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February 2023 DFW Area Real Estate Stats

Attention home buyers and sellers! The February real estate stats are in and it’s important to stay informed. Active listings are up in every county compared to last year, providing more choices for home buyers. However, days on market are also up in every county, indicating a more competitive market for sellers. In Dallas County, new listings are down 7.4% from last year, but Collin County and Denton County are seeing an increase in new listings. It’s a unique moment in the housing market, so stay informed before making any decisions!

Our stats infographics include a year over year comparison and area highlights for single family homes broken down by county. We encourage you to share these infographics and video with your sphere.

For more stats information, pdfs and graphics of our stats including detailed information by county, visit the Resources section on our website at DFW Area Real Estate Statistics | Republic Title of Texas.

For the full report from the Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center, click here. For NTREIS County reports click here.

Preparing Your Home for Spring

Preparing For Spring

Spring Cleaning and Maintenance Tips To Get Your Home Ready For The Season

Interior
□ Inspect and change out HVAC filters.
□ Clean kitchen sink disposal.
□ Clean range hood filters.
□ Inspect your fire extinguisher(s).
□ Get your air conditioning system ready for summer; empty drain pans, check hose connections for leaks. Consider getting an HVAC technician to service your system biannually. This will help it run optimally year-round.
□ Inspect your attic crawl spaces. Look for signs of vermin infestation. Contact a pest control professional if any concerns arise.
□ Run water and flush toilets in unused spaces.
□ Check water softener and add salt if needed.
□ Test your water heater’s pressure relief valve.
□ Test smoke/carbon monoxide detectors and replace batteries if necessary.
□ Spring cleaning! Now is the time to give your house a deep clean.

Exterior
□ Get your lawn ready for the warm temperatures. Clear your yard of any debris and aerate your lawn if needed (you might need a professional to do this.) Early spring is the best time to lay pre-emergent herbicide. This will prevent weeds from growing.
□ Check exterior drainage.
□ Clean out gutters.
□ Inspect the exterior of your home. Look for soil erosion and add fill dirt/sod if needed.
□ Inspect roof for damage, leaks and missing shingles.
□ Inspect exterior walls including eaves for any cracks or holes where insects or critters could enter.
□ Check seals around windows, caulk if necessary.
□ Check for loose, warped or splintered boards on your deck/patio. Now is a good time to seal/stain if needed.
□ If you stored your lawn furniture for the winter, bring it outdoors and give it a rinse or wash
with a mild detergent.
□ Go ahead and have a little fun! Plant seasonal flowers to add color to your landscape. Flowers that thrive in spring in North Texas are cosmos, marigolds, zinnias and pentas.

Click here for printable version

Seller-Leaseback-Issues

Seller Leaseback Issues

A Sellers Temporary Leaseback allows the seller to continue living in the home after closing for a limited time. The Seller leaseback begins when the sale is closed and funded and can last for up to 90 days. During this lease term the Seller is the tenant and the Buyer is now the landlord.
 
Join Republic Title’s Sarah Mann and Shaun Neidigh as they discuss:
– What is a Sellers Leaseback?
– What are the other terms that are negotiated?
– Additional considerations when negotiating a leaseback
 
For more informative videos from the Republic Title Legal Team, check out our YouTube channel: youtube.com/c/RepublicTitle/videos
 
Homestead-Exemptions

Homestead Exemptions

In our newest video, Republic Title’s Sheri Groom and Matt Visinsky discuss what you need to know about homestead exemptions. A homestead is a house or other residential structure that is used for residential purposes. To qualify for homestead in Texas the owner must be an individual (a corporation or other business entity cannot have a homestead), and use the home as his or her principal residence.

Listen in as Republic Title’s Sheri Groom and Matt Visinsky explain:

  • What is a homestead?
  • What are some of the benefits and protections of homesteads?
  • Who can apply for a homestead exemption?

For more informative videos from the Republic Title Legal Team, check out our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/OHUe02-4c4c

evolve

Meet the eVove Team

Did you know that Republic Title has our own Digital Settlement and Signing Services Division? Using intuitive new technology to provide a convenient approach to the real estate closing experience, our eVolve team is at the forefront of this digital transformation and is reimagining the closing process.

