Posted by Michelle/AL on 7/25/10 10:19pm
Msg #346263

The Good Ole Days as an NSA

I met a 30-Something year old man today to notarize one form for him. When he saw my car signs he asked me if I performed loan closings. I told him yes. He then said that he used to do loan closings when he was 18 years old in...Missouri (I think) and he worked directly for a title company and was paid $300 for each closing. He assumed I was making at least that much, if not more, now. I'm sure my eyes were like saucers when he said $300. He said he averaged 3-4 closings a day. He did it for a short while, got bored, and started working in construction.

Well....I told him I wasn't getting near that now.

I was just looking at my schedule for the week and couldn't help but calcuate what I could make this week if I were getting $300 per closing.

One can dream, right?

Reply by Hugh Nations Signing Agents of Austin on 7/25/10 10:29pm
Msg #346264

***I was just looking at my schedule for the week and couldn't help but calcuate what I could make this week if I were getting $300 per closing.***

What, Michelle, you're working for those lowball $225-235 per closing companies?

Reply by Moneyman/TX on 7/25/10 11:24pm
Msg #346265

LOL
Hugh, did you mean 225-235 pages per loan companies?

Reply by Michelle/AL on 7/25/10 11:33pm
Msg #346266

I'm tempted (just a little bit) to quote a $300 fee to the

next title company who calls me for a closing. I just want to see if I get laughed at, or if I just
get "the click".

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 7/26/10 2:38am
Msg #346269

Re: I'm tempted (just a little bit) to quote a $300 fee to the

I did that last summer, but they wanted me to travel out to the middle of NOWHERE... 75 miles each way. That's the nature of living in the Mojave desert... but my mileage/travel fee ALONE was $127 for that location. Add NSA fees, edoc fees, etc... I ended up quoting them an even $300, knowing I really should charge more and not at all expecting they'd go for it.

It was a direct call from a TC, too, not a SS. The lady said, "Are you freaking nuts?"

I laughed and explained to her that where she wanted me to go was really remote and if she didn't want to pay the fee, I could recommend somebody else who might be a be closer or the borrower could travel in to town and we could handle it that way. I mean, there had to be an NSA in Ridgecrest that was closer... HAD to be. Not that they'd want to travel out there, either. Of course, when I looked, the only one I could find said in her description that her "notary warrant" expired on a such and such a date. Notary warrant??? I figured, yeah... no wonder they're calling me.

She said she would have to "get it approved" and call me back. Yeah, we all know what that means.

Then she called back an hour later and said that she admitted that she called 8 other notaries and they either refused to do it or quoted HIGHER than $300.

I went and I did it. It was a long ole, HOT trip, and I should have charged more. It was for a land purchase/construction loan, and the borrowers were (at the time) living in this odd conglomeration of trailers with no A/C. It was quite possibly the most uncomfortable signing I've ever done - we ended up going outside because it was cooler - and with a breeze, but still over 100 degrees. Our seats were old painted wooden reels, and it was clear that this couple was saving every penny they could to put toward their home, which was really admirable. The place wasn't dirty or anything... but it was like an artsy mansion of recycled goods. Basically, your typical eccentric living in the middle of the desert. Nice people... but I REALLY should have charged more like $350-$400 for that one. No joke.

Reply by 101livescan on 7/26/10 7:37am
Msg #346274

Re: I'm tempted (just a little bit) to quote a $300 fee to the

One of the hottest loan officers in SB paid me $500 last winter to drive to Pine Mountain to get a loan package which rate lock was due to expire at midnight. I arrived at 10pm. By the time we finished I was about to fall on my face. The borrowers, who are now good friends, convinced me to spend the night in their guest room since I would not get home for three hours and it would not be safe for me to drive in the snow. I had a hard time finding them because of the heavy fog, I left at 5am to get home in time for another rock and roll day of signing.

Reply by Cari on 7/26/10 11:23am
Msg #346282

A reputable larger TC may just give you that fee if you ask.

I've done it, and it works and haggling (though I hate it) never hurts either!

The smaller TC's, especially those part of the low baller club probably won't, and you'll most definitely get a laugh THEN a "click" from a SS.

But seriously, it never hurts to start high....

