Posted by anotaryinva on 3/20/12 6:39pm
Msg #415508

Recording of deed

I went to the courthouse today for my first recording, really long story, but how much do normally charge for this service?

Reply by Teresa/FL on 3/20/12 6:43pm
Msg #415510

$50 - I plan on this taking about an hour of my time

(including travel to/from the recorder's office).

Reply by Alz on 3/20/12 6:48pm
Msg #415512

You will receive a plethora of replies; however, ultimately

you must decide on the valuable of your time. Use the same principles currently used to operate your business.

Reply by anotaryinva on 3/20/12 7:37pm
Msg #415524

Re: You will receive a plethora of replies; however, ultimately

Well, when i got the order, I thought it was going to be in my county's office, turned out it was one county over. My county has 2 windows, free parking and from what I've heard you are in and out. I priced it at that, probably on the low side but I .figured I could do other things in the area (shop)

This county, one over, and almost 30 miles, had not one but three six story parking lots. 10 minute walk to the courthouse, basic strip down getting through security, make your way to the third floor, etc., 12 windows, 2 clerks working and three customers ahead of me. I'm told a 35 minute wait, don't leave because it will get longer and oh....stay in your seat because if you aren't here when they call your number you are (not in their words) screwed.


When I found out it was the distance it was I asked for a whooping 10$ extra.


I was there an hour and an half. To add insult to injury I had to pay 3$ intolls to get there and 4$ in parking fees.

I did make the TC happy.

I won't bore you with what I had to go through to get the FedEx package intercepted from the airport at 5:30 am

I price my services pretty agressively based on my costs, I would NEVER take a refi signing for under 100 just wondering what others charge for recording as I have never done this before and most likely won't be doing it again.

Reply by Saul Leibowitz on 3/20/12 8:03pm
Msg #415530

Re: You will receive a plethora of replies; however, ultimately

Based on my experience, verify what county you will be visiting before your price [where is the property?];
then call the recorder/clerk/register of deeds to confirm location, costs, and can you leave with the recorded original or simply a copy with recording info on it?
get the cost for the actual recording and verify paper size [Illinois has a 100% penalty for using legal instead of letter];
when you know all of these costs, add them up, make sure you get a check from the lender/tc/ss with the closing data or paypal or something and that should equal the projected out-of-pocket costs; and finally,
guesstimate what you want for your time on top of those things. I want all of the above and $50.00 per hour.
Hope this helps.

Reply by CopperheadVA on 3/21/12 6:35am
Msg #415564

Re: You will receive a plethora of replies; however, ultimately

I have a notary friend that has done several of these in northern VA for a good client and he says that different court houses have different procedures. Some are quick and easy, and others are exactly like what you described. You definitely need to know which courthouse you will be visiting before pricing yourself on these.

Also, some courthouses won't allow you to take your cell phone in, so you are also potentially missing additional business opportunities during that 1.5-hour wait because you can't answer your phone.