Technology and the consumer’s increasing demand for convenience and flexibility is constantly changing the way people conduct business. When consumers have scheduling conflicts — whether it’s a busy day in the office or traveling on vacation — eVolve may be able to facilitate the real estate transaction through a premium digital closing service.  At closing, our dedicated team of professionals are able to communicate face to face with the customer in almost any place in the world to explain the documents and guide them through the closing process.

The eVolve team has assisted Republic Title offices in closing over $1.5B in sales volume via Remote Online Notarization and includes Dennis Pospisil, Senior Vice President/Digital Settlement and Signing Services; Audriana J. Laws, Vice President/Escrow Officer; Dana Martinez, Escrow Officer, Diane Sanders, Escrow Officer; and Robin Riggs, Vice President/Escrow Officer.

Are you or your customer in need of a remote online closing?  Whether you’re a REALTOR®, Lender or Consumer — connect with us and discover how we are helping to evolve the real estate closing experience.

To connect with our eVolve team and learn more about our Digital Settlement and Signing options, visit www.republictitle.com/evolve

As Senior Vice President/Digital Settlement and Signing Services, Dennis leads our eVolve team and is continuously working on how Republic Title can be an industry leader in the digital settlement space. A Plano native and Texas A&M graduate (whoop!), Dennis has over 25 years working in the title insurance industry. Dennis thrives on working with his team to implement solutions to ensure a great digital closing experience. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters and well as being outdoors on the lake or at the ranch.  

Audriana J. Laws is Vice President/Escrow Officer. New York born and Texas raised, Audriana brings 23 years of real estate and title industry experience to her role. A constant learner, Audriana loves that she gets to learn new technology and improve processes in her role on the eVolve team. Extremely adaptable, Audriana enjoys getting to interact with clients in a relaxed setting during RON closings. In her free time, Audriana loves spending time with her daughter, family and friends.

The newest member of our eVolve team is Escrow Officer Dana Martinez. Dana has been with Republic Title for six years and has worked in a variety of roles before joining the eVolve team which gives her a unique perspective on the closing process. Dana says that she loves being able to connect with clients and works to make sure that the process is as easy and smooth as possible.

With over 38 years of experience in the real estate industry, Diane brings a wealth of knowledge to her role on our eVolve team. Diane’s favorite part of the job is meeting customers and walking them through the closing process in a virtual setting. In her free time, Diane enjoys spending time with her son, volunteering with her church and community, reading and taking road trips with her husband. She’s an avid sports fan of teams in Dallas and in St. Louis where she grew up.

Robin Riggs is Vice President/Escrow Officer on our eVolve team with 22 years in the industry. A natural people person, Robin enjoys engaging with our customers and helping them feel comfortable with the technology we are using as well as helping them to better understand the buying and selling process. A dog lover, Robin has fostered many dogs and enjoys being part of the rescue community. In her free time, Robin enjoys spending time with her husband, 16-year-old son, reading, and exercising.  

Class-Calendar-Blog-Header

March Class Calendar

Republic Title is pleased to offer a variety of continuing education classes for our customers. Join us in March for classes including:

Creative Financing Pitfalls in a High Interest Rate Market
All licensees must be prepared to handle aspects of special types of financing. This class focuses on the specifics of alternative types of financing such as Seller Financing, Loan Assumption, and Lease to Own and discusses types of financing to avoid.
March 1st
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Republic Title North Coit

Tax Planning Program Specifically for Real Estate Agents
Join us for a Lunch and Learn with special guests from Greenlight Tax Group. They’ve designed a tax planning program specifically for REALTORS®. They will share strategies to help you minimize your tax liability and keep more of what you make year after year. Please register in advance, as seats are limited.
March 2nd
11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Republic Title Park Cities

Property Tax 100
Join us as Glenn Goodrich and Jim Goodrich, with PropertyTax.io answer questions about winning the property tax protests in 2021. How will COVID-19 affect the process? What are the deadlines? Which areas will see the largest increase? These questions and more will be addressed in this timely class.
March 7th
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Zoom

Maximizing Your Open House
Holding an open house is a great way to showcase a new listing and attract prospective clients. In this course, agents will learn how to maximize their open house opportunity and learn how to promote the property, generate leads and practice good safety while on the job.
March 8th
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Zoom

