Posted by Serina/VT on 12/29/13 7:12am
Msg #497208

4 star companies getting worse...Paypal anyone?

Looking over my open invoices this morning I am seeing 4 star companies well past the 30 day mark. Some have requested yet another W-9 as an excuse why they are not paying. I'm thinking of asking for Paypal from now on. I'd rather eat the Paypal fee than chase payment. Or maybe just hang up my notary hat, been wearing it for close to 15 yrs now and its not much fun any more.

Reply by Judith/NY on 12/29/13 10:47am
Msg #497210

Don't laugh. I've taken a couple of assignments from known "low/no pay" companies that I made pay me my fee upfront through PayPal before I would so much as print the documents.

Reply by 101livescan on 12/29/13 10:53am
Msg #497211

Why? Sounds like charity work to me and a complete waste of your time and energy, resources.

Reply by Judith/NY on 12/29/13 11:01am
Msg #497213

As long as they pay me up front, with a premium to cover the PP fee, and I have nothing else planned, what the heck.... :-)

Reply by Serina/VT on 12/29/13 11:15am
Msg #497214

How is getting paid up front charity work?

Reply by 101livescan on 12/29/13 11:19am
Msg #497215

Accepting low fees translates into working for cheap, basically for free, completely eroding our industry's fair fee bases, no matter when/how you get paid.

I don't leave my driveway for under $100. My average fee is $150. I get paid fairly and fast, and I don't work for companies who offer low/slow pay. It's a matter of principal. I've got other things to do besides spin my wheels with companies like this.

And pretty soon, these companies won't be able to stay in the game. Notaries take all the risk for low pay. Seems a little pointless to me.

Do you folks have full time jobs? so that it doesn't matter how low the fee is?

Reply by Serina/VT on 12/29/13 4:18pm
Msg #497240

Not sure where you got the idea that I was accepting lowball fees, I'm not. My fee schedule is similar to yours. What I was noticing is that 4 star companies that pay decent fees are now getting slower and slower to pay, hence my pondering asking for the fee UP FRONT via paypal.

And yes I do have a full time job as 1 or 2 signings a week up in northern VT is not going to pay the bills, But I do not and will not work for peanuts. I have survived many notaries come and go who thought they could here

Reply by LKT/CA on 12/30/13 7:29pm
Msg #497323

Exactly, Cheryl!! Why bother?

A waste of time to bother with a company who's playing games (i.e. per the OP - company requests another W-9 as a stall tactic to delay payment).

Reply by 101livescan on 12/29/13 11:24am
Msg #497218

In case you missed this, read this commentary Msg #497204

Watered down fees mean more work for less pay, pretty soon the notary is like a rat in a maze, hitting all kinds of walls. This work will no longer be profitable no matter how you cut it.

I've been doing this work for decades, and I've seen a lot of notaries come and go, who have the business model you all describe in this thread. The most successful notaries in the pool here are the ones who hold to their fees and only work for the best.

Reply by Judith/NY on 12/29/13 11:33am
Msg #497219

Re: In case you missed this, read this commentary Msg #497204

I'm not sure where you got the impression that I (or any of us in this thread) accepted a low fee. I said they paid MY fee. Our fee range here is not what it is in California, but I believe I'm on the higher end of fees for our area, and I don't walk out the door for anything less than what I deem a fair fee. I live in a very rural area where almost every closing is a minimum 30 miles distant, and where notaries are scarce as hen's teeth. If somebody doesn't like my fee, I tell 'em to call Frank. And then they can call me in a day or two to clean up after Frank. For my full fee. If a "low/no pay" company wants me to work with them, they pay me up front; they pay me what I ask; and if they want to argue, they get Frank.

Reply by 101livescan on 12/29/13 11:36am
Msg #497220

Re: In case you missed this, read this commentary Msg #497204

Thank God for Frank!

Reply by Judith/NY on 12/29/13 11:45am
Msg #497221

Re: In case you missed this, read this commentary Msg #497204

LOL, I've said that many times. :-) Can you believe he walked out on a closing because he couldn't figure out how 4 borrowers could sign the very first document, which only had two signature lines? I got a call at 10PM to go out to finish the signing.

Reply by 101livescan on 12/29/13 12:15pm
Msg #497222

Re: In case you missed this, read this commentary Msg #497204

Good for you, Frank is a 'hidden' gem for your business.

Reply by sueharke on 12/29/13 4:26pm
Msg #497242

Re: In case you missed this, read this commentary Msg #497204

Be thankful he didn't know how to draw a line(s) with a pen

Reply by GOLDGIRL/CA on 12/29/13 1:50pm
Msg #497228

Hmmmm, Judith ...?

You say: Our fee range here is not what it is in California.

As far as I know, it's common knowledge that the fee range in CA is about $100, very generally speaking. Cheryl gets more because she's been around since people started buying houses in Santa Barbara, she has LOs and EOs who demand her and only her, and she had a loooong-time reputation as a quality loan signer. Just ask Clem.

