(**) Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning our company, JCHQ Publishing will get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through the links, but at no additional cost to you.
I know of many people who are looking for a side gig business. Some of them already have a day-time job, while some have other personal commitments so they can only take on part-time works. Either way, they all want to make some extra money to supplement their existing income.
If you are one of them, then you should take a look at being a notary loan signing agent.
Is being a notary a good side job? Yes, being a notary could be a good side job. Many notary public expressed that they can make a lucrative income on the side as a loan signing agent. They also enjoy the flexibility of this profession.
Note that there are different signing services a notary public can conduct. But I will focus on the loan signing aspect of the business.
In this post, you’ll learn why being a loan signing agent is such an incredible side gig. What is needed to become one? I’ll also go over a real-life case study, where a lady in a small town can make over $4,000/month as a part-time notary loan signing agent.
Why being a notary loan signing agent is a good side job?
Flexible work schedule to fit your needs
I think this is one of the greatest perks in being a loan signing agent. If you already have a day-time job, then you could attend signing appointments during the evening time or weekends.
On the other hand, if you are a stay-at-home parent, you could meet the borrowers while your kids are at school.
A typical part-time job could have designated working hours. Whereas being a notary loan signing agent is more like a Uber style of freelance job. You only take on orders at your availability.
If you want to succeed in the loan signing industry, you must check out this loan system training program. If you review the testimonials of his students, you’ll be amazed at how the notary career changes their life after they learned from Mark Wills. (**)
Well compensated for the amount of work involved
When working as a loan signing agent, you print out the loan documents and bring them to the borrower for signing. You need to verify the signer’s identity and make sure all the signatures required spots are properly signed. Then you would place the notary stamp on it and send the documents back to the escrow or signing services company.
It doesn’t sound overly complicated, right? Many loan signing agents can complete the entire signing process within 1 to 2 hours.
The good news is that they typically would get compensated between $75 – $200 per signing job.
Can you make over $10,000/month as a loan signing agent? Be sure to check out our notary earning guide. You’ll find a case study where a loan signing agent has built her business to such a successful figure.
Ease to enter the industry
Despite loan signing is a lucrative profession, there isn’t a lot of hoops that you need to jump through to become one.
In most states, all you need is to complete a short notary course, pass the exam, then submit the application to the licensing department. You could click here to find out the registration requirement in your particular state.
I’ve reviewed the feedback from many applicants. Many of them can obtain the notary public commission certificate within one month.
Low startup cost
If you are unsure how much income you could earn from a side gig, then it’s better to keep the business expense as low as possible. The beauty of being a notary loan signing agent is that its startup cost is extremely low.
You just need to pay for the registration fee, purchase a surety bond, business journal and notary stamp. Then you are good to do some loan signing businesses.
In most instances, the total of all these costs is less than $200.
Other considerations when becoming a part-time notary loan signing agent
Although being a loan signing agent has many great benefits, there are some different aspects that could give you a more complete picture of this profession.
If you hate driving around, then this could be a tough profession for you
Since you’ll be meeting signers at their home, there could be a considerable amount of driving involved.
I personally don’t enjoy frequent traveling from place to place. It just too exhausting for me.
This is why some loan signing agents only take signing appointments that are closed to their homes. Another way to tackle this problem is to schedule meetings in the same area.
Although startup cost is low, there are other expenses to run a notary loan signing business
- Car maintenance/depreciation
- Gas
- Printer, toner, paper
- Error and Omission insurance
- Phone monthly plan (You may want to set up a separate phone line for your business usage. Here’s an article with more details.)
- Marketing expenses
It takes effort to build a consistent stream of signing business
Even though you could have already obtained the notary public commission certificate, other people would not know about your practice unless you promote it.
If you want to get loan signing businesses directly from escrow offices, you would need to introduce your services to them actively.
Some people are not comfortable with this, as this would inevitably result in some rejections. Well, rejection alone is not even the worst. Sometime, you would not get any response from the title offices. So at the initial phase, it seems like you’re just talking to a ghost town.
However, as you persist in your prospecting effort, people will see that you are serious about this profession and willing to work with you.
If self-promotion is really not your cup of tea, then you could sign up with signing services companies. This way, they will contact you whenever there is a signing appointment available. But usually, they would take a cut of your signing fee, since they are bringing you the client.
Here’s an article on how do notary signing agent promote their business.
Case Study: A part-time loan signing agent makes over $4,000 in a small town in Idaho
I just finished watching the full 24 minutes interview of a former student from Mark Wills. It was such an informative case study, so this should give you more insights into how the loan signing profession could benefit a person financially, even when she was just working part-time.
