Posted by anotarygirl on 2/9/10 4:21pm
Msg #322107

san fran/oakland area notary

i have great notaries for outside sfo. i have had NO LUCK with anybody that'll go to these areas and doesn't charge a million dollars to go. i need someone who is pleasant, has reverse mtg experience, edocs, $125 or less, no faxbacks. keeping it simple. help!

Reply by davidK/CA on 2/9/10 4:32pm
Msg #322108

Link your profile so you can be PM'd.

Reply by Deborah Plaugher on 2/9/10 5:08pm
Msg #322111

No need, just use red button to PM her...

Reply by davidK/CA on 2/9/10 6:25pm
Msg #322128

A PM does not supply any information about the original poster.

Reply by CopperheadVA on 2/9/10 5:10pm
Msg #322112

Don't know about Oakland, but doesn't San Fransisco have parking and toll issues? With all due respect, RM's should command more than $125. If everyone in San Fran/Oakland charges a premium, there must be a reason.

Reply by Karla/WA on 2/9/10 5:20pm
Msg #322115

I'm not trying to be rude, but I think "a million dollars" and "will work for less than $125" is quite a bit different. Reverse mortgages routinely take longer to complete than refinances and time is money....offer a competitive amount and you'll get notaries who are familiar with the product and will represent you professionally. How about $150? Still alot less than "a million dollars"......

Reply by cadmonkey/CA on 2/9/10 6:52pm
Msg #322136

anotarygirl, just sent you a pm, I specialize in SF signings...

Reply by Notarysigner on 2/9/10 7:46pm
Msg #322145

That is a very low fee to pay for a RM anywhere....SF notaries start at around $175.00+ so trying to get someone to go into SF from the outside for THAT fee is scandalous. IMO

Reply by GOLDGIRL/CA on 2/9/10 8:15pm
Msg #322149

Cadmonkey, before you or anyone else jumps on this "offer...

Please note that "anotarygirl" appears to be basically one and the same as the Notary Diva who recently sent out the following e-mail as to why she can't pay anyone for their past work. Something about hiring her baby-sitter to run her business. She's already stiffed dozens of notaries, so steer clear. And in the unlikely event there's another "anotary girl" operating in CA, my apologies and please post here and say you're a different "anotarygirl" than the one looking for more notaries to cheat. And just to be clear. The Bay Area is saturated with highly qualified notaries - why do you think she's having such trouble finding one ... hmmmmmm? Anyway:


From: "Carla Van Hoosen" <[e-mail address]>
Date: Tue, 2 Feb 2010 14:57:43
Subject: Urgent message from "The Notary Diva"!

My very dear notary contractors:

If you are receiving this email your payment has been affected by internal "fraudulent activity" that I just discovered this last Thursday.

To explain further: I have had 2 girls that have come to my home and to assist me with "after-school" time with my 4 children for the last 2/3 years. In November I trained one of them to assist me with data entry, invoicing, mailing and preparing checks for payments. They both have always been on my bank account in order to pay for items I might need them to pick up for me. They both come from really great families and have always proven to be very trustworthy. This last week I began to receive calls from notaries that had not received checks for signings completed in November and December. The very few notaries who did not receive their payment from signings completed in November was due to a huge setback when the facility where my business mail was delivered went out of business overnight without warning. My incoming checks went back to the escrow companies and I believe that a batch of my outgoing checks had only names written on them (because I had the address list with me) and were mailed inadvertantly without a "to" address. When these outgoing checks couldn't be delivered they were returned to an address that was CLOSED!! I put my change of address in right away but although I received a few of these back to me now, some are still floating around BUT ALL have had a stop pay placed on the checks and "reissued" checks were drafted.

