Come Travel With Greg to the “Grand” Canyon!

I’ve prepared for this trek for many weeks.  I’ve pored over checklists, sought advice from consultants, mapped out my various destination routes, and assembled my elite travel team.  Now, I’m finally ready for the trip of a lifetime and I can’t wait to get started!

I can’t do this alone, so I’m bringing Vista Title’s escrow team (Shannon, Suzi and Cyndi) on the trip.   We want you and all of our friends to come along.  So pack your bags (or briefcases) because we’re headed to the “Grand Canyon,” and we’re looking forward to an incredible journey.

O.K., I’m not talking about that huge crack in the earth cut by the Colorado River.  I’m talking about something local, and something much more significant.

On January 2010, I’m leading my team across town to the Denver Tech Center.  Once there, we will become part of the “Grand” Canyon that is Canyon Title Company.

That’s right, Vista Title has merged with Canyon Title and in January my team and I  will open our new DTC office under the Canyon Title name.

If you’re a real estate professional in the greater Denver area you’ve no doubt heard of Canyon Title.  It’s a cutting edge organization that has been attacking its competition with innovative and highly professional services and products.   With the addition of Vista’s escrow team, and a new Tech Center office, I’m confident  that we — as Canyon Title — will quickly become an industry leader in Colorado.  We’ll become the “Grand” Canyon Title.

I hope you will join us on our journey!  To learn more about the trip, why my team and I are taking it, and why you should join us, read on…..

When I look back on my decision to join Canyon it almost seems that it was inevitable that our two companies would come together.  Since the inception of Vista Title back in 2002 I have worked closely with Canyon’s management — sharing ideas about all kinds of industry related matters, such as how to improve processes, which forms are best for certain circumstances, and how to communicate and market more effectively. As competitors, both companies have been incredibly open with one another.  It’s no wonder that both companies invested thousands of dollars into a state of the art production and transaction management software, “ResWare.”  This paperless transaction management platform links transaction participants together to provide one of the most advanced technological infrastructures in the industry.  We are the only two companies in Colorado to use this technology.

In the last 18 months Canyon Title began to make serious inroads as a competitor in the Colorado market with a move to its downtown location of Auraria Parkway, and the implementation of countless services for its purchase and lender customers.  Quite frankly, I watched Canyon pour a huge amount of resources into its infrastructure with what looked like a “build it and they will come” mentality.  Well, it worked, and they came!

While Canyon’s volume has skyrocketed, its technological infrastructure has allowed it to deliver amazing customer service with a remarkably small staff.   Believe me, I’ve been keeping notes.  When Canyon’s President, Robert Lindley,  told me that they had been kicking out commitments in 4 hours at 200+ orders per month, I swallowed hard. That’s fast service.   Rob’s structuring of the operational staff also impressed me.  With both his escrow teams and his title examiners, there are multiple layers of back-up so the customer always gets the attention they need without any of the “I’m sorry, [insert escrow officer name] is in a closing right now, can I take a message?”  As a small title company with my own staff working to capacity, I admire the structure Rob put into place.

By joining Canyon, our Vista customers will get the expertise of our existing closing staff, but they will also benefit from the great efficiences, services, and other perks that Rob has put into place.  Below is a list of just a few of these things:

• Anytime Anywhere Closing Services.  Canyon has partnered with a professional team of notaries, specifically trained to handle both purchase and refinance transactions to close any transaction remotely.  The closings occur at the customer’s workplace, home, or any number of the executive office suites that Canyon rents across town.
• Integrated Short Sale Processing.  Canyon’s short sale processing partners are able to completely integrate their files into Canyon’s transaction management software to increase the efficiency of all communications, forms and preliminary settlement statements involved in a short sale negotiation.
• National Lender Title Insurance.  Canyon is able to close your refinance transaction in nearly every state of the union.  This allows local mortgage brokers with out-of-state transactions to have a single point of contact so that they can deliver consistent reliable service to their customers.
• O&E Reports.  With Canyon’s ability to run title searches in-house, they can provide O&E reports to you within hours as opposed to days.
• Marketing Tools.  Whether it’s leads, farm lists, flyers, or call capture property information delivered by text message, Canyon has fantastic tools to assist real estate professionals.  Essentially these are the types of services and products you would normally only see from a the “big” title companies.

I’m tremendously excited about the merger, and I’m convinced that existing Vista customers will love what they experience with the new company.  Of course, I’m not going anywhere so let me know of your questions, concerns, comments anytime.  Also, if you want to read the press release and an FAQ document just click the link below.

Announcement Page.