Posted by PegiT_MN on 10/5/12 8:22pm
Msg #437375

Questions Regarding E Signings

Local title company has approached me in regard to doing their e signings for them in the borrowers' homes. I will be attending some training next week in regard to this. I do have some questions though, and I am hoping you can help me out.

1. What kind of equipment would you suggest.....a laptop, tablet, net book, etc. and what brand would be a good one? Do you have ones that you like to use? He has already told me it can't be anything MAC.....it has to be PC. A tablet would be so ideal because the thought of lugging around a laptop does not appeal to me.....but I don't know if that is possible for these.

2. What type of internet connection would work the best for this......an air card, internet through my cell phone provider, wi-fi? I am definitely not techie. It would have to be a secure internet....correct? That is why they want you to have your own?

3. What kind of a price should I set for these types of signings? I don't want to be a low-baller.

4. How much is paperless and how much do you print out when you go to the closings? I am just guessing here, but wouldn't the mortgage still be hard copy as it gets recorded with the county?

Anyone out there who is doing e signings in your area, please feel free to share with me what kind of equipment is working the best for you, and if you could let me know what you like about the e signings and maybe what you do not like about them.

Your input is very much appreciated. Thank you so much.

Reply by VT_Syrup on 10/5/12 9:57pm
Msg #437382

I'm not doing e-signings, but I can mention something about wi-fi.

If you are using Windows 7, you will see wi-fi signal strength bars in the lower-right part of your screen. If you left-click on it, you will see the names of wi-fi networks that you are receiving signals from. If it has a little yellow shield by the bars for the network, it is unsecured. If there is no yellow shield, it is secure. To check some more, hover the mouse over one of the networks; a secured one will say "Security Type: WPA2-PSK".

To use a secure wi-fi network in someone's home, they will have to give you the password.

Needless to say, that is rather technical. If you ask the homeowner about this, you are apt to get a response like "My daughter's ex-boyfriend set it up last Christmas, I have no clue about that stuff." So relying on the borrower's wi-fi is chancy.

Reply by RickG/CA on 10/6/12 12:10am
Msg #437395

Netzero (www.netzero.com) currently has a 4g mobile broadband trial offer. You buy the 4g device, on sale for 50% off, and get 12 months of 4g service for FREE!

The downsides: the mobile carrier is essentially Clear Wireless. Neither good nor bad, however the coverage is somewhat limited. There is a coverage map on the website. The data is limited to 200 mb per month for the trial offer, should be ample for 3-4 e-signings a month. The hotspot device is overpriced. Yet another email address to remember.

The upsides: no contracts; plans can be upgraded at any time and active within minutes. Although I believe if you upgrade, you can't go back to the free option. Still month to month. Low cost backup should a connection not be available. The 1/2 price sale brings make the cost competitive. Fast shipping, ordered on Wednesday rec'd Friday active and ready to use.

Reply by Ilene C. Seidel on 10/6/12 5:12am
Msg #437406

I do E-Signs and have the following: Aircard: Verizon, Laptop HP. Usually the lender is NYCB and every once in a while Flagstar. You have to download a file of theirs to access the site.
I don't charge more for E-Sign because I use my aircard for other uses and would have it whether I do E-Signs or not. However when I started did charge $25.00 more above my regular signing. As for hard copies it's about 75 pages to print for bo to sign. When proficient with E-Sign you should be out the door in 30 minutes tops.

Reply by ananotary on 10/6/12 11:40am
Msg #437422

Silly to not charge more for e-signings IMO n/m

Reply by Pro Mobile Notary on 10/6/12 8:04am
Msg #437410

We invoice escrow an additional $25.00 for e-signings.

Reply by Teresa/FL on 10/6/12 10:20am
Msg #437417

Is that so you can offer more to the notary?

My experience has been that most SS try to justify offering less than for a standard edoc signing on the premise that there is less printing.

Those companies apparently don't think about the extra expenses the notary has for a laptop and aircard. Of course some notaries use the borrower's computer along with their wi-fi or public wi-fi and therefore do not have the extra expense.

Reply by Pro Mobile Notary on 10/6/12 7:53pm
Msg #437448

Re: Is that so you can offer more to the notary?

Teresa you are obviously unaware that my company is one of only a few 5-star services on this website.

Reply by Teresa/FL on 10/8/12 1:54pm
Msg #437681

Your response did not answer my question.

I do not solicit work from SS, but do complete signings for them when they call me (assuming the fee offered is agreeable to both parties).

Of course I check the ratings at that time and have been known to "give back" a signing if the rating or comments on the forum indicate that the company is not one I would want to do business with.

I don't think I have done any work for your company.

Do you offer a higher fee for eSignings than for a regular edoc closing?

Reply by MW/VA on 10/6/12 8:53pm
Msg #437453

I only take E-signings now on the condition that we use

the borrowers computer. I've done several that way.
A couple of years ago I had got all set up with a laptop, aircard, etc. for the e-signing business that was supposed to boom. It didn't & I chose not to incur additional expenses for their convenience.
BTW, NYCB (which was previously Amtrust) uses the Gemstone platform. It requires I/E to access. I've had a couple of borrowers with Mac's that didn't have I/E, of course.
It's also been my experience that they don't want to pay more for these, because they're thinking it's less paperwork. There are still paper docs & print & have signed.

Reply by sueharke on 10/6/12 11:04pm
Msg #437462

Re: I only take E-signings now on the condition that we use

I did one e-signings where we were to use the borrowers computer. In that occasion, she had to use her neighbors computer because her IE did not work and the Amtrust website was going down at 8 pm Pacific time. The second was that the signer did not have internet service at home and we used my laptop at a Panera Bread location for the Wi-fi, power plugs, and larger tables to work on. I burned a CD-ROM (burned on my computer) to give the signers in this case a copy of the electronic files.

If this were today, I would be able to use my laptop at a free wi-fi location and add a secure service when on a free wi-fi location. My other option is to use a secure monthly service from Virgin Mobile for a monthly fee for internet use anywhere I wished, without a wi-fi connection first. I use the private secure internet access during tax season to do income tax return at a location where a client does not have any computer access (not does he or she want to understand a computer).

If anyone wants more information on the secure internet services I use, please send a PM.

Reply by MW/VA on 10/7/12 1:11pm
Msg #437527

Yes, Sue, because you have the equipment & internet setup

for use in another business. Would you do that if it was just for e-signings?

Reply by jojo_MN on 10/7/12 11:41am
Msg #437514

I used to have an air card, but was only getting a couple e-signings a month and dwindled down to on every few months. The air card was $65/month, so I discontinued it.

Now I use the borrower's computer. It is more convenient because at the end of the closing, they can download a copy of the e-signed docs directly. I also carry my laptop in case they don't have the correct operating system. I either connect via their network, or they simply unplug their internet and plug it into my laptop. Works great. The borrowers seem to feel more secure when I'm using their internet also.

I charge the same as my normal fee of $xxx. There are a few less pages to print; however, they take the same amount of time, if not longer to sign. They still need to see what they are signing regardless if it is in paper form or online. If you use your air card, I would charge more since you need to pay for that extra service.

The average wet-signed docs have always been around 60 or more pages, e-signed around 40 in my experience.

Reply by VT_Syrup on 10/7/12 12:31pm
Msg #437522

A risk to using signer's network

Lets say you use the signer's wifi network. Worse, you use the signer's secured wifi net, which means the signer had to give you a password. At some point in the month or so after the signing, the signer discovers malware on his/her computer(s). You are apt to be blamed, whether you had anything to do with it, or not.