Posted by JDGATO on 6/30/11 3:16pm
Msg #388285

Servicelink

Thought you all might be intersested in reading an email I received from Servicelink. After being contacted by them for a job they suggested I register in their system for regular work. After filling out all their paperwork and submitting they then inform me that their most busiest notaries are setting their fees at $55 flat fee...bahaaa! I explained my fee for loans was $125...she said that was too high and they wouldn't add me unless I reduced my fee. I reduced to $100 but said faxbacks and travel are additional. She then said they don't pay for addtional mileage or faxbacks. I live in a rural county and sometimes can travel up to 40 miles one way. Here is the email...


Thanks Brittanee.
Given my county is very rural which can mean high mileage I would rather not be put in your system. It is unthinkable to ask a Notary signing agent to perform a loan signing (1-2hrs.), print borrower copies, fax back, etc. and travel for $55. According to the last Servicelink rep. I spoke with on the last signing job they did pay a travel fee for the Notary coming from Madison County...
Good luck!


From: McCallister, Brittanee [mailto:[e-mail address]]
Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2011 3:48 PM
To: Florida Notary
Subject: RE: ServiceLink Approval Package

We do not pay for fax backs, ever. We also do not pay for mileage. Whatever the fee is in the system is what you will be paid. I can go ahead and set you up in the system for $90 plus $10 edoc fee and you will only be called on an as needed basis. We are not trying to target you. We are currently in the process of calling all of our vendors and reducing fees. The ones that you are hearing about that are still getting paid $125, will soon be called to reduce and if they are not willing, then they will no longer receive calls from ServiceLink and we will start recruiting to replace them. This is something that has to be done. Please let me know if you would like me to set you up.
Thank you.

Brittanee McCallister
Vendor Management

ServiceLink, FNF’s National Lender Platform
345 Rouser Road
Building 5, 4th Floor| Coraopolis, PA 15108
(888) 414-6616 x23562 (office)|( 866) 834-7479 (fax)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[e-mail address]

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 6/30/11 3:27pm
Msg #388286

Well, the fee I have in SL's system is well above $125, and they still call me...quite often in fact... and I'm often asked to go to locations 1-3 hours away. I've also been paid extra for extended driving. I don't call it "mileage" --- I just raise my base fee based on all factors involved. Sometimes they agree, sometimes they don't. I just know that if they're calling me, they're willing to fork over my base rate... which as I said, for them (because I know they require faxbacks, etc) is well above $125.

I think this price reduction thing is happening in areas where they have large numbers of notaries to pick from.

Reply by JDGATO on 6/30/11 4:16pm
Msg #388291

Thats interesting as Brittannee said she would not add me at the $125 rate. I am the only registered NSA in our county so rather than get listed for a lowball fee I opted out of being added to their system. If they have a need in our area I'm most likely going to get a call or they'll have to pay a higher fee to bring in another Notary from another county.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 6/30/11 4:34pm
Msg #388294

Yeah, it's weird. I know more and more people are reporting this happening...and it's a darn shame.

Reply by Bob_Chicago on 6/30/11 4:36pm
Msg #388295

Marian. This is NOT intended as a shot. As you know me

on the NR board for years, you know that I respect you.
I saw the post you made recently about your charges, fess, etc. and was wondering
how you were able to maintain your fees at such high levels in today's enviornment.
I have years of experience and , in all modesty, a good reputation in the biz, and have been unable to maintain fees at the level that I did in the past.
Not stalking, but took a look at your profile and website (very well done BTW) I note that on NOTROT, you are the only NSA listed for about 30 miles . That explains a lot. I have visited your part of the world, and , while beautiful, it ain't exactly crowded.
I have 30 Premier notroters within 25 miles and Lord knows how many basic ( only list ist 10) And compared to the LosAgeles area, Chicago is a NSA desert. That is why it is so important to remember , that the business plan of a NSA is dependent upon many factors, (eg: saturation, your investment in equipment, experience, needs, etc, etc. One size clearly does NOT fit all.
Wishing you continued success.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 6/30/11 4:52pm
Msg #388298

Re: Marian. This is NOT intended as a shot. As you know me

I think it's important to remember that I don't do this full-time like others do. I have other streams of income, too, as a virtual assistant.

Out here, most of my work is general notary work, not loan signings. I don't play games with he loan companies... if they want me, they can have me... but they will have to pay for it. I will negotiate much of the time for each situation, but I'll admit, I'm not cheap when it comes to loan signings. I take time and care with them and I send in (hopefully) picture perfect docs. It's just the way I am... a bit a perfectionist with that kind of thing. I triple check everything.

When I get called for work, the calls usually come for remote areas. I'm always willing to make the trip, but I won't do it on the cheap because those trips take a good chunk of a day. Last week, for example, I went to Olancha... which is 100 miles north of me. They called me after trying about everyone else.... nobody wants to drive out there unless they *have* to. LOL They couldn't even find somebody in Lone Pine, which is much closer. By the time they got me, they were desperate and willing to pay me whatever I wanted.

That's kind of how it works for me... I just can't afford to head out for a signing for under $125 unless it's right in my town of 14K people. So, when my regular companies call me... I know that they've already tried everyone else. I'm okay with that.... they know that, when all else fails, I' will ikely get it done for them... but it won't be cheap. I don't apologize for it.