Tax Tips Every Real Estate Agent Needs to Know
This class will cover issues to help REALTORS® with their personal taxes, with removing Federal Tax Liens when closing sales, and with IRS problems they or their client may have. Some of the topics discussed in this one-hour class include: Tips on Keeping Records & Recommended Forms to File, Tax Deductions You Should be Taking, How to Make Estimated Taxes Work with your Cash Flow, Tax Areas of Special Interest to REALTORS®, and How to Use the Home Office Deduction.
March 14th
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Zoom

New Forms Editor-zipForm®
The new forms editor in zipForm® introduces several intelligent and intuitive features, giving agents and brokers everything they need to prepare and send forms faster than ever. With a new and improved workspace, you can autofill forms, fill out multiple forms at once, mark up documents, add personalized clauses and quickly add signers and property information.
March 22nd
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Zoom

TREC Legal Update I
Legal Update I covers various topics related to changes in regulations, forms, and standards of practice in the real estate industry including: TREC statute and rule updates, an overview of changes to and best practices for promulgated contract and addenda forms, and updated information on fair housing and property management laws and regulations.
March 23rd
9:30 am – 1:30 pm
Republic Title Uptown

Escape Hatches for Buyers
In this class licensees will become familiar with specific conditions & contingencies within the contract and related addenda that, if not adhered to, could result in a Buyer’s valid termination of the contract.
APPROVED TREC CONTRACT-RELATED COURSE
March 23rd
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Caddo Office Reimagined McKinney

Escape Hatches for Buyers
In this class licensees will become familiar with specific conditions & contingencies within the contract and related addenda that, if not adhered to, could result in a Buyer’s valid termination of the contract.
APPROVED TREC CONTRACT-RELATED COURSE
March 23rd
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Republic Title Preston Frankford

Proactive Business Practices I Mastering “Blue Ocean” Activities
Most Small Business Owners (SBO)/ Real Estate Professionals utilize reactionary business practices. They are utilizing marketing techniques and practices that were unique and forward thinking 6 months ago. They react to market shifts as they happen rather than implement business practices that will keep them ahead of economic shifts. The idea of “blue ocean” is to make sure you have positioned your marketing, your business practices and your business strategies with proactive tools vs. reactionary responses. Agents will evaluate their businesses and business styles. They will create a plan to implement and “catch wind” that will allow them to be seen, heard and felt in their communities. They will “sail into blue ocean” vs. “swimming in red seas”.
March 28th
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Zoom

TREC Legal Update II
Legal Update II covers a host of topics that TREC has deemed critical for all licensees to be familiar with, including fiduciary and ethical duties of the agent, guidance on dealing with water and mineral rights, and important updates to tax laws and rules.
March 28th
12:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Republic Title Uptown

Online Contracts via zipForm®
Join us to learn the basics of using Lone Wolf Transactions, zipForm® Edition (formerly zipForm® Plus). zipForm® enables real estate agents to quickly and efficiently create digital transaction files, complete and fill in contract details, attach documents and even get them electronically signed by buyers, sellers and other parties involved in a real estate transaction.
March 29th
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Republic Title Southlake

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January 2023 DFW Area Real Estate Stats

January 2023 stats are in!

In January 2023, new listings are up in all North Texas counties that we report on over December 2022 so the much-needed inventory is coming to market.

Active listings are up across the board compared to this time last year ranging from 71% increase in Dallas County to 195% increase in Denton County. Compared to January 2022, average sales price has increased in each county except Denton which was down slightly.

Dallas is expected to be the top buyer’s market in the nation by year-end 2023 so all eyes are on the Spring selling season!

Our stats infographics include a year over year comparison and area highlights for single family homes broken down by county. We encourage you to share these infographics and video with your sphere.

For more stats information, pdfs and graphics of our stats including detailed information by county, visit the Resources section on our website at DFW Area Real Estate Statistics | Republic Title of Texas.

For the full report from the Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center, click here. For NTREIS County reports click here.

MarketingCLass

Marketing & Business Planning for the Real Estate Agent

We are excited to present a new Marketing and Business Planning Special Class Series with guest instructors Amy House and Darian Rausch!

Join us for FIVE opportunities to elevate your real estate business in the areas of time management, business planning, building referrals, open house maximization, and optimizing your business strategies. Don’t miss out on this opportunity as we enter the Spring selling season!

All classes will take place on ZOOM. Space is limited.