Still, my question to you is: is $100 high for your very rural area? Really? And since you're in the boonies and have to travel so far to get to any borrowers, can't you demand at least that (Frank aside)? Aren't your expenses the same as, say, a CA notary's? Gas, paper, toner, internet, etc? Why should you be getting less? Unless I'm misunderstanding your post. Just curious.

Reply by Judith/NY on 12/29/13 2:34pm
Msg #497234

Re: Hmmmm, Judith ...?

Gosh, I was under the impression that your fees in CA were significantly higher than that (at least, I am often offered significantly more than that from CA SSs, with a couple of notable exceptions). My base fee is $100, which covers a 30-mile radius drive. I do charge more for anything over that in terms of distance. However, I have several agencies that routinely offer me $125-150 for refinances or purchases and of course I don't turn it down. :-)

Reply by GOLDGIRL/CA on 12/29/13 3:19pm
Msg #497238

Re: Hmmmm, Judith ...?

Verrry interesting, Judith! I was once told by a CA SS owner that with a few notable exceptions, he can pay $100 for CA notaries easy, but he has to pay $125 for NSAs out of state. That's cos NSAs are a dime a dozen ... or at least *were* in CA. Somebody like you who's about the only game in town (despite Frank!) could get that and more. So I'm certainly happy for you and glad we got this all cleared up (at least for my edification)! BTW, what do you grow on your farm???

Reply by LKT/CA on 12/30/13 7:32pm
Msg #497324

There is NO going rate in CA

There's NO standard, or going rate, or average loan signing fee in California. It's what EACH notary charges and what EACH notary is willing to accept.

Reply by Judith/NY on 12/29/13 2:40pm
Msg #497236

Re: Hmmmm, Judith ...?

I guess I should clarify, though -- our region is very "Appalachin" in terms of economy. $100 is a lot of money here. About 20% of our population is Amish; most people here are minimum- to low-wage factory workers in the urban areas, or struggling farmers outside the "city" zones. I myself have a farm, and use my notary income to keep my farm afloat. The farm is my primary occupation, but farming doesn't pay much. :-)

Reply by Philip Johnson on 12/29/13 3:49pm
Msg #497239

I'm sure you mean Appalachian in the very best of terms.

Since I hail from Southern Appalachia (Asheville, NC) I wear my hillbilly with great pride. Living out here on the left coast, you'd be surprised how many people have never traveled east of the continental divide and have a certain idea of a very proud people and their land through watching television.

They may take your use of the term as derisive towards us hillbilly's, which I am sure wasn't your intent.

Reply by Judith/NY on 12/30/13 11:57am
Msg #497280

Re: Appalachia

Philip, if it weren't for the crazy politics in NC, I'd LOVE to live in the Asheville area (except it's a bit warm there for my alpacas). No, here the term Appalacia simply means comparatively low-income (not that Asheville counts as low-income, lol!). I'm not sure that that's so much derogatory as it is simply descriptive of the sorts of industry endemic to the region. Hope you don't feel that I was putting anybody down. I'm one of us, after all. :-)

Reply by ananotary on 12/29/13 8:36pm
Msg #497244

Fingers crossed that it is an organic non GMO farm. :) n/m

Reply by Judith/NY on 12/30/13 11:53am
Msg #497279

Re: Fingers crossed that it is an organic non GMO farm. :)

LOL, it's as organic as I can make it. I raise suri alpacas, but because they need monthly injections to prevent a nasty parasite carried by the whitetail deer, I still have to use at least that chemical. However, I use no chemicals on the land, so to that extent, we're organic. And there's no way I want anything to do with GMO stuff myself. In fact, we're fighting to prevent fracking in this area that could pollute our property. :-)

Reply by ananotary on 12/30/13 2:11pm
Msg #497293

I'm so happy to hear that! Growing my own fruits and

veggies now.

Reply by Judith/NY on 12/30/13 9:00pm
Msg #497327

Re: I

LOL, I tried that, but my ducks, geese and chickens had ideas of their own. Even with raised beds, the geese are tall enough to access the plants. And my cats.... don't get me started on how I felt about all those newly dug litter boxes. Fencing helped a bit with most of the poultry (except for the flying ones), but did nothing for the cats -- and alpacas have very long necks and can pretty much get into anything. I guess it's a case of livestock OR garden (although I'm considering setting up some cattle-panel greenhouses and growing under cover, assuming I can work out ventilation without letting in the birds). However, if I had to choose, I'll take my walking, pronking, waddling, flapping, squawking, peeping, playing and noisy animals over a few salads. :-)

Reply by sueharke on 12/29/13 4:25pm
Msg #497241

Re: In case you missed this, read this commentary Msg #497204

We need more Frank's when dealing with low-ballers.