The $150.00 fee (expense) for a foreclosure search is long overdue for an increase. I have been practicing for 23 years, and can remember when the court first increased the award for the title search from $75.00 to $150.00.  I would never accept a foreclosure search for less than the full amount awarded by the court. There is much more attention to detail required...tracking down all of the assignments of mortgages and liens is critical because only the current lien/mortgage holders are proper party defendants. If the plaintiff serves a former lien holder/mortgagee with a summons...he may elect to ignore it because he no longer has any interest to foreclose, and the unserved assignee's interest will not be foreclosed because he has not been served with notice of the foreclosure action...making it necessary to reopen the foreclosure to foreclose his interest. Ultimately the additional cost of reopening the case and foreclosing the interest is liability which the law firm may seek to recover from the abstractor.

Tax lien foreclosures are particualar difficult. Usually when the property owner is not paying his taxes he is also not paying his other expenses. These properties are usually heavily encumbered. In Connecticut not all of the cities or towns foreclose these liens...but rather sell/assign them to third party debt collectors for foreclosure.