We can ALL attest to numerous borrowers wanting to get in this business. My borrower last evening said she is a notary and would not mind a little extra money every month. She even went as far as telling my particular contact at the title company that she might like some work. I reminded her that I had spent a few hundred hours studying and researching this occupation before jumping in. She said the previous notary that came to their home back in 2005 said he made about $300 to $400 a closing. Hmmm. 2 or 3 a month=$900-1200. What!? We wish. I think she heard wrong.
Reply by MW/VA on 3/2/10 1:48pm Msg #324906
Sure--when we sit at the signing this looks like a "piece of
cake" profession. We all know better. Don't we wish we were making that kind of money.
Reply by Sylvia_FL on 3/2/10 2:33pm Msg #324919
I used to get that all the time. Just mention that it isn't a "job" where you can set your own appointment etc, that you have to have a laser printer, that docs are often late and you have to hope that companies pay you - and with some companies you are lucky if they offer you $100, many of them only want to pay $50 or less.
Reply by Robert/FL on 3/2/10 2:45pm Msg #324920
I have had a few clients (and please call them "clients" not "borrowers" as not every person getting a document notarized is borrowing something), ask about how much money I make as a notary. I quite honestly tell them that the money is not very good and there are very few notaries who can be self-supporting based on their notary income alone. In general I tend to discourage others from becoming notaries. We already have enough uneducated notaries running around ruining it for the rest of us.
Reply by Sylvia_FL on 3/2/10 2:48pm Msg #324921
When you are doing a signing, they are "borrowers" our clients are the signing services or the title companies.
You are correct in your statement that there are too many uneducated notaries running around. I see some posting on this forum. Thought one of them had left, but he appears to have returned.
Reply by Notarysigner on 3/2/10 2:56pm Msg #324922
BURN!
Reply by MW/VA on 3/2/10 2:57pm Msg #324923
You beat me to the punch, Sylvia.
BTW, Robert, do you realize that we do on average 8-12 notarizations per loan package. In the last four years I've done over 1,000 signings. That makes for over 10,000 notarizations. How many years do you think a notary would be at it to complete that many notarizations?
Reply by Linda Juenger on 3/2/10 3:10pm Msg #324925
Robert, 1 out of a 100 for me is a general notarization
The 99 others ARE BORROWERS. Sylvia is right, my CLIENTS are who hires me, not the borrowers.
Reply by Notarysigner on 3/2/10 3:14pm Msg #324926
Re: Robert, 1 out of a 60 for me is a general notarization n/m
Reply by LKT/CA on 3/2/10 3:41pm Msg #324930
It's the opposite for me
1 out of 50 is the borrower.....the other 49 are general notary work.
Reply by Grammyzoom on 3/2/10 3:42pm Msg #324931
Get ready to beat me up!
Goodness. I just read the comments on this post and am really surprised by some of the comments here.
I too get asked all of the time about this job. And, yes, there is a lot more to it than what appears on the surface. Days without work, never knowing for sure how much money you will be bringing in this month. Lots of docs not getting to you in time to be on time for your appointments. Occasionally not getting paid and night signings when you cannot see the addresses on the houses, animals jumping on you and sometimes some not to clean homes to spend time in.
However, I am so grateful for the ability to have this job! In the past 4 years in thousands of signings my husband and I have only had 5 obnoxious people to deal with. Most of the time we meet really terrific people, enjoy our signing time and learn a lot about some very interesting people.
When we do get signings we spend the time it takes to get the appointment set up, print the docs, drive to the signing, time at the signing and get docs packaged and sent. The average for this is about 2 - 3 hours depending on distance of signing. And we charge between $100 and $125 per signing. Not a bad hourly pay.
With the slowdown we have plenty of time to enjoy our home, our kids and grandkids, and after 47 years of marriage, happily each other. We have had to cut out some of the expenses just like everyone else but thank goodness we are still surviving and have not had to go out to get any other jobs.
I know that things have been slow and that a lot of people have been forced to give up this job to go out into the work place. But I would bet a lot that most of those folks, if given the opportunity, would rather be doing this than making $10 or $15 and hour working in a store or office.
So, if you are still a working notary and loan signer, enjoy it and be grateful that your are able to do this job. I applaud all of you who have managed to keep on keeping on during the tough times.
Reply by Sylvia_FL on 3/2/10 3:59pm Msg #324937
Re: Get ready to beat me up!
