Sam,

My brother owns a title company down there in Port St. Lucie, FL. We talk at length about title issues he faces and what we face up here in Ohio. Unfortunately they are two totally different worlds. He doesn't see any time in the future that bulk sales will ever stop. To be quite honest he buys his local county records every month in bulk and has his own title plant right in his home office. That plant is offline on a stand alone server. When I spoke with him yesterday he was telling me of some serious title issues down there. That is one State I would not want to work in.
You have to take a realistic view on this whole online situation.
First of all:
First American, Land America and others have huge lobbying budgets. If people feel like fighting them, then they need to pony up the cash. Ironic that our ALTA is under leadership at the moment from the mega title companys. I wonder whos interest they are serving... you? Me? The independent abstractor? I know who my local OLTA is working for.
Secondly:
The online identity theft problem, in my humble opinion,  is due to the rush to technology without the thoughts of repercussion. We rush to automate without making sure the proper security procedures are in place. Years ago a certain mega corp said there will eventually be a PC in every home. Well, they tried to make that happen, but forgot to make sure those PCs were secure.
The County Recorders are the same way. When you have legislature telling you that you have to have your docs online by a certain amount of time and they don't care who you use or how you go about it, you are asking for trouble.
I don't think the software companies cared either, they just bid the job and got their fat commission checks.
Or maybe they did realize what they were doing......... Now those same companies are offering their redaction software to their original clients they so hastily put online. Can you say Double dipping? Now by Jan. 2007 you guys have to have every doc redacted. So not only did the recorders in Florida have to pay to go online, but now they have to pay to redact what they just put online.
Do you think the recorders are feeling the pinch yet? Do you think they are going to try and milk every penny they can from each of you? My bet is yes.
Here is my only question... how can you issue policy on someone if you have a judgment in their name but no social security number to attest to? How hard is it to give a password to sensitive documentation?

For giggles:
I laugh when I think how your legislature will handle this. The typical kneejerk reaction. They will require every citizen in the interest of personal security wear an implanted identity device used at closing. =) It's a Brave New World out there. After doing this, there will be a crime wave where identity thieves walk around with portable scanners stealing IDs at the mall or restaurants. I know it's a stretch..... or is it?

Just throwing a little fuel on the fire...


George