These "reissued" checks and some of my December signings (which I would pay throughout January) seemed odd to not get to people but as I received your call or email I would ask "her" to check into it. She would tell me the date of mailing. Although work has slowed down considerably in January, I do most of my quickbooks account management all at once for the whole month and then just mail items as they are due. So it did not become strange to me until Monday last week. "She" called in sick 3 days in a row (which wasn't odd, its flu/allergy season) but when I sat down to begin my input on Wed I received a call from a notary in Colorado. She expressed concern for not having received her check. So since I was at my home office, I looked up the check number and then looked at my bank printout. How odd? Her check had cleared my acct-hmmmm. So my account has a feature for me to look at a copy of the check. When I pulled it up it was not written to my notary. I freaked out. I told her I would get back to her after I figured out what happened. Please understand that I have many notaries I utilize every month, its difficult to know all names but I assumed that her check had been recorded under someone elses's name. As I began to unravel the truth of my payments, I began to hyperventilate and cry at the same time. It was Thursday before I could get to the bank take "her" off my account and close the account to any further drafts. I had tons of business transactions coming through but I didn't know what checks she had written to pseudo people to cash for her. Then the puzzle fit together and now since that time I discovered that she had a different job offer and was starting a new job in the next few weeks. So I feel it was calculated and I should have been more careful!! I think in today's times the economy has gotten to a point to force people into such desperation. In my eyes, I feel saddened that her need for money put her in this position and me in this position to be forced to file claims with the bank which can add a whole different level to her already financial troubles. I know she was better than this decision and at 21 years of age has so much life struggle ahead of her that she probably cannot even comprehend at such a young age!
With this said, I want you to know that each of you will be paid the full amount you are owed. I made a request on Friday to take a draw from my Alaska Airlines 401K plan (this was my place of employment for many years prior to establishing this business). I did this because I'm not sure if/when the bank will be able to return any of the money to me. Because she was a signor on my account I may not have recourse, but that is not your issue. I just felt that my business integrity means everything to me. There are many signing companies who don't care whether you get paid or not, but NOT ME!! I stress about this kind of thing. You have helped me do a job and rightfully need to receive your payment. I have opened new accounts and ordered checks that will now be PRINTED from my computer. No more handwriting of checks. I should receive my documents by Wednesday to fill out to get money out of my 401K. Once they receive it, it takes the 7-14 days to get it to me-however, as I receive funds from escrow companies I will send payments out to the person furthest back, moving forward. I'm still trying to sift through my bank account to see who else has been issued checks that I showed as paid but the check was cashed by someone working with "her". I would appreciate you shooting me a quick email saying "yes" you were paid for Nov/Dec signings or "no" you haven't. I do apologize again for this email being so lengthy but my mother raised me to be honest and forthcoming when there is a problem. Lying about the details gets neither of us closer to our goal and only looses me credibility! Now a lot of you I have worked with numerous times over the years and you've never received payments late from me, so I feel that you know my business integrity. However, those of you who this is the first time we've worked together, I hope that you can be as understanding as possible and give me the opportunity to show you in the next closing how I truly run my business.

I have opened fresh new accounts and the checks for "reissuance" will begin to roll out as quickly as I can get the new checks AND my funds. I do again apologize for any inconvienance this will cause to you and know that I am working dilegently to get you all paid. I will send you each a personalized email with approx payment dates. I understand if you won't be able to accept work from me in the meantime.

May God richly bless you and your business during 2010!!


Make it a GREAT day!!!

Carla Van Hoosen

Reply by Notarysigner on 2/9/10 10:57pm
Msg #322168

If this is "the notarydiva" you are full of it!!!!!! The only thing worse then paying someone peanuts is agreeing to pay a fare price then not pay them at all. You definitely need all our prayers!

Reply by anotarygirl on 2/10/10 2:01am
Msg #322173

well...it seems as if Mr Dawson is upset that he made an error on the last signing he did in that area for me and refused to fix his error initially until the escrow officer got involved. Which really was between the two of them and I was not involved in what transpired in that aspect. But will he paid eventhough my escrow officer was VERY upset and asked that his payment be reduced? YES OF COURSE!!! Ask anybody who I sent that email to...all people have been paid or will be receiving checks within days. I didn't get to see who copied and pasted my email, but THANKS! I don't mind. It's honest and forthcoming and I'm not ashamed of anything that took place or anything I said in that email. It was a minor set back that I have since overcome and moved forward. I've been in business for quite sometime and I HAVE NEVER NOT paid anyone. NEVER!!! I take offense to it being regarded as such because its simply not correct. WOW, I don't remember saying in that email that nobody was getting paid, did it say that? I guess I should go back and read it again and give clarity to that for people who may have read it differently. I believe, however, that I said when I discovered the issue, I went full force to rectify and fix it and get payments out. Which I have done and will continue to do. I have 9 escrow companies that I work for and a growing list of notaries who all get paid and work for me on a consistent basis, with no issues or problems. At least I am honest in saying that payments were forthcoming. I, too, am a notary and have much more respect for honest people then those who don't take my calls when they owe me money. I've answered all calls and have been forthright with payments. But....now that wouldn't be told on here because we are always out to make sure we only POST THE BAD about people. It's quite alright, because I am confident that people see through these postings. AND......my posting was simply just to try and connect with a bay area notary that didn't ask $250 per signing (as 7 people i called asked for this as their base fee.) I always try to be really fair with fees. Keeping only $25 and in some cases $50, but rarely more than $25. I do this simply as an additional perk of servicing my own loan officers in my area. Not ALL signing services are bad, really. I know that that's the stereotype of some. I didn't mean for my post to seem at all like I'm trying to cut anyone's fair price down. I simply chose a number but I do have in some cases much more leeway than $125 with fees. I was being funny about the million dollars. In today's recession I am seeing more and more escrow companies reducing their fees rather than increasing and I'm definately not seeing $250 notary fees being paid but I'm sure they are out there. So I apologize for having offended anyone with regards to that post. It wasn't my intention to make it sem like i was trying to undercut the industry. I should have been more clear in my first post. Thanks again for the encouraging words and prayers here, they are always greatly appreciated!! I had 16 people respond to my request, so its great to have this forum capabilty!! Keep moving forward! Make it a great day and prosperous at that!!