"after 47 years of marriage, "
You got me beat by 10 years! We just celebrated our 37th last Wednesday.
Reply by Grammyzoom on 3/2/10 4:12pm Msg #324942
Congrats!
Congratulations Sylvia! I know what it takes to make a marriage last that long.
There really isn't that much difference between 37 and 47 years. It is the first 20 that are really tough.
Reply by Sylvia_FL on 3/2/10 5:04pm Msg #324954
Re: Congrats!
I can't believe its been this long. Seems like only yesterday. I don't know how I got so lucky. (and yes, I have told him that) My parents were married over 60 years.
Reply by cawest/PA on 3/2/10 6:03pm Msg #324963
Re: Congrats!
oh woaw ... so you mean I passed the rough waters and sailing in the bahamian seas now? 27 here
Reply by BrendaTx on 3/2/10 4:02pm Msg #324940
GZ...there are plenty who read this
forum and think the new posters are silly, out in left field...etc...and aren't very helpful, according to some.
now, I could be wrong, but it sounds like you don't care much of the regular posters...like you'd like to change the whole face of this forum.
Reply by Grammyzoom on 3/2/10 4:10pm Msg #324941
Re: GZ...there are plenty who read this
I don't really mean to sound that way. It's just that we are all supposed to be professionals and I don't think it is very professional to publicly complain about your job. If you don't like doing it then find something else.
Sure it is not a perfect job but what is and I just feel that it is important that we look at what we do in another perspective. Those of us that are fortunate enough to earn a decent living at loan signing should be grateful we are able to do it and for those who are not making it, then go do something else and quit complaining.
Do you not agree? Or am I wrong and this area of Notary Rotary is intended to be nothing more than a place to complain and put down other notaries.
Reply by Marian_in_CA on 3/2/10 4:28pm Msg #324943
Re: GZ...there are plenty who read this
I guess I'm a realist... the fact is that life is full of conflict. I don't see this as a place to complain, but to gain insight in to how others handle to struggles they face. This is a profession where most of us are on our own, and this is a support network where we can learn and share -- the good and the bad.
I like to hear about the struggles and read about the tough situations, because it gives us all an outlet to find a solution together.
And yeah... this is NOT a place for the faint of heart. NotRot is not a playground of fluffy clouds and puppies where everything goes right. We're BUSINESS people trying to run a BUSINESS, and business is brutal.
This is for people who can think and one of the first things a competent business professional should know how to do is to think and learn before they leap. That also means doing a bit of research and reading before umping in and asking questions or noting something that is akin to someone saying, "Hey guys, I just found 2 plus 2 equals 4!"
I have been around NotRot since before 2005... however, it took me YEARS before I felt comfortable enough to post or contribute. Basic netiquette for communities is that new members do some searching and reading before saying anything. Get to know the turf before they jump in. If they did that, they'd know that NotRot isn't like walking off the plane in Hawaii to be greeted by a gorgeous native with a lei and a kiss on the cheek.
This place is welcoming, but it's not really a place for "newbies" at all. It's meant for those with experience and the ability to think.
Rainbows and puppies are great... but it's just not the general purpose of a site for professional entrepreneurs who need real-life professional development.
That said, my puppy is curled up at my feet happy as can be, and there are birght fluffy clouds outside my window, where they belong.
Reply by Notarysigner on 3/2/10 4:49pm Msg #324948
Re: GZ...there are plenty who read this
I would like to add....Everything is the same unless it's different.
Translation. When I first started posting, it was very difficult because I felt I was being attacked. Everything changed, for me when I explained, I wasn't looking for acceptance, I was looking for a chance to express myself......you do that at your on risk! Deal with it!
Reply by Grammyzoom on 3/2/10 4:54pm Msg #324950
Re: GZ...there are plenty who read this
i just read what you had to say and in part I do agree with you. It just seems to me, and I have been a member of NR since I think 2004, that there needs to be a better balance here. For years I have popped on and off of the forum, reading, maybe posting now and then but over the years have seen things really change.
There is a leisure forum and a lot of what is said here would be better said there.
You say this is not a place for newbies and I wholeheartedly disagree. Where else will people who are just getting started going to go to talk with people who do have experience. Where else are they going to be able to benefit from the wisdom of those of us who have been in this business for a very long time. So far, most of what I see are unsympathetic people who have no concern for those who are struggling to make something of themselves in this field. Apparently they think it is more beneficial to bash people to show how creative their sense of humors are.
