Lisa:
I do not do work in Texas but was just trying it out so see how they worked and if there was a similarity to what we have in Virginia. I knew right away I needed a lot more knowledge in that jurisdiction or county in order to be the least bit confident- there was no way I would ever venture into what you have to do to get something that can be "turned in".
And along those same lines I have doubts about how so many companies on here are able to provide titles in 50, 100 or 3000 counties- just escapes me as to how they can control and provide anything with any accuracy at all- unless they have a lot of employees-which for me is a thing of the past.
From all the posts you and David have given us about the situation in Texas, and a few other states, it appears the clerks are not representing the best interests of the citizens and selling their safety and security away. This is not because they have elected to have it available on the internet, but the way they do it and to what extent. We have everything we need, by secure subscription, and even then sensitive info is eliminated or not available to anyone to just run into, but then I am in the business of providing a quality title to the companies I do work for- the Clerks in each county know me, I know them- we work together-I talk to them and discuss matters that are a concern to me as part of doing my work and we work things out. I have thought back to when the clerks were letting us know it would be available on line- it took them over 3-4 yrs before anything was even available- it took them a long time to be certain they had it right and they continue to exercise what is needed to protect their sites. We have been for at least 10 yrs now and have enjoyed that system completely-there is nothing like being able to provide answers to questions in real time while on the phone- and those that are asking appreciate it too, as well as doing cases from home too.
Steve Meinecke