Interview with John LaFave: Milwaukee County Register of Deeds
Q: In 2003, Milwaukee County became one of the first counties in the country to begin electronic recording of real estate documents that very year. What challenges did the county face during that transition – or was it an immediate success?
A: When we started in July 2003, only Satisfactions of Mortgage were received electronically. It was successful but rather cumbersome. For a couple of years we used a stand-alone system offered by an eVendor that was not integrated with our software system. We had to print a paper copy of each eDoc and scan it into our system. From the standpoint of the submitter it was electronic. For our office it was actually a hybrid of electronic and paper. In our first full year of eRecording, 2004, 3.4% of documents were electronic. We’re now over half with 53% in 2013.
Q: Your office has an ongoing project converting document recordings from roll film to a digital format. The original roll film is stored in a rather curious place: the Hutchinson Salt Mine Facility – kind of like the Gringotts of storage facilities. This undergro
und facility was created as a safe haven for sensitive information during the height of Cold War and is now the largest single storage facility for movie and television film internationally. How is the conversion effort coming along?
A: Our project to convert older documents from film to digital format is going very smoothly. Last year we became aware that our in-house roll film was suffering from vinegar syndrome. I decided that we should use our original film rolls stored in the salt mines in Kansas. I visited Underground Vaults and Storage (UVS) and met up with the film scanning company personnel on the first day of the project last August. Within a couple of months, 2000 rolls of film containing 1.5 million images were scanned. Eventually all of those documents from 1974 back to 1962 will be indexed and available for public viewing in our computer system. The visit to UVS was awesome. I think I might be the first county recorder to telecommute to work from 650 feet underground!
Q: You’re on the Wisconsin Register of Deed Association’s Legislative Committee. What are the committee’s objectives – is this where it’s helpful to be a former 10-year member of the Wisconsin legislature?
A: The WRDA Legislative Committee monitors legislation for proposals that may change statutory requirements for recording or would have an impact on the operation of our office. When the WRDA wants to see changes to the law, the Legislative Committee gets involved with legislators to draft bills and try to advance them through the legislature. The 2009 Wisconsin Act 314 required Register of Deeds to make a reasonable effort to redact social security numbers from documents recorded prior to April 1, 2006 that are transferred to electronic format and available online. The WRDA worked with the authors of the bill to create a workable SSN redaction law that provided funding for the project and established a flat fee for recording documents. Currently a bill requested by the WRDA that would help put an end to deed scam solicitations has had hearings in both houses.
Occasionally I share comments with the WRDA regarding the legislative process, sometimes giving advice or stating why I think a certain bill will not advance.
Q: Milwaukee County began participating in the Property Fraud Alert (PFA) system five years ago. Have constituents found the service helpful?
A: PFA gives peace of mind to subscribers because it alerts them whenever a document is recorded with their name as the grantor or grantee. Most such documents are legitimate and submitted on behalf of the subscriber. If an unscrupulous person actually submitted a fraudulent document, the PFA would email or phone an alert to the subscriber/victim. I am not aware of such an incident here.
Q: Last year an electrical fire at the Milwaukee County Courthouse forced the closure of the Register of Deeds office. Was your office able to continue recording real estate documents during the shut-down?
A: During the six day closure of the Register of Deeds office, we were able to continue to use e-recording software from other county locations and from a few home computers. When we reopened for business on the seventh day we had no backlog in eDocs. There was only a backlog in paper documents which provides another reason why eRecording is the way to go!
Q: You occasionally make the 11-mile commute to the courthouse on your bicycle, plus you play tennis. Are you the county’s unofficial Chief Fitness Officer?
A: I do try to stay in condition. I am outranked in bicycling by one of our judges who bicycles to work almost every day.
Q: Milwaukee is known for many things including its beautiful lakefront, Harley Davidsons, breweries and baseball. As a lifelong resident of the city, what are some of the things you love about Milwaukee.
A: I enjoy the abundance of outdoor places to enjoy, especially in the warmer weather, especially on my bicycle. Brewers baseball is my favorite sports team.
