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August 20, 2016

10 ways to “deal” with SnapDocs

Filed under: Marketing Articles,Popular on Facebook (comments),Popular on Facebook (some),Popular on Linked In — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 10:57 am

A guide to high survival in a low-ball world.

These days, so many Notaries are complaining more and more about SnapDocs. In fact, the drama is so intense, that posts about SnapDocs are the most popular articles on our blog these days. SnapDocs is not bad, they just have a system which you haven’t mastered yet, Grasshopper! SnapDocs caters to companies who care about price, but don’t care about experience. Those who want top-notch seasoned Notaries come to 123notary as we focus on having the highest caliber of Notaries at the top of the list. So, read this and you’ll learn the secrets of high survival in a low-ball world.

(1) CALCULATE TIME
Calculate how many minutes you’ll need to fulfill the request.
Some Notaries complain if the fee is too low without looking at the time involved. $40 is not bad if the job is within ten minutes and there are no fax backs and very few pages. For a ten page signing ten minutes away, you might be there and back again in less than an hour. How many people do you know who complain about making $40 per hour? Read the text and see where the address is and how many pages are involved.

Regardless of the specifications, calculate how much time you need to:
Print, Drive, Call, Sign, Fax, and Fedex.

(2) BACKGROUND CHECK
Background Check the reliability of the company making the assignment
Tired of screwball signing companies? Low-balling is not the worst thing. Not getting paid, or being held hostage for three hours waiting for edocuments while your other clients are waiting is. You can background check companies on www.123notary.com/s using your iphone. I just updated the “votes” on all of the signing companies on our list in May 2016.

(3) MAKE COUNTER OFFERS
If you get a job from SnapDocs that comes as a text, you’ll be alerted to the location, number of fax backs and other basics about the job. You can use that information to calculate the amount of time needed to fulfill the order. Based on the time involved, you can decide how much to charge. If you have a base rate for your time (make it more expensive during the last week of the month) then you’ll know exactly what to charge. You might discount your fees a little for SnapDocs clients as they clearly don’t want to pay much.

If you get an offer for $50 to do a Refinance for two signers with twenty pages of fax backs, you can make a counter offer of $85. Some Notaries bid $125 and never get called back. You have to price your bid within the market otherwise you might as well just not use SnapDocs at all.

If you bill your time at $30 per hour and a job will require 54 minutes, ask for $27. Or if you’ll need two hours, then ask for $60. This is a very reasonable way of quoting rates that is fair to you as well as the client.

(4) NEWBIES — GAIN EXPERIENCE!!!
If you are new in the Notary business, I advise not being too picky about what people pay, providing they pay within 45 days. You need to get at least 1500 loans under your belt to be taken seriously by the big guys such as prominent title companies. You should pass the 123notary & NNA certification test if you want to be taken seriously as well. If you want to get experience in a hurry, SnapDocs is one way to do it. You’ll get tons of jobs, and all you have to do is drive, fax, and sign. You might not get paid that much, but experience is worth its weight in gold, so consider that your payoff.

Our list of signing companies that hire new signers is another way for newbies to get started.
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=7059

(5) FILL IN YOUR EMPTY TIME
If your other customers book in advance, and your daily schedule has some holes, SnapDocs might be the perfect way to fill in those unused hours. Although you might not get paid that much, at least you will have something to do so you (and your printer) won’t get bored. If you make $200 a day average doing signings for your regulars and you can pick up another $60 from SnapDocs, that is not a bad daily average.

(6) WIN OVER NEW CLIENTS
What a new client will pay you is different from someone who knows and trusts you. Once you build up trust with a client over the course of a few jobs, or a few months, you might be able to charge more. If they have a written track record about your service and know that you won’t screw up, they might pay you $20 more than they would pay another guy even though they are low-balling. So, you can use SnapDocs to meet new clients, and then once you have them hooked, jack your rates up a bit — but, not too much of a bit as you are still dealing with low-ballers.

