by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Recording land record documents including mortgages, satisfactions and reconveyances got a lot easier this week when the Clerk of the Courts Office went on-line with its new electronic recording option.
With software and support provided by Simplifile, users can register their business then file documents, pay all filing fees and receive confirmation the documents have been recorded in the Clerk’s Office using the PC on their desk.
“Traffic can be hectic and parking is at a premium for people who come to the Courthouse to file documents. My goal is to make every process people need to use as easy and as fast as possible,” said Clerk of the Courts Jim Fuller as he introduced the new technology to more than 100 bankers, mortgage brokers and attorneys at a demonstration Wednesday at the Courthouse Annex.
The new system was tested for several weeks by the law firms of Rogers Towers and Crabtree & Fallar as well as Stewart Title before being made available to the public.
After registering with Simplifile and paying a $395 set-up fee and $5 per document, users can electronically submit packages to the Clerk’s Office and have them recorded far more quickly than if the documents are delivered to the Courthouse.
Molly Terry, regional sales director for the Provo, Utah-based Simplifile, said with the addition of Duval County Wednesday, there are 11 Florida counties using the system and she expects four more to be on-line within 30 days. Simplifile is already in use in 30 states and to date 1.7 million documents have been recorded nationwide using the system.
Terry said after a user has acquired a log-in name and a password, recording a document “can all be done in a matter of minutes.” The system also tracks the document through the filing and recording process and notifies the user as each step is completed. The software is also programmed to move documents filed electronically to the head of the queue for recording.
Assistant to the Clerk Mike Riley said the Clerk’s Office processes as many as 2,000 documents a month and added, “Six years ago, it could take as long as 11 months to get a document recorded. With this new system, it can take as little as 30 seconds.”
Fuller said more information is available on how the Simplifile system works and how to get on-line with it by calling his office at 630-2039 or by visiting www.duvalclerk.com.
356-2466