Erwin: We are much, much, much busier than last year. Last year was the worst year I’ve ever seen in the real estate business for title closings. It was even worse than the 1980s when the government took over the savings and loans with the RTC. Back then, they would take deals back and sell them. Now, banks are extending them. The difference in the 80s was that a lot of those problems were regional; you could still get financing to buy stuff because the banks still had plenty of money. Today’s it’s a worldwide problem.

GlobeSt.com: Where have you seen business pick up?

Erwin: Apartments are our biggest segment because of financing is still available from Freddie, Fannie and HUD. On the multifamily deals, we’re seeing both acquisitions and refis. For other property types, it’s mostly been sales. But, when you’re doing other deals, it’s hard for buyers to get a loan. We’re also doing a number of larger office buildings and some medical office buildings where a group of doctors get together where they want to build a three or four story building. I think that’s a good sign.

GlobeSt.com: Has the recession impacted the way you do business? If so, how?

Erwin: Claims follow the economy, when the economy is good, there are fewer claims against title policies. When the economy is bad, you see more claims because owners think that if they’re getting close to losing the building, they’re going to look for things they can get a claim on.

GlobeSt.com: Although there hasn’t been a flood of distressed property transactions yet, is it fair to say that providing title insurance for a distressed property is different than a performing property?

Erwin: Probably half of the work we are doing is distressed deals, and they truly are different than doing regular sales. We are being more careful because of the intricacies related to distress such as foreclosures, bankruptcies and receivership. Without question, distressed deals require a little more homework, and they definitely take longer. When a property is in receivership or foreclosure, we ask for copies of documents to see what powers different people have, who can sign off on what, can this guy do this or that. We go back and look at what documents these CMBS loans were done under and what authority the special servicers have. Unless they give you everything up front, you have to work harder.

GlobeSt.com: As the economy recovers, are there any particular title insurance products that will be in demand?

Erwin: Yes. Uniform commercial code policies. We call them UCC policies. You can get a UCC policy on personal property. With a UCC, borrowers can pledge real estate partnerships as collateral. A UCC policy is a guarantee to the bank that no other bank has a lien on the partnership. We saw much more of this in 2006 and 2007, especially when people were getting mezz loans – they would take out a lien on the partnership. As mezzanine finance ramps up, they’ll be buying UCC policies.

GlobeSt.com: The real estate industry has traditionally lagged other industries when it comes to the adoption of technology. How has technology transformed the title insurance industry?

Erwin: It used to be that when you did a closing, everyone came to the office and sat down. It took a day or two to do the deal. Technology has had a big impact – it’s made things more efficient and allows fewer people to do the same number of transactions. Now everyone is doing closings by e-mail, wire transfers and FedEx. It’s a more efficient use of everyone’s time. Now a deal can close much faster.

GlobeSt.com: What are your expectations for 2011?

Erwin: I am preparing for things to be better, don’t want to go the other way. You can see it’s getting better, banks are lending some money, lending money to small businesses. The business people are more confident now, especially after this election, some stability in regulation in taxes. For the next two years, business people will feel good about business.