Posted by grapebed on 11/17/11 9:11pm
Msg #404353

Whart would u charge for 120 miles of travel?

I would like to survey the board on this question:

What would you charge for a purchase mortgage closing that involves 120 miles of travel? The trsvel is straight highway travel?

Reply by LKT/CA on 11/17/11 9:16pm
Msg #404354

$100

Reply by Chuckd80/NJ on 11/17/11 10:24pm
Msg #404362

LOL!!@LKT/CA

I would charge $375

Reply by Chuckd80/NJ on 11/17/11 10:25pm
Msg #404363

Correction:$425

Reply by LKT/CA on 11/18/11 8:35pm
Msg #404456

Re: Whart would u charge for 120 miles of travel?....OOPS!!!

I misread the post. $100 is for the travel fee ALONE for 120 miles. The signing fee is additional.

Reply by jba/fl on 11/19/11 6:55am
Msg #404473

Lisa - I thought travel fee was the question. n/m

Reply by Les_CO on 11/17/11 9:18pm
Msg #404356

I rarely travel more than 20 miles one way. I would recommend a notary that is closer to the signing location. I have done this many times.

Reply by Notarysigner on 11/18/11 9:03am
Msg #404402

Ditto! n/m

Reply by Paul Kevil on 11/17/11 10:31pm
Msg #404365

$145 if 120 miles is round trip, $175 if it is one way. That is what I charge, others may charge more.

Reply by Buddy Young on 11/17/11 10:48pm
Msg #404367

I charge 50c a mile for anything over 10 miles round trip

Reply by OR on 11/18/11 12:10am
Msg #404371

I almost agree with chucks 2nd bid. 120 miles takes 2 hours to drive on a good road. Then you add signing job. Then you add your print fee. If it is 120 miles both ways then you have 4 hours of travle time. I add a bit because I could do 3 signing in that amount of time. So I am not avalible to my other clients. Just do the math then you will know how much you want to charge. That is what I think.

Reply by grapebed on 11/18/11 1:05am
Msg #404374

It is 120 miles round trip, highway travel, 50 minutes 1 way

It is 120 miles round trip, virtually all highway travel. Driving time less than an hour.

Reply by BossLadyMD on 11/18/11 7:15am
Msg #404381

I would recommend someone else, that's too far for me n/m

Reply by Dennis_IN on 11/18/11 7:27am
Msg #404384

Re: What would u charge for 120 miles of travel?

For the out of town closings, I look at how the long the job will take and X $50. I would charge $175 2 hrs travel, 1 hr closing, 30 min prep time. It also depends on when the closing takes place. Prime time ='s prime fee so I might bump it up another $25.

Reply by Linda Juenger on 11/18/11 7:36am
Msg #404385

Re: What would u charge for 120 miles of travel?

I do the same as Dennis. I try and guesstimate the total "time" I have into it and I charge between $40 & $50 an hour. That should covers everything.

Reply by VT_Syrup on 11/18/11 8:07am
Msg #404391

Re: What would u charge for 120 miles of travel?

I'll just write about the travel, above the number of miles you include in your regular closing price.

Sometimes I drive further for a charity than I want to donate out of my pocket; in that case I charge the IRS business rate of 55.5 ¢/mi. For notary work I want to make a profit. I figure I should get at least $20/hr. I allow 50 MPH for highway driving, which is about what I average when I include stopping for gas, getting a little lost at the destination, etc.

1/50 hours per mile × 2000 ¢ per hour = 40 ¢ per mile.

Then I add the 55.5 ¢/mi for gas/insurance/oil/depreciation, and get 95.5 ¢/mi. I round up to $1/mi.

Reply by Pam/NM on 11/18/11 9:01am
Msg #404401

Re: What would u charge for 120 miles of travel?

It's my understanding that the mileage deduction for driving in the service of charitible organizations is $.14 per mile. Business deduction is $.51 per mile and moving or medical expenses is $.19 per mile. Not sure where you are getting your numbers?

