Dear Valued PLTA Member:

PLTA Staff and Executive Committee have been working diligently to advocate for legislation to make predictable the cost of recording documents charged by Recorders of Deeds located within Pennsylvania. HB 1244, introduced by Representative Joe Ciresi (D-Montgomery), will allow consumers to better understand closing costs and would be similar to laws passed in 19 other states and recognizes the need to reduce uncertainty and delay in the recording process.

This legislation was scheduled for a vote in the House Local Government Committee on October 18th, but was passed over for a committee vote due to last minute concerns raised by some county Recorder of Deeds.

Thus, we need your support in reaching out to your local legislators to ensure that this important piece of legislation is advanced by the Local Government Committee and full General Assembly. 

As you know, the current method for calculating the cost of recording is dependent on page count, number of names, number of parcels and number of marginal document references. This method is now incompatible with a legal rule issued by the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau which regulates residential mortgage transactions. This rule mandates that recording costs be accurately disclosed in advance of settlement and, most importantly, before the document to be recorded is in final form. This legislation would be similar to laws passed in 19 other states and recognizes the need to reduce uncertainty and delay in the recording process and will benefit consumers, lenders, businesses, and others who record documents in the Commonwealth.

You too can support this legislation by utilizing this page to contact your own legislators. The site is defaulted to “Write”, which will produce an email for you to send.  If you would prefer to tweet, please click “Tweet” at the top right prior to entering your information.
 
Thank you,


Robin Kelsh
Executive Director
Pennsylvania Land Title Association
1010 W. 8th Avenue, Suite H
King of Prussia, PA  19406
Phone: 610-265-5980 or 800-545-7584
Cell: 610-496-9754
Fax:  610-265-5998
Email: rkelsh@plta.org