Posted by Michelle/AL on 1/10/10 10:35am
Msg #317429

General Notary Work

This line of my work is steadily growing. I would like to take personal credit for the increase in business but I can't. It seems as if my competitors are turning away more and more work, and those customers are calling me.

In years past I heard that places like FedEx & UPS did not notarize Wills and POAs. When I asked notaries at those locations why I was told "legal reasons". I took it to mean that if a Will notarized by one of their employees was contested, it could be a headache for the company and potential liability.

However, recently I've been hearing that neither banks nor UPS will notarize anything handwritten or typed by an individual. These businesses will only notarize forms (preferably originated by an employer, state or federal government). And even then they pick & choose what they will notarize. For instance, I-9 forms are a no-go. Keep in mind this is what the customer is telling me. I haven't yet verified this with the notaries.

I'm hearing this in N. Alabama. Are you hearing the same thing in your territory? What reasons do you think UPS and banks would have to avoid notarizing personal statements? I'm not here to criticize their business practices. We all have the choice to say "no" when we deem it necessary. However, I might learn something helpful from understanding my competitors' concerns.

Thoughts?

Reply by Lee/AR on 1/10/10 11:14am
Msg #317431

Think that IL lawsuit that Kinkos lost sent a message to 3rd party convenience notary providers. When somebody is 'wronged', their lawyer will start looking for who has the deepest pockets. Many banks in my area will not notarize for 'not-customers'.... and they are also picky as to what they will notarize for a customer. Won't do Wills, for example. (Wills in this state do not need to be notarized, but most people think they do--hence the customer request and subsequent refusal by bank.)

Reply by kathy/ca on 1/10/10 11:25am
Msg #317432

Loans used to be my priority, made more $ and I liked doing

them. Now I rarely accept them. Too much stress involved with low fees, late payments, not getting docs in time, having to wait for the final HUD, on and on!

It used to pay enough to be worth the hassle but not anymore. I am concentrating on "general" notary work and I get enough to keep me pretty busy. It's nice not to have to deal with printing anything and for what I am saving in costs, I am probably making almost as much as I have been over the years doing loans.

I also like the idea that E & O insurance covers my notary work so that eliminates the stress of a problem that could occur under the "Signing Agent" umbrella.

Reply by Cari on 1/10/10 1:26pm
Msg #317444

Lee, you're right about that IL lawsuit...

I am getting more general notary work for Wills, POAs, and the like. And the reasons are because general notaries, that do not do this type of work for a living, just aren't going to take any risks more than they have to. Meaning, if the boss ain't asking, they ain't notarizing. Know what I mean?

Reply by CopperheadVA on 1/10/10 11:40am
Msg #317433

In Virginia, the signature on the will itself is not necessarily notarized, however more often the signatures of the testator and two witnesses on the accompanying self-proving affidavit are notarized, but every single time it's a total PITA.

I was talking to the the owner of the local shipping store where I drop all my packages - she is also a notary - and she told me she doesn't notarize wills because if any document would cause her to get called to court, it would be a will. I personally don't really worry about that because I follow all notary laws, but my beef is, like I said before, they are just a total PITA. They take quite a long time, often with an elderly signer, and often they are the ones from Legal Zoom or some place like that and the signers really don't know what they are doing or just now decide to read the instructions included with the will when they meet with you (or they hand the instructions to the notary, like we are responsible for figuring them out). I've even had some where people share their will with a friend or relative and they just change the individual info to reflect their own needs.

I had one where the daughter-in-law made the appt with me to come to her mother-in-law's home, and she secured the needed witnesses, but when I showed up I found out that the daughter-in-law was not there due to work or another appointment, and she just gave the will and Legal Zoom instructions to her mother-in-law, who didn't know anything about the procedure (yes, she did know she was signing a will and she did want to do that - I asked). Pretty rude of the daughter-in-law to lead me to believe she would be there to facilitate things when she had no intention of it. The travel fee made the appt mildly worthwhile, but with only being able to charge $5 for notarizing the testator signature plus two witness signatures all in one notarial act, it's just not worth the time and potential issues down the road if the will is called into question for whatever reason.

