Posted by Bear900/CA on 9/13/13 2:43am
Msg #484466

Why I believe the independent NSA Business will Collapse

The statement may be redundant as we are already near a state of collapse.

NSA business will change over a short period of time from an independent business opportunity to very dependent line of work for the few NSAs and SS that remain.

The NSA cottage ‘industry’, was born out of customer convenience and let’s be honest, for the convenience of title and escrow companies.

A cottage industry is not really an industry at all. It’s not a trade. It has no union. Ours is a work-from-home business enterprise. While a set of skills is required there are no performance reviews to determine aptitude, attitude or a host of other required traits and abilities. The business as it stands is dependent on the experience of the NSA. Experience is being traded for inexperienced NSAs who will work for less. This is just the start of the problem.

Imagine being hired as a software engineer, walking into the office on the first day and saying,
“I thought I’d give this a try. Can you please tell me what I’m supposed to be doing, how I should do it, where can I pick up my paycheck, and by the way, I don’t think you know what you are doing, let me show you how when I get the hang of it a little.”

Okay, enough of that. Here are my reasons.

1. Pull away from the NSA box and look at business in general. All business has its own DNA to determine how it will evolve or grow over time.

Sam Walton focused on having the lowest price, huge personal marketing, and massive expansion. At the end of the day, there was one Wal-Mart, and those that are willing to work for them, for barely wages.

2. Back into the NSA box. Escrow officers and their assistants are, or used to be notaries. They can do this again when they are pressured due to business slowdown. A greater pressure to use in-house will be to tighten supervision required to conform to rules that they have not yet adopted as third party vendors. FACT Act (Red Flag) is just one.

Brokers and banks that are still around have run this gamut and part of their compliance is to make sure that 3rd party vendors (title, escrow and notaries) are in line with them. THIS HAS NOT STARTED. When this becomes edict and not suggestion, the bigger title companies with clout will unleash their new compliance upon their own vendors. Who dat?

They will not play footsie with independent NSA’s that don’t have the ability to develop, maintain and purchase expensive and comprehensive compliance programs. They will turn to large signing agencies that have the capital, the marketing, the pricing, the employees, the coverage, the responsibility and the compliance know-how, if they need to go outside at all.

NSAs will follow the pattern of the tens of thousands of brokers and LOs who bailed out rather than deal with compliance instead of taking loan applications.

You may already see the one or two signing agencies that can fit this mold. A few will stay and evolve, the rest will go away. The NSAs they hire will be those that ‘don’t know it can’t be done’ and they will do it, for cheap. They will be micro-managed and receive internal continuous training and testing to remain compliant.

The ups and downs of the mortgage business that affects NSA business will take enough of a toll. Many independent brokers have turned their lives over to branching opportunities so they can focus on business at hand. Compliance is another whole job and CFPB rules require each branch to have a Compliance Manager responsible for training. That includes one-man shops. The size of the operation does not dictate the amount of compliance requirement. CFPB compliance audits are the same for brokers as it is for banks.

CA is lining up notaries to be responsible for the same reporting of elder abuse as financial institutions. This will be miniscule compared to what’s ahead. Bank and broker associations have been fighting over-regulation while we have been signing. We’re up. The umbilical cord is much shorter between escrow and NSA, then between loan originator and escrow. The time period will be shorter for this to occur.

The NSA business will change from an independent line of work to a dependent line of work to remain under the compliance requirements put upon them. The driving force behind this will be the broker and the banker who are driven by the CFPB. It is part of our business and compliance DNA and we can’t change the way it develops and goes forward.

Reply by 101livescan on 9/13/13 8:19am
Msg #484477

And Good Morning to you too! Bear900

Aren't you just full of good news this morning! So much for our niche occupation! It will become obsolete! Like so many jobs have in the past decades.

I venture to say we'll see more panhandlers out there going forward, not necessarily notaries. I just don't know how the current job market conditions can absorb all the lending industry professionals who will be out of work by Christmas.

Pretty bleak picture.

Reply by Bear900/CA on 9/13/13 9:58am
Msg #484482

Ever thought of getting into Notary Compliance?

A few will do it, and make it. It can be disheartening and a test of the human spirit. Better to know up-front and be able to adjust.

Best!

Reply by Bear900/CA on 9/13/13 11:16am
Msg #484487

What you should know about the FACT Act

When a broker seeks approval from a lender to originate for them the lender will require among other things a copy of their internal policies and their Red Flags program, or FACT Act. This must be updated annually.

