Washington County recorder of deeds office closes; considered nonessential
The Washington County Recorder of Deeds office was deemed nonessential and not “life-sustaining” during an emergency declared due to the new coronavirus pandemic, so the the suite on the second floor of the Courthouse Square office building was shuttered Friday.
The office, which is not court-related, was not covered by a closure ordered late Wednesday by the state Supreme Court. Recorder Debbie Bardella said she and her staff were asked to work remotely.
When they left Thursday at the close of business, a sign was posted on the door that recordings of real estate transactions would have to be completed electronically or by mail through the U.S. Postal service.
“Obviously, we’re not recording,” Bardella said Friday.
Approximately 36,000 documents were recorded in her office last year including deeds, mortgages, leases and miscellaneous ones.
The recorder and her staff were working remotely Friday, and although phone calls to the office were to be rerouted, callers Friday morning were met with ringing that went unanswered and without being redirected to any prerecorded message
Bardella said early Friday afternoon, “All calls are supposed to be coming in to me. They’re working on that,” with “they” being the county’s information technology department.
Bardella called recording a property transaction in her office the final step of a multidimensional process, and the typical buyer may not be aware of the work that goes on behind the scenes for a real estate closing, such as title searches that can involve her office; the register of wills regarding the payment of estate taxes; and judgments or lack thereof filed with the prothonotary.
Glitches have been occurring along the way, such as municipal offices being closed during the pandemic and the inability to process requests for “no-lien” letters indicating trash collection or sewerage bills are paid in full.
A title searcher said prothonotary’s and deeds records submitted typically carry the same “effective date,” but this will not be the case because recording ceased March 19.
E-filing has become so popular that Bardella said very few people come to her office to file in person, and title searches related to oil and natural gas rights have decreased markedly in the past few years. Sellers almost always retain their oil and natural gas rights when surface properties change hands, and most research for title searches of any kind takes place online by those who subscribe to the service electronically.