Hi Judy

No problem with answering the question online. When I went independent, I joined the title plant and really had to scrounge and scrimp just to keep my foot in the door financially; and today it's tough at times.  My contract had several limitations for what I used the information for and who I could do business with.  I was a little frustrated with that part of it because it intentionally held me back.  Even today, there are strict guidelines that I must follow - such as not soliciting any local title companies for business.  They wont tolerate competition from a customer like me.  I have one company that was "grandfathered" in many years ago that is local.....otherwise my business MUST be with vendor managers.  That is why we use two sources for information; exclusive of the Recorder's office, for each of the counties we do business in.  We also utilize the County Recorder's office too....so most of the time, if something looks funny - we have alternate sources for searching.  

So, to answer your question - yes, anyone can join a title plant.  At the one I use, it can be very restrictive albeit a time saver.  I most appreciate the old books at the plant facility itself - the records go back as far as 1927 in the city and further in the county of St Louis. They are all geographical indexes.  But it can be cost prohibitive during the slow time of year for us; and since they began outsourcing their data entry - the error rate has increased considerably.  Do they care?  I dont think so - nothing is changing.

Have a Happy Day!
Ellen