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March 2, 2014

Analytics for TECHNICAL posts… graded!

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: — admin @ 11:25 pm

The (A) list:
ID, POA, APPS, SUED, JOBS, TUTORIALS, INTERVIEWS, BEST PRACTICES, POINT & SIGN, OUT OF BIZ, FREE, DIFFERENT DAY, LATE DOCS, PAYMENT, WILLS
CALL: Don’t CALL the Title co, or borrowers
ACCEPTING certifications
PAID: Getting PAID usual or unusual ways.
QUALIFICATIONS (background check & CSS)
JOBS: More jobs, less jobs, taking jobs away, taking bigger cut of money from jobs.

The (B) list:
Consumer financial protection, Loom them up, Stay here until PAID, why use middle INITIAL, Boss PAYS for COMMISSION, Industry STANDARDS, BEGINNERS, what makes a mobile notary, I-9, won’t sign disclosure, following directions, more specific tutorials, JAIL.

TUTORIAL on documents idea.
DOCUMENTS: Late, don’t call until ready, document dates, foreign language docs, witnessing docs, common mistakes w/particular docs, which docs recorded.

=====================================
1003 trouble (F)
1099 too high (C)
ACCEPT certifications (A)
ACKNOWLEDGMENT (D) optional ack cert.
APOSTILLE nightmare (D)
ATTENTION paying (D)
ATTITUDE > JOBS (C)
ATTORNEY GENERAL (F) UR not an attorney (F)
APR (C) to non-borrowing spouse.
BACKGROUND Screening (A)
BAG; carry all (F)
BAR: GA association (F)
BEGINNERS info (B)
Birth Certificate (A)
BLOG she learned more (F)
BOOKS top 5 (F)
BORROWERS at ease (C)
BOSS pays for comm. (B)
BUSINESS NAMES (D+) Biz names (C-) Choosing a name (D+) Grow biz first then register (D-)
CALL (A) don’t call title co;
CERTIFICATION or skill (D); Uncertified not a single all (D) If not certified (D) Just do it (D) Obamacare (F); not cert (F)
CLOSING bank branch (A)
CONTRACT (F)
CREDIT CARD afraid (F)
CROSS-OUT happy (C); story about cross-outs (C); Cross out and initial (F)
CREDIBLE witness (D) what is (F); Charge for (F);
CRIMINALS (B)
DIRECTIONS following (B)
DATES (B) doc, sig, notarization date
DOCS ready (A)
DOCUMENTS ready (A)
DUE: getting what is (A)
E&O (D); Supersize (D)
EATING on road (C)
EMBOSSERS (F)
EXPERIENCE gain (C)
ELITE: does it help? (C) Elite certification (F)
EXPLAIN (C)
ERROR-FREE (C)
FINGERPRINTING (D) difficult
FREE 3rd signing (F)
GETTING more work (A) 3jobs/day
eNOTARY overall score (D) ; which states (A); pros/cons (D); state specific (F); what can enotary do (F); 10yrs garbage (D); AZ (F);
eJOURNAL (B)
ETIQUETTE borrower (D) thanks, sorry (D)
FAMILY (C) Making family leave the room.
FEAR, anger (F)
FIND 24 hour notary (D)
FINES & PENALTIES (C)
FOREIGN lang doc (B)
FREE certification (A)
FUZZY (F)
GUNS borrowers w/ (F)
HIRE other notaries (C)
HOLD HARMLESS (C)
HOSPITAL signings (D)
HUD (C)
IDENTIFICATION (bad) (A)
INTERVIEW (A)
HOURS (F) of operation
IDENTIFICATION (D) 2nd ID requirement
INCOME: (C) Notaries who make more than Attorneys
I-9 Notarizing (B)
iCLOSE (F)
INITIAL middle overall (C); Why use middle initial (B) wouldn’t use middle initial (D)
INSURANCE (F)
INTERVIEW / advice (B) interview w/title (C) Title source (B); timios (A) Advice from AZ; Veteran Notary inteview (C)
JAIL overall (D); Pay at (F); Hubby in jail (B) Notarization at (D) Jail one phone call (F)
JOBS (A)
JOURNALS (D)
LATE docs (A)
LOOK them up (A)
LOWBALLERS (B)
MINIMUM competency (D)
MINORS overall (C); Minors rules (B) Notarizing a minor (D)
MISTAKES w/ Title (C); common mistakes (C) I also make (D) When you goof (D) types of (F)
MOBILE NOTARY (B) what makes?;
MOBILE OFFICE (D) warrantee
MORTGAGE borker (F) sniffing out the right notaries.
NNA (D) NNA-care (F)
NOTARIZED overall (D); w/o sig (C); Notarize 2x (D); Notarized statement (D) How to get (F)
NOTARIES (F) Industrial strength (F) unleaded (F)
NOTES (D) factual or personal? (D); Represent (F)
NOVICE (D)
OBSTACLES creating (C)
OATH (F) of two 2 witneses
OVERSEAS (D)
OUT OF BIZ bank br. (A)
OWL icon (D)
PAGE every page? (C)
PASSPORT (C) Notarizing passport (F) How to notarize copy of passport (A)
PAYMENT responsibility (C) getting what is due (A); Stay until paid (B); How to get paid (D) Fees at door (F)
PERJURY arm twisting (D) Perjury vs. Oaths (D)
PAY: does xyz pay? (F)
PHONE overall (C) ; Who answers? (A); Why answer (D); Phone interaction tutorial (D); Call back can’t talk (D)
PHONE #’s (F)
POA / Nursing home (A)
POINT & SIGN (A)
POLICE enotarization (D)
PREPAYMENT penalty (D)
PROTECTION (A) Consumer Financial protection bureau.
RAMBLE (D)
REAL ESTATE exp. (D) RE prices (F)
RECORDED which docs (D)
RESOLUTIONS (F)
ROCKET SCIENCE (F)
REVIEWS technique (F); signing co. reviews = payment (D+)
SIGN overall (B); Sign on different day (A); Sign disclosure (B); Get them to sign (D);
SIGNATURE BY X (F)
SPAM contacts (D)
STANDARDS: industry (B)
STAMP missing F()
STATES bordering (F)
STRANGE funny haha (D)
SUED: biz lic, e&o (A)
TAMPERING stapler (F)
THUMBPRINT overall (B); Thumbprint necessary (A); Asked NOT to thumbprint (C)
TIPS; overall (C) 12 tips (B); tips for notaries (F)
TOOLS for notary (F)
TRANSLATE (F)
TRENCHES for notaries (D)
TROUBLE (D)
TUTORIAL (B) general (A) other (B) too obscure (C)
VAGUE (F)
Webcam Notarization (B)
WILL notarize a (A)
WITNESSES (B) notary witness (B); expert witness horror (B)
WORK getting more (A) 3jobs/week to 3jobs/day; took biz away (A)
UNIQUENESS (D)
WARRANTEE (D) for mobile office
X on search results (D)
X: Signature by X (-) See Signature by X