(7) THE FIRST 3 WEEKS OF THE MONTH
Business is normally sluggish during the 3rd to the 22nd. So, that might be a great time to augment your business by using SnapDocs! You might need to save time during the end of the month for your regulars, but when things are slow, you should be willing to work at a somewhat lower rate.

(8) LOOK FOR CLOSE JOBS
Working for cheap is not that bad if you can find close jobs. If you get twenty texts per day from SnapDocs, and one or two is really close, you can try to nab those close ones and make some fast money. The key is having something to do during the other seven hours of your work day. If you make $60 for a signing ten minutes away, you might be making $50 per hour when all is said, done, and faxed.

(9) GET PAID UP FRONT
Ken is on our forum all the time offering some old school common sense to our Notaries. The message is — you are not a bank, why do you offer credit to strangers with no collateral? You don’t know if or when those signing companies will pay you. So, why not get $85 up front via Paypal? If they really need you they will pay you!

(10) THE CARMEN METHOD — ABSTINENCE
Carmen thinks that Notaries just shouldn’t use SnapDocs as the fees offered are too low. You can use abstinance as a way of dealing with this situation. Seasoned signers will never get paid what they are worth on SnapDocs, your experience is just not valued enough. With all of the faxing back, they can double check a newbies work and get accurate work at half the price by micromanaging. So, if you are “all that,” then get Elite Certified by 123notary and stick with us as you’ll get paid more from leads from our site — and forget about the cattle callers!

A final note from Jeremy — “Why am I promoting my competitor?”

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You might also like:

May best signing company gossip
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15417

My interpretation of how the Notary industry went South
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16500

List of New Signing Companies Feed
http://blog.123notary.com/?cat=419

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July 25, 2016

You want to get paid well as a Notary, but do you merit a good rate?

Filed under: Marketing Articles,Popular on Facebook (A little),Popular on Facebook (comments),Popular on Facebook (shares) — Tags: , , , , , , — admin @ 5:47 am

Most Notaries are complaining about how poorly they get paid and all of the headaches like fax backs, micromanagement, and hassles they have to put up with. The reason for the micromanaging and fax backs is that someone could lose their loan and their lock if there is a mistake. Notaries make mistakes more than they care to admit, especially the new ones. So, signing companies are forced to check up on Notaries. But, you’re not like those other Notaries, right? Prove it!

Most Notaries do not want to pass the 123notary certification test. They passed the NNA certification test or some other tests, but don’t want to take the trouble to pass ours. When I ask them questions over the phone, they typically try to pass themselves off as knowing it all and then fail my test miserably. For such a large group of people to be anti-knowledge is really bad. You are a professional, it behooves you to study up and know your technical data inside out. Know your Notary procedures inside out. Know your signing agent knowledge inside out. Not just some of it — all of it.

If you have signed a few thousand loans, have good connections, and are certified by several agencies, you are beginning to merit good pay. Those who are 123notary elite certified average $116 per signing which is a lot more than those who are not. Many beginners average $80 per signing, or at least that is my guestimate.

You can learn more about being a good Notary by reading the technical articles in our blog and in NNA’s blog. You can study up on your state’s handbook. There is a lot you can do to become a better Notary. Getting reviews on your listing and polishing up your notes section help your image as well. If you want to get paid well — merit the good pay and it will come.

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You might also like:

What are mobile notary fees
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21383

Why are the fees offered so low you ask?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=22293

Compilation of certification posts
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16264

How to write a notes section if you are a beginner
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16698

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July 9, 2016

Global Notary

Filed under: Popular on Facebook (A little),Popular on Facebook (comments),Signing Company Gossip — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 5:38 am

Many Notaries have done jobs for Global Notary. But, what are they saying?
http://www.123notary.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2517

lsaversl
“Just got a call from Global Notary-print 2 sets (150 each), drive 50 miles round trip, fax back 150 docks, for a whopping $30.00-I was about to tell them (are you insane), but just said I was very booked up.”

