Posted by Gizmo on 8/3/09 9:22pm
Msg #298575

need advise and input

I had a new notary email me tonight to see if I would let her shadow me and get a feel for doing closings. What are your thoughts? What would you say to her? I personally do not feel comfortable giving my competitor (especially in the present state of the business) any of the tricks of the trade right now. She sounds like a really nice person and I do not want to be rude to her, but why would I want to help someone start out and possibly take business away from me. Perhaps a few years ago maybe, but now?

thanks for your help in advance

Reply by MW/VA on 8/3/09 9:27pm
Msg #298576

I did that once & it came back to bite me. I'm always more than willing to help someone, but I will not directly mentor someone again. IMO you can start by referring her to message 33325 on this board.
There is a wealth of info available here for those who are willing to invest the time to do some homework.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 8/3/09 9:28pm
Msg #298577

Just tell her that you would have to get permission from the companies that hire you to have a "ride a long" and most of them don't allow it because of concerns regarding the borrowers privacy.

Reply by Michelle/AL on 8/3/09 9:28pm
Msg #298578

I think you've answered your own question, Gizmo.

I would feel the same way as you. Although when I was in her situation I would've liked for someone to show me the ropes. About 2-3 weeks ago there was a long thread on this subject. I think someone mentioned that technically you should get permission from the entity hiring you; and from the borrower, b4 you have someone accompany you on a closing. (Hmmm...no I think this was discussed on LinkedIn..sorry). How certain are you that she won't share confidential information from the closing with someone else? What if she says something really inappropriate at the closing and the borrower complains? Then what? I wouldn't do it. She's almost a total stranger to you, right?

Reply by Gizmo on 8/3/09 10:02pm
Msg #298584

Re: I think you've answered your own question, Gizmo.

never met her, she just emailed me out of the blue today..

Reply by trnsa_IL on 8/3/09 10:05pm
Msg #298586

Re: I think you've answered your own question, Gizmo.

There is no way I would take anyone, let alone a stranger, to a closing with me. Who knows who they are or what their intentions are. You are responsible for the client's privacy. Would you show that person all of your personal and financial information?

Tonya

Reply by CF on 8/3/09 9:31pm
Msg #298580

Telling her NO is not being rude. Of course, most people would ask for an explanation of why you said NO....and then you will have to be straight with this person.

Who helped you out? Who let you ride with them? Who showed you how to be a business owner?

Also, most companies would not allow you to take another person with you. I had a person last year, of all times, from my same city, ask for a ride along. I flat out told them....NO. I also painted a very grim picture for them. Do whatever you need too....you do not owe this person anything....and for all those people reading this that it offends.....that means you too!!!

Save yourself time and just start sending this person 1/2 your fee from your orders. Tell them just to sit at home and you will support them- no need for them do anything. How reasonable does that sound? That is what you will be doing!!!!

Reply by Gizmo on 8/3/09 10:03pm
Msg #298585

thanks so much. I will email her and tell her politely that I cannot do it.

Reply by John Schenk on 8/3/09 10:17pm
Msg #298587

Good choice, and not necessarily for only the reasons given. Ride alongs are really taboo in this business, I think. Totally discouraged by the Lender & TCs, with good cause, I do believe. If you want to Mentor her, you could do so without taking her with you to a signing. You can help her without her having face time with any borrowers.

Best of luck...good choice, and you got good advice.

JJ

Reply by Richard Ingram on 8/3/09 10:23pm
Msg #298588

Gizmo,
Some people are cut out to be mentors and would consider it as their calling to be of help. I have had three people ask me to assist them in getting in the loan signing business and two of them were people I have never cared for so it was easy for me to say no. However, my daughter-in-law asked me and it was indeed a pleasure for me to help her. There seems to be enough newbies getting started every week so the competition keeps getting harder. We just have to keep getting better and perhaps we can continue to survive in this business.

Reply by Gizmo on 8/3/09 10:29pm
Msg #298589

thanks everyone!

Reply by FeliseSoCal on 8/3/09 10:57pm
Msg #298590

I was mentored by a close friend in a non-competing county(who suggested this as a career transition when I was laid off 7 years ago). This is how I got in the business. I would return the favor in a similar situation.. meaning someone I knew well, and who is not in the same area. But not for someone I don't know who would I would be competing with business for.

Reply by Jim/AL on 8/4/09 12:11am
Msg #298593

Just say NO. I do like to help people and have mentored

two close friends and a family member. Got totally burned by the now ex-friends and have been let down big time and burned by the family member. I will not do it ever again for anyone within 200 miles of me unless they live under my roof. Just cannot afford to slit my own throat.

If she is a nice person as you said and you just explain to her that you cannot afford to educate the competition she should understand completely, she will not be happy, but she will know why you cannot.

Michelle was right that this was discussed here within the last month or two. One story I remember is if you open a burger joint across the street from the only one in your area and you walk over and say I am opening accross the street and I want you to show me how you run your business so I can have a thriving restaurant like yours, do you think they are going to invite you in and show you the ropes?

What part of IL are you in anyway?

Reply by Gizmo on 8/4/09 7:47am
Msg #298607

Re: Just say NO. I do like to help people and have mentored

quad cities

Reply by Carole Breckbill on 8/4/09 10:06am
Msg #298631

All good advice. In your email, you could give her some encouragement: experience is the best learning tool; read and understand the documents; be sure to get copies of D/Ls; and know where to find information in the documents that the BO typically asks for, such as prepayment penalty, loan rate fixed or not, and APR. Then encourage her to ask questions on this forum.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 8/4/09 5:36pm
Msg #298685

Re: need advice and input

I kinda agree with most of your post (although I probably wouldn't get into that much detail for a person who wanted to directly compete with me... ). However, before I'd encourage anyone to come here to ask questions -- especially someone who has the nerve to ask a potential competitor to train them - I'd recommend that they buy a good training program (probably TSR), and come here to "listen", study and read some more. THEN, if they can't find the answer on their own, they could ask questions here. In the long run, I believe they would be much better off if they pursued that approach.

This person may not know any better, but when you step back and think about it, she is really the one who is being rude, in a sense. When I was starting out, it never occurred to me to ask someone to teach me their business so I could compete with them. If you want to know what I REALLY think about newbie attitudes, check out message #95969 (which is also posted on #33325.)