Posted by LauriecPA on 9/21/07 10:48pm
Msg #212550

Lender's 1st Chioce

I accepted a last minute closing from them this week and made the mistake of not discussing the fee. I have worked for them from time to time over the years and always received the same amt. so I didn't think I needed to call back and go over it. When I got back to print the docs, I opened the conf. and saw this fee of $80. (edocs!) I called & called leaving message after message, until I reached someone that said she's sure it won't be a problem to adjust my fee, it must have been a mistake. She said she'd get in touch with the scheduler to have it changed. I didn't feel comfortable going to the closing w/o the new conf., but it was getting close to the appt. time, so I went ahead to the closing and planned on working out the fee with them later. (I know it was a big blunder of mine , so don't beat me up for it!)
When there was no new conf. that night or the next am. I called and emailed about it. I was told those are the new fees. I said I would never have done the closing for that fee and I was shocked that they would lower their fee that much without letting the notary know about it. I eventually got an email back that they will pay my fee, but ...

<<Unfortunately, due to the slow in business and
other factors in the market right now, we are no longer able to pay more
than $80. >>
<<"I'm sorry you cannot comply,
I do understand, however this will effect your ranking negatively. Just
so you know, this is a nation wide data base, this will hit all across
the board, you will no longer be contacted by any LFC offices, not just
ours in Denver. Are you sure you this is your final decision? ">>

Yikes! They still get to charge the same amt. for closing, but our fees get cut 35%, sorry, I guess I can't comply. What a disappointment.

Reply by Lee/AR on 9/22/07 12:35am
Msg #212554

You did the right thing. What too many notaries & companies tend to forget is that WE are a market factor! Right up there with the cost of gas, paper, toner, the needed equipment, taxes. They are looking for profit...so are we. I sometimes wonder who they think they're going to get to do this job after they've driven everyone out of this business.

Reply by HARRY_PA on 9/22/07 8:16am
Msg #212565

Laurie:

You may choose not to work for them (I would not), but it was your responsibility to verify the fee before accepting the job. Of course you already know it. The may pay whatever they please, the rest is up to us.

Harry

Reply by John_NorCal on 9/22/07 9:40am
Msg #212566

Sure it was Laurie's responsibility to verify the fee, however, how many of us have been in the same situation. This was obviously a glitch in the way she normally conducts her business. She made efforts to rectify the situation before she went on the appointment, she took their word that it "should be no problem" to correct the fee, she didn't leave them hanging, I think she did the right thing.
It's one thing if these companies shoulder some of the costs but they don't, they want it all to come from the backs of the people doing the actual work. More signing agents have to stick by their guns and turn these companies down.

Reply by HARRY_PA on 9/22/07 9:46am
Msg #212567

Once an assignment is accepted w/o qualification you have no leverage except to return it, no matter what you think of the SS or TC's policies.
Harry

Reply by LauriecPA on 9/22/07 10:10am
Msg #212569

That was my intention, to return it, but when I was told my reg. fee wouldn't be a problem, I went ahead with the appt. (B/c it was last min. & I knew the BO was waiting, etc...) I was just appalled at the fee being lowered so drastically! The person that had given me the ok said she didn't think there would be a problem b/c she had $XXX on the Hud for the notary fee, she said she always makes it that high b/c she's not certain what each notary is charging. The fee on the HUD was $50 more than I was charging. So, therefore, they were covered. (and still coming out $50 ahead!) So, in the end, the fee they were charging was more than double what they are paying their notaries now.
I haven't answered their email yet, about theier new fees and all of the business I am going to be losing out on and so forth. I need a few days to get a good response together, without being extremely rude.

Reply by Laura Vestanen on 9/22/07 10:14am
Msg #212570

I get the full $ amount LFC charges the borrowers for the notary fee on the RevMort HUD.

LFC tries to get me to accept their ridiculous fees. Each time, I just ask my LO to call and put them in their place.

