Posted by Maria Polisi on 7/19/11 8:27pm
Msg #390262
getting started being a signing agent
How do I get started to be a signing agent? I am in the process of getting my notary seal.
| Reply by John/CT on 7/19/11 8:53pm
Msg #390267
Welcome to this over saturated and under utilized (that is, not enough work to go around for everybody) profession, Maria. The next thing you NEED TO DO is use the orange search button and pull up Message #33325. Please read, re-read and read again this entire thread. Then follow the advice of the others responding to your post. Hopefully, you haven't quit your day job. Good luck!
| Reply by Linda Juenger on 7/19/11 10:00pm
Msg #390274
Thought the very same thing myself today. Ate at a new pizza joint and loved it. Gee, I would love to open up a place just like this but have no idea how to make their pizza or salad or bread sticks. Guess I'll ask the owner to give me his secret ingredients so I can be his direct competition. BTW, this is a true story, I really did think/wish this today and thought of NR.
Hint: Do your own homework. Use the ORANGE search button (you were supposed to do that BEFORE you posted anything. READ!!!
Sorry for sounding crude. It's what I'm feeling at the moment but certainly don't mean to take it out on you. Most of us are starving signing agents at the moment. Its rough going out there and there is always someone ready to cut your throat and take very low fees to do it.
Good Luck.
| Reply by jba/fl on 7/19/11 10:27pm
Msg #390276
Getting started being a signing agent is a lot of hard work
Are you up to it? Some of the greatest companies in the world started during bad times.
What all of them had in common, was doing the research on how to best fill the needs of the people they were trying to reach. This is not a collective research project - this is one you will have to do on your own to establish your own style of doing business.
Start with the Orange search button - follow Linda's advice and read for a while. Learn how to get around this forum and use that search button to answer your questions. Then read every day what others are saying about the business in general - make that part of your research. Then, form a question if you can't find it answered elsewhere. Unless you become adult-like and take that responsibility you may not get answers. If you do, we can tell the difference. Then we feel more accomodating towards those who take the time to learn and not just want to be spoon fed.
Again, not to be rude or crude - that is not the intent. This is actually one of your first lessons on reality business 101.
| Reply by FeliseSoCal on 7/19/11 11:08pm
Msg #390278
Like any business, you will need to do the work...
I'm not sure what made you decide to get into this work when those of us who've spent years building our businesses are stagnant and there is very little work out there, but you will need to do your own research, marketing, and sales to build a clientele.
It's extremely difficult and competitive to get and keep clients so if you're up for it, best of luck. I do hope you have another job though...
| Reply by nobhill on 7/19/11 11:51pm
Msg #390281
If I were you, I'd get the kind of job you can be assured of an income and maybe do this kind of work part time on the weekends to get experience.
This profession is continually being downgraded on it's way out. Banks are unwilling to pay much and agencies take whatever profit we might have made. Newbies won't make much money doing this work and will incur expenses and possible liabilities for mistakes that could send you into bankruptcy.
If the U.S. credit rating is downgraded to the interest rates will go up making it even worse for our business that relies on low interest rates for home purchases and refinance. If the U.S. defaults on it's debt things may get chaotic.
This is not the right business to get into for 2011.
| Reply by Stephanie Santiago on 7/20/11 10:38am
Msg #390329
Maria, as long as you follow Notary Law for your state you
won't have to worry about possible liabilities and bankruptcy. Read up on Notary Law for your state.
Like others have stated, it is up to you to read previous posts and market yourself the best you can.
I have been a Signing Agent for over 12 years and it takes time to build a clientele.
No one can do that but you and more importantly it will be gratifying that you built your business, as I have.
Follow Notary law for your state.
Become inspired and research and market yourself.
As others have stated it is hard work, it takes time to build your clientele and for me it has been an extremely rewarding experiencec and financially lucrative at times.
Put in the work and good luck with your new endeavor.
Stephanie
| Reply by KSMONotary on 7/20/11 10:36am
Msg #390327
Maria,
I just want to apologize on behalf on the SA's that DO use this site for it intended purposes, all of which do not include crushing the moral of individuals seeking advice from other, more established SA's.
