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Post by shanniebananie on Jul 31, 2023 16:33:46 GMT
I am a former elementary school teacher who has been out of the field for 20 years. My youngest is two years away from leaving the house and I am trying to figure out what to do with my time. I am going to start substitute teaching at our local school, but trying to come with another flexible hustle that makes some money but where I can stay flexible with my time. We recently had to have some real estate paperwork notarized and we were able to do it over zoom and just sign online. I think the cost was a few hundred dollars for about 20 minutes. This got me thinking as this is something I can do from home and it has some flexibility.
I am not looking to make full-time money but just trying to supplement our budget as we have college and private high school expenses.
If you are a notary, can you give me some insight into certification and job opportunities- especially remote and mobile notary jobs? How do you find your jobs? Are there any annual fees/re-certification to keep in mind? Do you like this kind of work? What kind of industry knowledge do you need to have?
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peabay
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,606
Jun 25, 2014 19:50:41 GMT
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Post by peabay on Jul 31, 2023 16:35:20 GMT
I can't answer your question, but my Lord - my town's FB page is always filled with people looking for a notary, so I would think it would be busy, if not lucrative.
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peabay
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,606
Jun 25, 2014 19:50:41 GMT
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Post by peabay on Jul 31, 2023 16:35:56 GMT
Oh, and particularly on weekends - when the local bank that provides one and the UPS store, which also has one, are closed? That seems to be when people are always looking for them.
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lizacreates
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,856 
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Post by lizacreates on Jul 31, 2023 16:59:56 GMT
The person who notarized your real estate transaction is not a run-of-the-mill notary. He/she is a “signing agent” for loans. (Still a notary but with additional training.) That’s why the fee is that high. Regular notaries do not charge that much. In my area, it’s usually $15 or $20, free if you go to your bank. So, if you want a lucrative hustle, train to be a signing agent.
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Post by littlemama on Jul 31, 2023 17:04:09 GMT
It depends heavily on your state. In my state, no, it is not profitable at all
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Post by Prenticekid on Jul 31, 2023 17:05:43 GMT
I'm a notary in PA, but only for my job. The notary fee for most things is $5. You'd have to do a lot to make it a lucrative side hustle.
I don't do real estate or vehicle titles, but a lot of businesses that require those have their own notaries in house.
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Post by cindyupnorth on Jul 31, 2023 17:10:05 GMT
My dd is a notary. She got it mainly for her job. And No, it would not be profitable. Seems like there are notaries everywhere. Most provide free services thru the hospital, bank, or govt services. I don't know anything abou the real estate part of it, but I know she worked for a real estate law firm, and I don't remember her saying it was profitable, but part of what they provided.
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blemon
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,253
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Post by blemon on Jul 31, 2023 17:25:48 GMT
I can't imagine it being worth your time. I needed a notary after my uncle died and I just went to my bank and they did it for free.
It was during COVID and I didn't even have to get out of the car. I went through the drive-through.
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Post by papersilly on Jul 31, 2023 17:28:34 GMT
If you are a notary, can you give me some insight into certification and job opportunities- especially remote and mobile notary jobs? How do you find your jobs? Are there any annual fees/re-certification to keep in mind? Do you like this kind of work? What kind of industry knowledge do you need to have? i am a notary public and have been one for almost 30 years. it is not my primary job but it comes in handy as part of my regular job. let me see if i can answer some of your questions. How do you find your jobs? most of my notarizations happen at my place of work. some as part of my job and some as stand alone, walk-in jobs Are there any annual fees/re-certification to keep in mind? for our state, certifications happen every 4 years. no annual fees for me because i am not part of any notary associations. frankly, i don't think you need to be. your secretary of state is a great, free resource for all notary info. newbies feel the need to join them but once you get the hang of things, you don't really need them.Do you like this kind of work? i enjoy the interaction with the people. some people have become regular clients. i have done their notarizations for years and so i look forward to seeing them. we've become friendly and familiar with each other's lives through the years. i would even consider some as friends.what kind of industry knowledge do you need to have? you don't need any prior knowledge. in our state, you are required to attend a seminar before taking the state test. everything you need to know will be taught at the seminar. when i first got commissioned, the seminars were in-person. now i prefer to do them online before i get recommissioned. remote and mobile notary jobs i am not a mobile notary but i will do off-site jobs for existing clients. in our state, you can charge whatever you want as your travel fee but you can only charge the State set fee for the actual notarization. for example, a family member may request that i travel to a home, work place, or facility to do a notarization because the signer can't or won't come to me. i charge $150.00 (on top of notary fees) to travel within 5 miles of where i am based. that is much higher than regular traveling notaries charge but that's what i charge and my clients understand that. they know me, they know my work, and they trust me to get the job done. i know price is an issue to some people so i tell them up front that i charge much higher than most mobile notaries. some mobile ones only charge $20 or $30 but that is not me. my clients know i don't enjoy traveling to a job so my fee makes it worth the hassle of gathering my stuff, going to place, etc. the travel fee i charge is non-refundable and must be pre-paid. if the signer is not available when i get there, if the document is incorrect, or i don't feel the signer is not of sound mind to sign the document, i will leave and the travel fee will not be refunded. if i have to come back another time, i charge the fee again. i make sure whoever hires me knows all this up front. people who pay my travel fee don't care about the money, they are paying for the convenience of not leaving their desk or home.profitability our state allows you to charge no more than $15/signature. thankfully more than the $5.00 that is common in other states. still, you can make more working at mcdonald's than doing notaries. if you are looking to make you car or mortgage payments from your notary fees, it may not be the right gig for you. notary work is not what it used to be unless you have a guaranteed stream of clients. mortgage rates, real market trends, and e-signing have changed the industry. safety issues and gas prices have affected the mobile notary game too. i don't depend on the money so the fluctuations in the industry don't affect me. i am a notary just because my employer paid for all my fees to take the test. i figure, why not, it's not my primary job anyway.