Minnesota7
“I completed some 15 closings up here in northern Minnesota for Global because they had no choice but to pay my travel fees. Only 2 or 3 travel where we go. In town I refused their starting fee $40. I would burst out laughing. My problem was they would call and ask if I was going to be on time, every closing. The last two they actually called the borrowers to see if I was there. Some snot nose brat called me from global and said don’t take it personal, they do that to all notaries. I asked for the home phone number to the Owner of Global so I could call him or her every morning at 4am and ask them if they were going to be on time for work that day. Now I have received 3 different 1099’s from them. They need professional help. I got along ok with one scheduler but I told him to see to it that they take me out of their system and don’t ever call again. Plenty of good companies still out there. MN7”

Joelbenedict
“I made an error in the date of the borrower certification. I then scanned 201 docs back without catching my error. Global Notary sent me an email giving approval to drop the docs. I called the next day to confirm that I had approval. I dropped the docs. Four days later, Global Notary contacts me to notify me that there was an error in the borrower certification and that Old Republic (the title company) had rejected it. I completed an acknowledgement, scanned it back to Global Notary, cc’d Old Republic. Two days later, Old Republic approved the acknowledgment and Global Notary told me to overnight the acknowledgment at my own expense or for a $20 reduction in my fee. I didn’t have my notary stamp or the document at home–this was six days after the signing. I printed another copy of the acknowledgment, filled it out by hand, and faxed it to Global Notary. I paid for the label online through USPS’ website. It cost $18.11 to Express mail it flat rate. 10-24 minutes later, Global Notary called me to tell me that Old Republic likely wouldn’t approve the handwritten copy. I griped to corrections about their not catching the mistake in either of the two approvals and expecting me to take the expense hit.

Their response was that they do what they can. I couldn’t get them to budge on any kind of action to prevent it from happening again, or even that they had made a mistake in not catching my mistake. The day after, Global Notary contacted me to tell me I’d have to ship the acknowledgment that was approved on day four because Old Republic had rejected it. I went over Global Notary’s heads and called Old Republic; I told Old Republic Title the same thing I’d told Global Notary, that Kentucky doesn’t require notary stamps, our signature and serial numbers are considered our seal; Old Republic said that the lender had rejected it. I had the approved acknowledgment with me this time; I paid for the shipping and put it in a box (a non-USPS flat-rate regular cardboard box). It cost $16.99. Now I’ve got to wait and see if there’s any more noise with this signing. I took it for $85, printed out 422 pages of docs, drove 26 miles total, have put at least 11 hours into this signing, and took a $35.10 hit in expenses. This is probably my sixth signing with Global Notary, but this one has been a poor experience. The other signings I got for $60-70.”

M.Quednau
“Never leave your fax machine unattended before it is finished. Just because a borrower “thinks” he knows what he is doing you ALWAYS check for errors. Always ask about fax backs before you agree on a price taking that into consideration before you agree to do the signing. Sounds like you should have been more proactive in checking for mistakes and making sure the fax went through and if the fax didn’t go through wait till you come back after the holiday (since it was only one day) and tried again to fax. Global pays on a timely basis. If I were you I would rethink working for them again if they were willing to pay your price. I think all the calls are because one hand doesn’t know what the other is doing. None the less it is very annoying. ”

NotaryMark
“I am aware that Global Notary Inc are low ballers, however their tactics and fees have finally become preposterous.

Yesterday I was called for a Mortgage signing, i verified it was a normal signing on the phone, then verified there was about a twenty page fax back, ok I said for $75. Yes thats low but it was close to where I live and a quick return.

HOWEVER…on documents arrival I find that the fax back is nearly fifty pages and this is a refinance where the total pages of documents are 187! So that would be X2 prints 374pgs and a fax back!!

Unfortunately I had to cancel this appointment because of a family crisis, sudden and unexpected”

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You might also like:

The 90 days no payment list of signing companies
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15887

The met my fee list of signing companies
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16979

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July 7, 2016

Here is my proof of how slow the industry has been

Filed under: General Articles,Popular on Facebook (comments) — Tags: — admin @ 11:11 pm

Every few months, I visit the Notary Rotary forum. I go to see which new signing companies people are talking about. I also like to see if there is any interesting gossip. Sometimes I find people compaining about us there too — usually about petty issues that don’t seem important to me. But, this visit to Notary Rotary yielded the smallest number of pages per month that I have ever seen in human or rather “notarial” history.

