different experiences. My experience is as it seems to be with the post I was addressing. I am in California and it is crazy!! crazy!!. As far as the big influx (2) years ago, they are obviously still around, Paul, or being replinished everyday. Why do you think a lot of the Title companies, people are posting about on these forums, are making these ridiculous offers for signings? I agree with you that some companies are starting to find out it's costly in the end, yet unfortunately, as I stated...it appears that many are not. I am fortunate, as you obviously are to have clients who are after experienced and problem-solving individuals. Yet, as I mentioned, I still don't put too much stock into that, but that' okay because it keeps me on my toes and as you know, in this business we can't be lackadaisical.

Excuse the Anonymous, as I don't usually post on this sight and will get up to speed. I just don't want my full name out there.....you would probably know me on another forum so it's not the anonymity thing going on!