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January 22, 2011

Cattle call Notary offers

Filed under: Ken Edelstein,NSA Pricing, Fees & Income — Tags: , , , — admin @ 10:29 am

Cattle Call Notary Offers
Do you Moo? Actually it’s more of a sheep call than a cattle call. Cattle are rather large and both genders can be a handful when riled, ask any cowhand. I would have preferred to title this blog “Sheep Call Notary Offers”, but the commonly used term will suffice, and it worked to get your attention; as you can’t deny that you are indeed reading this. Sheep are wonderful animals, so gentle and trusting. They baaahh a bit when you shear their wool, but that’s the extent of their complaining. Unlike cattle that like to roam individually, the sheep tend to herd together; they are so easy to manage! I’m sure some are aware of “leg of lamb” and “mutton chops”, but they choose to ignore their ultimate fate.

I just received still another of the Sheep Call notary offers. It has the usual “we pay xx$”; really? I love our free market democratic form of government. There is nothing wrong with some firm sending me a solicitation to buy their product for xx$. But the reverse offends me. By reverse I am referring to solicitation for my services that try to price set for me. They got it back asswards. It is the seller who sets the price and the payment terms. With my notary services I, not they, am the seller. I set the price and payment terms. To put it bluntly, it’s my way or the highway.

My name is http://kenneth-a-edelstein.com not “Undisclosed Recipients”. My self image, regular readers already know this; is more like a Lion than a Lamb. Many prefer to deal with docile manipulateable sheep. I know, when the rent is due you are against the wall and tend to shed your Lion’s attire for a cloak of wool. The callers are very astute at voice reading and want to be able to control their notary. Sometimes to a level of detail that goes beyond the offensive. If you absolutely must “play lamb” for a while, so be it. But work quickly at formulating a plan that allows you to shed the wool and return to Lion attire.

Back to the offensive solicitations. My general response is to state my fee and that I am available for the assignment. I add that PayPal payment is required prior to printing the edoc. That is a real “turn off” to the bottom fisher. Actually I find my response much more efficient than asking for an “unsubscribe”. I don’t want to be bothered, or offended by receiving such tripe. Truth to tell, sometimes I step a bit “over the line” in my response. I have a cute cartoon graphic called KMA.JPG. Sometimes I send it as a response to cattle calls. The acronym’s first letter stands for the word “kiss”. If you want a copy just send me an email. It would be great if all notaries sent the soon to be infamous kma.jpg in response to these lowballers.

