Hey Ellen,

Your problems are not unique - I have a lot of the same ones here in Ohio.  Like you said, most of them are monetary.  Everything we need to operate keeps getting more and more costly, yet we are pressured to lower our fees.  I think that is something that NALTEA can address.  If NALTEA grows strong enough to have some influence in the industry, perhaps we can help our clients realize that we provide a valuable service and we cannot afford to continue to provide it if our fees continue to drop.

As for the title plant issue.  That one is very complicated.  I think the main complaint most people have is with the thin-title plants.  They are often not complete records of everything that affects title, yet some companies are using them rather than getting a thorough title search from a qualified abstractor. 

The use of a traditional title plants is not new and in many cases these plants are actually better indexed than the courthouse records.  Now that some of these traditional title plants are moving on-line, I think there is some confusion with the thin-title plants.

There is nothing wrong with using the tools available, so long as a professional abstractor is conducting the search.  It is very important to have someone who is knowledgeable of the title standards, in the state and county, preparing the abstracts.  The problem comes when a national company tries to do their own abstracting just because the records are on-line.  Can a national company really understand all of the complexities associated with title searching across the country?

The other problem with placing the information on-line is the privacy issue.  While this may not seem to affect all of us directly, it is a concern that needs addressed.  If the title plant can safely control its access and distribution of the public records, then it may not be a bad thing.  There is still a lot of very sensitive information available in the public records, and allowing access to just anyone, could be a dangerous thing.

Don't be afraid to speak up Ellen - I'm sure not everyone agrees with me either.  Its not about who is right or wrong - its about starting a dialog and addressing the issues we all face.  Even if we don't agree, at least we know more about the things we discuss than we once did.

Sorry you weren't able to attend the conference.  It was an exciting event - NALTEA is continuing to grow.  Hope to see you at the next one.

Best,
Robert A. Franco
SOURCE OF TITLE