Reply by Les_CO on 9/22/07 10:33am
Msg #212574

FYI…… LFC has just ‘merged’ with Security and Mercury here in Denver, all overseen by Simi Valley CA.
Some brilliant executive made a decision to cut their fees. $55 for a signing, and $25 edocs. Total $80. (They used to pay $100 a signing and $25 for edocs (or more depending on where the signing takes place.) I have worked with Mercury here in Denver since they started National Title / Signing work. They were great to work with, and always fair with their notaries. The schedulers (that are still there) have no choice in the fees offered. If they can’t find a notary that will work for low fees it is possible to get more money, but the schedulers must get approval from above. Because of my past relationship with them, and because the scheduler was desperate, last week I took an $80 job from them. My last one! Perhaps if no decent notary out there will accept their new fees, the moron that thinks the way to more profits is to cut service, will be looking for work too.

Reply by Les_CO on 9/22/07 11:36am
Msg #212585

Re: Lender's 1st Chioce/ PS

The "Closing Fee" on the HUD paid by the borrower on my $80 edoc signing was $550! Plus, plus, plus. So the borrower sure isn't getting a break.

Reply by LisaWI on 9/22/07 1:41pm
Msg #212602

Re: Can Someone, Anyone

please explain to me a fee of $550 as settlement charges from title and justify it? Lets say if we arent doing the closing and its in-house. How do they come up with this fee? I have been told that Wisconsin Title Comps have some of the lowest fees in the nation, dont know if this is true or not, but to see a Title Comp here put that kind of fee on a settlement statement is real unusual. I dont think Ive ever seen it that high. Ive seen it that high for out of state Title Comps though.

Reply by Les_CO on 9/22/07 6:28pm
Msg #212618

Re: Can Someone, Anyone

There are things other than the "Notary Fee" involved in "Closing Costs." It depends on what the TC filed with the State they are doing business in (their filed rate). However I submit that without the notarized signatures of the borrowers on the loan and title documents, there could NOT be a "Closing." Therefore ‘We’ provide the ‘Essential’ part of the “closing.” I believed LFC would be VERY hard pressed to ‘Prove’ they actually spent the remainder of the $550 (less $80 for the notary) or $470 of the ‘borrowers money’ on actual “Closing Costs”. I think this not only unethical, but illegal, and violation of RESPA.

Reply by Reliable1 on 9/22/07 10:44am
Msg #212577

In Jan., I moved from CA to AR, and still am able to charge my same fees. I continue to do work for LFC here and just last week received my usual fee from them. I did confirm the fee first, and they played the game, "I have to ask my supervisor". But my fee was approved.

I agree with the others -- we need to be professional about our fees, and be willing to walk way when the offer is too low.

Donna H.

Reply by Sheila Moreno on 9/22/07 6:38pm
Msg #212619

If ALL Signing Agents would turn down these ridiculous fees that these signing companies offer we might finally get ahead of these sigining companies and finally get the fees WE deserve.

Reply by LisaWI on 9/22/07 6:54pm
Msg #212622

Re: Lender's 1st Chioce-Sheila

The sad part is LFC is a title company, not a signing service which kind of makes the wound even deeper. Even title comps are starting to slash their fees to ridiculously low.

The profession of a Signing Agent is going to be history. There will only be part-timers left or individuals who dont need an income to survive. The drive to be a SA will be less and it will result in less of a SA. In my very humble opinion of course.

Reply by Les_CO on 9/22/07 8:43pm
Msg #212629

Re: Lender's 1st Chioce-Sheila

As long as title companies do national business there will be a need for NSA's.

As long as NSA's are willing to take low fees SOMEONE will offer them. If someone will do the job for $20 why pay $100?

If we ALL will ONLY accept just compensation for the job done there would be no problem.

We have no one to blame but our fellow notaries.

Reply by LauriecPA on 9/22/07 10:42pm
Msg #212635

I'm so glad none of you are accepting these horrible fees...