Part of the program is to verify that 3rd party vendors have their own similar programs in place. In essence, we are to ask title and escrow to show us their same progarms, especially Red Flag programs, for us to be compliant dealing with them. So far we have been trying to get our own shops in order with heavier compliance from the CFPB.

If you haveen't heard of this yet, you may be suprised to know that everyone from car dealers to payday lenders spend thousands of dollars to attorneys to generate their program and maintain it annually. They too need an in-house compliance manager, internal training and audits.
.
We have finally come to the point where the CFPB is conducting audits on everyone including mom and pop shops. This gap of non-compliance in the mortgage chain with 3rd party vendors will be exposed and addressed.

I scratched on this topic earlier to bring some awareness. Notice the one person that shucked off was a former EO. I ask escrow offficers what their company is doing to comply with the new rules and regs and I get blank stares.

Our current loan hand-off procedure is like handing off the keys to a very expensive car to your son, who hands them to a neighbor, who hands them to a stranger on the street. That defeats the purpose of the CFPB's requirement. It's just logic.

I would never think of taking the loan off my desk and handing it to an NSA without compliance. Following SOS and DOJ laws and rules have nothing to do with the CFPB. Okay, I'm blowing fuses!

Msg #454944

Reply by Roadie_MD on 9/13/13 12:27pm
Msg #484497

I can't handle all this sunshine....

We all know the housing market, mortgage industry and so many other financial trends are cyclical. That being said, I wonder if this lastest mortgage downturn will create enough lost jobs to impact the economy enough to lower the rates again....possibly creating another refi boom that will necessitate the hiring of more mortgage professionals. It boggles the mind.

Reply by Bear900/CA on 9/13/13 5:49pm
Msg #484601

You'll get over it I'm sure. Be sure to enjoy the

5-yr anniversary of the mortgage melt-down this weekend!

http://consumerist.com/2013/09/13/on-5-year-anniversary-of-mortgage-meltdown-those-responsible-are-doing-just-fine/

Reply by NVLSlady/VA on 9/13/13 1:14pm
Msg #484512

Re: What you should know about the FACT Act

<<"I ask escrow officers what their company is doing to comply with the new rules/regs and I get blank stares.">>

I see the compliant logic - just think some of these 'red flags' are waving about too haphazardly (in order for the "cane" to have it's proper effect, it needs to fall correctly).
How can they know what is really going on before, during and after the signing?

I think you have a point: Compliance auditing may be the new "mystery shopping" niche.

Just saw same email a fellow state notary rc'd: Good Client only wants Licensed notaries

My fee structure would have to change drastically to comply at this point. Not gonna happen at $100-$125!

Reply by jba/fl on 9/13/13 3:13pm
Msg #484554

Re: What you should know about the FACT Act

Licensed notaries - licensed by who? There is no licensing currently. What is it they are attempting to obtain?

Reply by Bear900/CA on 9/13/13 5:44pm
Msg #484600

"What is it they are attempting to obtain?" Hmm, red flag! n/m

Reply by NVLSlady/VA on 9/13/13 6:27pm
Msg #484614

Re: "What is it they are attempting to obtain?" Hmm, red flag!

No need to wonder what is dictating the waving of this red flag. Revenue and someone's agenda. There are only a handful (about 25) licensed title/settlement agents statewide in Va.*

So, where these compliant-conscious companies are going to find RESA-certified (title licensed) notary witness agents is beyond me. The way of the self-regulated, self-appointed nsa, here anyway, might be out the door, kaput, gone with the wind . . .


*and half of those are within the title co. itself

Reply by NVLSlady/VA on 9/13/13 6:30pm
Msg #484616

#483667 post about RESA requirement for VA notaries n/m

Reply by NVLSlady/VA on 9/13/13 6:33pm
Msg #484617

Re: "What is it they are attempting to obtain?" Hmm, red flag!

oops, forgot to post Virginia Title link: http://www.vlta.org/associations/13043/files/VCTSA%20List_09.10.13.pdf


(hate undocumented research)

Reply by MW/VA on 9/13/13 2:26pm
Msg #484532

I don't know the exact history, but I understand NSA's

have been around for more than 20 years. Markets fluctuate. The stock market, real estate markets, etc. all have ups & downs. How about folks who sell cars for a living? Talk about feast & famine.
It really all depends on how much a person needs to make at this. I've in my 8th year, and it's served me well at this stage of my life. I'm not in a position to go out & get another job.
Your take as a broker gives you more insight into the overall industry, perhaps, but I don't see NSA's going away anytime soon.