Belknap County registrar reports rising recording revenue, plans media conversion completion

Laura, Belknap County registrar of deeds, told commissioners recording revenue year‑to‑date was "just under $800,000," about $54,000 higher than the same period last year, and projected that if trends continue the office could add roughly $100,000 for the year.

She said most recordings are mortgages, refinances and equity lines, and that deed counts remain lower than the previous year but document volumes are rebounding toward a longer‑term average. "Recording of documents, estimating pretty high, about 12,000 probably for the end of the year," Laura told the board.

Laura said the department completed a server migration to an off‑site server without issues and that media conversion by a vendor, US Imaging, is nearly complete with an anticipated upload of new images by the end of this month or by year‑end.

She also said the office will begin charging a $10 monthly maintenance fee starting in January for Laredo accounts used by title companies and real estate attorneys; free public searches will remain available, but printing will cost $2 per page. Laura estimated retaining 100 paid Laredo customers would produce about $12,000 in additional revenue annually.

Laura reported outreach at an AARP "scam jam" to promote a free property fraud alert service and said she is preparing brochures and materials for town offices and senior centers to increase enrollment.

Commissioners asked questions about effects of interest‑rate changes on refinance and equity‑line activity; Laura said HELOC activity follows prime and noted continued subdivision plan filings that will produce additional recordings.