Posted by Roger_OH on 11/1/12 6:07pm
Msg #441714

Yikes - Deja vu all over again!

The president of XYZ has written that bankers are telling him there is a shortage of qualified NSAs! "Qualified" being the operative word, I wonder if we can expect yet another recruiting campaign.

Hopefully not a return to the "Make $100K as a signing agent!" days.

Reply by GOLDGIRL/CA on 11/1/12 6:41pm
Msg #441723

<<Hopefully not a return to the "Make $100K as a signing agent!" days.>> LOL!

Yeah, at their recommended fee of $65 a signing. Right.

If there is a shortage of qualified notaries, it's because of the low fees being offered (which XYZ promoted) and the imbecilic notaries who take them. No self-respecting professional notary would last long enough to get "qualified."

Reply by JanetK_CA on 11/1/12 6:47pm
Msg #441725

My thoughts, exactly!

Not sure why I'm still getting their emails, but I guess they relented a while back about sending their newsletter to all in their database vs. just paid members. (And I admit I appreciate that and do find some things in it interesting to read from time to time.)

Unfortunately, I bet what we think of as "qualified" and what they think of as "qualified" are two different things. Here's a quote from the beginning of his article: "The title and escrow industries are facing a serious shortage of qualified Notary Signing Agents, and they are actively seeking the help of NNA certified Notaries."

My guess is that by qualified, he means people with a-bare-minimum-of-training-who-are-willing-to-work-for-cheap-because-they-don't-know-any-better, as we know what their certification is worth... And, of course, we can expect them to heavily market their certification to those title and escrow companies, some of whom apparently care more about the "work-for-cheap" part than the "qualified" part.

I suspect that XYZ will be sending out mass mailings again to recruit people for their classes (a whole bunch of which I'm sure will be in my county). I imagine it was a pretty good profit center last time for them, so why wouldn't they repeat it with any excuse they can get? I feel bad for those who get sucked into their sales pitch because I think many will be in for a rude awakening whenever interest rates start going back up.

As I always state with any post related to XYZ, this is all my own personal opinion.

Reply by Claudia Brown on 11/1/12 7:01pm
Msg #441732

Re: My thoughts, exactly!

"Qualified" NSA, huh? Would they be referring to the ones who just got their notary commission, show up 50% of the time, and have about a 50% accuracy rating?

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 11/1/12 7:38pm
Msg #441739

Re: My thoughts, exactly!

Or... how about the ones that aren't even notaries yet? People forget that they'll certify and background screen a person, but won't actually verify that they hold a notary commission.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 11/1/12 7:35pm
Msg #441738

I saw that the other day!!

That part that made me giggle...

"The title and escrow industries are facing a serious shortage of qualified Notary Signing Agents, and they are actively seeking the help of NNA certified Notaries. I learned this at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual Conference in Chicago, where I had traveled to represent Notaries everywhere and learn about the future of the real estate industry."

To me... that means.... "We;re looking for more of your notaries who will take $65.00 a job. We can't have them thinking it's okay to start demanding 3 figures for their work. You need to educate them better."

Reply by MW/VA on 11/1/12 8:31pm
Msg #441747

I got that newsletter also. IMO it's the old song & dance

to sell their "certification". Biz is up, so they're going to capitalize again, I'm sure.
I also got a great email from Harry at NR about change here, including a new training course. I hope we can direct everyone getting into this biz to the training that's offered here. I'm sure it's at a standard well above XYZ! ;-)