I certainly do have issues with certain phases of what I do but was only trying to put some balance in the thinking and the conversation.
Reply by BrendaTx on 3/2/10 6:07pm Msg #324964
Re: GZ...there are plenty who read this
*I see are unsympathetic people who have no concern for those who are struggling to make something of themselves in this field.*
Well, yeah, there are those for sure...but you'd be surprised at the "unsympathetic" and how deeply entrenched they are in their own communities giving back like crazy...and how they do for others here that you don't see...donating more than anyone else to save a sick dog of another notary...collecting money and toys to give children a fabulous Christmas who would not necessarily have one. (Those are just two of the most "caustic" so-to-speak posters.)
There's more than one dimension to them...that one dimension that you see here. As business people, some are unsympathetic because they have found out that giving doesn't benefit them unless they are *charging* for their mentoring. There is a difference. No one wants to give away the farm when they've worked so hard to earn it. I have helped a great deal many people on the phone understand more about the job...hours...and then they disappeared because they decided a few weeks later that this was just TOO much for them. Of course, I wasn't teaching for profit then. Finally, I put in my profile that I charged for mentoring and that slowed down the calls.
*I certainly do have issues with certain phases of what I do but was only trying to put some balance in the thinking and the conversation.*
Go girl!! I think it's the reason this place is so darn good to visit. Lots of opinions here, no doubt!
Welcome to the jungle!
Reply by Sylvia_FL on 3/2/10 6:32pm Msg #324970
Re: GZ...there are plenty who read this
"donating more than anyone else to save a sick dog of another notary"
Yes, and they saved Lil Bit's life for which I will always be eternally grateful.
Everyone thinks Becca is caustic. She is one of the kindest people I know. When Bruce was in hospital and I was laid up with a fractured knee and a tear in my rotator cuff Becca drove all the way from Vero Beach to bring me some of her homemade gazpacho and she ran some errands for me.
NotRot members in the most part are some of the most wonderful people you can meet.
In 2006 when I was in hospital for over 2 weeks, 4 days of them in intensive care, PAW drove 3 hours (one way) to visit me. (just to clarify, PAW is not a caustic poster, but wanted to illustrate the kindness of NotRot members.)
Reply by SueW/Tn on 3/2/10 6:45pm Msg #324971
Amen Bren
I am definitely not "unsympathetic" but I do go back a few years and I tried to educate myself as well as possible, got myself a business plan and read, read READ everything I could from numerous forums. I've talked with you, with Sylvia, with Susie, a ton with Ms. Renee and Becca helped me more than a time or two.
When the industry was booming we didn't see nearly as many new people as we see now that it's in it's "sunset". Most experienced SA's are being very deliberate with whom they do business with and more than once I've felt the hairs raise up on the back of my neck when I read "hi, I'm new and want to know how to get business". I cannot imagine what brings new people in to this rocky ground we're balancing on.
I truly miss Becca, I miss Cali who I could always count on to make me laugh no matter what kind of a day I've had. I wish he'd come riding in now and comment on this entire thread, I need a good laugh!
Reply by BrendaTx on 3/2/10 6:56pm Msg #324978
Miss Becca, too. I think we've almost lost Cali
to lack of interest...or new interests...
I thought we were just chatting when we talked on the phone! Heck...you were helping me, too!
I really care a lot about the people here. You have to get to know them before you discount them as crusty ol' curmudgeons...'cause some of the most crusty ain't exactly curmudgeons or OLD.
I'd recommend that anyone who can't stand the heat here not try to fade it with the business. I know how it is on the inside and the outside. It can be a pressure cooker. It's not an easy-peasy work at home kind of thing. And, as a wise poster (letting them take the credit only if they want to) once said to me, "The part-time Avon Lady mentality just won't cut it."
Okay, I'm rambling. GOOD to see you posting.
Reply by jba/fl on 3/2/10 9:31pm Msg #325016
Re: GZ...there are plenty who read this
Reply by Les_CO on 3/2/10 7:28pm Msg #324982
Re: GZ...there are plenty who read this
Thanks for the clarification. Here I thought your gracious response to ‘newbie’s’ was to get them to send you $99 for your ‘notary to pro’ course. I apologize for my assumption
Reply by Marian_in_CA on 3/2/10 7:44pm Msg #324988
I'm not saying newbies aren't welcome...