Sure we are all notaries. But, poise, character, image, and deportment differentiate us. Your feeling of self worth, backed by your training and skills are what sets you apart. The fact that you are a member of 123notary.com is a strong indication that you, unlike most notaries; really know what you are doing. There is a good chance that your 123notary.com listing is the reason that you were included in the email directed to the flock of sheep. But, show them wrong!

Frankie Valie and the Four Seasons recorded “Walk Like A Man” (or Woman) and that is what you should be doing. Cattle / Sheep call emails are mass attempts to demean notaries. They are an offer for bottom dollar, collection grief, late docs and an extended lesson in being micro managed. The only thing these people deserve is what the herd leaves behind when it passes.

You might also like:

Read about lowball notary fees
http://blog.123notary.com/?s=lowball

Witnessing intake forms for Notary Heaven
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=8832

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January 21, 2011

Bad customers are a pain in the liver

Filed under: General Stories — admin @ 12:17 pm

Honestly, after months of quizzing people and enduring endless hatred, and being bashed on the various forums, I feel sick. I am sick of Notaries who don’t care about what they do and don’t care how they abuse people. I am accused of being abusive when people drive me up the wall and then I lose my temper. It is not my fault that most of you cannot and will not act like professionals. It is not my fault that few of you can give professional answers to notary questions. You choose to not know your trade. Out of 100 Notaries, not one can correctly explain all major notary acts, not even one. How pathetic.

The upset feelings that ignorant Notaries have caused me has gone straight to my liver and manifested itself in health problems. My arms started feeling heavy. I started having breathing problems. I have decided to put more emphasis on walking, nature, and work less, and eliminate ice cream and wine from my diet for now.

I guess this is the way most Notaries are. There is no motivation for any to learn on their own above and beyond skimming over things, perhaps, on a good day. Nobody has been interested in getting Elite certified on their own in years. Our Elite members get a lot more business and they will continue to monopolize until the other Notaries get off their rear and study.

I have decided that I am going to wrap up the phone quizzing and stop doing it. People hate it and it is getting to my health. None of the Notaries do that well. None of them act like professionals. It is that some are less unprofessional than others. In this business, ALL Notaries should act like professionals and know all the answers to basic questions, but the reality is that only about 2% of Notaries on our site meet this description, and our site is one of the better sites, or the best site according to Carmen.

So, to save my liver, I am testing more by email. I will test by phone only if absolutely necessary because the amount of Notary hatred makes the KKK look like school girls. When I started my site I had no idea people were this horrible. But, back in 2004 when 123notary was really growing, we did not have any of this type of problems with people. We had mostly polite customers and only a few screwballs.

But, how can I ask Notaries to be professional when the industry no longer values acting properly and knowing what you are doing. The industry wants Notaries to be stupid so the signing companies can treat them like slaves by lowballing them. So, if you are happy being slaves, then fine. But, if you want to get paid well like Carmen who gets $200 average per signing, I suggest attaining mastery of the art of being a Notary Public. Idiots do not get paid $200. Idiots are lucky to get $60 and then don’t get paid on time or at all. My suggestion is to be disciplined and choose being 100% knowledgeable, not just knowing a scrambled version of half of what you are supposed to know. 100% knowledge is called being professional.

When I was a Notary I did not think of myself as anything special. But, I knew 97% of what I was supposed to know and I kick myself about the other 3%. The average Notary on 123notary is functioning at a 45% level. This is not acceptable, but the industry accepts it and I can’t find better. So, the 45 percenters win — I lose. I will have to accept this type of ignorance until the industry changes.

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January 16, 2011

The Right to Decline Notarization

Filed under: Ken Edelstein,Technical & Legal — Tags: , , , , , , , — admin @ 10:25 pm

The Right to Decline Notarization
Notary must officiate on request.

The Penal Law (§195.00) provides that an officer before whom an oath or affidavit may be taken is bound to administer the same when requested, and a refusal to do so is a misdemeanor. (People v. Brooks, 1 Den. 457.)

The above is from the handbook of law provided to New York State notaries. Not much “wiggle room” there. I am writing this wondering if I just committed a crime! Of course we decline to notarize when something is “not right”, as we should. However, the issue before me is a request to officiate at the opening of a safe deposit box.

I have never participated in a safe deposit box opening. From what I understand, the notary is present and verifies the contents. It’s often a time consuming procedure. Generally it is a low paying function. I have heard that sometimes the notary is notarizing the statement as to the contents made by a bank officer. Other banks require the notary to make the statement as to the content and, as a notary, stamp and sign. That second procedure is a self notarization and illegal in New York State, and probably most other jurisdictions.

For the sake of discussion; let’s assume the procedure requested is the former, notarization of the statement by the bank officer. That’s certainly legal. The real issue is can mobile notaries legally refuse assignments? It is my understanding that a notary in a place of public accommodation (eg: at a bank) cannot refuse often saying “you must be a client of the bank”, any legal request. However, the mobile notary does not have a walk in location open to the public. Thus, IMHO the “before whom” does not exist; certainly that propinquity is not achieved “over the phone”.