Normally NotaryRotary had two or three pages per day of gossip. But, this time, there was only about a third of page per day. It looks like things are functioning at 20% of normal speed over there.

Clicks on 123notary are also down. We have done so much to improve the quality of our site. We manually tested a few thousand Notaries free of charge. It was annoying for them, but we got 350 to pass in the last few months. I am proud of my success and theirs as well. But, even with this huge and sudden improvement to our site, the numbers went from 180,000 visitors per month in August down to 125,000 in December. December is always slower, but not normally this slow. So, at least I can see that the slowdown is also happening with NotaryRotary and not only on our site. Maybe things will pick up again. Not sure.

123notary recommends that you don’t worry about the ups and downs in the Notary economy. Rather, keep getting reviews on your listing, and study up and try to pass our certification test. Once you pass our regular certification, try our elite program. The more you better yourself, the more you can compete in any market!

You might also like

State of the notary industry union address
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16244

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June 7, 2016

And Drop Off The Package

Filed under: Ken Edelstein,Popular on Facebook (comments),Popular on Linked In — Tags: , — admin @ 9:44 pm

And Drop Off The Package
You did “almost” everything right. The call was logged and scheduled. You confirmed with the borrower. The signing went smoothly in every respect. All required “pick ups” were included. When you printed the docs you also printed a separate PDF with the FedEx airbill. You slip the airbill into the pouch, seal the envelope and, well prior to pickup time, the package is dropped off. Mission accomplished, check to follow.

Perhaps not, considering the rather outspoken title person making your cell phone’s speaker vibrate violently. “We got our delivery, it was not delivered; where did you leave it – at a local bar?” That’s certainly not the case. It was only yesterday afternoon; you clearly recall bringing it to the local FedEx office – NOT a street side drop box. There was a long line for the sole representative on duty at the time. Usually you hand it over the counter and ask for a “drop off receipt”. But, as this was so very routine, and the wait would be long – you slipped it into the drop box IN the FedEx office. You have done this dozens of time before, never a problem.

Without a drop off receipt to scan and email, you have no proof of drop off. So, you make the trip (as demanded by title) to the FedEx office. It’s a long wait, but eventually you get to speak to the office manager and explain the situation. “I have good news for you”, sayeth the manager, “I have the package, let me get it and return it to you!” Not really good news, but better than no news. Soon the manager returns and hands you the envelope. “Why did you not ship it? – it has a prepaid airbill”.
“That may look like an airbill to you but it is totally illegible! My staff was not able to read the account that would be paying; also the scanner could not read the bar code. We were hoping you would return to claim it”. Groan. You know that if you had waited for the drop off receipt, it would have failed the scan – while you still had time to do something. Now it’s the next day and the title people are having fits. Of course the blame will be on you. They will claim that you did not print the PDF properly. They will ask why you shipped an illegible airbill.

It kinda sounds like a 60 yard touchdown run, only to trip over one’s untied shoelace at the one yard line. The call to title yields the expected results – colorfully. They insist that you, while at the FedEx office – FAX the entire package immediately. You must also rent some PC time to print a replacement airbill so it can be shipped while you are there. This time they explicitly ask for a FAX of the drop off receipt. They consider you a klutz that needs micromanagement.

With demands accommodated, you return home to reprint that PDF with the airbill. Just as you suspected it was sent as garbage – nothing you could do would make it print correctly. However, if you had given it a glance at “doc print time” you would have noticed the problem. At that time you would have been able to call the sender and get a replacement PDF, or, at least the proper charge code to use on a hand written replacement airbill. But you did not catch THEIR error.

When I was a kid we used to play Tug of War. A long thick rope, us kids holding on each end with a gigantic mud puddle in the middle. The team captain would be at the end of the rope, with the rope tied around the captain’s waist. The losing team kids would let go prior to the mud puddle. Being last in the chain, like a signing agent; the team captain was dragged into the mud.

