GITC Yearly Business Review

A softening real estate market impacted by rising interest rates and a soft landing in the economy still allowed Greater Illinois Title Company (GIT) to achieve its financial goals in 2006. The company’s revenue was flat when compared to last year while it closed 72.7 per cent of all transactions ordered by customers. The company met its financial objectives and took advantage of increased market penetration in new and existing market areas.

In 2006, Greater Illinois Title Company saw title order volume decrease by 12.2 per cent and title closing volume decrease by 10.1 per cent. However, the company was successful in achieving revenue increases in defined market segments as strategies to increase market share and revenue were successfully executed.

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 were launched to measure progress in this area.

Strategic moves by GIT in 2006 included opening an office in Lindenhurst to take advantage of continued growth in Lake County. In addition, GIT opened an office in Downers Grove to better serve customers in south central DuPage County. In early 2007, GIT opened its second office in Will County in downtown Joliet to better serve its growing customer base. The company will continue to take advantage of growth opportunities to advance its core title business by opening two new office locations in 2007. 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 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 has embarked on a two year “Operations Emergency Preparedness Plan” which includes installation of a backup generator for its computer network and taking other measures to allow for operations to continue in the event of an emergency ‘shutdown’ in one or more of its office locations.

GIT continues to dedicate resources to specific market segments in a continued effort to diversify its product lines and revenue. In 2006, the commercial – new construction division saw a combined increase in revenue of 12.4 per cent over the previous year continuing its contribution to the company’s revenue diversification. 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, grew its customer base and maintained its level of revenue with 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 nearly 1,000 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 its market share in this segment.

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 customers to meet the needs of their clients regardless of where the property is located.

GIT currently operates seventeen full-service offices including Crystal Lake, Arlington Heights, Libertyville, Lindenhurst, Wheaton, Downers Grove, Geneva, Naperville, Westchester, Oak Park, Oak Lawn, Tinley Park, Joliet, Shorewood, Homewood, in Chicago on North Milwaukee Avenue and in the Loop at 120 North LaSalle Street. Two new offices are scheduled to open in 2007 while other office locations are being considered as new opportunities for growth are explored. For more information: www.gitc.com