Clerk of Court office has shut down free Public access.
reason: prevent data mining and enhance security.
They have had some security issues in the past through their own negligence.
so, it is $5 to browse for 24 hrs
$30 for a month
These searches will not let you access plat scans, full records or court minutes.
$650/year for full access and 35 ct per page to print.
Personally, I think that there are other economic issues that brought this about.
You can still access the Assessor's office for all info for free.
WOW! I thought that $100 a year and $0.50 a page was a rip off for "public information".
Some of our counties give it away for free (on line) but it appears that may be comming to an end.
Tom Wilson
A. The data mining argument is bogus because someone could pay and then scrape all of their content and mine it or otherwise make it available to their heart's content and
B. I'd bet money their security isn't any better now than it was before.
Argument is crapola.
They're just trying to shake people down for more money for things that taxpayers have already paid for.
$650 a year plus you pay for copies using your own paper? That is insane.
All it will do is increase the cost to the tax payer, for title work, surveying and any other businesses that rely on that information.
what is this thing called 'online access'?
I guess I do take it for granted that we have online access to deeds and plats in Maryland, for free! It actually works quite well and is very convenient.
I agree that the security argument is bogus.
I’ve noticed the creep of government fees in my area also. The fee for my last subdivision filing was more than double the fee for one filed a couple of months ago.
The copy fees at most of the local county recorder’s offices have doubled, and the more recent ones to provide on-line records charge an access fee as well as a per copy fee (my paper and ink).
I believe it is a symptom of the economic times. Even the government is broke.
I assumed as much.
Years back, the clerks of the state had the filing fees raised per page and the refinancing, home buying and EZ financing et al was at it's peak. They were having a windfall of $$ by the lengthy loan docs being filed.
With that all gone, thee have been a lot of personnel cutbacks and little 5 and dime increases every which way you look.
I would use the free access before to get a running start on my courthouse research. I would have a list of conveyance and instruments #'s with me as I went through the door.
I would use the free access of the assessor's office site to get started and then go to free access at the clerk's site to dig on-line a little more before the actual real digging at the courthouse.
It doesn't effect me much in the end.
I have found that the scanned plats (especially older ones) would not show everything on them at times.
They were seriously hacked twice in the past few years, I have been told.
I view it as double dipping when taxpayers have already paid for the collecting and maintaining of the data. I think there is probably some legal precedent that could be brought to bear.
:good:
Yep, and that is part of the reason that I do not do very much work in that Parish.
personal working relationships vs on-line
One of the big advantages of doing research at the courthouse vs online is developing personal working relations to the various Dep. Clerks and some of the resident abstractors who "office' themselves there.
But the Dep Clerks are a real help to me when hitting dead-ends.
They will assist and know of reference material usually not readily accessible to the general public or have personal historic knowledge of certain parcels.
They will take my info and give a good continued effort and call me when they have found a missing doc or plat.
Plus it works both ways, if I find something missing from there reference records, they can update the file.
Knowing everyone on a first name basis and working with them through the years has become an asset that on-line research can't replicate.