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May 29, 2016

You lose $37.50 each signing you don’t answer the phone.

Filed under: Marketing Articles,Popular on Facebook (comments),Popular on Facebook (shares),Popular on Facebook (some),Popular on Linked In — Tags: , — admin @ 10:38 pm

If someone is shopping around for Notaries and you either don’t answer your phone — or worse, you answer only to tell the caller that you can’t talk because you are at a signing, you will not be at the top of many people’s list unless your work compensates for your poor phone etiquette.

Signing companies don’t have time to waste. They might have to call twenty people to fill a job. The faster you answer your phone, the more headache you are saving them. If you are at a signing, that is not the only signing you will do for the rest of your life. To keep in business, you will need other signings. By not answering your phone, you might be losing out on a new clients who will give you five jobs a week for the rest of your life, but you blow it by not picking up. Or, it might be someone who used you once before who will become a regular, but not if you say, “Sorry I can’t talk, I’m at a signing.”

If you answer your phone (and please do,) give the person calling you some respect. Give them ninety seconds before you cut them off by telling them you are at a signing. If you start the conversation by saying, “I’m at a signing.” They will feel pressured, uncomfortable, rushed, and not like talking to you. People do this to me all the time. I just say, “Never mind, I’ll talk to someone else.” What I have to tell them might really help their career, but they’ll never know because they didn’t give me a chance.

How much business do you lose each average hour you don’t pick up? If you do $200 in signings per day and the calls come in little by little, you are losing $25 each hour you can’t pick up. So, if the signing company instructs you not to answer your phone, tack on an additional $25 to the total cost, or don’t agree to those terms. If a signing is 90 minutes, you lost $37.50. My numbers are based on my experience back in the day and might not be representative of today’s world or your world. But, they make a point. The point is that your time is valuable and so is your ability to communicate with the rest of your species. Think about it!

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May 23, 2016

My interpretation of how the Notary industry went South

Filed under: Marketing Articles,Popular on Facebook (comments),Popular on Facebook (shares),Popular on Facebook (very),Popular on Linked In — Tags: , — admin @ 9:57 pm

It is sad to see what has happened in the Notary industry. Notaries who were getting paid a comfortable living are now working for peanuts or have left the field altogether. Some people blame signing companies for lowering fees. Others attribute the problem to SnapDocs. A few claim that the lack of volume of jobs in the Notary industry combined with too many signers has caused a drastic lowering in fees.

Why are fees so low?
If you ask me, there are several things going on here. Yes, SnapDocs created an automated way to get Notaries for cheap which involves very little work for the signing or Title company. Additionally, in the old days, Title companies used to pay a lot more than signing companies. These days, many Title companies are paying low fees as well. Yes, there are too few jobs and too many Notaries. And yes, the interest rates haven’t changed much in seven years since the Mortgage crash. The bigger fact is that due to the Mortgage crash in 2008, banks cannot lend money unless you have good credit. Since our government is eating up so much money by borrowing it to fund its insatiable hunger for cash — that might be the reason there is very little left over to lend to homeowners.

Low interest rates caused by artificial market conditions
I feel that low interest rates are artificially maintained because the government will go out of business if interest rates rise even one percent. That means there won’t be any more America, no more USA flag, no more hamburgers — okay, there will still be hamburgers, but nobody will be able to afford them. By preventing people with average credit from borrowing, that leaves more money available for the banks to lend the government. The government refuses to lower its spending on wars, military, jails, interest payments, education, infrastructure, etc. If we would cut military spending and put the people in jail in a penal colony where they could work for a living, we could pay off our debt, and not go out of business as a nation.

