Nobody comes to my home, either. My business license is restricted as a "mobile" business -- which means clients don't come to my home. I always tell people, and it's the truth, that because of city zoning rules I can't have people come to my home. Most everyone understands that.
I charge a flat travel/service fee $10 per signature -- but I'm also flexible depending on the situation. If it's clear that the person doesn't want to pay the travel fee, I will happily refer them to the closest place where I know a notary is on staff.
I always ask them first if they're a member of AAA. That's always the best way to go --- and in SoCal, a LOT of people are AAA members. Regular members pay $7/signature. Plus members pay $4, and Premier members don't pay anything (up to 10 signatures a day).
That said, I will sometimes offer to meet them somewhere and not charge a travel fee if it's convenient. Let's say I was needing to run to the grocery store anyway... I'd offer to meet them somewhere a long the way, and I would not charge a travel fee.
I highly prefer general notary work over loans -- which makes me a bit different than many here. I have no problems doing loans... I'm just getting tired of the games the companies play and the lack of respect. Loans involve a LOT of work and companies just aren't willing to foot the bill to cover it -- they treat us like employees or slaves and not the professionals that we are.
The key for mobile work... at least in California.... is to make sure you're making people VERY clear that you're charging a travel//service fee or a notarization fee... keep them distinct... and not just charge a lump sum. To do so could put your commission at risk for overcharging. When I issue receipts, I always separate out travel/service fees. Even if I don't charge for a notarization on top of the service fee.... I write it out and be sure to put $0.00 or N/C. I don't want anyone thinking I'm overcharging.
When I go to jails/courthouses where I charge simply for my time... I still issue receipts that itemize each notarized document, followed by the $0 or N/C. When I'm hired by the hour, everything is included, no matter the number of notarizations. I had an attorney who had me come to the courthouse just yesterday --- he hired me for 3 hours to notarize documents for several different clients. Half the time I just sat in the attorney room waiting --- no big deal to me, I was on his clock. I think I notarized about 8 signatures total. |
