Scott,

Excellent points.  However, I will again share my concern over the $60.00.  As abstractors (of which I am no longer), I read an awful lot about pricing and getting paid a fair price for sound service and product on this site.

Post after post suggest abstractors are under paid and under valued.   Of which, having been an abstractor and understanding what goes into a search and the liability placed upon the abstractor, I do agree to some extent.

Why then does $60.00 sound like too much money!  This argument sounds very contradicting to me!  If:

1.  The abstractor has to drive fifteen minutes to the clerks office; 
2.  Park;
3.  Research and find the deed; 
4.  Print it off';
5.  Present it to the clerk for certification; 
6.  Pay for said certification;
7.  Drive back to their office; 
8.  Photo copy for their file;
9.  Prepare an invoice;
10. Fax/Scan/Email or overnight said certified deed and wait for payment. 
Is $60.00 a lot of money.  Actually, it looks more like $60.00/hour with materials included.

By no means am I directing this reply to you alone Scott.  As I said, you made some great points.  However, this sounds to me like the root of the frustrations with NALTEA (of which I am not yet a member.  Just an observer at this time).

I read a lot about unfair pricing, yet, when a price does seem fair to me when broken down (see above) and is posted on SOT, I hear that it is too much.

What do abstractors and/or NALTEA want from this industry both personally and professionally.  What directives do they want placed to unify all throughout the country versus spot representation and massive curves in fees?  Personally, I feel that abstractors will never unite simply because they are very fearful of competition. 

Case in point.  An abstractor who will remain nameless suggested to me via email that $60.00 was outrageous for this service and to use them if I needed this document.  However, three months earlier, when marketing my company for search work, showed document retrieval at $35.00 and certifications at $30.00????  Are you suggesting that it will cost $30.00 to get a certification stamp?  Of course not, but, there must be a profit margin!  The point is, this abstractor did not mind making a profit, she just did not want other to do so as well!

She would never unite and provide standard service for standard pricing!

Where is the consistency?  This alone has kept me from joining.  Again, post after post suggest inconsistency.  The left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing or worse yet, wants to do. 

Finally, I receive personal emails suggesting that I do NOT waste my time or money on NALTEA since nothing is getting done and that the meetings are not much more than gab sessions and social gatherings. 

Just my opinions with a little fact thrown in for good measure....JT