Reasons for lowered fees:
(1) Banks aren’t lending much >> too few jobs
(2) Too many Notaries
(3) SnapDocs facilitates low-balling
(4) Low skill of most Notaries

Low skilled Notaries
I spent four months in 2015 testing Notaries over the phone. We got our total count of Notaries from 1600 to 2000 which was a huge victory for 123notary and for those who passed our test. However, I noticed that most Notaries had no clue what they are doing and didn’t understand Notary law, signing agent knowledge, and couldn’t even follow directions properly not to mention not having much common sense. For signing companies hiring Notaries, if you limit yourself to hiring good Notaries, your selection will be really small. So signing companies got smart and started planning for incompetence. This is why they prefer to hire unskilled Notaries, and then have them fax everything back to double check their work. Instead of hiring a pro like Carmen for $175 per signing, they can hire a complete novice for $40, double check the faxes themselves, and make a huge profit. I don’t like what the signing companies did, but this is the fault of Notaries not knowing what they are doing. Had Notaries educated themselves, this fax back system probably never would have evolved. It evolved through dealing with incompetent Notaries who in my opinion should not even be Notaries. The state Notary divisions are run by fools who don’t test or double check their Notaries’ work for the most part outside of CA, NY and LA. And the Notaries in the states with testing are not that proficient either. In my opinion a skilled Notary is worth $100+ per signing. But, an unskilled one (unskilled by my standards not yours or NNA’s) is worth $40 per signing and don’t even deserve to work. So, there you have it, that is my point of view which you might not like!

Unfortunately, many of the high skilled Notaries have had to lower their fees or leave the industry altogether (which was horrible for 123notary) because of the lowered fees and fax back system. Many are still around, but they have to charge $85 to $100 instead of $125 to $150 which is probably what they are worth.

The future of America
As I mentioned before, the government seems to have manipulated the banking industry to make huge amounts of cash available to borrow at low rates. This is actually not a bad thing, because it prolongs the amount of time that America can be a nation. The bad thing is the stupidity that led up to this huge 19 trillion dollar debt is the thing that should borrow you (or bother you.) In real life you cannot keep borrowing and borrowing and borrowing. It has to end sometime and when it ends, you could lose some, most or everything you have. As an individual you can recover, but how can a country recover? Are we going to click the reset button? It is not China and Japan that lent us most of the money — they lent only 15% of the money. The majority is from banks and some local investors. If America can’t pay its debt, the banks will be insolvent. That means not only no more America, but no more financial system like we know it today. Sure, we will still be here, and hopefully won’t starve, but it is not predictable what will happen.

My spiritual guru predicted that America would experience some devastating natural disasters, go broke, and fail to be a nation. We would be fifty states. These fifty states will not have much of an ability to borrow money to function after the big crash, so expect massive poverty. Whatever problems you have now are nothing compared to what is going to happen.

The future of Notary work
It looks like Notary work will continue on being slow for the next few years since there is not much money lying around to lend to house buyers. Sure, there might be blips and temporary fast times, but for the most part slow. This will continue until our country goes off the waterfall, or has a huge war or financial restructuring. After the crash, it is completely unpredictable how the world’s financial system will be. I’ll have to meditate on that one. In the mean time, just do your best, and try to be more of an expert at what you’re doing.

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You might also like:

Best Marketing Resources for Notaries
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16322

Nice things people said about 123notary in blog comments
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=22401

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May 10, 2016

Apps that Notaries have never heard of that could change your life

Filed under: Business Tips,Popular on Facebook (comments),Popular on Facebook (shares),Popular on Facebook (some),Popular on Linked In — Tags: , , — admin @ 3:04 am

Here are some apps I researched that you might really like. The last app article we wrote was so popular, that we decided to create another one. Let us know which apps you are most “apt” to use in the future!

ORGANIZATIONAL

The 16 best scheduling apps
Just see this list and decide for yourself which one you like the most!
https://zapier.com/blog/best-meeting-scheduler-apps/

4 best shipping apps
These can be used with UPS, Fedex and other carriers. Read the list for yourself.
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/224495

Wave
https://www.waveapps.com/
Create invoices wherever you are using your i-phone. Don’t wait until you get back home to bill that signing company, wave them an invoice right when you drop the package at Fedex. Wave will tell you if your invoices are past due, or have been viewed.