One approach to avoiding unwanted situations is to price them very high. Sure, I’m available for your safe deposit box opening and my fee, with travel, is $500. But, that is a sham; and is sure to put you on the bank’s “do not call” list; possibly precluding an attractive assignment. I did not “high bid” my recent caller. I simply stated that I choose to not accept such assignments. And, that is the heart of the issue. Was declining a proper thing to do?

I have had people, despite my advertising to being a “Mobile Notary”; ring my bell and wish to enter my residence to have their document notarized. All of these have been declined. One or two were irate, and indicated that they would file formal charges against me. If they did, my licensing authorities probably dismissed their protest. I doubt there is any requirement to allow persons into my home, with the exception of Police, Fire, Building Inspectors, etc.

Unfortunately, the real issue remains, in my mind, a bit murky. Can I refuse a valid mobile notary request? If my schedule conflicts, I consider that a valid reason. But, if I am “available” do I have the right to “pick and choose” what mobile notary assignments I accept? We certainly do that all the time with Edocs from lowball disreputable callers. Many notaries do not like to notarize Power of Attorney documents. Many clients tell me their bank refused because Power of Attorney notarizations are “against bank policy”; presumably to avoid potential litigation.

Do we as individual mobile notaries have the right to refuse service to individuals for whatever reasoning we employ? The law cited above appears to require servicing all legal requests. My “not before us” is probably on weak legal grounds; I am not an attorney. How do you respond to requests that you do not wish to accept; especially those from individuals with proper ID, etc.

.

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The art of the decline to new notary jobs
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15783

Decline profitable junk work
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15495

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January 13, 2011

Notary Jobs: None Bad, All Bad, Some Good

Filed under: Ken Edelstein,Notary Fees & Pricing,Popular on Facebook (A little) — Tags: — admin @ 12:23 pm

Notary Jobs: None Bad, All Bad, Some Good
As is often the case I use an unusual title to perk your interest in my current installment. This one focuses on what assignments you actually accept. Yes, it’s you who determines what you do. They make “offers” you have the final decision. Of course when they “walk in” to a place of public accommodation your local laws probably prohibit you from refusing service without a good reason. But, as mobile notaries; our assignments are generally offered over the phone or via email; we are free to accept or decline.

Actually reaching an agreement to None is bad for business; you will have no revenue. If you are a mobile notary that’s probably not the situation you are looking for. The reverse is also true. Accepting All offers, though sometimes tempting; will in the long run be bad for your “bottom line”. A lowballer will never forget your acceptance of a 55$ edoc fee. “Once they see how good a job I do they will be willing to pay more” – that’s a pipe dream.

So, most of us live in the land of Some. Prior installments have discussed the often humorous aspect of some tendered offers. Hopefully, or should it be hopelessly; few of us are willing to drive 150 miles, in the middle of the night, thru a snowstorm; for the princely sum of 75$. Offers of that type remind me of a phrase used when I worked at a brokerage firm with a pet bull. “The cows may come and the cows may go; but the bull is here to stay”.

We need to actively filter the call/email to determine, quickly, the essence of the offer. If you don’t know the what, when and where; merely knowing the dollar amount, is inadequate to make the accept or decline decision. Unless, of course, the offer is for a very low dismissible fee. You need to get the real specifics, nothing can be vague, and nothing can be assumed. I once accepted an offer “in New York” assuming they were referring to within the city. Nope, they wanted me several hundred miles north of the city, hours away. Was it a misunderstanding? Or bull?

Be it misunderstanding, or bull, or a “change” in the specifications; how do you respond. What would be your reaction to the following scenario? They offer your standard rate for an edoc that is not too far from you. They say it’s about 125 pages and there are no special requirements (because you asked). You receive the confirmation and await the docs. Finally the docs arrive and the top page stresses the need to print 3 sets of the 185 page package. One set is for borrower. The other two sets are to be fully executed, and both faxed back “for approval” and when approved a pair of FedEx labels will be sent for shipment. You are also required to remain with the borrower until your faxing is approved. Probably the SS did not know the additional tasks, and, let’s assume relayed accurately all they knew.

Are you stuck with a wet baby on your lap? Of course not, it’s “bounce back” time; or they must greatly increase the fee. I would require an immediate PayPal full payment; fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. It’s very hard to actually receive at a later date a fee that was raised from the initial offer. The “miscommunications” is not your fault, or problem.

Thus, even when you take care to select Some, bad things can happen. It is how you react, and what you now demand (yup demand – if they want you to stick with it); that determines if you will be exploited or paid fairly for the work involved. Don’t let “their” problem become yours.

.

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Nobody wanted the Notary job
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16469

Protecting yourself with a contract
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=2593

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