A new St. Louis County Recorder's office has finished a 12-year project converting some real estate records from paper to computer. The change will speed searches and save the county time and money.
The new system provides entities such as lenders, title companies and real estate attorneys an online tool to research property that is Torrens titled, St. Louis County recorder Mark Monacelli said.
Torrens-titled property takes all the information contained in a standard abstract title and condenses it into a single document.
In the 19th century, the Torrens system was created by Australian Sir Robert Torrens as a way to register ships.
Landowners, mining companies, subdivision developers and businesses use the system to create "a more perfect form of title," Monacelli said.
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"It actually gives you the title, compared to an abstract, which can be a half-inch thick," he said.
The new system means that St. Louis County residents will be able to get the certificate of title on real estate or a home and have it recorded in county records in a couple of days, he said. Before the computer-based system, it took up to three months for the recorder's office to record documents.
Lenders, title companies and real estate attorneys pay $50 a month to use the new system.
St. Louis County Recorder's office personnel began working on the conversion in 1994, Monacelli said.
The system will reduce processing time for staff, reduce backlogs that will reduce risks of a lien being recorded ahead of a mortgage, and save taxpayer money, he said.
About 75,000 parcels of property within the county, or about one-third of all property, are Torrens, Monacelli said.
Support from the County Board, 6th Judicial District and the recorder's office staff made the conversion possible, he said.