Managing Your Time as a Small Business Owner/Real Estate Professional –
The goal of this course is to provide real estate professionals with the information needed to understand the nuances of time management. Most Small Business Owners (SBO)/ Real Estate Professionals must use their time effectively and efficiently in order to accomplish tasks successfully. Agents will learn and understand the nuances that have prevented them from mastering time management. They will learn and understand the difference between tasks, routines and project management. Agents will be given an opportunity to use a proven template to plan their time, tasks, routines and projects for the next 30 days.

Date, Time & Location:
Tuesday, February 7th
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
ZOOM
Instructor: Amy House, M.Ed., Instructor and Business Coach, CEO of Growin’ Out Loud Darlin’
CE Information: Course Number: 43976
TREC Provider: Success Shareholders #10601
$20 for 2 TREC CE Hours (no charge for no CE credit)

Writing Your Real Estate Business Plan –
This is an introductory course in business planning for the real estate professional. This course covers five areas of business planning: Financial, Database Management, Lead Generation, Time Management and Goal Setting. There will be a focus on how to build and maintain a referral-based business. Students will walk away with a plan and strategy to take their business to the next level.

Date, Time & Location:
Wednesday, February 8th
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
ZOOM
Instructor: Darian Rausch, Broker at Urban to Suburban Realty
CE Information: Course Number: 43796 
TREC Provider Number: 10601
$20 for 2 TREC CE Hours (no charge for no CE credit)

Building a Referral Based Real Estate Business –
This course will teach real estate professionals how to build a solid referral business by building trust with customers, clients, and fellow agents. Join us as Darian Rausch with Success Shareholders teaches agents how to use their relationships to generate more leads, and transition from passively accepting occasional referrals to a proactive referral mindset. Participants will walk away with practical and applicable information they can immediately begin implementing in their business model.

Date, Time & Location:
Wednesday, February 22nd
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
ZOOM
Instructor: Darian Rausch, Broker at Urban to Suburban Realty
CE Information: Course Number: 43783
TREC Provider Number: 10601
$20 for 2 TREC CE Hours (no charge for no CE credit)

Maximizing Your Open House –
Holding an open house is a great way to showcase a new listing and attract prospective clients. In this course, agents will learn how to maximize their open house opportunity and learn how to promote the property, generate leads and practice good safety while on the job.

Date, Time & Location:
Wednesday, March 8th
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
ZOOM
Instructor: Darian Rausch, Broker at Urban to Suburban Realty
CE Information: Course Number: 43791
TREC Provider Number: 10601
$20 for 2 TREC CE Hours (no charge for no CE credit)

Proactive Business Practices –
Mastering “Blue Ocean” Activities
Most Small Business Owners (SBO)/ Real Estate Professionals utilize reactionary business practices. They are utilizing marketing techniques and practices that were unique and forward thinking 6 months ago. They react to market shifts as they happen rather than implement business practices that will keep them ahead of economic shifts. The idea of “blue ocean” is to make sure you have positioned your marketing, your business practices and your business strategies with proactive tools vs. reactionary responses. Agents will evaluate their businesses and business styles. They will create a plan to implement and “catch wind” that will allow them to be seen, heard and felt in their communities. They will “sail into blue ocean” vs. “swimming in red seas”.

Date & Time:
Tuesday, March 28th
10:00 am – 11:00 am
ZOOM
Instructor: Amy House, M.Ed., Instructor and Business Coach, CEO of Growin’ Out Loud Darlin’
CE Information: Course Number: 43939
TREC Provider: Success Shareholders #10601
$15 for 1 TREC CE Hour (no charge for no CE credit)

Remember, space is limited so register today!
Residential Education | REPUBLIC TITLE

Texas-Housing-Insight-December2022

Texas Housing Insight December 2022 Summary

Housing was one of the primary contributors to inflation in 2022. The pandemic-induced housing frenzy officially ended when the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates in June in an attempt to curb inflation. Since then, mortgage rates and the possibility of a recession sidelined many potential buyers. Demand in Texas plummeted as annual housing sales fell more than 10 percent. Supplies started returning to pre-pandemic levels. Amid 2022’s drastic changes, many housing indicators improved as homebuilders and buyers quickly adapted.