someone mentioned loan signing companies. i know some notaries who signed up as traveling notaries for loan companies. some even made it their full time job. they would be paid a few hundred dollars for each job. they made lots of money during the real estate boom when mortgage rates were low. with interest rates rising, market slow down, and some major loan companies going out of business, the loan company signing gigs have drastically slowed or all but dried up. those people are no longer doing it. i never got into it because it wasn't worth the hassle for the amount of time you have to spend and distance you had to travel. |
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Post by dnkmmw on Jul 31, 2023 18:00:00 GMT
I am a notary, but it's not a business for me. In Illinois, the allowable fee just increased from $1 per notarization to $5. Still nowhere near enough that I could turn it into a business.
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Rhondito
Pearl Clutcher
MississipPea
Posts: 4,661
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Post by Rhondito on Jul 31, 2023 20:27:09 GMT
The person who notarized your real estate transaction is not a run-of-the-mill notary. He/she is a “signing agent” for loans. (Still a notary but with additional training.) That’s why the fee is that high. Regular notaries do not charge that much. In my area, it’s usually $15 or $20, free if you go to your bank. So, if you want a lucrative hustle, train to be a signing agent. This is where the money is. I recently watched a TikTok from a lady who is a mobile notary and signing agent. She does real estate closings in her area and charges $350 each. She said she has accumulated a group of lenders/realtors/lawyers who like her and use her for their closings and she does 2-3 per day, and doesn't do them every day (by choice.) Her advice was once you've taken the required training, then get out and market yourself and the work will come to you. You also have to register with your Secretary of State and be bonded.
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Post by workingclassdog on Jul 31, 2023 20:53:29 GMT
I was a notary for a company I worked with.. I don't see any money in it as you can just go to the bank and do it for free, or know someone. You couldn't charge much I wouldn't think. I am interested in seeing the other responses.
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luckyjune
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,685
Location: In the rainy, rainy WA
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Post by luckyjune on Jul 31, 2023 20:57:51 GMT
Oh, and particularly on weekends - when the local bank that provides one and the UPS store, which also has one, are closed? That seems to be when people are always looking for them. People in our old neighborhood were always looking for a notary, especially someone who could show up on short notice and on evenings/weekends. People even went as far as asking if there was someone in the neighborhood who wanted to go through training so there would always be someone available. Anytime we've had to sign, it has been a $250-$300 fee. |
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lizacreates
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,856
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Post by lizacreates on Jul 31, 2023 21:12:06 GMT
The person who notarized your real estate transaction is not a run-of-the-mill notary. He/she is a “signing agent” for loans. (Still a notary but with additional training.) That’s why the fee is that high. Regular notaries do not charge that much. In my area, it’s usually $15 or $20, free if you go to your bank. So, if you want a lucrative hustle, train to be a signing agent. This is where the money is. I recently watched a TikTok from a lady who is a mobile notary and signing agent. She does real estate closings in her area and charges $350 each. She said she has accumulated a group of lenders/realtors/lawyers who like her and use her for their closings and she does 2-3 per day, and doesn't do them every day (by choice.) Her advice was once you've taken the required training, then get out and market yourself and the work will come to you. You also have to register with your Secretary of State and be bonded.
Yes, independent signing agents can make decent money depending on their market. And with social media, one can reach a wider scope of potential clients. I know someone who gets almost all his leads from his Facebook business page. |
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garcia5050
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,728
Location: So. Calif.
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Post by garcia5050 on Jul 31, 2023 21:44:29 GMT
I was a notary when I worked at a bank branch. Eventually, the bank changed the rules so that in-house notaries could only perform acts for bank transactions. I quit being a notary when my boss kept pushing me to do illegal notarizations for his buddies (one of my co-workers told me this would happen - and to stand my ground).
I think it depends on the state/area. Where I live, there are a ton of notaries around. It would likely not be profitable.
The escrow agent who signed my last refi docs was horrible and had no idea of the purpose of each document (no, the amortization schedule is not just a paper with a ton of pretty little numbers).
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Post by papersilly on Aug 1, 2023 3:10:14 GMT
The escrow agent who signed my last refi docs was horrible and had no idea of the purpose of each document (no, the amortization schedule is not just a paper with a ton of pretty little numbers). This was like the notary who came out to our house for our refi docs! She was horrible--late, disorganized, and she messed up on something. we had to sign a new set of docs the next night with a different notary (at no additionally expense to us but it was inconvenient going through it all again). |
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Post by papersilly on Aug 1, 2023 3:15:08 GMT
People in our old neighborhood were always looking for a notary, especially someone who could show up on short notice and on evenings/weekends. People even went as far as asking if there was someone in the neighborhood who wanted to go through training so there would always be someone available. This is why i NEVER told anyone on my block that I was a notary. I didn't want to deal with that weekend/last minute stuff. And they expect you to do it for free because you're neighbors. My attorney lived across the street from us. He was a notary too but he didn't tell anyone for the same reasons. lol. |
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