Shawn Bzdziuch

Attorney and Senior Commercial Title Examiner at First American Title

The Madness that Plagues Title Examiners

There are few things more frustrating then having knowledge, education, and experience, yet being unable to do the job you trained for properly. This is the "madness" that plagues the title examiner in the 21st Century. The first problem is the difficulty the title examiner has in understanding the data. Virtually all data entry is now done offshore. When the data is simple (residential lots) the data entry is OK, but for anything with the slightest hint of difficulty, the data entry is often done incorrectly. This is especially true of unplatted land a/k/a acreage. The first problem facing the title examiner is therefore a data base with data entry errors. The second problem facing the examiner is the complex differences in the codes and indexing between Counties. In Michigan, Wayne County is different from Macomb County. Oakland County is different from Genesee County. Is it not logical that a company such as Data Trace that claims to be the largest provider of online information should not unify the codes used to index property. Why should a land contract be identified in one County as a MLC and in another County as a CON? The third problem facing the title examiner is the complete inability of management to acknowledge the first two situations. Indeed, management's lack of understanding is personified by the belief a title examiner can expand his or her knowledge to other States. As an attorney, I can assure you, different States have different laws. It took me years to understand the complexity of Michigan's application of real property laws. That management expect a title examiner to simply begin doing work in another State, a State with the aforementioned data entry errors, and conflicting rules of data entry based on City or Township, with a complete lack of understanding of that State's laws? Truly, this is madness indeed.