1. Presented by: Heather L. Luther Recording Supervisor Ada County
Flat Recording Fees
Presented by:
Heather L. Luther
Recording Supervisor
Ada County
Good morning. My name is Heather Luther and I am the Recording Supervisor for Ada County. I was asked speak today on behalf of Chris Rich and Ada County. I am very excited to present the idea of adopting a flat recording fee for Idaho. I first learned about this type of fee structure while at the PRIA conference in August 2017 and since then have been working to gather information on how this fee structure would benefit all of Idaho. My goal with this presentation is to open up a dialogue with all of you and ultimately would like to gain consensus to allow for the Association of Counties to recommend this for the upcoming legislative session.

2. Defining Terms:
For the purpose of this presentation and proposed fee structure, I will be defining the following terms as-
Predictable Recording Fee: a fee which may be reliably and consistently estimated by a submitter for a specific document type or recording jurisdiction(s).
Flat Recording Fee: A single fee applied to documents recorded within a jurisdiction or state. This fee is applied regardless of page count or document type.
Before moving further in this presentation, I would like to first define a couple of terms. A predictable recording fee is just that, a fee that can consistently be predicted. Predictable fees do not have to be the same between documents, nor do they need to apply to an entire document. Our current fee schedule in Idaho is an example of a predictable fee. A flat fee is a more specified form of a predictable fee. This type of fee is applied to all documents within the state or jurisdiction, regardless of page count or document type.
The concept of predictable recording fees is endorsed and encouraged by PRIA as a best practice, although they do recognize there will be differences in adoption and implementation between each state.

3. States with a predictable fee structure:
Arizona
District of Columbia
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Louisiana
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Nevada
New Mexico
North Carolina
North Dakota
South Dakota
Wisconsin
Wyoming
As of May 2018, there are 17 states that have some form of a predictable fee structure being used, with several more considering implementation. Some examples of the variation in fee structures that were adopted are:
Louisiana: for 1 to 5 page documents, $100. for 6 to 25 page documents, $200. for 26 to 50 page documents, $300. If a document exceeds 50 pages, $5.00 per page after the first 50.
Illinois: recently passed legislation allowing each county to establish their own flat fee for document recordings.
Wisconsin: The first state to offer a true flat fee. Wisconsin charges $30.00 for every document, regardless of page count, number of names on the document, or document type. This fee is implemented throughout the state, and Recorders from both large and small counties in Wisconsin have expressed that adoption of this type of fee structure has not only been financially beneficial, but has reduced rejections and confusion of clients. Since Wisconsin’s passing of flat fees, Minnesota and Michigan have also followed suit, both issuing a flat recording fee of $46.00.

4. Idaho’s Current Practice:
Idaho’s current recording fees set a predictable fee for five (5) of the most popular document types
If a document listed exceeds 30 pages, a fee of $3.00 per page is added.
Document Type:
Fee:
Deeds
$15.00
Deed of Trust/Mortgage
$45.00
Power of Attorney
$25.00
Reconveyance
Substitution of Trustee
$10.00
An example of a predictable fee that you may all be familiar with is our current practice. Beginning July 1, 2017, Idaho introduced predictable fees for 4 popular document types- Deeds, Deed of Trust/Mortgages, Power of Attorney, and Reconveyance. Recently, on July 1, 2018, Substitution of Trustees were added to the predictable document list for the state.
Now, I would like to ask a few questions to get you all thinking about how the implementation of this fee structure has affected your office. There is no need to raise hands, just think about your answers to these questions as we continue on throughout the conversation.
Is your office supportive of the current fee structure?
Did your office experience issues while trying to implement this fee structure?
Did your office lose revenue when the new fee structure was implemented?
Has your office experienced difficulties in deciding if a document falls into a predictable fee category or a standard fee category?
Would your office be supportive of changing this structure completely?

5. Unforeseen Issues: Multi-title documents- How do we charge?
Inconsistency in coding between counties.
Increased rejections due to improper fees
Loss of revenue for smaller counties
Differing of legal interpretation when first implemented
Increased confusion
As with any new program, there are always unforeseen issues that arise. Some of the most common that I heard about or experienced are: multi-titled documents skewing the coding, inconsistency in coding between counties, increased rejections due to improper fees, and increased confusion by both customers and employees.
The goal of flat fees is to take out the guess work for your office, and make the recording process easier for the staff, title companies, and general public.
In early June, I sent out a survey to gage the feelings counties have towards the current fee structure and see if there would be any interest in implementing a flat fee. I was curious to see if the county’s revenue was increased from the current fees, if document counts remained steady, and how documents are being recorded. The survey results are as follows-

6. Survey Results:
Of the 44 recording jurisdictions in Idaho, 24 responded to the survey. Responses showed the variation in recording numbers throughout the state, what revenue was, and what effect the new fees have had.

7. Why Flat Recording Fees?
Uniform price for all document types
No loss of revenue for miscoding
For smaller counties, no need to alter the way in which documents are coded and indexed
Minimizes time spent interpreting documents
Allows for banks and title companies to properly disclose recording fees per federal requirement.
Easier for staff, the general public, and submitters.
Document recording fees represent a very small percentage of the closing costs associated with a real estate transactions. Implementing a flat recording fee will remove the guess work from recording a document, and will reduce unnecessary delays, rejections, and penalties.

8. What are the Stakeholder Benefits?
Recorders:
Eliminate page count calculations, thus reducing rejections;
Improve accuracy of budget revenue estimates;
Reduce training time on all the recording fees for recording staff;
Reduce questions from staff and customers on interpreting fees;
Reduce postage costs for rejected documents because of payment discrepancies; and,
Eliminate or reduce recording fee refunds.

9. What are the Stakeholder Benefits?
Consumers:
Prevent additional paperwork;
Prevent delays in closing; and,
Make closing costs more transparent and easier to understand.

10. What are the Stakeholder Benefits?
Lenders:
Improve the accuracy of recording fee estimates;
Prevent delays in closing; and
Reduce training time on all the recording fees for staff
To put it in layman’s terms, it’s going to save everybody's time and money.

11. Proposed Legislation:
(a) Except as otherwise set forth in this section, for recording every instrument, paper or notice, regardless of page count…… $30.00
(e) For recording or filing every town plat or map $30.00
(f) For filing a survey $30.00
(h)For filing a UCC document, including fixture filings, terminations, amendments, assignments, continuation, release and partial release $30.00
Now, you may be asking yourself “why would she suggest a fee of $30.00, and why are surveys, plats, and ucc’s included?”
My rationale for this is two fold. Now $30.00 is what we believe is in the ball park of what could be passed, however, this is a negotiable number.
Additionally, in comparing Idaho to Nevada, who recently passed an almost state-wide flat fee, I believe we could gain buy in from the legislator at $ In Nevada, with exception to Washoe County, it is $35.00 to record any document, with exception of a notice of default which adds an additional $250 to the recording fee. In Washoe County, the recording fee is $41 for all documents, with the only exception being with the previously stated notice of defaults.
Counties in Nevada currently charge $60-$90 to file UCC documents, $60 for plats, and $27 for surveys.
In comparing both the cost of living and growth within the state of Idaho to that of Nevada, I believe that setting the recording fee at $ will allow for all offices to not only benefit, but to also cover future increases in the cost of living.

12. So, what do you think?
As previously stated, on behalf of Chris Rich, and Ada County, I would like to facilitate a discussion with all of you regarding this idea of flat recording fees. The goal of this discussion is to gain consensus among Clerk’s to allow for the Association of Counties to sponsor the proposed legislation. I would like to use the rest of this time to open up the floor for discussion.