Reply by Linda_H/FL on 11/7/11 5:02pm
Msg #403070
IMO you need more than "a course" to be able to
effectively and accurately to a title search - there's more involved and the liability is very high since the information provided by the searcher/abstractor is what is relied upon to issue title insurance. Oversights and omissions, and not following a thread or lead wherever it takes you, is not tolerated.
This is must me but it's my adamant opinion that it takes more than a "course" - it takes extensive study, training, apprenticeship, etc etc...possibly even should be an attorney in some areas.
JMO
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Reply by Victoria_NJ on 11/9/11 12:02pm
Msg #403258
Being we do abstracting, title examinations, etc. all I can say that it took me several YEARS to become a Senior Title Examiner under the mentoring of 2 25+ year veterans.
As an abstractor, you better plan on real E&O insurance to the tune of several hundred to over $1000 annually in premiums.
Make one mistake, miss one deed, one mortgage, etc. and guess who is on the hook - YOU since you are an independent contractor and not an employee of a title agency.
First, how does your state do property recordings - municipal, county or state level? In NJ, we have a county recorder, tax and municipal search (comes from each town/city/boro) plus a Superior Court search were liens are recorded. (BK, etc)
Second - what is typical to your state as to a "search"? Some title underwriters only require a 20 year abstract history on a purchase. In NJ, we require a 60 year search - I get reports back with docs dated from the 1800's! On refinances, most states only require Current Owner Deed. But do you know to include a prior deed if the chain shows one of the owners vesting in from that earlier deed?
Third - County recorders offices in most cases are prohibited from assisting you in your search. They can show you where the copiers/printers are, where the microfilm or computers are, but they can't do the search for you.
Can you read a survey, a tax map, do you understand the information on a Filed Map, etc cos you'll need to know how to do that too.
In addition to doing the search, you also have to pay the upfront fees for printing copies of the docs you are searching, so time, gas and hard money out of pocket fees.
Some states have regulated fees where your charges can only be a pass-through charge - so if copies cost you $20, you can only charge $20. Other states allow you to mark up your actual costs, however, in a very competitive industry, no one is going to pay $50 copy fee for $20 worth of copies.
Your "fellow" seasoned abstractors are unlikely to help you out. They don't want the competition. Brutal but true.
And, you'll get A$$hole title agencies who will pay late, not pay, whine to you that the deal never closed, etc etc etc. - so now you spend extra time bill collecting.
I could go on and on and on.
Finally, what's the going rate of searches/abstracting in your area? In NJ, it varies between $45 - 90 for refi/purchases including commerical properties for a county search. There are multiple vendors that supply municipal and Superior searches within a matter of minutes via online, so most TA are using those because of the instaneous information delivery.
So, if you are currently not happy with performing a signing for $45-90 which could take as little as 30 minutes to complete, are you going to be happy with $45-90 doing a search that might take a couple HOURS?
If you are serious about it, you need to find an abstractor MENTOR with at LEAST 10 years experience in doing ALL types of abstracting.
You have no idea how many searches come across my desk to read out and the searcher(s) have missed critical information and we have to send them back (at their cost) to get the rest of the search info.
Best of luck - I don't mean to sound negative, but abstracting is the backbone of the title industry and in many states, the title agencies won't use contractors, only "in-house" employees who are properly trained, since no one can afford mistakes in the abstracts. Mistakes = claims = $$$$
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