Again, I have to agree with Mark.  Each state IS different. The abstractor in NC has one hand tied behind it's back trying to balance working for the MAN/ATTORNEY  or working for the title companies which is discouraged by the NC State Bar.  In the late 90's the NC State Bar made it their business to disbar attorneys that used independent title abstractors who had employees.  They were also investigating independents that worked for title companies.

To date the NC State Bar has made another proposal to make it unethical for attorneys to use independent abstractors that employ abstractors, JUST at the time that I was planning to expand and hire abstractors.  As a one person business, I can not compete for $45.00 a search unless I expand to several counties which I can not do alone.  The proposal also goes as far as telling the attorneys that they can not be connected to title vendor companies which is the way title vendors in NC have to operate because title searches have to be "rubber stamped" by an attorney or else it can be constituted as unauthorized practice of law.  There are three law firms that I know of that vendor companies send their NC & SC title searches to for review.  I applaud this set up because I have seen first hand how well it works.  To be honest, as an abstractor, I like to know that there is someone who legally understands any question that I have on a search that I can go to for an answer.  There are some issues in the field that I can decide based on my own experience and expertise but not every search is alike.  All of that is slipping away by title work being ordered by who knows who or where.  There are some people that I talk to when I return a search that do not have a clue how involved the search was as to why it took me so long to return the product.  When I ask them a question I get the same answer, Just make a note of it on your report sheet.  Some days it does not pay to be the only title searcher for my company.  If a search looks like it will take longer than two hours to complete I have to table it and move on so that I can make a profit that day.  Then I run the risk of not returning the search on time and never getting a search from that title company again.  But then if I spend too much time on one search then I can't get to some other title company's search that day and run the risk of never getting a search from them.  There is just so much that one person can do in one day.

So I agree with Mark that some of us do not have it as well as others because of the change in the title industry.  One big change being 24 hour turnaround.  My answer was to increase my personnel to increase my business until the NC State Bar's proposal popped up.  By the way, as always with the NC State Bar, they are dragging this out.  It was supposed to voted on in January.  Still no word on what was decided.  So we are in limbo. 

I wish I was not the only NC abstractor that keeps talking about this on this message board but some of the NC abstractors do not have a clue about this.  Most NC independents work for attorneys and do not carry E & O insurance because of the "old 1990's way of doing business". 

An attorney that I contract with also contracts with other independents who do not carry E & O insurance.  He just had a claim from one of those other independents so his
E & O will pay it out.  Problem is:  He pays that independent the same amount of money he pays me for a search.  And he told me that he wish it had been me cause then he would have been "off the hook".  It's NOT fair to me to have the overhead and not be paid more.  But if I want his business which substains me totally, then I just have to suck it up. 

So now you see why I feel like I am being jerked around and toyed with.  Realtors seem to be the best field in this title industry.  They make 3 to 6 % commission on the sale price, they don't have to be insured against mistakes, they have the luxury cars to drive their clients around in, and they don't have a clue about how to fill out a deceit sales contract to help the abstractor determine which property to search. 

So how many of you on this message board who are a ONE person abstracting company are really satisfied and able to make a better living at this than you did four years ago?  It seems that four years ago was when title searches had to be done in 24 or less hours.  I would love to see you comment on this thread.

Folks, abstracting is a dying art.  Those of us who have been searching over 15 years have seen the changes and do not like what we see.  My paralegal friend was talking to her financial advisor who told her that her profession, title searcher, was becoming obsolete.  A local attorney here retired early because he was being called upon to fix the messes that the title companies have made in this area.  There is something wrong that needs to be fixed.  How do you fix it? and Who fixes it?