News from the Office of the Recorder of Deeds, Chester County, Pennsylvania
November 2020
Officials:
Chris Pielli, Esq., Recorder
Erin VanRyn, First Deputy
Diane O'Dwyer, Second Deputy
Nancy W. Pine, Esq., Solicitor
Mailing Address:
Chester County Recorder of Deeds
313 W. Market Street, Suite 3302
P.O. Box 2748
West Chester, PA 19382
Telephone: (610) 344-6330
Fax: (610) 344-6408
Email: RODinfo@chesco.org

Click on "Records Search" for records online.
Hours: The office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30a-4:30p. Same-day recording of plans stops at 3:00pm and same-day documents at 4:00.
Fees: For a full list, click here.
For FAQs and an archive of past newsletters, please visit our website.
Continuing to Cope with COVID-19

• Masks and social distancing remain required.

• The front lobby is limited to no more than two customers with a designated overflow waiting area.

• The Search Room remains closed to the public, except Title Searchers who may make an appointment by calling our office. All other inquiries will be directed to our front desk.
Recorder Remarks
Hi Folks,

We hope you enjoyed the previous issue of Good Deeds and that our November issue finds you all doing well! As with our previous months, this October was an eventful one. The number of recorded documents last month reached 9,336. This is a 46.5% increase (!!) from October of 2019 and continues our monthly trend of increased workloads from the beginning of the year to date. Good news is that increased recording means increased revenue for our County, municipalities and school districts, which is especially helpful during these COVID-marked, cash-strapped times.

To help us with the heavy volume of work, we are pleased to introduce to you two new team members: Sarah Knauer and Kimberly Cary. Please see more information on these talented additions to our staff in the respective section of this newsletter. With that said, we have started our preliminary budget for 2021 and will have more information included about this in our last issue of the year, to be released next month. I remain extremely proud of our team’s efforts and results despite facing the challenges of this crazy year, 2020.

As always, we thank you for your continued support of our department. It is an honor to serve you, the public, to the best of our ability. We welcome any feedback to help improve and successfully continue our mission. Until our next issue, Stay Well and Stay Safe. Please note, you can sign up for future publications here if you have received this in forward.
Chris Pielli, Esq.
Recorder of Deeds
Thank You for Voting
As public servants of the County of Chester, we recognize the importance of U.S. citizens exercising their right to vote. In this 2020 presidential election, our citizens broke the early voting record for Chester County, even several days ahead of the deadline and Election Day. This historic level of voter turnout was also seen nationwide. Whether it was by mail, drop-off or at your local polling place, we thank you for ensuring your voice is heard and helping to shape the course of democracy.

Source: Chester County Election Commission
A Warm Chester County Welcome
We are pleased to welcome and introduce two new staff members to the Chester County Recorder of Deeds team: Sarah Knauer and Kimberly Cary. Sarah has extensive experience in historic research and preservation in addition to property tax claims. Kimberly has an impressive background in Social Media Marketing and Communications. Both new team members are a fantastic addition to our ROD team and bring a skill set that will help us during these very busy times. Welcome Aboard!
Sarah Knauer
Document Recording Tech I
Kimberly Cary
General Clerk (Part-Time)
October was breast cancer awareness month and our staff did their part with a “Pink Out” Dress Down Day at the office! Participating staff members contributed to a group donation to the American Cancer Society. In addition, there were awareness activities and hand-outs provided to help educate our team on this very deadly disease. The ROD office was proud to honor this worthy cause.
Above & Beyond
Since the beginning of 2020, our staff has devised several improvements and procedural updates to increase efficiency and lower costs. One notable instance is the reformed archival and processing of Plans and was developed by one of our own veteran all-stars, Francine Jenkins, Recording Technician II. In the past, standard procedure was to receive multiple forms of backups for Plans. To avoid redundancy and minimize processing times for our customers, we have now implemented a more efficient and cost-effective alternative to record and store all Plan types digitally. These is just another example of the brilliant ideas of our staff that keep the Recorder of Deeds office on the cutting edge of efficiency and improved customer service. Way to go, Francine, and thanks for all your hard work!
CLE Success
As mentioned in our previous issue of Good Deeds, some of our all-star staff presented the "Chester County Recorder of Deeds: Best Practices" CLE course, live via Zoom, within the Real Estate Law Section of the Chester County Bar Association (CCBA) on October 14th, 2020. It covered our department's procedures in regards to the Bureau of Land Records (BLR), Document Recording/e-Recording, Subdivision Plans and Notaries, and provided attendees with one (1) credit of CLE as applicable. We were honored to have the opportunity to provide this educational material to CCBA members and colleagues and may do so again in the near future. Below is a short video clip of the final, recorded presentation.
A Simple Ask — Wear a Mask
The Chester County Government would like your help in a public health campaign that urges residents to wear face masks and businesses to follow guidelines as we head into a critical period when COVID-19 converges with the start of flu season.

As an individual, you can take care to simply wear a mask in all public locations within Chester County. Even outdoors, though not required, it's best to err on the side of caution in order to avoid a surge during this time of increased risk.

As a business, you can help by spreading the message “Simple Ask: Wear a Mask” to your community on social media, your website, e-blasts, printed posters, window decals, stickers and lawn signs through the end of November. To get started, download the Simple Ask: Wear a Mask toolkit.
Bubbles the bulldog is the official mascot of the Recorder of Deeds and best fur friend to First Deputy Erin VanRyn. Bubbles has all the answers to common questions as well as helpful tips to expedite your recording process without any major issues. Woof-hoo!
What forms of payment does the Recorder of Deeds office accept?
• Cash

• Money Order(s)

• Business Check(s)

• NO personal or estate checks are accepted.

• Debit/Credit Cards - only for Name Searches, Copies from the Search Room and Notaries recording bonds
○ $2.00 convenience fee
○ Name on card must match Notary's name
Recorded Documents: YTD
67,066
79%
eRecording
News from the Office of the Recorder of Deeds, Chester County, Pennsylvania
November 2020
County of Chester, Recorder of Deeds | Website