I'm saying they need to be intelligent, business people who do their homework before jumping in and letting themselves be offended or get their feelings hurt.
This was THE first place I found as a newbie... but thankfully, I had enough smarts to research all of my questions first, get a feel for the community.... I learned all kinds of things by keeping my mouth shut and my eyes open.
Reply by BrendaTx on 3/2/10 8:12pm Msg #324998
Me too, Marian!
*I had enough smarts to research all of my questions first, get a feel for the community.... I learned all kinds of things by keeping my mouth shut and my eyes open.*
Amen. OMG...back in the day when I was a hard core Amazon book reseller I LEARNED a lot about forums. I learned you do a little reading first and then you venture in. I learned they hate the concept of a low-ballers just like notaries do. They lamented that their business went south because of people who ruined the trade of online used book sales by selling books for a penny a piece and making their money off of the shipping. Just like when you go into a new job, or a new church, or a volunteer group or join an association, you don't arrive at your first gathering and tell people how it's going to be. You offer something, they offer something, you build a real relationship and you build trust in their knowledge and their advice...they do likewise.
Reply by Kay/IL on 3/2/10 10:43pm Msg #325034
Granny, you are a voice of reason! n/m
Reply by Vince/KS on 3/2/10 4:46pm Msg #324946
Re: GZ...there are plenty who read this
Somewhere near the ten to fifteen year mark of marriage, my wife was coming home two to three times a week and complaining about her job in banking. This went on for several weeks and finally it became tiresome so I asked if the job was so bad, why not quit and try something else when she was ready. She was angry with me for not understanding and that maybe it was my job as spouse to listen and let her vent.
Well Granny, I learned something that night. Among other things, sometimes it is best to vent to those that will understand the problem better. So, sure, many do in fact vent here and many notaries can identify with the complaints. Some view it as comfortably healthy to discuss problems with genuine peers and others see it as a shut up and quit your bellyaching kind of thing.
Perhaps I married the wrong woman, but I don’t think so. Sometimes it was and is my job to provide solace at home. Perhaps I just view this forum as a place that friends get together and rely on each other without being concerned of anyone being too judgmental.
You really might consider that different than your observation of some people here wanting to put others down. You likely will find that in about any crowd. Some have thicker skin than others and some people really don’t know how badly they have stripped someone else into feeling bare and bleeding. But other times it really should be viewed as a tough love proposition as some of the new people that expect so much from this should have a dose of reality from those that have managed to survive for awhile. Ramble over. Just my two cents worth. Nice that you have contributed positively.
Reply by Notarysigner on 3/2/10 4:52pm Msg #324949
Re: Damn Vince, that beautiful! n/m
Reply by Grammyzoom on 3/2/10 5:02pm Msg #324952
Now that I have
voiced my opinion and ruffled a few feathers I must go take a ride on my fluffy cloud and go over the rainbow to get some work done. Thanks for the interesting discussion one and all.
Reply by Grammyzoom on 3/2/10 4:57pm Msg #324951
Re: GZ...there are plenty who read this
Vince,
Read your post and did appreciate what you had to say. Please understand I am not against the complaining but I see so much of it lately that I just feel we need to see the good in what we do also.
Reply by Sylvia_FL on 3/2/10 5:08pm Msg #324956
Re: GZ...there are plenty who read this
Carol Actually no one was really complaining about the work. Just when borrowers tell signing agents they want to get into the business as it looks like easy money (and they would end up being the signing agent's "competition" we need to point out the negatives
Reply by Vince/KS on 3/2/10 5:24pm Msg #324958
Re: GZ...there are plenty who read this
Carol, as you've been a member here since 2004, you likely know who's post is likely to offend you. Early on, I had a notion that some people simply weren't worth the time or trouble to read. But, as time went on, my mind changed on about half of them. So, it's easy to know after awhile what to expect - or if someone is just having a bad day. But, I doubt if there is anyone that posts here that I could not learn actually learn something from.
Some have tried to encourage everyone here to post unusually positive and helpful message that emulate what PAW seems to raise to the level of the vast majority of the time. But he is nearly unique.
You like the name Granny. My Grandmother said that each person is a culmination of the life experience that they have had and it is difficult to judge them without knowing what experiences they had. Or, as her simple little sign in the kitchen said, "Old Indian Proverb - never judge another until you've walked a mile in their moccasins."
