GITC Yearly Business Review

A strong real estate market, fueled by low interest rates and moderate economic growth allowed Greater Illinois Title Company (GIT) to achieve near record results in 2005. The company exceeded 2004 revenue by 25.4 per cent while closing 74.9 per cent of all transactions ordered by customers. The company exceeded growth objectives by increasing market share and revenue across all targeted market segments.

In 2005, Greater Illinois Title Company saw total order volume increase by 21.2 per cent and total closing volume increase by 13.9 per cent. The company was successful in achieving revenue increases in targeted segments as strategies to increase market share and revenue were successfully executed.

GIT celebrated its Twentieth Anniversary of service to the Chicagoland real estate industry in April of 2005. The company continues its commitment to enhancing its reputation of integrity, professionalism and customer service. Exceptional customer service remains the key fundamental upon which the company operates. GIT communicates its standards and expectations to all employees and is pleased with the positive feedback from customers. In 2006, new customer service initiatives will be launched to measure progress and identify areas that need attention.

Strategic moves by GIT in 2005 included opening an office in Geneva to take advantage of the growth in Kane County. In addition, it expanded its Oak Park office, remodeled the Westchester office and relocated the Tinley Park office to larger space. The company will continue to take advantage of growth opportunities to advance its core title business by opening two new office locations in March. The company continued implementation of its VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) phone system with three more offices coming online with plans to expand it to four more office locations in the coming year. This new technology utilizes the GIT computer data network for the transmission of local and long distance telephone calls. In addition, the company replaced five year-old desktops with over 150 new Dell OptiPlex desktops with LCD flat panel monitors.

GIT continues to dedicate resources to specific market segments in an effort to diversify its product lines and revenue. In 2005, the commercial/construction division saw a combined increase in revenue of 28.4 per cent over the previous year continuing its contribution to the company’s overall revenue growth. This is a result of devoting critical resources to ensure that customers are serviced with the highest level of professionalism. In these market segments, GIT offers an expanded menu of products and services for customers by providing ‘one-stop’ shopping capabilities for commercial, industrial, condominium and new construction projects. Its growing portfolio of projects includes many high profile projects in the City and suburbs as well as out-of-state transactions.

In addition, GIT acts as a Qualified Intermediary to facilitate the use of 1031 tax deferred exchanges through it’s wholly owned subsidiary, Greater Illinois Tax Deferred Exchange Corporation. Tax deferred exchanges have become more popular in mainstream America as more people buy and sell real estate as part of their overall investment portfolio.

As part of its menu of services, land surveys ordered through Greater Illinois Survey Company, allow parties to review the survey along with the title insurance commitment prior to closing to ensure that closing problems are minimized and closing deadlines are met. The Rapid Title Services Department (RTS), a separate division that provides short-form title commitments and title searches for a variety of customers, continued its growth in 2005 by increasing revenue 24 percent over the previous year.

Another targeted segment resulted in the steady growth of the Gateway Services Program. Through this program, GIT offers title and closing services to policy-issuing agents of Chicago Title Insurance Company. The company has successfully grown this market segment with over 900 title agents utilizing GIT as a title and escrow services provider. By providing personalized customer service and attending to the needs of attorneys and their clients, GIT grew revenue in this segment by 20.7 percent and realized increased market share.

Since 1985, Greater Illinois Title Company has been providing the Chicago area with an innovative range of title insurance, escrow closing and real estate information services. GIT has grown to become the largest title agent in Illinois and one of the largest title agents in the country. The company can handle any transaction within the state of Illinois and anywhere in the United States. This provides a more efficient way for GIT customers to meet the needs of their clients regardless of where the property is located.

GIT currently operates fourteen full-service offices including Crystal Lake, Arlington Heights, Libertyville, Wheaton, Geneva, Naperville, Westchester, Oak Park, Oak Lawn, Tinley Park, Shorewood, and Homewood, in Chicago on North Milwaukee Avenue and in the Loop at 120 North LaSalle Street. New offices scheduled to open in March 2006 include Downers Grove and Lindenhurst. Other office locations are being considered as new opportunities for growth are explored.

About Greater Illinois Title
Greater Illinois Title, celebrating its 24th Anniversary in 2009, is Chicago Title's largest title agent in Illinois and one of its largest title agents in the country. The company provides title insurance, construction and commercial escrow services, sale and refinance closing services, 1031 tax deferred exchanges, land surveys and real estate information in the Chicago metro region. It currently operates through a network of sixteen offices located in Arlington Heights, Crystal Lake, Downers Grove, Geneva, Homewood, Lindenhurst, Naperville, Oak Lawn, Shorewood, Tinley Park, Waukegan, Westchester, Wheaton, Yorkville, in Chicago on North Milwaukee Avenue and in the Loop at 120 N. La Salle Street. Greater Illinois Title is authorized to write Title Insurance and issue policies in the Counties of Cook, DeKalb, Du Page, Grundy, Lake, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, McHenry and Will. The company coordinates title insurance and escrows in all Illinois Counties and across the United States.