Posted by CJ on 6/11/07 1:53pm
Msg #194533

Ditech: "reverse auction" for signing services

I understand that this Wednesday and Thursday, Ditech is having a "reverse auction" to see which signing agency can give them the lowest bid. They are already paying the signing services $95, and of course, many services are passing this "savings" on to us notaries. The signing services are upset too. I wonder who is at the top of Ditech making these decisions? I wish I knew because I would like to write to them and tell them what us notaries go through to stay in business: gas, wear and tear on cars, signing at all crazy hours to accomodate the borrowers (not being home at night with our own families) no benifits, taking our cell phones and supplies on our un-paid vacations in case someone needs an acknowlegement etc.) Someone is up at the top chiseling away and living the high life at our expese. I think the borrowers can afford the $5 or $10 extra that is making such a big difference in our lifes.

I look forward to your thoughts and opinions.

Reply by Lee/AR on 6/11/07 2:10pm
Msg #194535

Well, we can encourage the SS to "Just say No." Because that's what every rational notary will say to them when they call. If the SS thinks they can make a profit by undercutting every other SS--and then use ignorant notaries to complete their signings---well, one less dumb SS & lots less dumb notaries in this business. And DiTech will have a whole world of problems based upon this bright idea.

Reply by bigdog on 6/11/07 2:14pm
Msg #194536

Well, if there are no notaries accepting these lowball offers, then Ditech has a problem. No matter which SS "Wins" the aution, they will end up sending them back to Ditech because they have no takers.

Reply by cara on 6/11/07 2:34pm
Msg #194540

Cable news was bombarded with "no cost" loan ads from Ditech this morning. I guess this reverse auction explains the campaign. We will now start getting $30 signing offers from the winning SS. Question: when someone out there finds out the name of a local notary who is taking these low-ball offers, what should we do? Has anyone found a successful strategy? Is education the key? Or, should we just sit and wait for them to go out of business while they uncercut the community?

Reply by CJ on 6/11/07 3:05pm
Msg #194549

This is bad for the signing agencies too. In Calfifornia, the notary base and the borrower base is saturated, so $50 jobs are common. I suppose in more rural areas, where you have to drive a lot more, and there are less jobs, you can command more. I have done lots of $50 ditech jobs. Until recently, Ditech was paying the signing services $100. I know the hud says more, but the signing service says they are not getting the difference. I wish I knew who was. Anyway, now Ditech is paying SS $95, so many of my SS are offing me $45, which is too low. Some SS are still paying $50 and eating the difference. So if a SS has ditech for a main client, they will have to only make $10 or $20 profit in order to stay in business and pay decent notary fees. So the signing services that don't low ball enough will go out of business. I see Ditech as the bad guys. They didn't care about the signing costs when the borrower had to pay. I do other "no cost" loans and they pay just fine. It is too bad becuase I like doing the Ditech loans: they don't lie to the borrowers, they are usually fixed with no PPP, and borrowers sign like the wind: 1/2 hour. Some signing services are evil, but some are run by notaries who understand our position.

Reply by janCA on 6/11/07 3:22pm
Msg #194552

Why don't these SS's buck up and just say no. As CJ was saying, not only does it affect the bottom line of the notary, if they are accepting ridiculously low fees, but it's affecting the bottom line of the SS's also. How can anyone make a decent profit if they are accepting low-ball offers, and that includes the SS's? They will also soon be out of business, as we are all seeing this happen with many of them.

Reply by dickb/wi on 6/11/07 4:42pm
Msg #194564

while i feel your pain........

you must quit talking about "what shoud we do"......that is anti trust and subject to huge fines and long term jail time......we as a group can not and should not do any thing.....as an individual we just don't accept low ball signings and hope that the rest don't either....if no one accepts those signings and the lenders want to get them done they will have to pay fair value for the services performed.....if you don't believe me about the jail time and huge fines just ask the Realtors in el paso, texas..............

Reply by cara on 6/11/07 5:28pm
Msg #194570

Re: while i feel your pain........

Please understand that what I am interested in is far short of criminal collusion to set prices as prohibited by antitrust statutes! I don't believe that NR community would ever undertake such a venture, even if were set up in a way where that was possible. We are not an organization which admits or excludes members based on whether they will charge a certain minimum fee. We do not set fees. We do, however, discuss them quite frequently. Education & information is what newbs often seek when they come here or other boards to read and learn.

When I started out, I would have appreciated having a more experienced person share that they got far more that $xx for a certain task because they figured out that they needed at least $yy to make a profit, with the understanding that costs vary from place to place, person to person.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 6/11/07 6:28pm
Msg #194578

And I was hearing on the radio this morning a discussion about all the foreclosures and people with problem loans for whom terms were not disclosed. While all these things should be disclosed before we get out there, we know that often doesn't happen as it should. I don't explain a loan to a borrower, but I sure do point out the key points on the Note so that they know if they have a ppp, a balloon payment and if and when their interest rate and/or payments change. I wonder how many freshly minted $35 or $40 notaries are doing that....?

However, all players in this industry, including Ditech, will continue to try to do what they can to survive, so I think these kinds of changes -- or attempts -- will be an ongoing thing for quite a while.