WOW a survey in New Mexico cost over $1000.00.  I have never paid more than $350.00 for any property I have bought.  Maybe because I have bought in subdivisions.  So the developers surveying acreage or commercial properties must  be who you are talking about.   One thing that you did say, REALTORS.  How come they get 6% of the sale and we are lucky to get $50.00?  We are on the bottom of the feeding chain.  I really think that the title industry needs to step up for the title searchers.  Soon there will not be any title searchers because our overhead cost for E & Os, gas gouging prices, new technology needed to keep up, and taxes will soon eat up all profit.  How can we collectively as an occupation increase our fees?  I know that we have tried to cover this on this message board many times, so I guess there are no real answers.  I know that I was paid more in SC than in NC so many of you out there make more than $50.00 a search, yet everytime fees are discussed on this message board, the average fee is usually stated as $50.00 per current owner search.  For some of my searches, I am not paid that much because the company trimmed my fees down a few dollars so that I "would be in line with the others in my area therefore I would get work over any of the higher priced ones".  Well, trimming my fees a few dollars has NOT gotten me more work than others in my area.  I know that that company could send me more searches than they do.  So I am getting ready to hit those companies for an increase.