That is very sad. When I started abstracting, about 14 years ago, the abstractors were all very friendly. We all helped each other out all the time. We covered vacations for each other and never worried about someone stealing clients. There were occasional exceptions, but we knew who those few were and we just stayed away from them. For the most part it was a very friendly atmosphere, you could always ask a "competitor" to double check your work, if you wanted a second set of eyes when you didn't find a mortgage, or if you found a document you needed help understanding there was always someone nearby to ask.
Sadly, things have changed everywhere. I believe that this is part of the problem with abstractors today. They can't work together at all and we are all watching the searching business circle the drain. While everyone covets their own little piece of the business, its all drying up and going to India, or online searchers. The standards have plummeted so that anyone with a pen and fax machine can compete for a fraction of what the services are worth.
Take a look at any other segment of the real estate industry. They might be competitors, but they still band together for their common good and strength: the NAR, ALTA, MBA, TAVMA, NNA... When will the abstractors learn?
Robert A. Franco
SOURCE OF TITLE
to post a reply:
login - or -
register