Reply by jba/fl on 2/10/10 7:23am
Msg #322177

Good grief woman - don't you know how to write?

Use paragraphs to facilitate ease of reading, learn to edit and be concise. Who can read all that claptrap?

Reply by Notarysigner on 2/10/10 7:42am
Msg #322179

you are bad san fran/oakland area notary

You mean the error where the escrow officer used the wrong name for the power of attorney? Then said it was my fault because I should have told you so you could tell her. You mean me telling you if you wanted me to go back out on the correction you'd have to pay me you go back there with the corrected Docs? I knew you weren't going to pay remember, remember you said, "All I'm being paid is $ XX and I'm going it all to you"! Well how was I going to be paid if that all you had. You forgot to mention to our forum family, I told you and your escrow officer to get someone else to lie to the borrower and because of both you and her unethical conduct to keep your $ XX because I was better than that. Now, that being said, let's see if you pay me. Oh yea, let's see isn't your favorite saying, "God Bless, Make it a great day and prosperous at that!!"

Reply by Notarysigner on 2/10/10 7:48am
Msg #322180

Re: you are bad san fran/oakland area notary

Sorry for the typos...I'm trying to be better and above the mud but I keep stepping in it somehow

Reply by Les_CO on 2/10/10 7:53am
Msg #322182

If you are truly a Signing Service, and legitimately in business as such, why do you not post that? Use your Company name. Why do you try and remain anonymous, or post under different names none linked to your profile, or business? It sounds to me like your ‘business’ is a hobby that you are being dishonest about. Regardless of if your babysitter wrote checks on your business account or not. Totally unprofessional people have no place in this business, as NSA’s or especially as SS’s. JMO.

Reply by jba/fl on 2/10/10 8:01am
Msg #322183

She is a notary girl, not woman, and this is a child's game

to her it appears. For once, Les, I agree with you about the linking, and the more I see this kind of stuff, the more inclined I am to think this should be the norm.

Reply by Notarysigner on 2/10/10 8:07am
Msg #322184

Re: She is a notary girl, not woman, and this is a child's game

She won't be in business too much longer. I wonder if she had something to do with the maintenance program for AA when she worked for them. Their wings starting falling off.

Reply by CopperheadVA on 2/10/10 8:30am
Msg #322185

I agree Les, and also if she is the Notary Diva then why is she posting as anotarygirl? From what notarysigner said, it seems as if the docs were wrong but of course it's the notary's fault and not the doc preparer's fault. These docs are supposed to be reviewed for errors and READY TO GO when they reach us.

My jaw was hanging open as I read that she let two babysitters have access to her bank account. I'm sorry, no one gets access to my bank account except for ME, and if I knew on Monday that someone was stealing from me, then I would never have waited three days to get to the bank. I would have dropped everything and gone to the bank immediately. And if I was responsible for paying other people who had performed work for me, I would be writing those checks personally. When you run a business out of your house, you must keep your own hands in the fire. This is a great example of why I don't take work from notaries that farm out signings and take a small cut.

I got a call last night from one such notary farmer at 5 PM for a signing ASAP. He offered a fee and I countered with my minimum fee, which was my regular minimum fee with no markups for the last minute call or for the snow that was starting to fall. He said he only gets $XXX for the job and that would only leave him with a $10 profit. I held to my fee, which is what I have established for myself to charge so I can stay in business and *gasp* make a profit. Instead of being professional and saying thank you and moving on, he kept going on and on about how he's a SS and not a TC and can't afford to pay like a TC, and on and on and on.

