Officials:

Chris Pielli, Esq., Recorder

Diane O'Dwyer, First Deputy

Erin VanRyn, Second Deputy

Nancy W. Pine, Esq., Solicitor

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

Website: www.chesco.org/ recorder

Hours: The office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm. Same-day document recording stops at 4:00pm. Same-day plan recording stops at 3:00pm.

Fees: For a full list, click here.

For more FAQs and an archive of past newsletters, please visit www.chesco.org/recorder.

NEW Information Regarding COVID-19

During the current COVID-19 high transmission phase, Chester County Government strongly urges all visitors (and employees) of County buildings to wear a face mask, regardless of vaccination status. Health screenings must (continue to) be completed by every person who enters a County building.

Effective: January 13, 2022

Happy belated New Year to you and your families! We hope you enjoyed the previous issue of Good Deeds and are proud to present our first issue of the year. It goes without saying that hopes, fears and expectations are often felt at the beginning of a new year and this upcoming trip around the sun is perhaps even more anticipatory than most. Looking back on 2021, we can be proud of how we carried on in a record-breaking year of recording despite the ongoing grip of COVID-19. Looking forward, on the other hand, many economic forecasts seem foreboding, taking into account recent stock market fluctuations, inflation, overseas tension induced by the ever perilous Putin, and more. As much as we find some answers, many questions remain, like will the Federal Reserve raise interest rates, how much and when? Will we finally see the petering out of this dreaded virus? Will we soon start experiencing the positive effects of the infrastructure bill putting our economy on an upward trajectory? The list goes on.

As my friend* has often told me, "Know what you know," meaning we can only act on information and knowledge that we have on hand. So, let's state the obvious. The Feds have not raised interest rates from the near 0% that it has been for quite some time. Their next meeting will be held in March, at which most experts feel that they will raise the rate at least a 1/4% depending on how hot inflation has been running. Nothing is written in stone and the Central bank could, of course, act sooner, but for now they haven't. With this in mind, all experts are advising that if you haven't refinanced your high-rate mortgage yet, it is time to catch the last train to savings city. Come this spring, we will be having a totally different conversation regarding refi's, but, for now—although the opportunities are still present—the window is closing fast.

As I mentioned in our previous issue, 2021 was a record-breaking year, consisting of a whopping 102,913 documents recorded. 87% of these documents were recorded mortgages, mortgage satisfactions and deeds, largely stemming from a real estate market with its foot on the pedal and refi's driven by historically low rates. This will not last, and we are fast approaching some type of adjustment or more significant correction. It is my fervent hope that we can continue to keep pace and adjust with these market factors. The bottom line is the more recording, the more revenue collected for the state, county, municipalities and school districts. Regardless, our team will do what it always does: show up and get the job done no matter what these crazy times may throw at us.

As always, we thank you, our constituents, 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, Stay Safe and Stay Strong. Please note, you can sign up for future publications here if you have received this in forward.

Chris Pielli, Esq.

Recorder of Deeds