I definitely like the idea of unified, statewide systems. The county land record offices were established in an era where the only modes of transporting documents or traveling to search records would have been horseback or foot. Counties were typically of such a size and shape that folks could reasonably access their land records offices without too much hardship. The county seat was typically located near the center of the county, with a few exceptions.
What that means is that today in Ohio, there are 88 separate sets of land records offices-- all purchasing separate software and so forth, in an era where documents and other information can be transmitted and viewed remotely. If you were in charge of creating a land title system from scratch today and you designed such a system, you'd be fired for incompetence.
Eventually, statewide land recording systems would be the way to go in my opinion, but they will obviously require significant investment and a willingness to go through a substantial transition period. I'd like to see some serious study and cost-benefit analysis undertaken by some states, with a very long-term view.
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