Q: How has the title business in 2020 compared to other recent years?
employees, Virtual Mail-Out (VMO) Closings for those who were very high risk or not able to come in person for Curbside Closings and lastly, in-office Clean Closings. We are now at the phase of in-office Clean Closings where things are thoroughly cleaned down before each use of the closing rooms, all members of closings are masked at all times and other precautions to maintain health and safety for everyone involved. Q: What short-term and long-term impacts do you expect to see in the title industry after Covid-19 and 2020 so far? A: In the short term, we have had to work through the dramatic change to extreme high volume months while trying to balance the need to hire qualified employees as fast as possible. We have see increases in closing documents signed electronically as well as going from buyers and sellers present in closings at the same time to split closings where the two parties do not even meet. Long term, we expect to see continued adoption of e-notary and e-closings as the need has become clear. Since the technology was put together to get us through the pandemic, it only makes sense that legislation for the industry will
make the technology available in the future as we continue to improve efficiencies for clients and customers.
A: Simply put, 2020 has been an unusual year for the title and real estate industries. We have seen record low interest rates which brought with it high refinance volumes, all while the resale purchase market started slow and came to a halt in April. After the worst of the pandemic hit our industry we had a V shaped recovery, with buyer demand as strong as it has been in well over a decade. May, June and July all exceeded previous year volumes making up for April’s stand still.
Q: What do you think people need to know about the state of your industry?
A: Understanding the importance of teamwork. It is not realistic to work as a one-man-band in closings, instead staff needs the support of one another and the company behind them to deliver the highest level of customer experience. Our industry has experienced unexpected come-back levels this summer and although our teams are working extremely hard to get things done by each deadline, the only way to get all of this done is to lean on one another and our resources.
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Q: How has COVID-19 changed the way you do business?
A: COVID-19 brought unprecedented changes to every industry's way of doing business.At Land Title we were lucky to have stayed ahead always having plans for the next phase if things kept escalating and communication was ready to send to clients at the time of governors orders. Changes we implemented included e-signature technology on all documents that didn’t need a notary, Curbside Closings to maintain social distance and minimize risk for clients and
Jim Renshaw Senior Vice President Sales & Marketing
Land Title Guarantee Company 3033 E 1st Ave, Suite 600 Denver, CO 80206 303.906.1915
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