Reply by VT_Syrup on 11/18/11 9:32am
Msg #404405

Re: What would u charge for 120 miles of travel?

If a person drives for charity and is not reimbursed, the deduction is indeed 14¢ per mile. But that rule does not apply to how much the charity may reimburse a volunteer when they decide to do so. Two organizations I am currently involved with use the IRS business rate. I used to be a volunteer firefighter, and they reimbursed $2 per alarm, no matter what the distance was. I'm currently a volunteer EMT, and they don't reimburse at all.

Of course, I don't deduct miles on my taxes if I've been reimbursed for them. Nor do I treat the reimbursement as income.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 11/18/11 9:43am
Msg #404406

If you're reimbursed over the 55.5 cents allowed by the

IRS, don't you have to report that excess as income?

Reply by VT_Syrup on 11/18/11 9:54am
Msg #404409

Re: If you're reimbursed over the 55.5 cents allowed by the

I don't know if I would have to report reimbursement over the current IRS business rate as income; it's never happened to me. When I got paid $2 per alarm, the average rate per mile over the course of a year was well under the IRS rate.

Reply by Lee/AR on 11/18/11 7:56am
Msg #404390

How to calculate fees--great stuff in above thread, newbs!

While everyone has their own way of doing it, there is a common thread and realization of the differences. Highway miles or rural roads, city traffic involved or no, cost of gas & individual mpg (and mph, too, to calculate your time). Type of job, RM Apps take a lot of time, mods don't. Package size contributes to time, costs--if printing.

This is the homework that a newbie needs to do BEFORE it comes up!
And that experienced people have to stay on top of as expenses change.

Reply by ikando on 11/18/11 10:48am
Msg #404412

Re: How to calculate fees--great stuff in above thread, newbs!

I absolutely agree with Lee. And since I don't know where the OP is located, and in some areas the winter hazardous driving has begun, some consideration for putting your vehicle, time and person in a potential bad situation should be accounted for, too.

My minimum would be at my calculated hourly rate, plus 1 hour if the weather has a potential to affect the situation.

Reply by mtnotary on 11/18/11 8:59am
Msg #404400

$175.00

Reply by ReneeK_MI on 11/18/11 9:04am
Msg #404403

Would depend on the client

If it was for one of my regular, steady clients and it was a one-time/unusual thing - I'd do it & wouldn't charge more. (Mentally, I'd consider it 'marketing'.) If they OFFERED me more, well ...that's a whole other thing.

If it was one of those calls from out of the clouds, someone I never or rarely heard from - that would indicate to me that their regularly-used person couldn't work it for them AND that I'd likely never hear from them again unless they were in another bind. I don't cut deals to 'help out' clients who are only your client when they can't find someone else. For this type of pseudo-client, I'd add $50+ to my regular fee.

It bears mention that I live in a very populated area - both NSA-wise, and otherwise. Were I out in the hills/desert/countryside ...it changes everything. It adds in some real potential to create another regular client, by literally going the 'extra' mile. I don't delude myself about that a whole lot, here.

Reply by SharonMN on 11/18/11 4:00pm
Msg #404444

One thing no one has noted is contingent fees. If I accept an assignment that's further away than normal, I make sure I have an email from the hiring party clarifying that full fee is due if I show up. No point driving all that way to have a no-show or no-sign, or some issue that requires the closing to be cancelled or delayed, and then have the hiring party want to pay a $25 trip fee if anything.

Reply by Sha/CA on 11/18/11 7:32pm
Msg #404452

A really good point, Sharon. n/m

Reply by Susan Fischer on 11/19/11 1:23am
Msg #404471

That's a broad brush trying to paint a thin centerline,

grapebed.

A question that begs a Zip Code.

It's all relative, on as many levels as there are service areas.

"[S]traight highway" on one highway doesn't mean beans, for instance, in LA County, where time-of-day is a critical part of the analysis for a particular price.

Education and Experience are tough teachers, but worth every effort to become a bona-fide business as far as one can take it.

Homework in the world of the Small Business...helps alot.