Her name is Julie. She’s now living in a small rural town of Idaho, with a small population of only 40,000.
Julie used to live in California and have been a notary public in there for over 20 years. However, she wasn’t aware of the loan signing niche until she refinanced her property in California.
Julie also wanted to make some extra income for a better lifestyle. After she talked to the loan signing agent who was handling her refinancing documents, Julie immediately did some google search about the signing services profession.
She found Mark Will’s training program, then became a student. To my understanding, she was moving to Idaho at that time. So she took about one month to go through the training materials and went through the Idaho notary public registration process.
Can one succeed as a loan signing agent in a small populated area?
Note: This is just a stock photo and not provided by Julie.
I’m quite surprised to hear that she was moving from California to a small town in Idaho in becoming a loan signing agent. After all, the common sense is that the greater the population in an area, then the higher volume of real estate transactions. In other words, the demand should be a lot greater for a loan signing agent.
At first, I was doubtful how many signing appointments she could get in a small town with only 40,000 people. Julie also said that when she researched online, she could only found five title offices in the area. Also, they were at least 50 to 100 miles apart.
But good that she didn’t let those barriers from stopping her from success. She used the scripts taught in Mark Will’s training program and persistently contacted the signing services companies. As a result, her hard work paid off, and she was able to obtain signing businesses from them.
Let the numbers speak for themselves
In the first month, Julie completed 17 signing appointments.
In the second month, she completed 27.
In the third, she completed 43.
In the fourth month, which was at the time of the interview, she completed an incredible of 47 signing appointments! And it wasn’t even at the end of the month yet. Julie was confident that the revenue had already surpassed $4,000/month and will be reaching over $5,000.
Would you like to learn how to make $75 to $200 per signing appointment? You must check out the Loan Signing System from Mark Wills. (**) This is one of the best training programs for loan signing agents. Many students have achieved remarkable business success after taking this program.
Her secret ingredient to success
Note: This is just a stock photo and not provided by Julie.
One thing I really admire Julie is that she would set up a mobile office in her car. I believe she has a printer and a scanner in it. This allows her to take on appointments back to back even when they are far away from one another. Julie mentioned that sometimes her meetings could be 75 miles or even 100 miles part.
If you don’t have a mobile printer, then you would need to go back to your home office in printing out documents whenever there is a new signing job. Chances are you would miss out on some opportunities due to the logistics. But this is definitely not the case for Julie.
Note: This is just a stock photo and not provided by Julie.
Another thing I like about Julie is her work ethic. Not only that, she is committed to being on-time to appointments, but she is willing to travel to rural areas where others do not.
Julie described that she had been to rural areas where there was no street light and completely pitch black. She also went on dirt roads where you could see animals on the side, and the next driveway could be a quarter-mile away.
It could be challenging to locate the property. Therefore, in those scenarios, Julie would communicate with the borrower’s and try to get the navigation beforehand. (Actually, it might also help if you can go on Google Map Streetview and have a virtual walk to the destination.)
Once she finished the signing appointments, she would communicate with the signing services company immediately. This way, they can rest assured everything is in good order. Julie also would mail out the documents (through FedEx or UPS) before the cut off time.
Here’s a little bit of research I’ve done
I did some online searches about Julie. Just to make sure this is a real person, and that the interview has some degree of credibility. I found that her full name is Julie Shepard, and her daytime job is working as a notary public in the U.S Bank.
According to her profile on Snapdocs, she speaks both English and Pavaso. She is an NNA and LSS Certified Signing Agent.
I was also able to find her in the Idaho Secretary of States, Notary Search Database.
Final words
I personally believe being a notary loan signing agent is an excellent choice for a side job. It is financially rewarding, ease of entry into the profession, and low startup cost. As long as people are getting a mortgage or refinance their property, there would be continued demand for a loan signing agent.
So what do you think of being a part-time loan signing agent is a great way to earn some extra money? Would you do it? Why and why not?
Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
(**) Affiliate Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you. Our company, JCHQ Publishing will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking on the link. Please understand that we include them based on our experience or the research on these companies or products, and we recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions we make if you decide to buy something through the links. Please do not spend any money on these products unless you feel you need them or that they will help you achieve your goals.
Disclaimer: The information in this post is for general information only, and not intend to provide any advice. They are subjected to change without any notice, and not guaranteed to be error-free. Some of the posts on this site may contain views and opinions from individual not related to JCHQ Publishing. They do not necessarily reflect our view or position.
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