Posted by Ali/IL on 9/24/07 3:42pm
Msg #212820

Is Servicelink in trouble too?

Why are they trying to lower the printing fee?

Besides trying to get more business.

Reply by Negrete on 9/24/07 3:45pm
Msg #212821

I would say that everyone is trying to lower there fees. Would you still sign for me if I asked the same thing ?

Anthony J Negrete

Reply by Ali/IL on 9/24/07 3:51pm
Msg #212825

Maybe.

Reply by Todd/OH on 9/24/07 3:52pm
Msg #212826

I agree. Everyone's trying to lower cost where they can - competitive pressure. Don't look for the fees on the HUD to change.

Reply by NANCY HARRISON on 9/25/07 12:29pm
Msg #212956

If you keep your fees the same. DO NOT PANIC! The market will come back around.
If you lower your fees and panic, then when the market does come back around, then you are in a much lower fee bracket then what you should be in. JUST HOLD ON

Reply by Mindy_WA on 9/24/07 4:03pm
Msg #212830

I would...

ONLY I would have to raise my travel fee. <smile>

I'm not partial to what the going names are for fees. Just as any person has to make a certain profit margin to stay in business.

Let's face it, the borrowers are not being charged any less for the service, title companies are not getting any less. If SS have to cut their fees to stay in this business, maybe they should decide, as many notaries have, if this is a profitable business for them anymore.

I personally, would like to see the STRONG survive. If that means that companies go out of business, and I have less companies to choose from, so be it.

I have only ever heard GREAT things from Negrete. I would love to work for your company. And from what I have heard, you are one of the strong.

Lets not degrade this business any further. I guess I see it as 'survival of the fittest', that's how this world goes 'round.

p.s. I know you weren't asking me, in particular, I just felt the need to respond.

Reply by taxpro on 9/25/07 5:16pm
Msg #213055

Re: I would...

I agree 100%! Please, you are making a big mistake if you lower your fees. The TCs and lenders are not passing this savings on to the borrowers, so why should your services be worth less than a year ago? They collect $250 to $300 from the borrower and pay you $125 to $150, if you're lucky. More often, it's around $100. And now they want you to take $75 to $85 (or even less). Has the price of gas, toner and paper gone down recently? Not to mention insurance, telephone, advertising, internet, office supplies, etc, etc. I don't know about everyone else, but I still need to make a decent living. I'm simply not willing or able to provide my services for nothing, and why should I? I had one guy offer $45 for a refi signing, and when I said no, he said "Well, it's money that you won't have otherwise. Something is better than nothing." What a dumb thing to say! I said that I needed to save the time slot for one of my regular customers who pay $125 to $150 per signing, every day. I would have to do 2 or 3 of his $45 signings to equal one of theirs. So, no thanks, I'll pass. And if they don't call today, I'll just have an evening off (for once). I'll take my grandkids out for an ice cream cone or go to a movie. But I digress. Please don't disrespect yourself and this profession by accepting this abuse. If you can't ride out the slump without reducing your fees, get out of the business and find another job or get into another type of work. Don't make it worse for everyone.

Reply by Sandra Clark on 9/24/07 4:09pm
Msg #212833

I personally wouldn't bother working for them even if they upped their fees.

Reply by spnotaryplus on 9/24/07 4:15pm
Msg #212838

I have not had a problem with them since I signed on with them about a year ago.

Reply by JohnnyB on 9/24/07 4:22pm
Msg #212839

Let's hope they are in trouble so they will shift the work to much better paying and easier to work with larger title companies.

Reply by ME/NJ on 9/24/07 4:39pm
Msg #212843

When I see the fee on the HUD reduced.. I will do the same

Lawyers have not reduced there fee's and only now appraisers are started to get asked for reduction in rates, We as notaries have had to reduce our rate before the impact.

It has come to a point where the fee is not worth the trouble anymore and the screw ups will mount up with folks who don't know what they are doing.

My fee will remain the same because as of now its a bottom line number anything lower someone else can do it.

When the fees on the HUD start coming down then I will consider a change. Only the strong will make it through the tough time ahead.

Reply by JohnnyB on 9/24/07 4:47pm
Msg #212846

Re: When I see the fee on the HUD reduced.. I will do the same



Service Link lowered their fees but at the same time required faxing back all the docs.
Pretty smart, because they can catch the screwups. If you are new and make a mistake, you will have to go back and fix it.

Reply by ME/NJ on 9/24/07 4:57pm
Msg #212848

Better 2 trips for 60 bucks and fax backs

yeah even the dumbest person will realize its not worth it..

2 trips -20-30 miles round trip
time for 2 signings
waiting for approval

Go work Kmart and make more money..

Reply by Dennis Larson on 9/25/07 10:55am
Msg #212928

It all boils down to this

This was posted on the SOT forum. It was written by an abstractor for abstractors. Abstractors are faced with the similar difficulties. So, it bears repeating.

>>>>Bascially it boils down to this when companies ask or demand a fee reduction.

The company wants to keep the same or greater amount of profit than they had the prior year. The goal of any company.

They must now try to accomplish this with less work coming in and completed. Difficult to say the least. We have experienced the same thing.

They must either get more business or clients, raise fees, become more efficient, reduce costs or try any combination of the four.

Getting more clients is difficult.
Raising fees will cost them clients.
Become more efficient will cost them money.
Reduce costs is the easiest place to increase profit for them.

Now how to reduce costs. Easiest and the least painful for them is to have their vendors (us) reduce our fees. Accomplishing this will save them from cutting their own salaries, benefits and jobs. Good business sense on their part.

Not getting their vendors to reduce fees will force them to become more efficient, market for more clients, and cut their own salaries and benefits to maintain those profits. If not they will have to live with less profit, but by golly they will have still have profits.

It is not our job as abstractors to insure they remain profitable. That is their job. Hopefully they can accomplish that and remain a viable company or at least do the honorable thing and pay for professional services rendered prior to shutting their doors and slipping into the night. Reducing your fees will not insure continued work or that they will stay in business.

Our job is provide our service in a professional and timely manner at a reasonable cost, taking into account the costs that we incur as we perform our work.

If we as abstractors do not take ourselves as professionals then no one else will.

So be the professionals that you are and stick to your fees because you are a professional, you deliver a professional service so you deserve your professional fees without any reductions.

imho
Jay<<<<

Reply by taxpro on 9/25/07 5:21pm
Msg #213056

WELL SAID! n/m

Reply by CJ/Alaska on 9/24/07 6:07pm
Msg #212856

I had to tell ServiceLink to STOP calling me. I would not accept their low offers but they kept calling me back, asking me to lower my fee. I guess I would be cutting into their Profit. Boo Hoo, I was the one doing the work. PLUS - there was no Support. They would not return my emails and then they would forget to send me pieces of the deal until I was literally out the door, on my way to the signing. They literally made me 45 minutes late for one such deal.
Its hard for US to look professional when they were creating the problems.

Reply by PJM/MI on 9/25/07 7:01am
Msg #212896

Re: SERVICELINK is NOW ATM n/m

Reply by PA_Notary_II on 9/25/07 8:59am
Msg #212905

I did my first and LAST deal with Servicelink....

They actually agreed on $xxx.xx but I had no idea that they required fax backs. The idea of babysitting their package for 2 days is idiotic. FYI...they say they bought out ATM and they seem to be adjusting their fees to attract more seasoned Notaries. They say you can only mail your invoice in once per month (USPS) and any other form of delivery will not be accepted for payment. Absolutely, positively never again ! BTW they claim that Countrywide, Marlboro, NJ requires the faxbacks as part of their deal with them.