Gary L Herman
The Alexander County Register of Deeds (RoD) Office consists of the current Register Scott Hines and staff members Sherrie Yow and Dawn Rudisill. Additionally, Jonathan Barnes was hired as a new Deputy in June 2020. The Register of Deeds Office was very busy in 2020 breaking records for activity and revenue generation.
In 2020, RoD issued 150 marriage licenses, recorded 272 death certificates, and four (4) birth certificates. Most births to Alexander County residents are recorded in neighboring counties since Alexander does not have a hospital and births are recorded in the county in which the birth occurred.
Alexander County RoD made 1,741 certified copies of birth, marriage, and death certificates in 2020. Also, the office made over 6,930 uncertified copies of records in 2020.
Here are the number of real estate instruments recorded in the RoD office for 2020: Deeds – 1,459, Deeds of Trust – 1,362, Real Property w/Probate – 918, Plats – 173, Satisfactions – 1,437, and Quitclaim Deeds – 71.
Additionally, the Alexander County RoD office had more recordings of various records. Overall, the office had 14,913 total transactions and collected a value of $463,094 in fees and excise tax for county and state government services. This activity represents more than an 11 percent increase in revenue generation and nearly a 25 percent increase in transactions over 2019 levels. Additionally, the Register of Deeds processed land transactions that valued over $134 million.
“My office operated at a high tempo during 2020 and that high operations tempo continues into 2021,” said Register of Deeds Scott Hines. “The pandemic was not a negative influence on activity in my office and low interest rates seem to have had a positive impact on land transfers. We continued to operate and remained open for business, throughout the pandemic, for those who needed to conduct land and vital records activity.”
Last year, the RoD office had to change business procedures because of the 2020 pandemic on Alexander County and office operations. Still, the Register of Deeds forged ahead and had 20 volumes of Death Certificate books (Vol 14-33) restored and prepared for preservation. The office also made headway into renovating the military records section, which will be completed in 2021. Military veterans can record their military discharge papers (DD-214) and some other military-related documents for safekeeping in the Register of Deeds office.
Moreover, the Register of Deeds petitioned the county commissioners concerning the environment of the records vault. The environmental controls were not protecting the records as they should, since records should be maintained at a steady relative humidity (RH) and temperature—around 40 to 45% RH and 67 to 69 degrees Fahrenheit.
During the summer of 2020, conditions in the records vault reached 75 degrees and over 50 percent humidity, which placed the records in the risk zone for natural aging. County Manager Rick French and county commissioners worked with Josh Mitchell and the Maintenance Department to alleviate the environmental concerns. An air conditioning mini-splitter will keep the atmosphere of the records at the optimal level for preserving property and vital records.
If you would like to see how your home or location rates in controlling the environment, you can visit the Dew Point Calculator at www.dpcalc.org. This tool shows how humidity and temperature levels can be detrimental to papers, machines, and metal. Input the temperature and humidity level of your home to see how your location rates for natural aging, mold risk, mechanical damage, and metal corrosion.
The Register of Deeds vault is a repository to preserve important records for the citizens of Alexander County and beyond. Preservation and restoration ensure the integrity and content of paper documents to safeguard vital documents for future generations. In the past, acidic materials were used that deteriorate over time making vital content illegible and paper brittle, which can crumble and lose important information. Preservation halts deterioration, stabilizes materials, and allows for retention of our documents indefinitely.
Visit the Alexander County Register of Deeds office or call 828-632-3152 if you have any questions or need more information regarding your real property and vital records. Also, visit the RoD webpage at www.alexandercountync.gov/rod to see online records.