Amen - you took the words out of my mouth - I do not think our fees are covering liability at all - that is what everyone is forgetting about.  And the problem is I don't think that many abstractors really understand the cost of doing business.  It is said that in order to pay for the extra taxes and give yourself benefits like health insurance, vacation and holiday pay one has to charge 2x the rate they would normally make as an employee.  This amount does not include the added expense of business insurance - both liability and car insurance, parking fees, other travel fees, and office equipment.  Given my background with extensive real estate experience too, I would like to add - remember when we all buy houses and we have to make a payment for application for mortgage, etc. - at least $500.00 - that deposit is not refundable and is suppose to cover the expenses incurred when the closing cancels including the fee of the title search - so it is already collected and we should collect our portion of it.  Also, one method that I am using for commercial searches is the amount that the property is worth and whether it is platted or unplatted property because I am not going to do a 200,000 small business property for the same as a $3,000,000 commercial building with tenants and all kinds of security and leases.  If the property is not platted, I cannot run it to check it by lot and block but rather have to run the entire abstract it is in and check every single record after the ownership date to see if it pertains to the owner to cross-reference for missing records.  I know that many turn commercial searches down because of the complexity and lack of knowledge to complete - I call my client after a quick check of the records and appraisal and give them a quote so they can confirm my pricing with their clients.  The liability just gets too high for me to do a flat rate fee!