I was trained by mom - she was an independent title abstractor and I worked with her while I was going to college.  After that, I worked for a local title agency for about a year.  When that agency closed their office, I began performing work for their other offices as an independent and gradually added other clients.

After a few years of that, I took the title insurance exam and found and underwriter.  Now I continue learning through the underwriters continuing education courses, as it is a requirement to keep my license.

What "qualifies" one to be an independent abstractor?  Its really tough to say.  There are no formal qualifications for this job - but there probably should be.  Everyone is different - some people can pick this up pretty quick, and others will never get it.  The important thing is to realize is that no matter how much experience you have, you never know it all.  There will always be times when you find something unusual and you have to know where to look for the information you need - this how most of us learn.

Robert A. Franco
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