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Waco Title’s Longevity Result of Associates’ Focus on Clients (Advertisement)

4 min read

Waco Title
125 Parkwood, Suite D
Lowell, Ark.,  72745
(479) 770-6700
(479) 770.6880 (fax)
bhanby@wacotitle.com

Number of Employees: 125+
Top Executive: Blake Hanby, President and  CEO
Product or Service: Title Insurance, Closing/Escrow Services, Title Searches, 1031 Exchange Services
Year Founded: 1885

The Waco Title family of companies serves clients’ abstract, title insurance and closing needs across seven counties in Arkansas and five counties in Missouri with a singular focus: “real estate transactions made easy.”

As WACO Title celebrates its 125-year anniversary in 2010, President and CEO Blake Hanby said the company associates’ unwavering commitment to customer service is at the heart of this long-term success story.

“While it sounds cliché, our associates truly are our biggest competitive advantage,” Hanby said. “We have an experienced team of knowledgeable title and closing professionals who do business ‘the right way,’ and that has led to our longevity.

“We service the particular needs of each client as if it is our only transaction, and we utilize abstract plants to do the best possible job in underwriting real estate titles to assure our clients that they won’t ever have a problem with the title to their property. If a claim does arise, then our title insurers have the wherewithal to take care of them, but we hope they never have to file a claim.”

More Than Meets the Eye

WACO Title takes a different approach to the way it works on behalf of its clients, Hanby said, and that has helped provide WACO Title a competitive advantage while also generating advantageous results for its customers.

“We utilize ‘abstract plants’ as our primary base of research and examination of title as opposed to relying on ‘stand-up’ searches at the courthouses, which can often lead to errors and omissions,” he said. “There is a lot more to this business than meets the eye. It is an extremely detailed, complex business that is very labor intensive to do it right. We’ve never compromised our standards of quality workmanship.”

WACO Title’s roots run very deep in Arkansas. Judge Millard Berry started the company in 1885 as an abstract company serving Washington County. Several owners guided the company over the years, Hanby said.

“As the business of preparing abstracts gave way to title insurance in the 1980s, the business transitioned to preparing title insurance commitments and title insurance policies, based on the same principles of diligently searching title to real estate,” Hanby said. “And we got into the business of closing the transactions for our clients as well. We still do all of the research and examination of title to real estate in order to prepare title insurance commitments and policies.”

The company’s expansion into other primary population centers in Arkansas and across Southwest Missouri likely sets the stage for further growth.

“We will continue to seek opportunities for expansion in the region, whether by acquisition or ‘de novo’ operations,” Hanby said. “As long as we employ the right people, we can expand our presence and bring our quality services and products to any market.”

Efficient, Effective

As WACO Title grows it also implements innovative ways to run its business more efficiently and effectively.

“We have transformed our title department in Lowell to ‘paperless’ and will have all of our title departments converted soon. We have continued to offer closing documents electronically or on CD to reduce our use of paper,” Hanby said. “We also were one of the first in the industry to offer an online GFE calculator to help lenders comply with the new RESPA rules.

“We have a specialized commercial division that has expanded its presence and is doing business across Arkansas and Missouri. Commercial title insurance and closings are very different than residential transactions, and our specialized commercial division has the experience and skill to handle those complex transactions in a professional manner.”

Perseverance

While the economic downturn has been felt more acutely in its industry than in almost any other, WACO Title has “fought through a significant decline in the real estate market over the past few years and we have emerged stronger than ever,” Hanby said. “Many of our competitors have come and gone, but we’re still here to take care of our clients’ needs.”

The company’s focus on executing the fundamentals and keeping clients’ best interests at heart are keys to success in a tough economic environment, Hanby said.

“If you look around the market, you’ll see that the businesses that focus on a quality search and proper examination of title are still around,” Hanby said. “Those who got in the business for a quick buck when things were booming and tried to take shortcuts to get the job done, are gone.”

As WACO Title marks its 125th anniversary and continues to expand its family of companies across Arkansas and Missouri, Hanby sees an even brighter future ahead.

“We have a great deal of financial strength, as a company, which allows us to stand behind our products and services, as well as take care of our dedicated associates in both good times and bad,” he said. “We have a strong focus on technological advances to make our clients’ transactions easier. We are title insurance agents for the four largest title insurers in the world.

“We have been here since 1885, and we will be here for years to come. We are bonded, insured, and are financially sound. We treat our business as a professional career for each and every one of us, and we stand behind our work. We’ll be here when you need us.”

 

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