MileIQ
https://dashboard.mileiq.com
Track your miles for the IRS tax deductions with this app.

MileBug
http://milebug.com/
Keep a log and track your expenses on this popular app.

Evernote
https://evernote.com/?var=2
Evernote is a modern workplace that helps you can write notes of any type from lists, to research projects, to articles written by yourself or ones you found on the web.

NAVIGATION

On The Go Map
http://onthegomap.com/#/create
Map your route with On The Go Map with ease. You can even send it to your clients at a touch of a button.

Inrix
http://intrix.com/
Check road conditions at a glance. Map routes, get traffic maps and road alerts.

Waze
https://www.waze.com/
This app is a GPS, and community based traffic and navigation app. Waze will also help you find the cheapest gas on your route.

Beat the Traffic
https://www.beatthetraffic.com/
This app will tell you which route has the least traffic.

GENERAL

Lockify
https://lockify.com/
Send information to your clients encrypted. That way you ensure the confidentiality of the information just in case. Nobody has the key to your info — not even lockify. Your secrets will be bound, sequential, and under lock and key — all lockified up!

123notary.com/s
123notary.com/s
Look up signing company reviews. 123notary already has this for i-phones. It is a page, not an app, but what is the difference right? www.123notary.com/s

Gas Prices in US, Canada
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/gas-prices-in-us-canada/ogiokghpcdfhbhfpmaapaniooojfigga?hl=en
This app helps you find out what up to date gas prices are like in any neighborhood in North America. Of course with gas getting so cheap, perhaps we don’t really need that app appter all…

TRANSLATION

iTranslate
http://itranslateapp.com/
Get Notary documents translated with this app. But, beware, not all computers translate as well as a professional human translator.

Google Translate
https://translate.google.com/
This is one of the most renowned hi-tech translation devices. Try it — it doesn’t cost anything.

iHandy
http://www.ihandysoft.com/apps.html
This app will help you translate directly from one language to the other. Just write a word or phrase in the box. It might really help when you have to ask your signer to raise their right hand and swear under Oath. “Tu jura esta documento es correcto?” “Oh, Ci….”

FICTIONAL APPS WE MADE UP

Notaryz
Find a Notary who does it all, and compare scores on standardized tests as well. (sorry, fictional app just for fun.)

Kullect
Trouble getting paid from signing companies? Use Kullect and let us do the work. We’ll harrass the signing companies until they pay you.

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Startup apps that could ruin the notary business
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16579

New Apps for the iPhone7 that you’ve never dreamed of
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=10977

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April 11, 2016

Minimum wage for Notaries

Filed under: NSA Pricing, Fees & Income,Popular on Facebook (comments),Popular on Facebook (shares),Popular on Linked In — Tags: , , , , , , — admin @ 2:44 am

I was thinking about this yesterday. Notaries would be much more happy if there was some sort of a minimum wage. I remember Ben Carson claimed that there should be a separate minimum wage for people fresh out of high school or college otherwise they might never get hired. Personally, I think the government should stay out of wage setting as it creates artificial market situations which might make it too expensive to do business. If someone is sluggish, minimum wage might be more than they merit. And when you combine minimum wage with taxes, insurance, unemployment, and the rest, it might lead many to outsource their work overseas!

Our average Notary averages $105 per signing.
But, you can’t outsource Notary work overseas — at least not yet. Notaries would feel like they were being treated better if they were paid a fair wage. On the other hand, Notaries surveyed half a year ago were averaging about $105 per signing which is not bad at all. Just because you get bad offers doesn’t mean that you actually do signings for $60. It is sort of like looking at the asking prices for houses on the market. The asking price and the sale price are often very different and will give you a distorted view of the market.

Do beginners have merit?
In any case, I feel that beginner Notaries with no experience and no 123notary certification do not merit a minimum wage. Most of the Notaries I test by phone do not know their documents, signing terminology and additionally do even worse when I ask them simple Notary questions. The fact is that we have a lot of unqualified people out there who feel they are worth a lot. In addition to minimum wage for Notaries, I feel there should be minimum standards as well. I feel that our new 30 point test should be the standard, and a particular test result such as a 14 or 15 should be the minimum to be hired at all.

