Notaries! Get more time…
December 4th, 2007Written by: Scott
We’ve been hard at work planning out more upgrades to NotaryBay and have a few changes that we finished up this past weekend.
1. Premium Members Get More Time
Premium members now get first crack at all automated alerts coming through NotaryBay.com. This means all automated job requests put in by customers through the big blue button will go to premium members first. If Premium members do not respond in time, or there are not enough results, the next round starts based on proximity and points. Click here to login to your account and upgrade.
2. Opening Up To More Companies (even some signing services)
When we originally came up with the NotaryBay concept, the biggest concern was signing companies abusing the automated features of NotaryBay. That, and of course my general disdain for most signing companies.
But, as we’ve continued to add features we’ve given and will continue to give our members complete control over the notifications they receive. Since our members have control, I feel better about allowing more companies to use the site. This means more work for our members. We’ve also noticed that most of our members minimum prices are within many signing companies pay ranges.
We aren’t opening the automated features up to all signing companies. Heck no. We will allow certain reputable companies only on a case-by-case basis. So, if you receive a notification from a signing service, and you want the job, great. If you don’t, make sure to update your minimum price to price yourself out of those notifications.
With the current slowness of the market we want to get our members as much work as possible. If you’d like to nominate a company that:
1. Pays on time
2. Pays decent
3. Treats their vendors well
Please e-mail us, and we’ll evaluate sending a proposal to the company. If the company begins using NotaryBay we’ll give you a 1 to 6 month premium membership based on the size and usage of the referral.
3. Time and Date in Alerts
We’ve added the ability for searches to add the time and date of the closing into our alert system as well. That way you’ll be able to see when the closing needs to take place without having to call in. Good for the searcher, good for the notary.
Coming Soon:
- Ability to adjust your minimum price for each type of service (single edoc, overnight, HELOC, on-site inspection, etc)
- Language Filter - Will give searchers the ability to filter by language spoken
+ More!
December 5th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
This is my biggest concern in this industry. I have been a signing agent for 6 1/2 years and I have watched the fees drop and drop and drop. They are now lower than I have EVER seen them. Scott, you make the comment that most people listed in Notary Bay have their fees set at signing services fee level. This is crazy!! The whole point of this is to attract direct business, am I wrong? This is telling me that I won’t ever get contacted if everyone else has there fees set to attract signing services fees. My goal here at Notary Bay is to get Title/Lender/Mortgage direct which means my fee is what they would pay a signing service maybe a little lower. My reason for signing up here is because I thought I finally found some like minded people to keep their prices where they should be. Yes, I agree the market has slowed…but that is the key word “SLOWED” it is by far gone!! In my state the monthly closings are still taking place and the number has not gone down by much.
December 10th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
Fees have dropped since I came into the industry as well Tamara. I guess one person’s crazy is another’s normal, you know? I would not accept a $50 signing, but that doesn’t mean I should judge someone who does. I know my very first signing I did for $50 and I was thrilled (and it was a piggyback FHA! 30+ minutes away. I was crazy).
Please let Title/Lenders know about NotaryBay! We are working hard to get the word out, but while our technology is large our team is only 3! NotaryBay is a great alternative to using a signing service, we hope that as we continue to grow and add features more bad signing services will go away. Until that day though, we have to think about all NotaryBay members and getting them as much work as possible (even if that means some very quality signing services).
December 12th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
Each person’s financial status and requirements are different. I also started out my notary experience with the $50.00 comapnies. I don’t regret my decision and I learned a lot valuable experience from these companies. It wasn’t too long into my notary career that I started to demand more compensation. I’m certain that there are still notaries out there that charge more or they may charge less.
www.notarydocxpert.com
December 20th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
I am not judging any one, and nor would I. This is a GREAT career and I have enjoyed every minute of it. It is very disheartening to see where it has gone though. If you are a quality signing agent…not point and sign, the higher fees are well worth it. Everyone has an opinion and mine is based on a lot of personal experience.
January 1st, 2008 at 10:15 am
I think we all started out accepting the small wages, that these companies offered.I’ve
been a signing agent for 14 years.and consider myself one of the best.But, i agree
with Scott,Set your price,and stick to it.The only bussiness that you will loose are the
ones that are very slow pay,and always cause you more paperwork and problems.
When they make 400.00 , and you make 50.00-75.00……..DUH!!!!!!!!!!!
So hang in there , and have A HAPPY NEW YEAR.
P>S> I just prem. with Notary Bay today……..Lets See
January 2nd, 2008 at 4:31 pm
I appreciate all of your comments. My beliefs are that of much of this blog. My heart sinks when I get a call for 50 bucks for e-Docs for a signing 20 miles from me. What a disgrace. YET>>>> One of my fellow Notaries in my area has accepted that. I just pray that with this slowing in So Cal we will weed out out the bad money hungry Notaries that does not respect themselves or their positions. I love my profession and respect my duties. Therefore I will not help a signing service to not respect me. Happy Signing!!!
Maureen
February 6th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
I accepted a Signing from an agency for $100, the edocs totaled 247 (plus the borrower’s copy), I went to the place we were to meet, waited an hour (they did call once to say they would be a few minutes late. Eventually they came, spent another hour looking over the papers then decided they wanted their attorney to look over them. Sorry, my paper until I get paid, they would get back in touch. Since they did not close I was not even paid for printing over a ream of legal size paper and wasting over two hours not counting my travel time and expenses. For all this, I was paid $0.00 not even a thank you for trying.
Mistakenly, I received another copy of the Settlement Sheet, they had charged them $250 for Notary fees and the Notary got zilch. Pretty nice people, but it takes all kinds and every horse has one.