Reply by Alz on 7/1/11 1:00am
Msg #388337

Amen. Diversification is the key to success. It's important

for me to look for opportunities that will general a new income stream. The flavor of the month is always changing.

Continue to be the best! Don't worry about the rest!

Reply by CopperheadVA on 6/30/11 4:24pm
Msg #388293

OMG that is just crazy insane - I'm speechless n/m

Reply by Notarysigner on 6/30/11 4:46pm
Msg #388296

First of all let me say thanks for sharing this..

My feeling is stick to your fee and if they use you on a as needed basis you'll be increasing your profit because you will have more time to work for OTHERS! For some reason they think they're the only game in town. While everyone is "jumpin" on their $55 fees (if they were that stupid) you'd be available for a reasonable fee! Dah!

Reply by JDGATO on 6/30/11 5:53pm
Msg #388305

Re: First of all let me say thanks for sharing this..

Exactly Notarysigner, I just can't believe someone would jump or even accept such a low fee for a loan closing. Thank goodness I have other sources of income other than notary work so I am not dependent on their business! Just hoping other companies don't follow their trend in this slow market.

Reply by Notarysigner on 6/30/11 6:04pm
Msg #388307

Re: First of all let me say thanks for sharing this..

I think they all are leaning towards reducing fees and that's okay until they start having problems.

I don't think newbies come on here a say, " I messed up because I didn't know what I was doing." They usually say something like, "I didn't get paid and I did everything they asked except FAX package back on red paper."

I'm still waiting for someone to post they took a sixty dollar job 40 miles away and the SS wanted them to go back out because the borrower didn't initial the confirmation sheet. ROFLMAO

Reply by jnew on 6/30/11 6:34pm
Msg #388317

Re: First of all let me say thanks for sharing this..

I guess everything is negotiable. I have a list of my costs and everything is pretty stable except for auto expenses which go up and down with the price of fuel. I like to counter offer anything offered with a fee above the amount I am willing to accept. I usually can get it within 5 to 10 dollars of my target fee by negotiating. If you are traveling you are making yourself unavailable for a significant part of the day, especially at the end of the month when you may expect more work assignments. The best approach I can recommend is not to treat the scheduler rudely. I can usually be respectful but get my point across at the same time. I always try to get the scheduler to see things from my perspective and show them that by reducing my fee, they are reducing the quality they will get in a signing agent. I hate to say it but the fees are not getting any better. I have not seen a corresponding dip in the charges to the borrowers on the Hud 1. Someone is taking the money formerly being paid to the signing agent. This also begs the question, how much of the total fee for the signing is actually going to the signing agent?

Reply by S Peterson on 7/1/11 9:10am
Msg #388356

Another thing to consider in rural areas, no cell service.

I often get called to go way out into the boondocks or the high country. I adjust me fees accordingly. If I'm driving to a remote area, I take into account the amount of time I'll be without cell service, i.e. missed calls and lost work. Especially near and at EOM. I often quote $200, rarely accepted but I always end up making more staying close to home.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 7/1/11 9:29am
Msg #388360

I have the same issue with mobile phones....

out where I am, cell phone service is very spotty. Even in my own house, there are massive dead spots. I've even changed my voice mail to indicate that my lack of answering may be due to me being in an area with a bad signal. That's totally beyond my control. Local people who call totally understand this.... but those calling from metro areas? Not so much.

You'd think, given that I live near some of most technologically advanced military bases in the country, we'd have good cell signals.... but nope. I suppose we're lucky to have what we do.

That's one of the reasons I command a higher rate... fewer notaries, and few of them are willing to travel very far, spotty communications, etc. It all adds up. If they want premium service, they need to pay for it.

Reply by DickMN on 7/1/11 4:55pm
Msg #388388

I also just had a go around with serice link. When I took my last job I ask several questions, Size of package, E-docs, Faxbacks etc. Most of the time the caller does not know the answer to most of my questions. I bid this last one at $130, for 25 miles one way, e-docs around 100 pages and no faxbacks.

I received the documents, 96 pages. Surprise, this was a 2nd home, no recission date, and they wanted all 96 pages faxbacked same day. I called service link before printing. I spoke with a gal named Kiara, she put me on hold for a short while and said if they were dropped the same day as signing I would not have to fax back, which I did.

The next day I receive a call from Brittanee(sp) and she was scolding me for not doing fax backs. I explained to her the conversation I had with Kiara. She basically said that is irrelevant becuase the signing was supposed to close on the day of signing.

My reply was I do not do fax backs without an additional charge. This conversation went on for several minutes. One of the things she brought was that some notary's will do signing, e-docs and faxbacks for $60. I believe that is a bunch of baloney and/or those type of notary's will wise up real soon or quit.

After about the 3rd time she threaten to remove me from their notary list My reply was "Fine remove me" and I hung up on her.

In this day and age we can not lower our fees, Gasoline , My home owners insurance, heating fuel, real estate taxes, health care cost, health insurance, food, etc. the list of thing that have increased in cost in the last few years is endless. As you all know we also have no one to match our social security so we pay double.

It almost to the point where I may just work with the title companies only.
Rich, Mn.