Supply1

Homebuilders initiated fewer building projects than they did before the pandemic. Year-end single-family construction permits had a net loss of 8.4 percent year-over-year (YOY), shrinking from 170,557 permits to 156,189 permits in 2022. Monthly permits were flat in December, with fewer than 10,000 permits issued. Construction permits fell in all major metros. While housing demand in Dallas (2,786 permits) was mostly flat, Houston (2,886 permits)—the metro with the most construction permits in the nation—dipped 10 percent month-over-month (MOM). The gap between Austin’s (982 permits) and San Antonio’s (592 permits) housing expansion narrowed, as Austin’s monthly construction demand fell below 1,000 monthly permits for the first time since 2016.

Construction generally slows during the winter, and Texas’ single-family construction starts plummeted 33.5 percent from December 2021 to 10,203 units, corroborating a slowdown in the housing industry when accounting for the winter slump. According to Zonda, quarterly construction starts continued the fall from 3Q2022 in Texas’ four major metros except for Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW). While DFW’s construction starts rebounded 26.4 percent quarter-over-quarter (QOQ) and surpassed pre-pandemic levels, the remaining three metros fell short of 4Q2019 levels.

The state’s total single-family starts value diminished from $44.5 billion in 2021 to $38.4 billion. Houston and Dallas together contributed more than half of the state’s total at 29.6 percent and 26.6 percent, respectively. Austin’s market share was double that of San Antonio at 12.8 percent.

Active listings were flat at a seasonally adjusted rate of 91,600 units. Compared with the five-year average of 94,800 units before the pandemic, housing inventory was only 4.5 percent away from returning to the pre-pandemic volume. A year prior, inventory fell 50 percent short of pre-pandemic levels. Active listings in Austin fell 7 percent from November’s peak to 8,400 units, the first monthly dip since March 2022. This modest decline suggests Austin’s housing market may have returned to the traditional ebbs and flows seen before covid. Amid the recent slowdown, statewide months of inventory (MOI) ticked up to three months. The MOI for the four major metros ranged from 2.6 months to 3.4 months. While Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio inventories returned to pre-pandemic levels, Houston’s inventory was still below. 

Demand

Nearly 30 percent of total home sales vanished from December 2021 to December 2022.  In the past 12 months, sales volume sank from 37,200 to 26,300 closed listings. On a yearly basis, Houston lost the most in terms of both percentage and total volume, losing close to 35 percent and 3,500 units. On a monthly basis, Austin and Dallas lost the most in terms of YOY percent decline at 4.4 percent (Table 1).

Rising mortgage rates affect home sales disproportionately across price cohorts. For example, when the housing frenzy started to cool in the first half of the year, the affordable home market (homes below $300K) was hit first, beginning a streak of quarterly declines. Next, as the Fed’s interest rates became more aggressive in the second half of the year, the higher-end home market (homes above $750K) was hit worst, shrinking in a downward trend twice as fast as the affordable home market’s declining rate. Thus, affordable housing was hit first by rising mortgage rates with pricier homes following suit later in the year. 

With sales activity slowing, homes are sitting on the market longer. Texas’ average days on market (DOM) rose to 52. Compared with the five-year average of 59 days before 2020, the latest DOM metric suggests the housing market is quickly approaching historic norms. Annually, Austin’s DOM rose most aggressively, jumping from 19 days to 67 days. Constrained by diminishing sales, Houston had the most moderate DOM rebound, rising from 32 to 51 days.

Before the pandemic, the state’s DOM ranged from 55 days to 83 days. Now, DOM ranged from 48 days to 59 days. The relatively truncated DOM interval implies the housing market still has room to improve. Another metric that signals the housing market can be more relaxed is DOM for pricier homes. Typically, the most expensive homes sit on the market the longest. However, DOM for homes priced over $750K was 50 days—shorter than homes in the $400K-$500K price cohort.

Prices

Texas’ median home price peaked in May at $349,900 and has since been falling. Despite the price correction in the second half of the year, the state’s median price still rose 3.7 percent compared with a year ago. Homes in the Austin metro were most volatile, as the median price fell more than $78,000 from its peak, settling at a seasonally adjusted rate at $463,900 (Table 2). Austin was also the only metro area that reported a net loss YOY, while Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio reported YOY growth between 4.4 and 6.1 percent.

Median home price for new construction was over 15 percent higher than existing homes.

The ten-year U.S. Treasury bond yield dropped 27 basis points to 3.6 percent2 in December, while the two-year counterpart was at 4.3 percent. The spread between the ten- and two-year bond yields continued to widen. The negative spread indicated persistent market uncertainties, and ten-year bond yield was still far below 2007’s peak of 5.1 percent. The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation’s 30-year fixed-rate moderated slightly this month to 6.4 percent, dropping from an all-time high of 6.9 percent in October.

