Posted by Buddy Young on 3/26/13 4:46pm
Msg #463179

How do you justify the fee?

I accepted a signing the other day: It was for 2 grant deeds the wife signed one and the husband signed the other. It was 4 miles from my house and I was there for a total of 15 minutes. In California we can only charge $10 per notarization. I was offered and accepted this job for $60. How do you justify the fee?

Reply by LKT/CA on 3/26/13 4:53pm
Msg #463181

$20 notarizations, $40 travel......there is no mandate on travel fees. You can charge/accept whatever travel fee someone is willing to pay. A few years ago, I notarized one signature (GNW) at midnight.....drove 20 miles....charged $10 for the notarization and $100 graveyard/service travel fee. Got it...in cash...the man had to catch a 5am flight to finalize a business deal. According to him, he'd procrastinated, then forgot about it until midnight hour. My son rode with me....made $110 in 15 minutes.

Reply by Stephanie Santiago on 3/26/13 4:54pm
Msg #463182

Just a thought. Also, you have high Customer Service experience from years in your previous career.
You traveled to them. That is huge.
Buddy - I have a strong feeling that you know how to make signers feel very comfortable. Not everyone has that skill.
These are just a few thoughts.

Stephanie

Reply by Buddy Young on 3/26/13 4:57pm
Msg #463185

Re: thaks Stephanie

I did have one couple some time ago who said to me as we finnished " thanks for making it fun" I did have to make two trips this time though as I forgot my briefcase the first time.

Reply by Stephanie Santiago on 3/26/13 5:28pm
Msg #463190

Sure thing..... n/m

Reply by John Tennant on 3/26/13 4:56pm
Msg #463184

Travel time, even if only 15 minutes round trip. Time at the table of 15 minutes. State and Federal income taxes you will pay. Remember, the Notary Fee $10.00 per signature is for your expertise, training, etc as a Notary Signing Agent.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 3/26/13 5:39pm
Msg #463194

Just be sure to itemize your receipt/invoice!

$10 for each signature.

$40 mobile service fee

Even if it is close, $40 can be a reasonable mobile service fee if offered. It seems a tad high for something 4 miles away, but not unheard of, especially if they offered it. I probably would have only charge $20 for mobile service for that, myself. But if somebody *offered* me more, I wouldn't say no.

This is GNW, pretty straightforward.

Reply by Yoli/CA on 3/26/13 6:00pm
Msg #463197

As Marian said, itemize.

Are you justifying to the signers? If so, $10 per notarized signature. Tell them they could've saved themselves the other $40. However, it was their choice to have the "convenience" of having someone come to them in the comfort and safety of their location. So, not only is it a mobile fee, I call it a "convenience/travel fee."

Reply by anotaryinva on 3/26/13 8:48pm
Msg #463222

Think of it this way.
You have a leaky faucet. You can drive to Home Depot or Lowe's and buy a rubber gasket, after you figure out which one, for less than a $1.

Or...

You have a leaky faucet. You call a plumber to come fix it. What's the charge for him to drive out, diagnosis the situation and tell you that he has to order parts and return tomorrow between 1-4. IT'S NOT A DOLLAR.

I had a lawyer call me once, needed his client's signature notarized at 6pm on a Sunday. He asked me what I would charge to meet him at a hotel out by the airport, I told him $50. Not only was he screwing up my Sunday with my family but I was going to make my husband ride along. He agreed.
Then he called and told me to meet him at Outback steakhouse (where the lighting is so perfect to check an id). I told my husband he didn't have to go, I went alone. When I got there, he said his secretary would have done it cheaper. He should have called her.

Reply by ikando on 3/26/13 10:02pm
Msg #463227

For GNW, my fee takes into account the fact that I am doing something that is interrupted in order to accommodate the request. I am usually not sitting in front of the TV eating bonbons all day waiting for someone to decide they need something notarized right away. Their request is for their convenience, and I am inconvenienced by having to stop and then restart the project I'm working on, whether it's defrosting the freezer or working on my other businesses. I figure my normal hourly rate, number of signers plus distance, in that order.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 3/27/13 3:01am
Msg #463250

I think of it that way, too. We need to think like a business person. It's not just the 15 minutes at the table. It's the fact that we've given up whatever else we were doing, probably had to rearrange our plans (whatever they might be) if it was short-notice, which these appointments often are, and might have been able to do a different assignment in that time slot that would have paid more.

I get fees like Buddy talked about on a pretty regular basis for general notary work and it's seldom an issue, especially with small business owners. They get the part about paying for expertise and convenience. (Sometimes they're so grateful, they negotiate up... Love those!) I do often give a slight discount from my base "mobile service" fee, but only if it's within an approximately 3 mile radius, or if there are lots of signatures. (And I let them know it's a discount just in case the next time they ask it's a different situation - and people love to get a bargain.) But that's just me. Everyone's circumstances are different and what the market will bear from location to location varies greatly.

Reply by Stephanie Santiago on 3/26/13 6:02pm
Msg #463198

Marian, I like Mobile Service Fee.... n/m