It is a 'down' time in our industry, but the industry is extremely cyclical. My advice to you is use this 'down' time to gain as much knowledge as you can. Learn who the National Signing Services, National Title Companies, and Local Title Companies in your area are. Reach out to them; continue to encourage them to use you.
Be able to adjust to the current market. Everyone has to do more with less right now. If you have a set amount you are trying to make on each assignment, don’t. Right now your number one priority is getting experience and making a name for yourself with the companies that are doing work in your area.
One piece of advice from the previous posts that I do agree with is unless you have an established relationship with a client that can keep you at least afloat; it may be a good idea to create other forms of revenue for yourself.
Good luck, don’t hesitate to ask questions here. Sometimes you will have to weed through the negative Nancy’s to get your answer...but this site is very useful.
| Reply by Marian_in_CA on 7/20/11 10:54am
Msg #390333
"Be able to adjust to the current market. Everyone has to do more with less right now. If you have a set amount you are trying to make on each assignment, don’t. Right now your number one priority is getting experience and making a name for yourself with the companies that are doing work in your area."
I'm sorry... that's HORRIBLE advice. This is the very reason that companies are trying to get away with paying us $45 for loan packages. Too many "new" people think they can work fro free just to get experience... and then when they have it... they try upping their fees and then don't get any work... and they stop working.
Many of us are MOBILE and have expenses that are increasing every day. By taking lower fees, we are just eliminating our profit margin. And trust me, you can't make any money on a loan signing for $45 after expenses. You've got time, utilities, papers, toner, power, gas, insurance, car maintenance and TAXES! This is self-employment, people... you should be putting 1/3 of the money from every job toward income taxes alone.
If you want to be successful, you need to study a lot. You need to know your local competition and you need some basic business management knowledge. Do not just accept low fees to gain experience...
Do new steak restaurants give away their food so their chefs can gain experience cooking? No.
Successful restaurants survive because of the quality of their food and service. Fast food places survive because of high volume and cheap ingredients. Let me tell you, in our industry, there is NO SUCH THING as high volume -- and never, ever fall for promises of "more work" from these companies who lock you in to low rates.
Her priority right now is NOT to gain experience... but to research the industry, develop a business plan and identify her minimum fees in order to earn money to survive.
| Reply by KSMONotary on 7/20/11 12:21pm
Msg #390352
Marian...take a deep breathe
You assume by "gain experience" I said to go do a bunch of signings blindly for cheap. Gaining knowledge is a form of gaining experience...so you reiterated what I am saying, thanks I guess?
You immediately went into a rant about taking signings for $45? Not sure how you got that from my response.
Just another Nancy I guess.
| Reply by Marian_in_CA on 7/20/11 12:42pm
Msg #390357
You said, "Everyone has to do more with less right now. If you have a set amount you are trying to make on each assignment, don’t."
You then went on to say that she should focus on experience. While experience is, indeed, important... it's not appropriate to compromise to get it. She should focus on a basic business plan first. The lower paying companies hunt out less experienced notaries because they know they will get away with paying less. By giving her this advice, it's perpetuating the problem and encouraging it. We're already "doing with less" right now because of increased expenses on our end.
There are many ways to gain experience without comprising on fees. It's a matter of basic business fact -- you should have a set, minimum fee that covers your expenses and profit margin for any given type of job. Compromising on that is putting your business at risk. And it's a horrible habit for a new business to learn.
| Reply by notary365MI on 7/20/11 3:07pm
Msg #390392
"Nancy" doesn't live here anymore
Considering you suggested that the "newbie" NOT set an amount that she will work for, OF COURSE Marian, along with myself and every OTHER Intelligent Notary using this site KNOW DARN WELL you exactly meant for her to "do a bunch of signings blindly for cheap." Sigh!
| Reply by JanetK_CA on 7/21/11 4:30pm
Msg #390532
Re: so-called "Negative Nancys"
Neither "Negative Nancys" or "Positive Polyannas" are of much value to someone who wants to make rational, informed business decisions. Everyone in this market needs to be aware of the tough realities of this industry - unless they're already financially stable and don't need the money - but those people are ruining it for the rest of us by letting companies get away with fees for our services that equate to less than minimum wage. (BTW, I interpreted your statement about "experience" the same was as the others.)
