Posted by AnnaCA on 10/25/05 3:16pm
Msg #72255

Handling Scheduling Conflicts

Since this seems to be a recurring theme, I thought I'd ask the question. How long to you give a SS or Title company to send a confirmation and docs before giving their time slot away to the next company that calls? How many of you require e-mail/written confirmations, or are you willing to do signings on verbal communication alone? It seems a lot of SAs are left high and dry waiting for either a confirm or docs while turning down other appointments, then the appointment with the first company doesn't materialize. I'm just wondering if I should keep time slots open until confirms are received and let the SS know that I need a confirm ASAP or I may not be available in, say, an hour after their initial call. Thoughts? Opinions?

-AnnaCA

Reply by CaliNotary on 10/25/05 3:46pm
Msg #72260

Don't give away the time slots. Are you really always sitting by your fax machine to make sure you have the confirmations within an hour?

How many times has a company actually stiifed you by not sending a confirmation and giving the signing to somebody else or cancelled it without letting you know? I don't know that it's ever happened to me in over 2 years of doing this job, but to read this board you'd think it was a major problem in the industry.

To me, this kind of thing is the signing agent equivilent of the signing services who require tons of faxbacks and phone calls and send lists of do's and don'ts for every signing. It just makes you look more difficult to deal with and that's just not worth it when you're trying to prevent a "problem" that rarely happens in the first place.

If you don't get a confirmation, just call the company and they'll most likely resend it, problem solved.

Reply by Anonymous on 10/25/05 7:59pm
Msg #72310

Have script down. Is it a 1st mortgage? PDF? 75page or less for my basic fee with X miles of my house. Faxback requirement? I text and call w track number for free. Documents 2 hours before signing? Confirmation in my email in 15 minutes?

If the confirm is late and you double book then you can go back to them and tell them why you need to turn it back in or perhaps you can work something out with the borrower, ask them if you can change the time of their appointment, them you are good and you really need the money so you hate to lose the assignment. Most are sympathetic. (you make more money that way). Everynow and then a borrower won't budge, so you call the other one and persuade them.

If the documents are late, and it is throwing off your schedule for the evening, you have ground to push the assignment back sometime from 5pm unitl 9pm because their docs were late. Then you keep all your assignments and the fees. I have done this for three years, never had a siging company pull an assignment, a borrower been unaccomodating.

A couple times I have taken two assigments close to each other at the same time. Be on time for the first one at 5pm, prep the borrower and them you have another one right afterwards, notarize in advance your info, so all they have to do is sign and you fill in id data etc, right before you walk into the first one, you call the second one and them them you got stuck in track but will be there within 45minutes and can get it done. If you can have the second one notarized in advance then fine.

It is about cash flow baby!

Most of my signing companies know that I juggle. They do not care. I get them signed and correctly. Rebooking with another notary can be more phone calls and hassles for them.

If it really gets delayed and their borrower is unhappy, you might offer to do it for free, but if it is a repeat signing company, a free one now and then to preserve a relationship would be okay. I have always kept that thought in reserve but never used it.

Good luck