Crap like this why I'm working towards getting out of this business. These TC and SS have made it so that it's barely worth it for mobile notary's to continue closing loans. Once I'm established in my new career, I will do like ME/NJ does and take only the high dollar/fast pay calls - and thankfully there are still some TC's out there that value their notaries and will pay a decent fee, and at funding to boot.

Sorry for my rant!!!

Reply by jba/fl on 2/10/10 8:36am
Msg #322186

If that was a rant, then I am ranting all the time - LOL.

Luckily I am able to do as you plan and ME/NJ does...it really makes a difference. Good luck to you on getting underway with something new and exciting; I know you can do it!

Reply by SOCAL/CA on 2/10/10 9:04am
Msg #322188

Just words

When a SS tell me "I only make $XX", it goes right over my head. How do we know how much they are getting paid? We don't know how much they are getting paid. Just words. This is another ploy to get you to accept a lowball fee. I stick to my minimum fee.

Reply by CopperheadVA on 2/10/10 9:09am
Msg #322191

Re: Just words

I agree, and it's also not my business what the SS gets paid. It's unprofessional for them to tell me and try to use that against me. I've found that only the lowballers even pull this with the "Well I only get $XX". There are a FEW signing services out there that operate like true professional businesses. I don't have any issues working for them, but the list is getting smaller!

Reply by CopperheadVA on 2/10/10 9:14am
Msg #322192

Believe me, I was ranting in my head!!!!

By the end of this year, I'm hoping to be in another type of business full time. I've been taking classes at the community college since Jan 2009 and should finish up by the end of this summer. I'll still do signings part time, but I'll be able to be more choosy who I work for. These ever-lower fees from the lowball SS and TC's have made so many of us get out of this business - it's just not worth it anymore.

Reply by Notarysigner on 2/10/10 9:26am
Msg #322195

If I were younger I would beg you to not leave the profession it's people like you posters (exclude you know who) that make it good in the first place, not the vipers. You guys keep the snakes under the rocks so to speak.

It is because I'm retired that I'm able to weather the storm so I really do respect all of you who do this full time. For me it's the morality of it all and we need to make the "rocks" bigger, heavier and not smaller, lighter.

Reply by Les_CO on 2/10/10 9:20am
Msg #322193

I agree 100% about ‘farm-outs’ Firstly it’s dishonest. How can a Notary that represents that they will do a job, then farm it out to someone else? For a ‘small cut’ or not? If you get asked to do a job and can’t do it for whatever reason, tell the Title Company, and RECOMMEND someone else. The people that hire your depend upon your reputation (perhaps experience/and profile?) and you to do the job. If they have insurance it may cover YOU as their contractor, not someone else. If there is a problem, or change, how do they contact the Notary? Many SS call the borrower and confirm, saying that Notary such and such will be calling you, or meeting you etc. What’s the borrower think when someone else shows up? This practice is totally unprofessional and dishonest behavior just to make a couple of bucks.

Reply by LKT/CA on 2/10/10 11:57am
Msg #322215

<<<My jaw was hanging open as I read that she let two babysitters have access to her bank account.>>>

Mine too! If I needed someone to "pick up a few things" for me at the store, they'd get a Walmart gift card (close in dollar value to the cost of the items) and a list. I'd expect to have the gift card and the receipt given to me and I would check the receipt to ensure that only what I asked for was purchased. The lack of business acumen from this SS masquerading as a regular SA is astounding, to say the least.

Reply by GOLDGIRL/CA on 2/10/10 12:14pm
Msg #322222

OMG!

If you spent half as much time paying for work performed as you do trolling for new suckers and coming up with stupid excuses about how you can't pay, we'd all be a lot better off. And as to:

<<I had 16 people respond to my request, so its great to have this forum capabilty!!>>

My advice to you unfortunate 16 is, once again, streer clear - cos you won't get paid.

Carla, you have been rattling on for years about how you are a notary, too, and you know how hard it is out there for us and how you identify with us and what a great person you are and how lucky we are to do business with you and what great contacts you have and blah blah - it's getting OLD. You are such a bag of hot air and now a liar, too. Just shut up and pay.

Reply by Charles_Ca on 2/10/10 12:35pm
Msg #322231

$125 or LESS? I'd want COMBAT PAY for some of those areas! n/m