   | Welcome to the Notary Talk General Discussion Forum. Before posting, please read the  |
| You are replying to this message: | | |
Posted by  JanetK_CA on 5/22/22 4:23pm
We saw this happen a lot during the slowdown after the "Mortgage Meltdown", and I expect it will be the case again, sadly. As volume slows, signing services will begin to look for ways to not only cut expenses but to generate new revenue - and the biggest line item on their books is payment to notaries. Some will conclude that slicing away at that is the biggest and most immediate way they can impact their bottom line.
That, of course, is short-sighted thinking because it doesn't consider the consequences, like losing their best notaries and potentially facing increasing errors, which could end up costing them desperately needed clients.
The worst of the bunch will do what Unlimited Ink appears to be trying to do, which is try to squeeze additional cash flow directly from notary's pockets - especially newbies - whom they perceive as desperate. It shows an appalling lack of respect for those whose work they depend on. The big difference between this slowdown and the last one is that the economy is booming outside of our field and there are plenty of jobs available, so notaries have options. Plus, more and more companies are offering work-from-home and part time positions.
Further, it's not likely this time that the notary business is going to bounce back like it did last time. The impact of low interest rates will last for a very long time. The trend in my area, at least, is for people to stay put in their homes with very low interest rates and fix it up vs. relocating. The silver lining is that we may see HELOCs increasing in popularity.
IMO, the notaries who will survive this downturn, first off, are those who know their craft well and have lots of experience, plus have a well established, diverse client base, and have continued to market themselves - especially to direct clients. [There will likely be a handful of exceptions who've managed to create a specialized niche less impacted by these changes, but those will be the exceptions.] Also, those who were disciplined enough to put money aside during the good times...
I've been warning about this eventuality for years now, not to be alarmist or a 'Negative Nellie', but to encourage people to plan ahead and be prepared. That may mean having a plan B and/or C, a career change, or retirement, depending on your circumstances. Sticking your head in the sand and 'hoping it gets better' isn't a plan!
Back to the original point, though, don't make your situation worse by falling for the pitches of scammers like the company mentioned above...
|
|