My other Grandmother said that you have to roll with the punches. Sometimes you have to consider your own experience and know what you can give or take.
Reply by Sylvia_FL on 3/2/10 5:36pm Msg #324959
Re: GZ...there are plenty who read this
" But he is nearly unique"
Nah - he is unique! (But don't tell him I said so )
Reply by BrendaTx on 3/2/10 5:56pm Msg #324962
Re: GZ...there are plenty who read this
*Do you not agree? Or am I wrong and this area of Notary Rotary is intended to be nothing more than a place to complain and put down other notaries.*
It's always been a place where people could say pretty much what they wanted to.
Posters share their joys and their not so joyous. I don't care what TCs read here, or the signing services. It's our board, not theirs. Professionalism doesn't always mean glossing over the problems. I think people can tell who is a straight shooter and who isn't. If they want Casper Milquetoast who bends to their will at all times, then I suspect them as clients, and frankly, I don't want any work from them.
I promise you that this board doesn't always do exactly to suit me, but it's very successful. Before I start criticizing a person or business I look at their measure of success from many angles and realize I might not know the "right" way after all.
Reply by Robert/FL on 3/2/10 7:52pm Msg #324992
AND ONCE AGAIN...
This is NOT a forum for signing agents. There are many, many notaries here who are just notaries, myself included. There are other types of "professional notaries" than "signing agents".
Reply by Sylvia_FL on 3/2/10 8:19pm Msg #325001
Re: AND ONCE AGAIN...
Robert, The majority of posters here are signing agents, and if you had the brains God must have given you, you would have read the original post where it was stated it was "borrowers" who was interested in the signing agent's job. And please refrain from getting into your teenage tantrum by putting the subject line all in caps!! it signifies shouting and I for one will not be shouted at by an inexperienced teenager!
Reply by Robert/FL on 3/2/10 8:26pm Msg #325005
Re: AND ONCE AGAIN...
Since you want to unnecessarily throw my age into the equation, why don't you find a hobby more suitable for YOUR age... knitting perhaps? Maybe netiquette is to advanced a concept for someone of your level of senility.
Reply by Sylvia_FL on 3/2/10 10:31pm Msg #325030
Re: AND ONCE AGAIN...
Robert
I have no need of finding any new hobbies. And, for your education, knitting is not just for the senior citizens. I was knitting when I was 7 years old!
Netiquette is something you need to learn! I was posting on BB's long before you were a twinkle in your daddy's eye.
And you don't need to reply to this post. I really hate combat with an unarmed person.
Stultus est sicut stultus facit
Reply by Marian_in_CA on 3/2/10 11:25pm Msg #325041
Re: AND ONCE AGAIN...
Knitting??? What a low blow.... not to mention incredibly ridiculous to bring up a woman's age. And yes, that is a double standard -- Robert, I'm probably closer in age to you than many of the others here, so please take this with the --- but, you need to grow up. Did those who raised you not teach you ACTUAL etiquette? You know, the real kind where you don't go insulting a lady's age? Where you accept that those who are older than you likely have some wisdom and experience that you might find valuable?
One of my grandfather's , uhm, colorful phrases he likes to use I think applies here. He usually used it in describing my brothers or our cousins... all young strapping young men who didn't often (and still don't) think before they did anything. He'd say, "There he goes, full of piss and wind again."
Reply by Robert/FL on 3/3/10 6:31am Msg #325050
Re: AND ONCE AGAIN...
Marian - I was not the one who brought age into this thread. Yet Sylvia always finds a reason to bring up my age in every thread ... I don't know what she is trying to prove.
I believe that I am well versed in notary law and that I am a decent contributor to this board. I do admit, and have admitted, that it frustrates me that this board can be 90% signing agent posts such as "So-and-so doesn't pay", but the second anyone wants to discuss actual notarial law or procedure, everyone pounces on it.
Sylvia has consistently brought up my age and personal background for no reason other than to try and say to others, "Look! He's just a teenager and doesn't know what he's talking about!". I believe Sylvia is an ageist who is out to get me. (See her messages #296198, 318239, 318282) where she claims I am "not fully cooked yet"?
Excuse me, Sylvia, but I am self-supporting, live on my own paying my own rent, earn a decent living as a legal assistant, and virtually started my own wedding business at age 18 and am performing 2-3 weddings per month; I am registered in almost all Florida counties to administer a premarital preparation course; I am a Commissioner of Deeds for the State of Florida in the Bahamas. I have my own bank accounts, own credit cards, own car. On top of all this, I am a full time student at USF. I don't see how much more "cooking" Sylvia thinks I need to do.
