Posted by franny on 12/31/11 7:37am
Msg #407953

Additional compensation

Has anyone asked for addional $ when a closing was particularly stressful and lasted almost 2 hours. Problems were due to errors in HUD and other docs.

Reply by MW/VA on 12/31/11 8:16am
Msg #407954

IMO you could always ask for it. Do you charge less when the signing is a snap & you're out of there in 20 minutes?

Reply by 101livescan on 12/31/11 9:07am
Msg #407955

It is highly unlikely you would be successful. In fact you might not be contacted again to work for that company. Yesterday I had several multi loan sets with three clients. Took longer, but then I had five where the borrower(s) were out of the signing in 15-20 minutes because they were simple, clean packages and money back at closing. Everyone happy to close by yearend.

You can whine and wank about the client, but it won't do much good. I did have a resign yesterday because when the borrower signed on Christmas eve, he was a little tipsy and the lender rejected based on inconsistency and legibility of client's signature and dates.

It's not just about signing everywhere, it's about the quality of signatures, dating, right color of ink and making sure nothing is overlooked. Some lenders are insisting on all three initials, no matter that the borrower says he never uses all three initials. DAH...you want the loan dude?

An engineer came in the other day and for the life of him he couldn't stay focused on signing his name or correctly dating on a Providant Loan package. It was extremely painful, he kept using first initial and last name, wrote a date as 30D2011. I said, what is that, oh, I meant to write 30Dec2011. Well, then, do it, or this loan will not fund. At least this dating method was consistent in the package by the time we finished. I told him that by being different, his package might get kicked back. Guy wants to stand out over the rest, well it could cost him big. I couldn't wait to get rid of him. I told him I spent three times the time it usually takes to sign people, but I still couldn't get him to focus. Very frustrating when you've got people sitting in the lobby waiting for their appointment to sign.

Has any one noticed that in Wells Fargo's HELOC package, they require dates to be written 12/31/2011. Reason? Not sure. For newbies, it's 10 pp into the package before they mention BLACK ink only. Really!

Reply by HisHughness on 12/31/11 10:05am
Msg #407957

My base fee is essentially grounded in an optimum signing, so I have no qualms about asking for sweeteners if things go awry. And, apparently contrary to the experience of other posters, I almost always get it.

I would suggest you state briefly why you think you are entitled to something extra, and then ask if the hiring party would add to your fee. Don't specify an amount. Leave it up to them to determine if you are entitled to it, and what the amount should be. That puts the burden on them to be fair or be cheapskates.

Reply by Linda Juenger on 12/31/11 2:12pm
Msg #407970

I never ask for more if the signing takes longer than expected. Like others have said, sometimes we are in and out very quickly and other times it takes longer. Comes out in the wash. However, I am not afraid to ask for more if the pkg is HUGE. I usually am able to get a little more for printing.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 1/2/12 5:15pm
Msg #408049

"However, I am not afraid to ask for more if the pkg is HUGE. I usually am able to get a little more for printing." And for the extra time it takes to get everything signed.

I define "huge" as more than 150 pages. But my base fee is high enough and my costs low enough that that I don't stress over other differences, especially with good clients that give me lots of work. Like Linda and others have said, it general balances out over time.

Reply by Eve/VA on 1/4/12 10:39am
Msg #408180

I never try to renegotiate the fee after the signing. I figure I've made a deal. No one really knows how long a BO will take (had one last week that read over every line of the Deed). Now, if I'm told that a package will be 80 pages and it comes in at 150 pages, at that early stage of the game, I might get back to the hiring party and renegotiate. Depends on factors such as if their fee is on the low side, I haven't had other signings with them before where slow and fast signings average out, etc.

The trick is to try to price your services in a way that will take into account certain "aggravation" factors. I do think it's bad form to ask for more money after the deal is done.

Just my opinion. : )

Reply by JanetK_CA on 1/4/12 4:14pm
Msg #408208

Lots of good points - especially about considering the amount of work a particular clients gives. I don't have any hard and fast rules and try to avoid the nickle and dime approach. The aggravation factors (I like that one... ) will vary from job to job and I heartily agree that they should be factored into basic pricing. Also, I agree that any renegotiation should be done only if things turn out to be significantly different than original terms and done up front to give the company the opportunity to reassign it if they choose.

Reply by Carolyn Bodley on 1/1/12 12:38pm
Msg #407989

Would you give money back for signings that are easy as pie? n/m