While I agree that the rising gas prices are a problem for title abstractors, it merely underscores the real problem... the fees for our services are just too low.

If our businesses cannot absorb the added expense for the increase in gas prices, then the fees are just ridiculously too low.  Think about it this way...

If you drive 200 miles each day, and you get 20 miles per gallon, you are purchasing 10 gallons of gas each day.  If the cost of gas has gone up 75 cents per gallon, that is an extra $7.50 per day, or about $160 per month.

Now consider this...

If the average loan amount for each search you do is $100,000 and you have just one claim for the full amount this year, that would cost you about $400 per month (if we break it down into a monthly amount) [correction... $400 is an estimated DAILY figure, the monthly cost would be $8,300]. 

My point is that while we are aware of the gas prices we incur, we don't seem to be realizing the potential liability of the work we do.  If we can't cover the increase in fuel costs, how are we ever to be expected to handle the liability we incur?

We definitely need to be raising our prices, but not just for the increase in gas prices - we need to be thinking about our total costs of doing business, which includes potential liability incurred. 

I know it is easier said than done... raising prices in our market is incredibly difficult.  Something needs to be done.  The clients that are dictating our prices are going to put a lot of us out of business, eventually. 

Just something to think about...

Best,
Robert A. Franco
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