Marian - I respect you as a poster, and I think you are a significant contributor to this board. Likewise, I have grown to respect LindaH and PAW as well, even though I may not have liked them in the beginning. However, Sylvia has never responded to a single one of my posts without being a smart ass.
Reply by Vince/KS on 3/3/10 7:53am Msg #325057
and once again..
Robert, at some point you will have an ah-ha moment when you realize that it is difficult to learn anything if you are doing all of the talking and thinking of great comebacks to what you view as destructive criticism, instead of thinking about whether you may be able to interact better if you took someone else’s points into consideration (positive or negative) before responding. It is truly wonderful that you are setting an example for other young people of Florida with your work ethic, but I'm particularly happy that my grand-kids don't share your degree of people skills.
You may not like all the references to what companies pay properly for notary signing agent purposes, but Notary Rotary is about the best there is for providing information that people can take into account as to whether or not payment should be expected for work provided. It is good for you that general notary work is also discussed here.
If you think Sylvia is so wrong, take some time out from your classes and work by doing a little research project on her name. But, try really hard to do it with an open mind. Does she come down hard on some people and if so try and learn why that may be. Also look at the contributions she makes and comments from others regarding her comments. Then sleep on it for a few days and get back to me on whether you learned anything or not.
Eventually, you might learn that learning is an age long process. How you interact with people is a skill that can serve you well (or not) in the long years you have remaining.
Reply by Robert/FL on 3/3/10 9:57am Msg #325068
Re: and once again..
As Whitney Houston would say, Sylvia "thinks that her sh*t don't stink, and it do".
I'm done.
Reply by Notarysigner on 3/3/10 2:02am Msg #325045
Re: AND ONCE AGAIN...
Robert you should be out chasin' what ever is available in you location, not on this forum demeaning those beyond your age. I promise no to bash anyone so I won't say what I feel but rather you imput has not meaning to anyone what so ever....like home!
Reply by Reverse Mortgage of America - Jessica on 3/3/10 6:28pm Msg #325199
Re: honestly robert...
it's really not a good idea to let anything people say about your age, maturity or even your gender affect you. i've heard it all...and yes someone called me a young man. maybe it was because i'm in college for my degree in accounting or that I have a desire to go to law school for taxation law that threw the poster off (because a woman couldn't possibly desire those things???) any way, there's no need to retaliate or fight back or prove a point...some people will agree with you and others will not. no one "wins" or "loses" here. with that said...i'm 25 and i have a hobby people might think is only done by little old ladies and that is quilting! i love it! i even think i would be interested in knitting. by indicating that knitting is "more suitable for YOUR age" you're only doing the same thing you've accused them of doing.
Reply by HARRY_PA on 3/3/10 9:05am Msg #325062
Welcome back Robert
It is truly refreshing to have a poster who enjoys making himself such an easy target. Good luck to you. There is always a place for you on this forum.
Harry
Reply by DD/OR on 3/2/10 6:45pm Msg #324972
They are clients, not borrowers. We are providing a service to the customer, therefore they are the client. If you are a hairdresser, the customer is your patron. If you are a doctor, the customer is your patient. If you are a lawyer, your customer is your client. If you're in sales, the customer is your customer.
Reply by Robert/FL on 3/2/10 7:43pm Msg #324986
Sylvia, do you have nothing better to do? I did not come here to start trouble. I have seen notaries refer to clients as "borrowers" even when the documents have nothing to do with a loan. Seems like you would agree with me, but then again if I said the sky was blue you would say it is green.
Get a life.
Reply by Sylvia_FL on 3/2/10 8:26pm Msg #325004
Robert I have a life - and a very good one! And please, pray tell, show me where a poster on this forum has used the word borrower for something that isn't a loan.
As for agreeing with you, in my previous post I did agree with you that there are uneducated notaries on this forum!
Obviously you didn't like being told that borrowers are not our clients.
Reply by MW/VA on 3/3/10 9:18am Msg #325064
"I did not come here to start trouble"--ha!
That is exactly what you do every time you get involved in trying to make a point. You were the one who decided to make a major issue of the term "borrower". FYI that is the term everyone in the mortgage industry uses--we didn't invent it. If you're not involved in the loan signing business, why not let it alone. Age isn't as much an issue as maturity is. The minute someone doesn't agree with you, you start in with personal attacks. That kind of thing is never welcome here. Are you going to delete your profile again this time?
