Posted by Brandi Nickolaus on 4/25/12 10:19am
Msg #418830

Newbie!

Hello.

I am incredibly new to the profession and I have been researching and going through forum after forum looking for little tips and tricks. I have purchased my laser printer, and have everything I need to start the ride... but I am nervous! Any tips/tricks/ or words of wisdom would be incredibly appreciated!

I did call around to local title companies to see if they contract out or do it in house and I had one guy tell me that my fees are too high. He said that he would contract me out for about $40-50 a signing. I told him no thanks, and he told me I should head on down to Macy's because that is where I would be spending my career. A little bit of a bummer, but I guess he is just a jerk.


Thank you in advance!

Reply by Ilene C. Seidel on 4/25/12 10:24am
Msg #418832

I don't know what your charging but it sounds like he is a jerk. You need to advertise on the websites. Go to SC and sign up with the signing/title companies. Also you need to advertise on Notary Rotary and other notary websites.

Reply by Brandi Nickolaus on 4/25/12 10:43am
Msg #418833

By advertise, do you mean a profile? I have one set up. I told him my base fee was $100 and then printing was an additional $25. From what I see on here, that is reasonable.

Reply by Ilene C. Seidel on 4/25/12 11:14am
Msg #418840

Yup that's the going price.
I've PM'd you

Reply by Jack/AL on 4/25/12 11:15am
Msg #418841

Brandi, I suggest linking your profile...........

Linking your profile allows people to click on your name and automatically see your profile. It also makes your name show up in blue letters, rather than black, which lets others know that it is linked. Notice that some of your responders have names in blue. To link, open your profile and go way down to where you type whatever you want in the way of a resume, in the NOTARY DETAILS Section. Across the top of that section are the words "Hide my profile from searches." Be sure that the block next to those words IS NOT checked. Roll Tide, ya'll.....

Reply by Brandi Nickolaus on 4/25/12 2:06pm
Msg #418861

Re: Brandi, I suggest linking your profile...........

It isn't checked. Hopefully it will link soon!

Reply by MW/VA on 4/25/12 2:19pm
Msg #418865

You really want to put more info on your profile, Brandi.

It's valuable advertising space & you want to utilize it. Cos. will be looking for your training, experience, etc.

Reply by Buddy Young on 4/25/12 12:38pm
Msg #418852

Brandi,

It's normal to be nervous and afraid to make mistakes.
To avoid mistakes do the following:

Take your time and don't be in a hurry.
Place your docs in front of you at the signing face up.
Execute the docs one page at a time, after the borrowers sign, initial or date or what ever is required, have them hand you the doc. Examine the doc for correctness before continuning to the next doc. Place the completed doc face down in another stack then continue to the next doc.

If you don't make mistakes the SS will call you again.

Reply by JPH13/MO on 4/25/12 3:10pm
Msg #418869

Re: Newbie! - n/m

Reply by JPH13/MO on 4/25/12 3:21pm
Msg #418870

Re: Newbie! - triple check each page for completeness

When I first started I carefully put post-it notes wherever signatures, initials or a place needing to be completed was on each and every page and I still do. I also fill out ahead of time the state, county, etc. on the notary certificates so that all I have to do is sign and stamp them.

Let the borrowers know you will be going thru the docs again to check for completeness once everything is signed and do so - at first I would mention that they don't need to be at the table while I'm doing this (it helped if they just went and did something else around the house). Until you are confident that doing so was good enough, let them know that you will be going thru them again before shipping them out and need to know that they will be available in case you find something. If the signing location isn't near your home, find a local McDonald's or someplace so that you can go thru the docs again when you are alone, and do so very carefully. If you find anything that was missed, you can go back and get it handled without it seeming too odd, since you already warned them you would be checking the docs again.

It took me about 15 signings before I was confident enough to be able to put the docs into a UPS or Fed-Ex package while in front of them, AFTER carefully going thru and removing all my sticky notes and putting docs back into correct order (I pull HUD and others to go thru first). I still sometimes find something that was missed the first time, usually when they have to sign and initial the same page.

Good luck!