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Innovating Title Operations for the Future

Jill L. Caldwell

Jill L. Caldwell

With a career spanning three decades in the national title and closing field, Jill Cadwell has honed her expertise in various executive positions at leading title and closing firms. Cadwell is a staunch supporter of technological innovation and an enthusiast of the innovative work culture at ValuAmerica and its parent company, Radian. While always maintaining a customer focus, Cadwell holds a comprehensive understanding of the regulatory environment. Cadwell took on the role of SVP of Title Operations at ValuAmerica this February and is charged with expanding the company’s title services operations. Previously, she held executive positions at PNC Network, ServiceLink, LSI Title
Agency, and The Talon Group.

Can you tell me what a typical day looks like at ValuAmerica?

I started with Radian’s title agency, ValuAmerica, in February 2018 and have been focused on our customers’ needs while integrating our title offerings. In March 2018, Radian acquired Entitle Direct, a title insurance and settlement services company. This acquisition is consistent with Radian’s growth and diversification strategy, as well as its focus on the core product offerings of its mortgage and real estate services business. Entitle Direct, with its 40-state title insurance licenses, complements the geographic reach of ValuAmerica.

I’m working closely with all of our teams to solidify our title offerings while making sure that our customers continue to be well taken care of during this transition. I’m constantly looking at ways we can use technology to make our incredible staff even more efficient and effective, and ways to continue delivering expert services to our customers and their consumers.

What sets ValuAmerica’s work culture apart from other organizations?

At Radian, our culture is built around a set of core organizational values that define who we are as an enterprise. The fantastic, enterprise-wide culture was one of the many aspects that led me to join the company. Some of our company’s values, for example, are “Innovate for the Future” and “Our People are the Difference.” These values truly are supported among our teams, are important to management, and help drive the culture that drew me to the company in the first place. We all come together as a team to make sure we serve our customers even better today than we did yesterday.

Not all companies have the support or willingness to evolve continuously. We’re a large and well-established company, while still remaining nimble with our approach. We are constantly improving what we currently do, while keeping an eye out for what’s coming next. We embrace change and are afforded the opportunity to recruit the best people and provide them with the right technology and flexibility to provide unparalleled services.

What is the most rewarding part of your role at ValuAmerica?

The most rewarding part of working here is working with such amazing people. When it comes to my teams, because we have such a high level of trust and confidence, we’re able to grow and approach things in creative and innovative ways. I love that I have the ability to provide the people I work with flexibility so that they can do what they do best—provide best-in-class service and products to our customers.

I’m honored to be able to collaborate and create better solutions for our customers because helping them is a huge part of what makes my job so rewarding. Exceeding the expectations of our customers and consumers with such an important transaction in their lives makes working here one of the best experiences I’ve had in my 30-year career.

In your opinion, what are the most significant challenges default-servicing professionals face today?

I think one of the main challenges facing default servicing is a lack of standardization. Not having unified communication creates silos that slow down the process, duplicate efforts, and ultimately increase costs. Now is the perfect time to start looking at what’s known as the “cradle-to-grave” philosophy. This philosophy refers to unification and/or re-use of mortgage title-related products in aspects of the foreclosure and REO departments to help reduce costs and increase efficiency. For example, if a property is moved into REO for handling post-foreclosure sale, then the foreclosure commitment could be converted to an Owner’s Title Policy (OTP) that could be procured very quickly and cheaply using the same title commitment that was ordered at the initiation of foreclosure.

As a Radian company, ValuAmerica is part of a trusted network of service providers that span the default continuum. Further streamlining those services will allow us to provide the most optimal experience for customers.

How are new tech tools helping to automate workflow and smooth the compliance process?

Technology is a game changer for our industry. I’ve always embraced that head-on because I believe technology allows us to disrupt markets and build operational teams and processes into a cohesive workforce. Staying on top of the latest technology is the key to providing best–in-class, up-to-date, immediate services.

Homebuyers want to know their investment will be protected and their experience will be seamless. With services like e-closing and e-notaries, the compliance process is streamlined and more secure. On the back end, technology enables better workflow processes, and we want to use that to benefit our customers and their consumers.