Kevin,

I think that, being in a state that requires attorney participation,  you are an exception to the rule.  It certainly narrows the competition.

I see the same downward pressure in the signing field as is occurring with the abstractors.  And much of the pressure is coming from the same players.  There seems to be plenty of competition in most regions.  And many of the hiring parties seem content with hiring any bozo with a notary stamp to screw up...er...complete the signings.

The abundance of incompetent notaries also appears to have led to increased time-wasting duties, such as multiple faxbacks and phone calls to confirm satisfactory completion of the signing.

Our company is happy to accommodate those who are willing to pay a resonable fee for a job-well-done, without all of the time-wasting BS.  If, however, I had to choose between a volume of tract searches per trip or one signing per trip, and fees being what they are (in our market) my money would still be on the abstracting.