"We were very happy in our old space, but the new headquarters--which is $15 a square foot--just made good business sense," says Cortes & Hay president David Hay. "We own the building at 110 Main St. and the office configuration is a better fit for the current structure of our company."

Since its formation in 1971, Cortes & Hay has become a cornerstone of the real estate business not just in Hunterdon County, but statewide. The company is experienced in residential, commercial and industrial title insurance throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania with satellite offices in Hoboken and Easton, PA, where it operates as ABCO of Northampton, LLC.

"We can handle every type of transaction, from multiple tract assemblage in Cape May, to improvements on leased land in urban counties, to residential subdivisions," says Hay of the 14-employee company. "We also specialize in 1031 exchanges and settlement services, whether for property sale, purchase or refinancing and with attorney assisted closings."

The office move was in part impacted by the company's decision a few years ago to go paperless. In the past, the firm's employees would sometimes have to manually search through 60 years of hard paper when conducting a title assessment. Today, nearly everything is computerized, providing enhanced speed and efficiency--as well as cost savings on reduced office space and utilities.

The company and Hay have been recognized as community leaders for many years. Hay is a past chairman of the Hunterdon County Parks Commission and past president of the Clinton chapter of Business Networking International. He was instrumental in the founding of Team Capital Bank and the financial institution's continued success. He also is an honorary board member of the Community Builders Association and member of the New Jersey Land Title Association.

"We are very committed to the Hunterdon community," Hay tells GlobeSt.com. "My son Justin is vice president and chief financial officer so it's more than just a business for us--it's a passion for the whole family--but we also understand that changing times require new approaches to business."

Hay also serves as president of 1031 Exchange Company, LLC, which serves as a qualified intermediary to help investors defer capital gains tax on business-use or investment properties. He also is the president of a land investment group Sterling Enterprises, LLC.

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.

Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.