Reply by CopperheadVA on 7/26/10 11:47am
Msg #346287

Re: A reputable larger TC may just give you that fee if you ask.

But on the flip side, I remember one time when I quoted high ($175) and the offer was accepted. Then 15 minutes later I got a call canceling with me because my fee was a little too high and they found someone cheaper. I was never given the opportunity to negotiate on that one.

Reply by Grammyzoom on 7/26/10 7:17am
Msg #346273

My husband insists I was the first Mobile Notary ever.

My recollections of the good Ole Days was over 30 years ago when I was an Escrow Officer in Santa Monica, California. My biggest client was the number one developer in So Cal at the time. He built condos in Century City, luxury homes in the Palisades, medium homes in Newhall and low priced homes in other areas.

When a block of homes would close I would pack up my briefcase with 6 to 8 sets of documents and head out to a model home at the development and meet one borrower after another all day long. When I was finished I would package the docs (which meant actually preparing them for the lender certified copies and all) and Fed Ex would come pick up from me.

It was my idea to do this and I did this because a lot of the buyers had to come long distances to my office through traffic. It was just easier for me to meet them nearer to where they live and we could coordinate their walk-thru's after signing.

For this I received a whopping salary of $1,200 a month PERIOD! I never even asked for reimbursement for my gas.

I would love to know when some of you started your loan signing businesses. When were your "Good Ole Days?.

Reply by MistarellaFL on 7/26/10 8:02am
Msg #346275

Yeah, but $1200-30 years ago was alot of money (to me) n/m

Reply by Grammyzoom on 7/26/10 10:06am
Msg #346279

Re: Yeah, but $1200-30 years ago was alot of money (to me)

You are right, it was pretty good pay. I loved what I did and would have been willing to work for even less than that at the time. But, as any good Escrow Officer will tell you it can be very loooong hours. Being a manager paid me 10 times that much years ago but was an 60 to 80 hour a week job.

Reply by janCA on 7/26/10 10:30am
Msg #346280

When I first got my commission in 2001

the testing site was at the local Junior College.

As we were all standing outside waiting for the doors to open, going over the notes and material we had learned that week, I remember one woman stating that she worked for a local bank and they were looking for notaries to do their closings. They were offering fees of $250. This was prior to e-docs. It took me a year to even research "mobile" loan signings. It was a missed opportunity, to say the least. At that point in time, I didn't realize it, though.

And once the NNA got their grubby hands into the mix, and everybody and their brother became a notary, the fees took a big hit. I can't imagine it ever being the way it was even though we offer an invaluable service. So many SA's can't seem to grasp that concept when they will do these loan signings for paltry fees. It's very frustrating.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 7/26/10 2:30pm
Msg #346320

Re: When I first got my commission in 2001

The good news is that (at least in California) a lot of those notaries' commissions have or are expiring and they aren't renewing -- a 22% drop on the last two years, and it will keep dropping for another year or two I think - the new laws, increased fees, and especially the the new FBI background requirement in 2008 are really having an impact.

Of those that do have active commissions still, few are even actually still working.

Reply by kathy/ca on 7/26/10 8:40pm
Msg #346360

"Of those that do have active commissions still, few are

even actually still working." Marian, how would you know that they are not working? I am curious!

Reply by JanetK_CA on 7/26/10 2:50pm
Msg #346327

Re: When I first got my commission in 2001

So true, Jan. I remember talking with a local manager of a loan office who was looking for a notary to handle signings for a $250 flat rate. The problem was that they were mostly in adjacent counties, which meant lots of travel time through heavy traffic - and a big limitation on what other assignments I'd be able to take.

I turned him down primarily because I didn't like the idea of having all my eggs in one basket and depending on them for my livelihood. Makes it much harder to walk away from the ones where there are "issues" (like ID's for example) and a LO is pressuring you to sign anyway. That was during the "anything goes" days. I think I made the right decision for me.

Reply by LKT/CA on 7/26/10 7:34pm
Msg #346357

<<<.....he worked directly for a title company and was paid $300 for each closing. He said he averaged 3-4 closings a day. He did it for a short while, got bored,......>>>

Got BORED?!?! I certainly wouldn't be bored making $900 - $1,200 per day.....YIKES!!!