The Cook County Recorder’s website used to be terribly hard to use and functioned like it was set up in 1990. I had to go on it all the time to get copies of deeds and do quick title searches to see if mortgages were released.

Using it was a total hassle. To look at a document you had to put in your credit card information twice and then download some obscure software that took about three tries to install. Of course, you could only use internet explorer.

The recorder recently upgraded the site and, surprise; it’s a thing of beauty! You can access the new site here. You will need your PIN number to look up documents. You can find your PIN here by typing in your address here. Go ahead and put in your PIN and see how it works.

Now the entire history of the property to the mid 1980s pops up and you can view each document without paying. You only pay $2.50 per document if you need to download the document, which is now a simple process. If you have simple screen capture software like the windows snipping tool or Snagit, then you can just copy the screen and you don’t have to pay to print the document.

This new site is great and will make it easier for clients to obtain documents. The majority of my clients cannot locate the deed to their property and now they can get it easily in a few keystrokes.