Posted by Sherry_CA on 6/13/13 8:02pm
Msg #473262

Rates in CA

I have not seen it this slow in such a looong time. After May 1st I went from being swamped everyday to almost nothing. Everyone that I talk to seems to have nothing going on. Rates are still climbing too. Any feedback to share?

Reply by LKT/CA on 6/13/13 9:20pm
Msg #473280

There's really no rhyme or reason to having lots of business one month, then having little to no business the next. And it depends on a lot of other factors such as: marketing, area saturation, years in business, clientele,.....too many factors to compare one area to another in the same state, much less across the country. It's very hit and miss. So when people post, "No Business"or "Is it SLOW for others?" The answer is always YES because a notary somewhere is having a slow week and another notary somewhere else is busy, and even turning down signings.

Reply by CJ on 6/14/13 8:53am
Msg #473328

Slow or fast.

For me, it is always slow at the beginning of the month. The title companies are swamped processing all that EOM stuff, so they are not in a hurry to generate more work right away. This is a good time for me to do my accounting and catch up on housework. I notice after the 15th, it picks up significantly. I tend to do 1/3 of my volume for the month before the 15th, and 2/3rds after the 15th. This helps me guesstimate my EOM. If I do 20 before the 15th, I will probably do 40 after the 15th.

Once, when I was newer at this, I called a signing service about why they used to give me so much work and now they give me just a little. They explained that sometimes the lenders target their advertising in certain parts of the country. Maybe the last three months they were advertising more in my state, and now they are focused somewhere else.

I have been doing this for 12 years. I notice that one SS would give me TONS of steady work. I would think, "I am set now: I never have to worry about work again". Then it would trickle off and I would panic, but then another SS would start giving me a lot of work.

I remember one time I was worried that I might have upset a SS and they would never call me again. What would I do if they never called me again? I could not sleep that night. I called them in the morning and they reassured me that everything was okay and they did keep calling me. I was sure I was set for life with them. But one day, they went out of business, and I was high and dry anyway. I called their client and signed up with their new SS, but that new SS only gave me intermittent work.

Even if you are the perfect notary, you are still at the mercy of the market. If the title companies don't have the work, they can't give it to you. If the lenders aren't loaning in your area, then there is nothing to sign. When I called SS and ask directly if they are upset with me, and that's why they are not calling, they always just tell me that "it is slow". I never know if they are lying or not. But if NO ONE is calling me, then it must be slow. I couldn't have dropped the ball on that many people all at the same time.

Sometimes if I am very suspicious that I am in the doghouse, I call the SS and try to get a hold of an underling. I ask them to check their computer to see if there are any notes about me. Once I found out that I was on probation for three months. (I found out why: I had dropped a package at the Fed Ex and left, and since they could not read the account number, they didn't send it out until I came back a few days later. You can be sure that NOW I stand there and WATCH them put it in the bin every time now, no matter how much of a hurry I am in.) I asked when the three months were up and put it on my calendar so I could call back on that day and remind them to activate me again.

It has been slow for me this month as well, so it's not just you.

Reply by Tudi/CA on 6/14/13 5:27pm
Msg #473407

Agree with CJ

I agree with CJ...somtimes it's slow in one area and very busy in another. I think March was a slow month for me, but it seemed to be busy for other people. The first week of June was so busy, I was going non-stop all day, but this second week of June has been about 1-2 per day. In my area, I have seen a rise in Purchase/Sales, and a decrease in Refi's.

Reply by Notarysigner on 6/14/13 10:57am
Msg #473347

Loan signings down, GNW and Car loans up........Ooh well, they all pay but I'd rather cash now then cash 30 days from now.

Reply by Susan/CA on 6/14/13 11:00am
Msg #473349

I am so slow this month it's spooky! I have done between 55-70 signings a month since February of last year, up until this month. 2011 was pretty scary too. My daughter is a loan agent and she said she has nothing this month. Rates are moving up as we all know. I hope things pick up soon. CJ hit the nail on the head! I have been in business since 2000 and have felt the same exact way as he does. So true!

Reply by Sherry_CA on 6/14/13 11:52am
Msg #473366

Yes, CJ said it all correct. As for me...I have been doing this for over 9yrs and it is exactly as CJ said. Sometimes, however it gets spooky still even after you have confirmed with all yours sources that everything is still totally fine....just very slow. The one thing I did wonder was the advertising in different areas and CJ hit that on the nail too. I usually never even have time for postings...but no matter how long you have been doing this whenever I read some of these postings I learn something. Thanks!

Reply by JanetK_CA on 6/14/13 3:09pm
Msg #473400

Numbers of new loan apps are tracked weekly by the Mortgage Banker's Association, along with other pertinent statistics. They publish a percent of change from the previous week and this info tends to very closely predict what will be coming through the pipeline nationally over the next several weeks. It won't tell us where the activity is, but I've found it to be a very good indicator. As I've stated here many times, it looks like the long term trends are for interest rates to start inching up and refi activity to decrease. Hopefully purchase activity will increase, but who knows how much that will make up for any slowdown in refi's.

However, those of us who have been at this for a good number of years have seen that this is a very cyclical business. We've had a couple of very good years on the high end of the activity cycle because of the Federal Reserve taking steps to keep interest rates low. As the economy improves, there will be less and less incentive for them to continue to do that.