Posted by Negrete on 7/8/09 7:14am
Msg #294955

Fax Back of Critical Documents ?

OK, I need some thought on this subject.

I have acustomer that is starting to request fax back of ( what they call Critical Documents ).

I am asking for some feedback from the folks that know me ( and those that don't know me also ) and what they feel is a fair fee for this request. It is going to be about 20 to 30 pages.

I know most people do not like this (*&%*&^ ) but I have to keep my customer happy also.

PLease , no rude comments, I am just doing my job.

Anthony J Negrete

Reply by MW/VA on 7/8/09 7:23am
Msg #294956

I generally charge an extra fee of $25 for faxbacks of that many pages.

Reply by Calnotary on 7/8/09 8:04am
Msg #294965

The only problem I see in faxbacks is the extra trip to drop the package. Because I usually sign and drop the package in the nearest fed ex box. With fax backs you have to come to your office and with 30 pages it's an additonal 30 minutes of your time and the extra trip to the fed ex box. I will do it for the same amount others have said.

Reply by nolanotary on 7/8/09 7:26am
Msg #294957

I've had a few TC & SS request fax backs and have charged $25 or more for this additional service. For 20 to 30 pages, I feel that would be fair, when you consider that you have to go back to your office before dropping the package and sort out the docs that need to be faxed, wait for fax confirmation, reorganize package, & drive to drop off. Time is money.

Reply by JanetLA on 7/8/09 7:27am
Msg #294958

No problem for extra $25 fee. Not for free n/m

Reply by PAW on 7/8/09 7:28am
Msg #294959

Given my current pricing, for faxing back ~25 pages would be an extra $11.25 (rounded up to the nearest $5.00 would be $15.00). There must also be the understanding that anytime a faxback requirement is made, docs will not be returned the same day, they will be dropped on the following day, even if the signing is early in the morning.

However, I have a very hard time understanding how there can be 20 to 30 pages of "critical" documents, especially with a refinance. Even with a purchase, where buyers and sellers are present, the number of pages required to be sent back from the table only amounts to about 10 to 15 pages.

I do understand your position. I don't understand your customer's position.

Reply by Teddog/CO on 7/8/09 9:51am
Msg #294982

Like PAW and others I also charge for fax backs. PAW is correct most notaries have to do fax backs at the end of the day because of time and distance between appointments. Yes we should let companies know up-front that their fax backs will be done at the end of day and the pkg will leave the next day. We can't afford to be running back and forth to accommodate one company. Time is money to us and the distance most of have to travel just to drop pkgs at UPS and FedEx is costly. Object of the game is to keep unnecessary trips to a minimum.

JMO Sad but true (some) SS with take full advantage of a notary if they can.

Reply by MichiganAl on 7/8/09 4:06pm
Msg #295029

I'm glad you made these points

Unless it's a signing with no RTC, there's nothing CRITICAL about 30 pages of docs that just have to be in their hot hands the same day. And they better understand that not only will there be an additional fee for this, but docs are not going to go out same day. When working directly with a title company instead of the middleman S.S., I've found that the moment I tell them that docs likely won't go out same day because I can't do the faxbacks until the end of the day, these critical faxbacks suddenly become not so critical. Every title company has said that they'd rather have docs go out same day.

Reply by Shoshana Roller on 7/8/09 7:52am
Msg #294961

My fee would also depend upon whether the fax back number is toll free or not. Since I have unlimited long distance on my cell, I don't have it on my land line.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 7/8/09 8:01am
Msg #294964

Re: Fax Back of Critical Documents ?...my situation only..

Minimum $25....since faxbacks mean I have to come back to my office to fax, that's adding an additional 40+ miles to my travel (plus time) added to the whole process if I have to come back to fax then go out again to drop the package - just a trip to drop the package is 30 miles round trip for me. And as Paul said, depending on all the circumstances involved (time and location of closing, my schedule, etc), I can't agree to same-day dropoff if faxbacks are required.

Reply by CaliNotary on 7/8/09 1:35pm
Msg #295017

Re: Fax Back of Critical Documents ?...my situation only..

"since faxbacks mean I have to come back to my office to fax, that's adding an additional 40+ miles to my travel"

Fax machines are cheap, why wouldn't you have one at home instead of having to drive 40 miles every time you need it?

Reply by trnsa_IL on 7/8/09 2:04pm
Msg #295021

Re: Fax Back of Critical Documents ?...my situation only..

I certainly cannot speak for LindaH, but my office is in my home. Therefore my fax machine is also in my home office. I think many of us maybe operating from an office inside our homes.

Tonya

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 7/8/09 3:16pm
Msg #295025

Re: Fax Back of Critical Documents ?...my situation...Cali

My office is in my home - my home is 15 miles from the nearest drop spot for FedEx or UPS drop....30 miles RT not counting the travel from where the signing is - for me it could be 15 miles - that's 15 miles home then 30 miles RT to drop the package....

