But David, those are just CYA statements by all the Reg. of Deeds.  I LIVE in Hillsdale county and I can assure you there are no paper records available from the mid-80's forward.  They are just saying that they are not responsible for errors, NOT that there is any difference from what I'm searching at THEIR computer in the courthouse or MY computer from home.  Maybe it's different in your state, but if there are no physical records available, there are no physical records available.  Period.  It is all on a server -- the same server I access from home.

AND the paper records that exist are dependent on the INDEX.  Does a client expect you to research records without an index of some kind?  Of course not.  If the computer index is the same, there's no difference in the results you obtain.