Posted by janCA on 2/22/07 12:11pm
Msg #176748

Notary Fees on HUD

I am just curious. What is the highest amount on the HUD you have seen stated for notary fees? I had one last night state $650. When the lender asked how much my fee was, I stated an amount, and there was a gasp, it was a very "normal" fee for an e-doc signing by the way, and I asked, "what is the highest fee you are allowed to pay"? It was $25 below what my first asking fee was, so I said, I will do it for that amount. When I saw the $650, it really made me laugh. Really, does any lender or title incur $650 worth of notary fees or does this seem extremely inflated? Also, the borrower said she would probably rescind. She stated all the fees were outrageous.

Reply by dickb/wi on 2/22/07 12:15pm
Msg #176749

what makes you think the title co fee is......

"notary fee".....they also have a battery of people to pay to get the transaction closed and they pay the shipping fees etc, etc......it's not all notary fee.....i wish it were, but not so.....

Reply by janCA on 2/22/07 12:16pm
Msg #176750

Re: what makes you think the title co fee is......

It is stated on the HUD as "notary fee".

Reply by closerchris on 2/22/07 12:26pm
Msg #176753

I would love to know where the remainder of funds went

Sounds to me like they're padding the notary fee and (most likely) retaining the remainder.

JMO, of course.

Reply by Ndwa on 2/22/07 12:21pm
Msg #176751

I had one recently where 3 trips were made and the notary fee on the hud was up to $600 by the third trip.

Reply by Ndwa on 2/22/07 12:29pm
Msg #176754

By all means...

It is not my place to question what goes where and who gets what as long as my fee has been satisfied.

Reply by jojo_MN on 2/22/07 12:37pm
Msg #176758

I had a signing company talk me down by $10 on my fee a few years back beause they only got $5 more than what they were paying me. They accidently sent the invoice to me instead of the title company. They actually were getting $350 for what they talked me down to $70. I no longer budge on my fees--nor do I do business with that ss.

I do work with some very good ss that get paid the same amount as me. I don't like the fact that they don't see docs or anything, but I wouldn't have the business if it weren't for them. Plus, they are nice to work with and pay on time.

Reply by ewing2surf on 2/22/07 12:41pm
Msg #176761

Borrower rescinds because notary signing agent admits notary fees are out of line on the HUD. I would be interested in hearing how this one plays out.

Reply by CaliNotary on 2/22/07 12:44pm
Msg #176764

Boy, talk about twisting her words around. She clearly said the borrower said that ALL the fees were out of line, and nowhere did she say she told the borrower the notary fee was inflated.

But hey, now you have a new person to talk about at the next notary luncheon, right?

Reply by janCA on 2/22/07 12:45pm
Msg #176765

What?

I never stated any such thing to the borrower. Notary fees were not even discussed. Borrower was going over lender fees and stated they were outrageous. I've been doing this long enough to know when to keep my mouth shut. Why would you even assume this?

Reply by janCA on 2/22/07 12:53pm
Msg #176768

Thanks, Cali

ewing2surf needs to re-read my post.

Reply by ewing2surf on 2/22/07 1:02pm
Msg #176774

"Also, the borrower said she would probably rescind. She stated all the fees were outrageous".

Of course they are...

Sounds like a very constructive conversation between the borrower and the NSA about (all) the fees to me. I'm sure the borrower had lots of experience looking at loan fees, decided they were out of line but signed the loan anyway.

Reply by CaliNotary on 2/22/07 1:12pm
Msg #176778

Sounds like you're proving the old adage about what happens when you assume. But it's not like we didn't know what an ass you were already.

I've had plenty of borrowers comment on the fees without me bringing it up. Anyone with simple math skills can figure out when the fees are moving into outrageous territory. Maybe you personally needed "lots of experience" before you could figure it out, but that only reflects on your intellect, not this situation.

Reply by ewing2surf on 2/22/07 1:22pm
Msg #176783

The Simon Cowel of the Notary Rotary Message Board

Thanks for letting me off so easy Brian. I was expecting quite a tongue lashing. To be honest Brian your name has come up for discussion at the Luncheons. The veteran notaries all say when your mom and dad retired they turned all their contacts over to you. I say what's wrong with that!

Reply by CaliNotary on 2/22/07 1:31pm
Msg #176785

Re: The Simon Cowel of the Notary Rotary Message Board

Tongue lashing? There's that man crush again. Would it help if I emailed you some pictures?

And yes, I know my name has come up for discussion because you've brought it up. Probably with a bit of heavy breathing. But the "veterans" need to get their facts straight because 1. my parents haven't retired, and 2. we don't live close enough to each other to compete for business so there's no point in me taking over their contacts if and when they do retire.

Or could this just be yet another of your passive aggressive ways of trying to insult me on the board? Making it seem like I need my mommy and daddy's help to succeed? I'm sure my mom didn't train you to do that, that sounds much more like something you'd learn from Kelly Robertson. My mom would tell you to grow a pair and say what you mean.

