Robert....

In the last six months, we have gotten three calls and two emails from Indian Outsourcing Companies.  The last one was an email today from "Infinity" claiming to provide 5-16 hour service on all their products on every county in the United States.  They work "24-7" and utilize DataTrace and DataTree...plus some other data providers I didn't recognize.  I hesitate being judgmental - but it is very difficult to understand how they can offer searches, etc without knowledgeable turncoats from this country. Tri County Abstract Inc utilizes Data Trace and Data Tree - but only because it started out as another entity in the counties I serviced - and I was drug screaming and kicking into the "Joint Venture".  Once it became a joint venture, I set about computerizing the county data we had in our office already as a backup - the St Louis County data from the Recorder's office - and using St Louis City's Laredo program to back up the city.  The daily recordings from both of those counties are sent directly to India by First American/Data Trace  - which is then indexed into their database.  I have to be truthful and say that the reliability of Data Trace has spiralled in recent years since that implementation.

Even with those Databases available to us - a trip to the Courthouse is still necessary for judgments.  We have an onsite plant going back to 1973; but anything prior to that must either be researched at the recorder's office or at the title plant facility where DataTrace is now operating. So to provide a complete search, you need access to older information that is just not online.  Data Tree is lacking many documents and far from completion - the copies only go back to 1985, if that far. We make the large majority of copies ourselves.

   I learned many years back that one needs to keep all possibilities open and not rely on one data provider.  Much like a monopolizing utility company - when there are no options - there is no freedom of choice. First American is one of my better clients;  and I don't mean to criticize.  But it would seem to me that a company with the name of "First American" should be the last one to provide access to countries outside of our own.  I think many people on this board are hesitant to speak out about it, as I was, but unless there is an effort somewhere to stop this attempt at monopolization of all phases of the title industry - all of us will be looking for a job and to work for First American; would need to move to India.

   These databases have accumulated years of data from companies in existence for years and years....here it was Land Title, a company whose inhouse indexing goes back to the mid 1800's.  The computer plant is only back to 1985.  The First American/DataTrace entity here approaches title agents with a special program where the title is ordered thru First American and then insured thru First American.  Their fees are higher; but supposedly since they run the title - there will be no problem if a claim arises.  There is something inherantly wrong with a system that allows that; let alone pushes it.  And any agent who believes they have a non-compete with the local First American is sitting on on their head.  The local First American is hidden underneath the agent's paper.  No wonder companies are flipping like dolphins here in St Louis. 

That's just my local story.  Like I said, First American is a client of mine - one not located in the St Louis area.  And I am truly torn between wanting Data Trace and Data Tree to remain available - and wanting to stop the outsourcing of bulk documents out of this country.  Computerization is a necessary evil that we have to contend with.  But I can assure you - the reliability of any title coming from India is not worth the paper it is written on.  Too many glitches in the local public records to really see it all online.

...please excuse my wordiness...but ...there.  I got my humble opinion out in the open.

Ellen M Malloy
Tri County Abstract Inc.