We are always trying to come up with new ideas to help our users.  We currently have a new service in development that we hope will improve client/vendor communications.  The idea came to me during this holiday season when we began to get several individual client requests for county holiday schedules.  Typically, abstractors send out mass emails with their holiday schedules, but I thought it would be nice if there was a place to aggregate those kinds of announcements for all of the companies here on Source of Title.

The types of announcements do not have to be limited to "holiday hours."  There is a need throughout the year to keep clients, or vendors, informed of pertinent information regarding business associates or changes at the county offices.  For example, a bulletin can be posted for things like due dates for taxes, computers going down for maintenance, new county conveyance procedures, vacation schedules, changes in counties covered by a company, etc. 

So, for my blog today, I thought I would provide a brief explanation of how this new service will work.  We will, of course, provide much more detailed information when we are ready to launch the service.

Each company with a listing in the Source of Title directory will have a new option to enter announcements about their company, their services, or the counties they cover.  Each announcement will show up with a date and time stamp. 

Any registered user will then be able to add a company to their watch list to subscribe to that company's announcements.  This will allow a client to add their vendors, or a vendor to add their clients, and get instant aggregated updates on a new announcements page on Source of Title.

The new announcements page will look something like this:

Title Search Company
Monday, Dec. 29, 2008 - Richman, Marrlow, and Crawfish counties will be closing at noon on New Year's Eve.

Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2008 - Richman tax computers will be down from Jan. 1 thru Jan 4 while they roll over to the new year.

Friday, Jan. 2, 2009 - Richman first half taxes will be due March 1, 2009; Marrlow and Crawfish first half taxes will be due Feb. 28, 2009.

Able Abstracting, Ltd.
Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2008 - Mt. Gomer county clerk of courts computers have a glitch that is misindexing lien information.  Until this is corrected, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information provided.

Friday, Jan. 2, 2009 -The Ohio Department of Taxation issued a memo indicating that deed transfers from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not exempt from conveyance fees.

Examination Shoppe, Inc.
Friday, Jan. 2, 2009 - Our office is moving on February 1, 2009 to 101 E. Main St., Capital Town, XZ, 10001.  Our phone and fax numbers will remain the same.

Dan Jones
Friday, Jan 2, 2009 - I will be going to Orange county this morning and Pear county this afternoon. 

Super Search Services
Friday, Jan. 2, 2009 - Effective immediately, we are now also providing title search services in Gruyere, Limburger, and Ricotta Counties.  We have hired a new examiner, Bob Smith, with 10 years of experience.

As you can see, by adding the companies you do business with to your watch list, you will be able to visit the announcements page to see a list of the recent, pertinent updates that will help you make plans and work more efficiently.

We will be offering this new service for free - it will be included with basic registration - because we want it to be an effective tool in the industry.  We will be preparing a customized form letter for you to print and mail, or download and send via email, to your business associates with instructions for adding your company to their watch list.  All you have to do is send them the information and start entering important announcements when it is appropriate.  And, of course, add the companies you do business with to your watch list and check it regularly.

Basically, its free because we believe that it is going to be a useful tool and we want you to use it - and encourage your business associates to use it, too.  It is a convenient service that you can offer your clients/vendors that will not be an additional expense for you, or for them.

In the future, we plan to add a few more useful features to this service.

• Users may be able to subscribe to a instant email notifications when a company they have added to their watch list posts a new announcement.
• We may include a link on your directory listing with all of your past announcements so potential clients or vendors can get caught up on your updates.
• And, we may even auto-post announcements with links to your latest blogs, if you create a blog on Source of Title.

If you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to share them.  We want Source of Title to be more than just a directory.  We want it to be a tool that you use on a regular basis to make your business more efficient and more attractive to potential clients and vendors.  We believe that this new service will be a step in the right direction.

Robert A. Franco
SOURCE OF TITLE