Mark Wills breaks down what loan signing agents actually earn, explaining how fees split between signing services and direct clients. Most agents make anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand per signing, depending on whether they work through a service or build their own client base.
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I'm Mark and I teach the loan signing system. I'm frequently asked how come loan signing agents make anywhere between $75 and $200 per appointment. Now this is a multifaceted answer, so allow me to answer it as succinctly as I can. Lets first talk about the range of 75 to $200 per signing that notary public loan signing agents get. You will see on every closing statement that the signing fee has its very own line item which is typically $150 to $200 per appointment. Now whether it's $150, $175 or $200 is set by what the escrow company allows signing agents to charge. Now the amount that you make off of the $150 200 is determined by where you get the loan signing appointment. If you get the signing through a loan signing service, you end up splitting it with the loan signing company making 75 to $100. The logic of the signing service is they got you the business, so in turn they split the signing fee with you. Think of the signing service as a broker. The good news though is it's very rarely do signing services pay less than $75. And the better news, it's more frequently closer to $100 per appointment. I don't like to over promise my advertising. That's why you'll constantly hear me say $75. But the industry average is $100. Now if you get direct loan signing business, meaning you didn't get a signing through a signing service, you got it directly from an escrow officer, loan officer, real estate agent, you keep every penny you see on the closing statement, whether that be $150, $175 or $200. Just so you know, 150 is usually the industry norm, but 200 does happen. This is why you can make a range between $75 and $200 per appointment as a notary public loan signing agent. The second part of the answer is why do loan signing agents make as much as attorneys, physical therapists, or even chiropractors? To understand why a loan signing agent makes so much, you need to understand the mortgage industry. Long story short, there's a lot riding on a perfectly executed loan signing. $150 ensures that they're hiring a skilled and knowledgeable loan signing agent. You also need to understand that every single loan has some type of deadline attached to it, whether that's a rate lock, a purchase contract, or simply it's the end of the month. Loans have to fund in time for these deadlines to be met. A poorly executed loan signing, a miss signature, miss date, forms not filled out, etc. Can delay of funding costing escrow officer or mortgage officers thousands of dollars in rate lock extensions, close of escrow penalties or lost commissions or or even worse case, a buyer could lose the home they're trying to buy. $150 to $200 ensures an escrow officer or mortgage officer that they are hiring a professional. The skill of being able to guide a borrower through loan documents without missing signatures, dates, initials, and having all the forms filled out. And this has a value that's $150 to $200 per appointment. Once again, understand.
