I do agree with you that a thorough title commitment cannot be done outside the U.S. with the same quality that the title industry historically has had for the past many years for 2 reasons: 1) because of the “political aspect” of not allowing local jobs and privacy of data to go overseas and 2) because at this time, the task of obtaining liens from the thousands of entities that have the right to create liens on the land is not available (or even known to others), except at the local level.

But the unfortunate point is that the Title Underwriters do not seem to care. They are clearly on a path of exchanging cheaper labor for higher claims. They are becoming risk underwriters. They do not seem to care that they no longer identify all potential liens. If you do not find the liens, you do not have to take time to clear the liens. And, if they miss a child support lien, tax lien, a judgment, etc. what are the chances that the creditors will find out and a claim will be filed against the title company? The IRS has clearly stated that they receive virtually all of the IRS tax lien payments from title closings, because they have no enforcement entity.

It’s sad, and it has so far proven to be short sighted, with so many claims. Will the underwriters make the tough decisions to go back to the old way of doing things? I think not. But there has to be some middle ground for the title agents and the good of the public.

Even if those nuances can be learned from abroad, which would be an admirable accomplishment, the complete information will not be readily available to them – the political aspect. As they build, their ability to build further will diminish. The local people who supply them with the information needed to fill in the blanks will leave the field for greener pastures.

It is already difficult to find an abstractor able to complete commercial searches in many areas. The foreign abstractor with 40 hours of training, try as he may, will have a difficult time accommodating. I hope the underwriters’ CEOs are thinking that far ahead, but I doubt it.

Duty to shareholders above the longevity of the industry is contemporary business sense. I am not so sure it will work in the title industry. In fact, it has proven to be short-sighted policy in other industries. Maybe one size does not fit all in the business world. Businesses have a duty to serve the public in exchange for profit. When the value of that service disappears, so too will the profit.