Another thing I'm thinking of discontinuing offering services for is deposition certification. I've done a few of these. Again, very time consuming and not worth bothering with for the $5 per notarial act we can charge in my state of VA. I had a request for one the other day. The guy is doing a do-it-yourself divorce, and he says the clerk at the court told him that the notary would have the deposition he needs for his testimony. When he set up the appt with me, I of course assumed that he would have the document, so when I showed up to meet him at the appt, when I saw no paperwork with him I asked, "Do you have the document?" and he then told me what the clerk at the court said. Told him sorry, I cannot provide that for you.

So again, these types of appts are just not cost effective to accommodate. The fee I am allowed to charge in my state is not commensurate with the amount of time involved for those types of notarial acts.

However, I've done lots of other types of general notary work that is quick and easy and I will continue to do those. I charge a very reasonable fee to meet people at my local Starbucks, plus $5 per notarization, and many people take me up on it.

Reply by BrendaTx on 1/10/10 11:50am
Msg #317434

Copper, even if I meet with people at a restaurant or Starbucks, I tell them that my business model includes a travel fee and I can understand if they want to go elsewhere for $6 per act. Usually, if they are calling me, there is a reason there do not want to go elsewhere and agree to my fee, finding it also to be reasonable. I'm not going to go if they are not willing to pay me an amount that will provide around $xx in total. I feel that's my choice...and theirs, if they use me.

Reply by docnomad on 4/5/10 4:58pm
Msg #330428

I agree with Brenda TX, How ever in AZ the state laws are specific on what can be charged, for the act and for milage. They feel that it is a service and the milage is just to offset the cost of fuel. I know a lot of notaries here charge a "service fee", as I have been told that others charge $xx.xx plus the cost of the act. but if they knew that to do so in this state (Arizona) can loose them their commission as well as having to pay 4X the amout over charged to the client, I wonder how many would be so quick to charge so much. Personally I think one should beable to charge what the market will bare but......the law is the law

Reply by John_NorCal on 1/10/10 12:28pm
Msg #317436

In my area banks and title companies (of which there is now only one) have long refused to notarize anything that they themselves did not generate. There is only one UPS store in town now, they have a notary but I'm not sure what her availability is. Seems like the general notary requests that I get, people say that notaries are hard to find. Go figure, maybe the notary ranks are thining since the bust of loan signing requests. I usually don't get requests to notarize wills since all that is needed is witnessing.
At $10.00 a signature general notary work is worthwhile to me. I meet people at my tax office which is only 2 minutes away from home, so therefore I don't charge a travel fee, I see that as a way of getting my name out there for potential tax and representatation clients.
I would rather do general notary work, the money is paid up front, there's no hassle, and if you do your job right, very little liabililty.

Reply by Roger_OH on 1/10/10 1:16pm
Msg #317440

Re: General Notary Work - I do a ton...

Between my yellow pages ad, internet sites, and word of mouth, I'm very busy with general notary stuff. I travel to them, or meet at a Kinko's (they refer all their notary calls to me). They're often shocked that such a thing as a "mobile notary" even exists.

Never a dull moment, with all kinds of folks in all kinds of situations, but it's a genuine niche.

It amazes me how little people seem to know about notaries and our duties.

Laura Vestanen's book on maximizing non-loan work was very helpful in uncovering all the opportunities out there.

Reply by Notarysigner on 1/10/10 1:23pm
Msg #317442

General notary work has more then quadrupled for me. I also like it ,as another posted, I'm paid immediately without any hassle. I do volunteer work (Senior and long term recovery Centers), you'd be surprised how much business those places generate.

Reply by Robert/FL on 1/11/10 10:22am
Msg #317509

IMO although having notaries at Kinko's or the UPS store is convenient, it leaves room for serious notarial errors. Many of these notaries only became notaries for their employment and do not have a thorough understanding of notary law, and even in California where wording requirements are so strict, most UPS notaries will sign and stamp whatever you put in front of them. Hence the recent Illinois ruling. It would work to all of our benefit for these types of stores to stop selling notarial services.