I do have a fax machine - a Brother laser all-in-one...scanner/fax/coper/printer....in my office.

Reply by CaliNotary on 7/8/09 7:01pm
Msg #295039

D'oh, that makes more sense! n/m

Reply by Patricia Manatt on 7/8/09 7:57am
Msg #294962

Like previous posters, I charge and additional $25 for each 30 pages of fax backs.

Reply by ME/NJ on 7/8/09 8:00am
Msg #294963

Guess you got the Fairfield request(Chase Loans)

Seems this TC wants fax backs now when they farm out to SS. Thank god I get there work from the attorneys there.. Sign and send done.

Reply by Lee/AR on 7/8/09 8:23am
Msg #294966

Has to be $25...for all the reasons previously stated. Perhaps your customer would be willing to have a particular Notary do this but once. If they find no errors (I assume that's their problem), this requirement is dropped for that particular Notary.

In addition to the logistics problems already mentioned, I have found that faxing that many docs usually is a real PITA. Halfway thru, the call gets dropped & I need to start all over or the receiving fax # is busy, busy, busy. It generally is a time-consuming nuisance and also usually means those docs aren't shipping until the next day.

Trying to pay less than $25 will probably be counterproductive as your experienced notaries will start refusing the job and you may fnd yourself working more with the notaries who caused this stipulation... a downward spiral. Oh, and please, Tony, DO tell the notary of this requirement--in detail--don't let it come as a big surprise as this does not endear you to any of us. I am miffed when a co. tells me "a few pages", then the instructions say 45.

Reply by jojo_MN on 7/8/09 9:24am
Msg #294978

In the closing instructions (BAC) they (the lender) are

asking the closer (i.e.) title company to faxback those documents before they can get a funding approval. This is a lender request. Some title companies have hundreds of closings a day. It would be to their advantage to have the notaries do the work for them.

It would be nice to be paid for this service. The BAC faxbacks have been 40+ lately. I was recently talked down on my normal fee by $25 only to find out I had to spend another 1 1/2 hours on the faxtbacks. (Drive back to office, pick out docs, fax, and put back in place).

Of course, when you ask the scheduling dept if they know if there will be the faxbacks, they say they done know and if you don't take it without charging extra, they will just "go on to the next notary".

Reply by CaliNotary on 7/8/09 1:37pm
Msg #295018

"I have found that faxing that many docs usually is a real PITA. Halfway thru, the call gets dropped & I need to start all over"

I never send them all in one fax. I'll do about 15 pages per, and split it up into 2 or 3 faxes.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 7/8/09 3:22pm
Msg #295026

Not to be argumentative, Cali, but this statement "I never send them all in one fax. I'll do about 15 pages per, and split it up into 2 or 3 faxes." goes against everything you preach to us about running our business and effective use of time. Faxing 3 times instead of one? What a waste of time!! And faxing 2, 3 or however many times does not guarantee the call won't get dropped. MHO

Reply by CaliNotary on 7/8/09 7:08pm
Msg #295040

Actually, it doesn't go against it at all.

Nor does it take any longer. It feeds into the memory so I don't have to wait until the first one is done sending, I just start sending the second batch immediately after the first fax is dialing. It takes X amount of time for 50 pages to feed into the fax, whether it's done in one batch of 50 or 3 batches of 17 pages. I don't even have to dial the number again, I just have to hit the redial button.

And if one of the transmissions does get messed up, I only have to resend part of the stack instead of the entire thing.

I don't know about everyone else's experience, but it seems like every time I've tried to fax a huge stack all at once, it always ends up getting messed up and I end up wasting a lot of time, and ultimately split it into several faxes anyway. Doing it this way is successful almost every single time so I'm sure it's been a time saver overall.

Reply by PAW on 7/8/09 7:55pm
Msg #295054

Re: Actually, it doesn't go against it at all.

I've successfully sent tomes via fax ... 150+ pages, all in one fell swoop. With the proper equipment, if the fax fails, it will automatically retry. And if some pages were successfully sent, then those pages are skipped during the resend attempt. Never had any problems because of failed connections. That is not to say there hasn't been times when the connection failed, just that the fax machine (software in this case) worked as expected and outlined above.

Reply by Glenn Strickler on 7/8/09 10:53am
Msg #294993

Better late than never ...

Hi Tony,

I too would like to see a list of these "critical" documents. When a fax back is just a couple of pages, I don't worry about charging extra, no big deal as long as the client realizes that a daytime assignment won't get to Fedex until the next morning. 20 or 30 pages is going to require an additional charge. I would be in the same ballpark as everyone else in this thread.

However, when it is that many pages, there is something else going on here. I would just love to know what that is ......

Reply by Sir_Lawrence on 7/8/09 10:55am
Msg #294994

Re: Better late than never ...

