Acquisitions keep Metropolitan Title on Path of Growth

"It's very difficult to compete on a one-county or two-county basis."
Ken Lingenfelter, president, CEO and owner of Metropolitan Title Co.

     When Metropolitan Title Co. entered Wisconsin through two acquisitions last month, it continued an expansion streak that has made it one of the largest title agencies in the country.

     Since 1996, Howell-based Metropolitan Title has expanded to 102 offices from 38 and to about 1,200 employees from 430. This year, the company expects sales of $80 million. That's up from $60 million in 1998.

     Services offered include title insurance, title searches, real estate closing and tax-deferred property exchanges through a separate company called Metropolitan Title Exchange Co. The latest acquisition was the purchase of Brookfield, Wis.-based All American Land Services Inc. and the Brookfield and Madison, Wis., offices of Old Republic Title Insurance Group, based in Minneapolis.

     Metropolitan Title has expanded from is Michigan roots to Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky and plans to add offices in additional states. Possibilities include Florida, Texas and Pennsylvania, Lingenfelter said.

     In the Detroit area, the leader of the expansion has been Terry Brown, senior vice president for the east region, which includes Detroit. Metropolitan Title has entered the appraisal and flood-certification business with its Wisconsin acquisitions. Flood certification determines whether land or a building is within flood-hazard areas for insurance purposes. Every mortgage deal needs to include information on flood zones. Lingenfelter said the company is trying to decide whether it might try to expand those businesses. Either way, its overall growth largely is related to the growth and changing needs of clients.

     "Major lenders and Realtors are growing in the same markets and areas." Lingenfelter said. "It's my belief that we have to be a regional company to take care of them." Title companies that are seeking to sell often seek a deal with Metropolitan Title because these companies are "realizing the business is not a local business anymore," Lingenfelter said. "It's very difficult to compete on a one-county or two-county basis."

     Phil Seaver, president of Bloomfield Hills-based Philip R. Seaver Title Co., said larger agents mostly are buying smaller niche players. Although he doesn't have plans to expand into other states, as Metropolitan Title has, he predicts his company will acquire more offices in metro Detroit. Seaver also predicted that as banks and other clients merge and expand, clients conducting business in the Detroit area will seek the longtime, well-known companies that have expertise. Metropolitan Title is one of the title agencies Scott Griffith, broker-owner of E.R.A. Griffith Realty in Brighton, deals with regularly. He said the title company has been able to manage its growth by hiring talented staff and installing new technology.

     "The good news is even though it's a company that's gone through rapid growth, our service has always been very good," Griffith said. Industry trade groups such as the American Land Title Association consider Metropolitan Title one of the largest title agencies in the country. Other leading title agencies in metropolitan Detroit are Philip R. Seaver Title; Philip F. Greco Title Co., Mt. Clemens; and Fidelity Title Co., Bingham Farms. Leading underwriters include Richmond, Va.-based LandAmerica Financial Group, which operates Commonwealth Land Title, TransNation Title and Lawyer's Title offices and Santa Ana, Calif-based First American Title Insurance Co. And although it might seem that the title industry and companies such as Metropolitan Title are behind-the-scenes operations that wouldn't experience cyclical ups and downs, Lingenfelter and Griffith said the industry does experience turbulence.

     Portions of last year - prior to interest-rate cuts - were slow, Lingenfelter said. "It really goes with interest rates," he said. "When it's busy, it's very busy."

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