Rapidly rising mortgage rates hit home prices hard over the past 12 months. The Texas Repeat Sales Home Price Index accounts for compositional price effects and provides a better measure of changes in single-family home values. Compared with December 2021’s 20.1 percent YOY increase, Texas’ index accelerated 5.5 percent YOY in December 2022, indicating price normalization. The same trend also affected the major metros as growth rates shrank from double- to single-digits, except in Austin, which had a net loss in home values.

According to the Texas Housing Affordability Index (THAI), purchase affordability decreased to 1.1 in 4Q2022, indicating median family income was 10 percent more than the required income to buy the median-priced home. This metric was down 35 basis points from 1.45 in 4Q2021, and it suggested that despite slowing home price appreciation, households faced more financial burden to buy a home due to the higher mortgage rate. For more information on how higher interest rates affect homebuying, read “How Higher Interest Rates Affect Homebuying.” 

_________________

1 All measurements are calculated using seasonally adjusted data, and percentage changes are calculated month over month, unless stated otherwise.

2 Bond and mortgage interest rates are nonseasonally adjusted. 

Source – Joshua Roberson and Weiling Yan (February 14, 2023)

https://www.recenter.tamu.edu/articles/technical-report/Texas-Housing-Insight

Legal-Team

Meet Our Residential Underwriting and Legal Team

As an industry leader and authority on the local real estate market, you can count on Republic Title’s highly trained teams and in-house attorneys to ensure your transaction closes quickly, with fast turnaround on title searches and underwriting decisions.

We are proud to highlight our Residential Underwriting and Legal team who are available to answer your questions and be a resource for you in working towards a smooth closing. Be on the lookout in the coming days to learn more about our incredible team of attorneys and how they are committed to helping you get to the closing table!

Matt Visinsky is Senior Vice President/Senior Residential Counsel at Republic Title. Matt has been with Republic Title for nearly 25 years. With experience as both an Escrow Officer and Branch Manager, Matt brings a unique perspective to his role. Matt’s attention to detail and extensive knowledge of the real estate transaction make him an invaluable member of our legal team. In his free time, Matt is an avid sports photographer and his work has been published in ESPN’s The Magazine, Sports Illustrated and GQ.

Wade Bogdon is Assistant Vice President/Residential Counsel and has been with Republic Title for over 8 years. Wade has an extensive knowledge in title rules and procedures which allows him to give excellent service to our customers. Wade is quick to respond to questions and is able to clearly communicate rules and requirements. In his free time, Wade enjoys watching Dallas sporting teams, cooking and restoring and researching historic homes.

With over 52  years in the title business, Jay has worked with developers, lenders, real estate agents and attorneys, gaining him a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge in the industry. Jay is known throughout the real estate community for giving back both within our industry and being incredibly active in the community. With a background as a Branch Manager, Jay has a reputation for his incredible customer service which has built many great lasting relationships over his time with Republic Title. In his free time, Jay enjoys spending time with his family as well as traveling, biking and hiking.

 

Steve Holley is a solution-oriented underwriting counsel who has the ability to make everyone comfortable in the transaction which allows our closing teams the ability to close and insure transactions seamlessly. With 30 years of title industry experience, Steve knows title laws and procedures like the back of his hand. Steve is a highly effective communicator with a plethora of knowledge and is one of our highly sought after real estate class instructors. A proud SMU alumnus, Steve is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys spending his free time with his family and at the ranch.  

Scott is someone that you can count on to handle any complex issues that may arise with your transaction. With extensive knowledge of TREC contracts and procedures, Scott is a sought after teacher who uses his law experience to effectively communicate with our customers. Known for his sense of humor, you’re sure to hear one of Scott’s famous jokes if you have the privilege of taking one of his classes! Scott is an avid golfer, Texas Rangers fan, and coffee connoisseur.

Sarah Mann has 13 years working in the title insurance industry with experience both in the closing room and resolving title issues. In her 10 years with Republic Title, Sarah has served in many roles including Escrow Officer, Branch Manager and Residential Counsel. Sarah is known for her personal attention to each real estate transaction and getting deals to the closing table. Her experience in the closing room enhances the service she can provide to every customer. We are extremely grateful for Sarah’s experience, wisdom and heart for our clients!