$27.50...I have to be different, and pricy.

Reply by Dorothy_MI on 7/8/09 11:36am
Msg #295004

It's elementary why they request

faxbacks. When we fax back most of the package, it is scanned into their computer and they don't have to spend their time and money scanning the docs in. It's real easy to tell which they want QC or record keeping. If they only want the first, signature and notary page of Mortgage/DOT it is a quality control issue. If they want all 12 - 20 pages of Mortgage/DOT it is a money/time saving feature for them. If that's why they want the fax backs we SHOULD be charging them (believe me they know exactly to the penny what the cost of that job is to them). So if they want to save money, we need to be compensated for our time and costs.

Reply by MistarellaFL on 7/8/09 11:54am
Msg #295006

Re: It's elementary why they request

And many times (particularly in this housing environment) it's because it is a same day funding loan or new purchase.
FWIW, like many others, I no longer have LD on the landline, so a toll-free number is needed.
Secondly, I prefer scanning. It's faster and doesn't tie up my landline.
It doesn't tie up their fax line. I don't get a constant busy signal on their fax line.
I can't think of any reason why the title company or lender can't provide a valid email address to email the whole package.
Lastly, like many others have indicated, I can't guarantee shipping same day if I have to travel back to the office for scanning or faxing.
There was a day when I kept my all-in-one in the rear of my vehicle, so I could scan the package before I dropped it, and email it immediately.
Nowadays, things are so slow that I don't want to lug my 50# a-i-o around, and I let my aircard drop, no reason to pay Verizon $70 a month for nothing.
That's my humble opinion on that subject.

Reply by Dorothy_MI on 7/8/09 12:35pm
Msg #295010

The only problem with

scanning is that I'd have to buy another piece of equipment. Many of the TC fax's go right into their computer. Of course, we've always had to fax docs on purchases, investment property or anything else that has same day funding, but that is built into my price and especially the REO's are usually done in a Real Estate office so I use their fax.

Reply by Les_CO on 7/8/09 11:09am
Msg #294998

I HATE fax-backs! But I do understand that some lenders/TC’s require them.
It’s not the faxing, it’s the logistics.
So I say IF it’s a toll free number, and I drop the package the next day, I’ll faxback the signature page of the…Note….DOT/Mortgage… the TIL…the RTC… and the HUD for no extra charge. Beyond that I just don’t what to bother with it, regardless of an ‘extra’ $10 or even $25, just call someone else.

Reply by thnotary_NY on 7/8/09 1:33pm
Msg #295016

With that many fax backs, I'm thinking it's more a case of the lender/title checking on the *correctness* of the signed docs.

Reply by Les_CO on 7/8/09 2:29pm
Msg #295024

There can be many reasons….some legitimate, some just stupid. If time is critical, (purchases, etc.) the time of day when signed, the shipping company, (depending on where you are located) many times UPS drivers don’t scan in the packages, and they arrive “out of nowhere” in 3 to 5 days. (after many many desperate calls) Some lenders will fund with fax copies. Depending on the State, type of property (residence/ rental) and the lender, some want the non-borrowing spouse to sign the DOT. Many times title does NOT include the NBS name on the signature line OR in the notarial block, but somewhere in the 4 to 20 pages of ‘instructions’ it says to have the NBS sign, usually the TIL, and the RTC also. I think it’s mostly for QC. Lots of newbie’s out there and many cheapo lowball SS’s that hire $50 notaries and get what they pay for. In this case may I say that I have worked for Tony for years, and he is neither of the above, he is one of the best!

Reply by NCLisa on 7/8/09 9:22pm
Msg #295067

They aren't checking for correctness, they are having the

NSA fax back the funding docs. 75% of the time, the phone number goes to the lenders funding dept. not the TC. They are asking you to do the job the EO/SO is getting paid to do.

I do not do faxbacks. I know whose job it is to get the loan funded and it is not mine. If it were, I'd be working in an office from 8 to 5 with some TC's logo on the front door and enjoying decent benefits and 2 weeks paid vacation.

Reply by Lee/AR on 7/9/09 12:15am
Msg #295085

And the "Best Answer Award" goes to NCLisa! n/m

Reply by JanetK_CA on 7/9/09 2:27am
Msg #295094

Re: And the "Best Answer Award" goes to NCLisa!

Can't disagree with any of that. But if someone is willing to pay be a reasonable fee to do part of their job without expecting me to potentially give up other work so I can drop off documents the same day, I'll happily do it.

Reply by Dorothy_MI on 7/9/09 8:17pm
Msg #295228

Agree, but

I was certain that's what I said several posts above. Anyway, at least two of us have figured it out.

Reply by MistarellaFL on 7/9/09 8:37pm
Msg #295230

"Anyway, at least two of us have figured it out"

You ain't alone ladies.