Reply by Marian_in_CA on 3/2/10 4:01pm Msg #324939
Sylvia is right... Borrowers are just that -- borrowers.
The CLIENT is the entity that hired you to perform the work. Sometimes the client is the TC, sometimes it's the Signing Service and sometimes it's Joe BLow down the street.
IF you are working a loan signing and were hired by someone else, those people are not YOUR clients, but the clients of your client. To you, they are the borrower... not the client.
Reply by Notarysigner on 3/2/10 5:45pm Msg #324960
I was a borrower, I saw it, I liked it, now I am it! I think it works sometimes.
Reply by Susan Fischer on 3/2/10 6:48pm Msg #324975
Love it, James. :) n/m
Reply by Kay/IL on 3/2/10 11:09pm Msg #325039
And I for one ain't mad at ya Notarysigner!
Believe me, you are not the only one here who was a borrower who took interest in this profession and went for it.
I also get requests from borrowers asking how to break into this business. What's wrong with letting them know what a typical assignment and/or day is like as a signing agent as well as the plusses and minuses and letting them take it from there? No one knows what people are really thinking or what their plans are. Just let them make that decision on their own.
Reply by Susan Fischer on 3/2/10 6:48pm Msg #324974
Exactly why my motto is Your Borrowers are My Neighbors
Even if they have had a frustrating experience finally getting to the table, I strive to be a positive exsperience for them on the one hand, and a positive experience for the client on the other.
It makes me a happy woman, even with the frustrations we all face getting this job done.
Reply by Maureen_nh on 3/2/10 7:05pm Msg #324979
Re: Exactly why my motto is Your Borrowers are My Neighbors
Good point, and in way, even though we are appointed not elected, they are our constituants.
Reply by BrendaTx on 3/2/10 7:26pm Msg #324981
I've always liked Susan's motto.
Couldn't put it into words, but I have always known that I'd rather make SURE the borrowers in front of me were happy with me in comparison with my clients, IF it came to that. In other words, I've tried to avoid cheesy companies and lenders. The Texas NSA Network has used phrases in marketing that referred to a similar situation. (Don't want to give away the farm. )
I think that if you have a sense of local community and if you KNOW people (or want to know them) that you realize that you don't want to be avoiding people you notarize loans for...you want those in your community to be comfortable and happy with your services, as well as your clients.
Reply by doglover/CA on 3/2/10 7:37pm Msg #324984
I was at a signing where the borrower told me she was thinking about making a career change and getting into my line of work. I told her she should just pursue loan signing part-time and hold on to her day job.
Reply by BrendaTx on 3/2/10 7:42pm Msg #324985
My remodeling contractor's wife would like to as well.
However, she dropped the subject when I suggested that she teach me how to bid remodeling jobs and give me their client list. It made perfectly good sense to her to move on to another subject at that point.
Reply by Les_CO on 3/2/10 7:51pm Msg #324990
Re: My remodeling contractor's wife would like to as well.
!!!!
Reply by Sharon Taylor on 3/2/10 9:59pm Msg #325025
Great response, Brenda - I'm going to try that next time
I'm at the table, and the signer makes noises about how he/she would love to have my job and persists in wanting me to tell all. Most of the time I do tell all - all the gorier bits like long hours, late docs, bad docs, 2 to 3 to 4 or more months wait for pay, driving 10 backcountry rural counties, last-minute cancellations (no pay since you didn't leave the house, of course), poorly-drawn docs, etc., etc., etc., and two computers, 2 phone lines and a cell phone, 2 printers (all-in-one and laser), paying both employer and employee share of income taxes, and more. It doesn't take much of that before their eyes glaze over and they decide there's a little more to it than just showing up at a home with a sheaf of documents, some friendly conversation while signatures and notary seals are applied, and shaking hands goodbye, which is the only part they've seen.
Reply by snoopdogMs on 3/3/10 3:28pm Msg #325146
Robert, I don't think just anyone needing general notary work would have visions of grandeur about the occupation of a notary. Some even think we just might be shriveled up old women. But, the times any have shown an interest in the business of closing loans, they have specifically been in my presence in a closing and they are known as the borrower or borrowers according to the document. I made no reference to general notary work.
we need to point out the negatives