Many individuals and companies at every stage in the process of buying a home or refinancing one have been going out of business - and this is a trend that has been going on for at least four years. I don't see any signs of that trend changing to an up cycle any time soon. Does that mean we throw up our arms in despair? Of course not. But it does mean that if you want to succeed in this business - or even survive - that you'd better have a good plan to deal with the reality out there. And you can't do that unless you know what it is. So the people who advise some to just do this or that and "you'll be fine" aren't really helping anyone. Au contraire... (sp?)
Encouragement is all well and good, but it isn't enough. A smart business person needs to have some facts, too. And sometimes the facts include information that we'd rather not hear. But that doesn't change the reality.
If someone who wasn't a runner just decided to run a marathon in the heat that's currently engulfing much of the center of the country, and another runner who didn't know them or anything about them advised them to just drink a lot of water, try to stay in the shade, and "you'll do fine", how do you think they'd end up?
[Check out Restaurant Impossible on the Food Channel sometime to get a good idea of how costly good intentions can sometimes be for people. I'm sure that for every restaurant rescued there are hundreds, if not thousands more that aren't.]
Everyone's circumstances are different and what works for someone in one area might lead to total failure somewhere else. Plus we have no idea what the consequences of bad advice could be for some one else. So the "just hang in there" kind of post could be harmful rather than helpful.
[BTW, I should probably add that these comments are an accumulation of thoughts that have built up over time from posts from a variety of "Positive Polyannas", so they're not intended just as a response to the poster above.]
| Reply by Linda_H/FL on 7/20/11 12:59pm
Msg #390359
"If you have a set amount you are trying to make on each assignment, don’t"
I disagree...anyone in business for themselves (a) HAS to know how much running that business is going to cost them; (b) HAS to know how much they have to earn for each assignment to cover that cost; and (c) MUST have a viable business plan that takes care of (a) and (b).
Should there be wiggle room in that amount? Yes - but not a lot. Everyone should have a rock bottom price they can accept in order to make a profit and they should stick to that fee - not have the mindset that "okay, I'll charge less here and make it up later there" - that later may never come and you should never have to make your profit from one assignment on the back of another.
Absent any idea of how much each assignment costs and the profit required, the result is people accepting $45 fees because they just don't realize the loss they're taking.
JMO
| Reply by cayenne1227 on 7/20/11 10:40am
Msg #390331
May I suggest....
doing something else.......
| Reply by Linda_H/FL on 7/20/11 10:51am
Msg #390332
My advice...FWIW
1. Get your notary *commission* and learn your notary laws COLD...get some experience in mobile notary work so you learn how to handle various notary situations.
2. Don't give up your day job until you've established that you can get signing agent work at all;
3. Your getting signing agent work will be dependent on your experience with mortgages and loan docs. The more you have the better your chances. If you have no clue about loan docs then you need to educate yourself in those. Well, you don't NEED to, but you'll be doing borrowers a disservice if you have no clue what loan packages entail. And your career will be short and not so sweet.
4. Read here, read Signing Central for companies, and BELIEVE THE WORD OF THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE YOU. Don't think a non-paying company is going to treat you any differently. If they have a multi-year rep for not paying, you're not going to be any different.
5. Be prepared to make a monetary investment - this is not something you can jump into without out-of-pocket startup costs. Advertising and listings, website, business cards, cell phone, laser printer (mandatory), paper, toner, E&O insurance, Signing Agent E&O (optional but a good idea), reliable vehicle with decent gas mileage, business license if required, and on and on and on.
We're not "negative Nancy's" - we're up front and honest. If you don't have the time or money to dedicate to starting your business, educating yourself and building a client base - if this is an idea for quick money - it's not going to work - at least not now in this economy.
Good Luck.
| Reply by Stephanie Santiago on 7/20/11 10:57am
Msg #390335
Re: My advice...FWIW-Nice list Linda :) n/m
| Reply by MW/VA on 7/20/11 1:13pm
Msg #390364
Five star post, Linda! Excellent advice! n/m
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