By http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Karen_Stevens Karen Stevens
You have probably seen many ads that entice one to become a notary public, or loan signing agent. These ads proclaim the field to be be lucrative, work when you want, choose your jobs, have time for the kids, etc. While initially these may sound enticing, currently there are many considerations one should ponder before making the jump.
While at one time, being a mobile notary signing agent was a great idea, times have changed drastically. This is mostly caused by our failing housing market and economy. The housing industry is in dyer trouble. Many of the businesses that build, sell, service, and offer mortgages for the housing industry are facing closure. If you know any mortgage brokers, just think for a moment – “Are they working and doing fine?”. ” Have they moved on to a different profession?”. If you know any such folks, you will likely answer “Yes”. What does that indicate?
Well the same problems facing these folks are also facing mobile notary signing agents. Since the housing market dry up, there are few folks buying property, and almost no one is refinancing. As a result, mobile notary signing agents are suffering as there are no loans to sign. The mobile notaries that are around are reducing their fees to encourage business during a time when gas prices are at their all time high. Spending more to make less.
Loan signings have become quite scarce. The pay for the available signings is quite low, many offering $50 a signing. When you consider the time it takes to download and print the documents, two copies of the loan package, make the appointment, sign the documents with the borrower, prepare and drop of the documents at a courier service, invoice the escrow company, and then wait for the payment which typically takes a month – to many, it’s no longer worth the effort.
Another consideration in becoming a notary is the yearly cost. If you decide to promote your own website consider domain charge, yearly hosting fee (about $100), cell phone usage, yearly errors and omissions insurance ($150 or more), and then there is advertising that must be ongoing. Because business is slow for most, many notaries fall prey to the “notary directory” company. These companies promise more exposure and therefore more business for notaries public when they sign on to their directory. Costs associated with listing in a directory can be as little as $19.95 for the year upwards to $100 a month. And it does not stop there, as listing in one directory never seems to be enough. There is a notary public near us that is listed in nearly every directory on the internet. This author is just amazed at the amount of money this gal must be spending each month! Certainly at a minimum $300. This author did utilize advertising on a prominent notary directory site for one year as an experiment. The cost of advertising on that directory in the top position was $600. They promised much increased business calls. It never happened and the $600 was spent. Yes there are many companies that will take your money for the promise of increased business.
One particularly irritating directory site, has the client sign post there offering price for a specific notary job. That creates a blanket email to all notaries in the area so that they can bid on the job. What this requires is that you are at your computer and waiting, and then using your cell phone to call the prospective client only to hear that your price did not beat the previous notary caller’s price. How irritating for the client, not to mention the waste of time and money for the unsuccessful notary. There is another site where the client can press a button that will automatically call your listing on that notary directory site. If you do not answer the phone immediately, you might be actually with a paying client, that potential customer is still at the site and can go down the list to the next notary to find someone that will answer immediately. Yikes! How nerve racking for the notary and the client.
Another false assumption associated with notary public work is that you can pick your hours or jobs. Well….that is not exactly true. If you want to work as a mobile notary public, you must actually do the assignments when the client needs you. This means 9:00 am, when the kids are at school OR 9:00 pm at night when you normally put the kids to bed. If there is a time when you are not available for that client and they have to call someone else, guess who they will call the next time they need a mobile notary? Your right…. the notary public that they can count on being available when they needed them.
Now this author does not mean to be all negative about the mobile notary public signing business, it’s just that it is sad to see folks get so excited about the possibility of entering into a new career with sky high hopes only to be sorely disappointed by the actualities that the vast businesses promoting the promise of lucrative notary work don’t tell you.
If this is your heart’s desire and what you aspire to be, then do your leg work and determine the costs, the amount of time, and what other notaries have to about business in your area. Be realistic. If you do not intend to spend a daily hour on your notary website, or you don’t know how to design and search engine optimize a website, don’t expect a website to bring you business. If you expect notary directories to solely bring you business, then you are in for grave disappointment. It may be the only folks making money in this industry these days are the folks running the notary directories
In general, notaries that do not daily work their websites and marketing, and do not take any call that come no matter the time or day, are not working these days. If this remains your heart’s desire, proceed with caution, eyes wide open, and the best of luck to you.
Karen Stevens is a psychologist and notary signing business owner in the Ventura and Los Angeles county area. Her interests include education, law, reducing stress and living more fully, consumer fraud, consumer advocacy, money saving tips, helping others, and promoting business integrity and honesty in an evolving world of strangle-hold service contracts, poor customer service, deceitful advertising, and poor product performance. Her websites include: http://www.mymobilenotary.us and a notary law and consumer issues web blog at http://notarypublic-mobile.blogspot.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?Making-a-Living-in-the-Mobile-Notary-Public-Business&id=815628 Making a Living in the Mobile Notary Public Business