Reply by Bassman/Tx on 2/22/07 1:40pm
Msg #176788

Re: The Simon Cowel of the Notary Rotary Message Board

Wow I think I just got a brain freeze cause that was cold

Reply by ewing2surf on 2/22/07 2:05pm
Msg #176796

Re: The Simon Cowel of the Notary Rotary Message Board

Pictures! That would be sweet Brian. But why don't you like Kelly Robinson, she is very cool.

Reply by BrendaTx on 2/22/07 2:13pm
Msg #176800

Re: The Simon Cowel of the Notary Rotary Message Board

**The veteran notaries >>>>>all<<<<<< say when your mom and dad retired they turned all their contacts over to you. I say what's wrong with that!**

Paul and Sylvia are veterans...so's Janet K, so's sue_pa...now, did THEY say that too?

What veteran notary do you refer to?

Reply by JanetK_CA on 2/22/07 3:53pm
Msg #176815

Re: The Simon Cowel of the Notary Rotary Message Board

Thanks, Brenda. In fact, I can't remember EVER discussing it - or even thinking it. However, I WAS at the luncheon in question and do recall Joe mentioning Cali's name after saying some nice things about his mother and stating that she was one of the people who helped organize the very first gathering of southern California notaries - and something to the effect that many of us have learned much from her over the years. How very true that is! However, Joe, I was a little surprised to hear you mention Cali by name, since he wasn't even there. I felt like there was something else going on that I wasn't privy to (and frankly, I would prefer to keep it that way). I'd guess that to also be true for most of the others there, so to me, it felt a bit inappropriate, but that's jmo, for whatever that's worth...

Reply by janCA on 2/22/07 2:04pm
Msg #176794

I don't know who you are and really don't care, but the only constructive conversation I had with this borrower certainly wasn't about fees, evidently your borrowers don't make such comments, but about how her husband had passed away two years prior, and religion, after the signing took place. Now put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Reply by ewing2surf on 2/22/07 2:13pm
Msg #176801

Jan you are and experienced NSA and I'm sure you did exactly the right thing I'm just being the devils advocate. You never know what reason a borrower will give to the LO for resending the loan. Those $650 fees are generally for more than notary work but if they put them on the notary fee line then how do you explain that?

Reply by janCA on 2/22/07 2:32pm
Msg #176806

I'm not going to go into all the issues this particular borrower had with this loan, believe me, she was on the phone with her LO. The fees were the tip of the iceburg. I asked a simple question because I was curious. Now, I'm just plain bored with this.

Reply by Glenn Strickler on 2/22/07 6:00pm
Msg #176827

My 2 cents -- No one covered this ........

In California the HUD that we see is just the "Estimated Closing Statement". There is a lot of padding built into it including in the notary fee box. On the final closing statement, all the amounts will be adjusted to the actual costs, including the notary box. Lenders always build in plenty of pad as they want to have less than the estimated expenses in the end. Those of you who have bought a home or refinanced lately, compare your final HUD to the copy you got at closing. You will see what I mean .......

As far as the most on that line ... I remember seeing $500 on that line, but truthfully, I seldom look at it as it has nothing to do with what I am getting paid. When the question does come up, I am honest about what I am getting paid, show them the confirmation and remind them that the HUD at this point is not the final figures, just an estimate.

Reply by ewing2surf on 2/22/07 6:28pm
Msg #176833

Re: My 2 cents -- No one covered this ........

Of course we all know that Glen but isn't more fun to goad Brian Lynch into calling you an ass?

Reply by CaliNotary on 2/22/07 7:12pm
Msg #176837

You misspelled "doing me in the" as "calling you a" n/m

Reply by hcampersFL on 2/22/07 10:02pm
Msg #176849

Re: My 2 cents -- No one covered this ........

Geeze Joe I thought you thought you were above any of this??? Why would you want to "goad" anyone? or are you trying to cover the earlier ASSumption that you made about the original poster?

Reply by MikeC/NY on 2/22/07 7:27pm
Msg #176838

Re: My 2 cents -- No one covered this ........

In NY, the HUD we see is final so they can't really fudge the numbers (too much). Most borrowers I've seen do not examine the HUD too closely at signing - if anything, they tend to zero in on the "Cash to borrower" line, and as long as that's what the LO has told them they seem to be OK with it. Not what I would do on a loan I was signing, but I'm not being paid to think for the borrower...

Most of the HUDs I've seen don't list notary fees; those that do generally have fees that are much more than I'm being paid. I have no idea whether they're stuffing other fees onto that line or the difference is pure profit, nor do I care (other than to make a mental note to quote higher next time...). I've also seen a few lately that split the disbursement on notary fees, showing my name and the actual fee I'm being paid, with the balance listed as going to whoever hired me. Nice thing about that is that since I'm listed on disbursement, I get paid faster.