When I got that email I just could not believe they expected us to drop our fees because business was slow for them. They still get the same fees. It's always the same lingo, too, about all of the business we will get if we take the low fees. We'll get VOLUMES of work. Yeah, right. I'll still get the occasional call and get paid half the price. No thanks.

Reply by Les_CO on 9/23/07 8:48am
Msg #212665

Re: I'm so glad / Laurie

By the way Laurie, that business about you being taken off some nationwide list is all B.S.!! Michael Crowder out of Simi Valley has been desperately calling every notary he can come across trying to get them to “sign up.” The other offices use to use Jeff’s (a competing board… Notary restaurant, or something) software, that comes with a database of thousands of Notaries. They (LFC) now have switched to Gators, but they did not throw that notary database away, they just combined it with what the other companies they merged with had. If you were “in that database” you still are, and lots of other people still use it. The question is do you care? Do you really want to do $55 closings? Remember if they can NOT get any $55 notaries they will be forced to raise the amount they pay. I do feel sorry for Beckie and Alicia, both very good at their jobs, and nice people, having to work under these circumstances.

Reply by LauriecPA on 9/23/07 9:11am
Msg #212667

Re: I'm so glad / Laurie

Thanks for the reply, Les. No, I didn't want to be on their "list" anyway for those prices. I was just venting about all of the times we have to hear/see that comment when we won't accept some cos. low fees. About how we're going to be losing "volumes" of business. I did enjoy working with the "old" Mercury, whose office I'm sure this closing originated from, although none of the names were familiar on my work order.

Reply by Les_CO on 9/23/07 9:59am
Msg #212668

Re: I'm so glad / Laurie

Sadly the “old" Mercury is gone.

Please remember when you hear these (empty) threats.......... That these “Nationwide Title Companies” cannot do business without US! Their only alternative is to get another Title Co to do a ‘courtesy closing’ for them, or to PAY that Title Co to do it. The BIG problem with that is no Title company will do a courtesy closing these days, and they don’t like to PAY another Title Co, because, 1/ they may lose a customer to them, and 2/ they end up making nothing. Or they can rent a ‘brick and mortar’ office in that State and then do business.

If we could only get together WE would be in a lot better position to “threaten” than them, than they are to threaten us.

Reply by CLOSERS LLC - JAS LOAN on 9/23/07 12:27pm
Msg #212676

Re: I'm so glad / Laurie

I have never done a closing directly for 1st Choice but have received closings from other Signing companies to do them and I can tell you I have always been paid my regular fee for the closing and edocs.

Reply by Les_CO on 9/23/07 2:59pm
Msg #212686

Re: Jas

Well, Jas Loan…whoever you are? If you’ve “never done a closing directly for 1st Choice” Whom ever that is? But you have “received closings from other Signing companies” and (paraphrase) “always been paid” ???? So what?

If there is some question about the Title Company I’ve been referring to , It’s “Lenders First Choice” (owned by Jerry Hauptman) They are NOT a “Signing Company.” They are a ‘full service Title Company.’ I’ve NEVER said that they did not pay! They do! In my opinion ALL of the ‘Hauptman’ companies have been the very best! I just think in all the confusion of the current market someone (high up) is getting VERY bad advise. We’ll see…. if they get all there “old” notaries to work for them for $50, then the “bean counters’ win! (why pay $100, when ‘they’ will do it for $50?) To that, I have no answer!

Reply by Ilene C. Seidel on 9/23/07 10:23am
Msg #212669

I'm in Baltimore they pay me $100.00 + email doc fee, So the info you got was BS
You need to be more careful, if you need a revised confirmation tell them your not going to the closing until the new confirmation is sent. If your late your late.

Reply by Les_CO on 9/23/07 3:18pm
Msg #212687

Hi Ilene!

Glad you get your fee!

Maybe you should re-read my posts?.... "depending on where the closing takes place"
One can get more, but the schedulers must get approvial... that means: "Did you call every notary there to see if they would do it for less"

EVERYTHING I've posted is 100% absolutely TRUE! NOT one bit of BS!

Good luck!