[1]Farmington Hills, Michigan-based Best Homes Title [2] has announced its acquisition of Rochester Hills-based Homeowners Title Agency [3]as part of an effort to become one of Michigan's largest and most experienced title- and escrow-service companies.
With the acquisition of Homeowners Title Agency, which became official on June 1, Best Homes Title now has 13 offices across Michigan that provide comprehensive title insurance, title examination and closing services. The company now has more than 75 employees which include a wide variety of industry veterans who are experienced in both residential and commercial real estate.
Best Homes Title will retain eight Homeowners Title employees, who will continue to work from the Rochester Hills office.
Phil Campbell, owner of Homeowners Title Agency, will be a key advisor in the transition and will be bringing 35 years of experience both to Best Homes Title and to his longtime clients, according to Best Homes Title president Neil Sherman. Campbell founded Homeowners Title Agency in 2004 in order to provide client-centered real-estate transactions.
"In the past few years, we’ve added offices in Troy, Waterford, Big Rapids and Greenville. Now, we’ve got a presence in Rochester Hills. This not only increases our footprint, but it also increases our residential expertise," Sherman said. "We will continue to look for new partnerships that are a match for our drive toward top-notch customer service and technical savvy."
Sherman said the expansion within Michigan is part of Best Home Title's strategy to become an industry leader in the state both in terms of services and technology. With 13 locations across the state, the company can give its clients in-person access to its team of real estate attorneys as well as its title and escrow experts and staff.
The industry-leading technologies provided by Best Homes Title offer fast, reliable information to clients who want to close a deal quickly. Some of the technologies the company offers are an On Demand service to give brokers and realtors online access to documents and a new customer-friendly app.
"It’s quite unusual for a title agency to have an independent app," Sherman said. "We think it’s a great thing for realtors and mortgage officers. It allows them to run estimates directly from their phones and send them to their customers. It’s complete interconnectivity and sets a new standard for the marketplace."
Real-estate attorneys Neil Sherman and Peter Schneiderman founded Best Homes Title in 2006. In nine years, the company has grown from one location and four employees to 13 locations and 75 employees and an average monthly volume of 1,000 transactions. The two attorneys created Best Homes Title after seeing an opportunity to combine their industry experience and focus on customer service. Best Homes Title was formed as an independent agent within the escrow and title industry and is underwritten by First Title Insurance Co., Fidelity Insurance Co, and Old Republic Insurance Co.
Longtime business partners Schneiderman and Sherman began working together at Michigan law firm Schneiderman & Sherman, P.C., which has been serving the mortgage industry for more than 35 years. Sherman, the firm's managing attorney, joined the firm in 2002. Schneiderman has represented clients in the mortgage industry since 1975.