You are correct... it is very tough to change the way things have always been done.  Nobody can do anything on their own and NALTEA cannot do anything directly.  However, there is strength in numbers and if NALTEA becomes large enough, hopefully they will have they ability to get some changes made.

I think the only way to address the issue is through legislation.  Abstractors should have to be licensed like everyone else in this industry.  I think that the Department of Housing and Urban Development and all of the state's departments of insurance need to realize that the abstracting work has become distinctly separate from the issuance of the policy.  It used to be that the agents writing the policies employed the abstractors and therefore had a vested interest in their training the quality of the work.  Now, so much of it is outsourced that the emphasis has been placed on price and speed.

Until someone realizes how this affects the consumer and the quality of the real estate titles, there is no incentive to change anything.  It seems that the status quo doesn't work for the way the industry now operates but nobody has noticed... at least nobody that can fix it.

Best,
Robert A. Franco
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