What should qualified Notaries make?
A Notary who has signed 400 loans (and an prove it with journals) and who has passed the 30 point test with an adequate score in my opinion is entitled to some sort of standardized minimum wage. I feel that

$60 per signing of 5-99 pages
$65 per signing of 100-125 pages
$70 per signing of 126-150 pages
$80 per signing of 150+ pages
10 cents per page for printing
50 cents per page for fax backs

I feel that a Notary with good test scores who has signed 4000 or more loans deserves a lot more than this, but the market can determine their value. Just because you test well, doesn’t mean you show up on time, well dressed and with a good attitude.

What do you think a fair minimum wage for qualified Notaries should be? What about for not so qualified Notaries?

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You might also like:

$40 for a signing 72 miles away?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14959

Is $75 enough to print 2 sets of docs, notarize & do faxbacks?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=10369

The “Met my fee” list of signing companies
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16979

A Notary Union? How would that work?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18878

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February 28, 2016

More on Snapdocs, the Uber of the Notary industry!

Filed under: Advertising,Popular on Facebook (comments),Popular on Facebook (some),Popular on Linked In — Tags: , , , — admin @ 9:30 am

Snapdocs really impresses me. They are new, successful, popular, yet everybody I know is complaining bitterly about them. It’s like Uber. You either love’em or hate’em. I was reading a Notary Rotary post where two reps from Snapdocs answered questions. Wow! Such good service! So, below are my comments on Snapdocs.

1. Snapdocs does cattle calls.
This is an automated feature that is convenient for the Title company, but a pain for the Notary. If you answer a cattle call after more than a few minutes have gone by, the job will probably have been filled.

2. Offers are generally low
Offers from Snapdocs are usually not very well paying. On the other hand, this makes it a great opportunity for newer Notaries to put some notches on their belt. I always tell newbies to work for cheap until they have proven themselves with a few thousand signings.

3. Are they scaring away seasoned Notaries?
One Notary on Notary Rotary’s form claimed that Snapdocs was scaring away seasoned Notaries. In my opinion, a system that is optimized for price and convenience is not suitable for an experienced and higher priced Notary. I just hope the good Notaries don’t get put out of business with all of the low fees that have become the norm in today’s Notary industry.

4. But, can you negotiate prices?
Yes. You can respond to emails and make a counter offer. If someone offers you $55, you can say, $155 — take it or leave it. Do you want experience and credentials or do you want to take your chances? In my opinion, Notaries do too much self-pitying and not enough negotiating. Give those signing and title companies a run for their money. Ask for what you’re worth. Our veteran Notary Ken always makes counter offers and demands up front payment on Paypal and usually gets it too!

5. Snapdocs eliminates the middle-man (or woman)
Signing Agents have been dreaming for years of a time when signing companies (who they perceive as being worthless) are weeded out of the situation. Well, now they have been weeded out in this playing field — but, prices are still dismally low. So, the Notaries still lose. But, in my opinion, a Notary who gets paid well earns that pay with merit which includes rich experience, multiple certifications, good marketing skills and businesslike communication habits.

6. Does Snapdocs let Title blacklist the Notaries?
Not exactly. But, feedback about the quality of the work done can affect the Notary’s ranking on this site.

7. Is Snapdocs better than the Notary directories?
In my opinion, Notary directories offer a better quality Notary than Snapdocs, and also offer more in depth information about the Notary.

8. Snapdocs will not help the Notary get paid.
Snapdocs operates for the benefit of the signing service,not the Notary. On the other hand, they don’t charge the Notary. If you don’t get paid, that is your problem. If they did guarantee payment, there would be expenses associated with that which would cut your fee down by 5-15% based on how other similiar models work on popular freelancer sites on the internet.

You might also like:

Has anyone used snapdocs?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15831

Snapdocs, good for the notary or the signing service?
http://www.123notary.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6744

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