Jay....
While I respect your marketing skills and all the hard work that those in NALTEA has put forward, I think a few things need to be brought forward. As a member, (probably former member - cause I couldn't afford to pay my dues) I was negligent in that I did not have the time, resources or manpower to be a "volunteer". For the past two years, my office has been far enough away from my home that I had to stay "in town" during the week - being away from my husband, whose health is not good - and spend every hour that I could spare working. It takes all of my resources to keep up the equipment, payroll for two employees, and supplies running through our office. We had a couple of good years, but those are gone and now its time to get down to keeping the clients that we have maintained for many years satisfied. There were more independents in the St Louis marketplace than I care to count; and it seemed like every Tom, Dick and Harry who ever had lender experience or worked briefly at a title company, closing company, finance company or car wash - thought it was easy money. And it was to them considering that they didn't know what the hell they were doing. And every vendor out there was just concerned with turnaround and cost. The quality didn't matter - they didn't even know what the word quality meant. Today, some of those independents are getting out. They just can't make ends meet anymore; and I can understand why. After fifteen years in the industry, I have a customer who wants my company to pay for an $86.00 subdivision assessment lien - that has now skyballed into $270.00. I have a number of issues with that - but the fact is, I am an abstractor. Not an examiner. Not a closer. Not a county recorder who maintains a verified and unverified indice that would allow that item to be missed. I collected probably 1/10th of the title insurance fee on that job...and I am expected to pay 100% of the loss. Being in an organization that has numbers behind it might be helpful then. I doubt it. It's my issue with my customer.
As an independent - meaning there is just me and maybe one or two employees - means:
1. I cannot afford to join an organization that charges $200.00 membership fees; in addition to paying E&O coverage, licensing and maintaining current status on all State and Local taxes, not to mention Federal taxes. I don't care if it is deductible at the end of the year - you have to have it rolling in and available to use it.
2. I cannot afford the time off to attend a conference. Heck, I haven't even had a vacation in three years. I spend every spare holiday I can with family and friends. They are the reason I work so hard. And I want to be with them.
3. I cannot afford the expense involved with a trip to Florida. If I could, I would pack my husband and myself and go see friends on the beach for two days and make up for lost time in seeing them. Yes, I do have different priorities. The dollar sign does not guide my life. Love does.
4. I don't have employees to run the show while I take off. It's just me. I am an independent abstractor.
5. A standardization of fees is not possible in this industry. Standardization of search quality - yes. But fees are variable with each County in every State. Procedures vary - costs vary. Each independent has different resources available - either by choice or ability to pay. I have never "dissed" on being undercharged locally. The only thing I am disagreeable with is the quality and experience of the searcher.
As an independent, my concerns lie with reducing the overhead in the form of E&O insurance, helping me obtain health insurance under some kind of group plan thru NALTEA, and education that I do not have access to as a one or two man organization. When I did attend the conference, I got the distinct impression that small companies as opposed to independent abstractors were the majority. And I will wager that many, if not most, of the members of SOT are like me. To be truthful, SOT has been the best tool and the best investment in time and money that I have ever utilized. "If I am not growing" is not part of my motto. My motto is to Maintain. To be the Best that I can be. Technology is important to me, and I can find products thru online searching and new innovations. I am not interested in paying another data source company to acquire data - nor in software programs being promoted thru conferences. I am at the beck and call of any program my clients use. I fulfill their needs. Some of the speakers NALTEA has promoted are the very ones attempting to take away my "independented-ness".
Well, this is just my humble opinion...and I expect there will be responses opposing me. But thats okay. I understand - different folks with different ambitions. That is what life is all about.
Ellen M Malloy
Tri County Abstract Inc.
www.tricountyabstract.net