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The commercial real estate-focused offices of Fidelity National Title Insurance Co. and Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Co., located in New York City, are coming together under one roof to create a better, one-stop shop for title insurance clients.
Under the new arrangement, both offices will remain separate legal entities, but Commonwealth will move into Fidelity National Title’s New York offices on Lexington Avenue to give each company better access to the other’s resources, streamline underwriting and increase access to historical data, industry intelligence and support resources.
The National Commercial Services offices of Fidelity National Title and Commonwealth are pillars of New York City’s commercial real estate industry and two of the largest offices of the title industry. By sharing physical space, underwriting talent, escrow expertise and back-office resources, each title company hopes to better meet the complex needs of commercial investors and supporting legal counsel while continuing to lead the city’s title insurance market.
“New York City requires best-in-class services in title, escrow, closing and post-closing, electronic document delivery and recording, tax-deferred property exchanges and UCC insurance delivered by industry experts with deep local and national knowledge,” Fidelity National Title Senior Vice President and Regional Manager Joanna Patilis said. “This decision to bring two elite offices together under a shared roof and workspace is the culmination of years of planning by both organizations and is specifically designed to best service the commercial real estate needs of our local and national clients.”
Patilis added that investing in commercial real estate requires extensive knowledge of the financial, legal and regulatory aspects of buying and selling income property. As a result, commercial investors and developers, as well as law firms that provide counsel to these investors, require a title insurance partner with both the financial strength and transaction expertise to handle their complex commercial transactions, such as multisite, multistate and even international joint venture deals.
“The bottom line is that this collaboration will enhance both companies’ ability to help clients navigate these unprecedented times and close even the most complex and challenging transactions,” Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Co. Senior Vice President and Managing Director John Kelley said. “Our clients can continue to reap the benefits of strong, existing relationships with the people they know and trust, as well as enjoy access to new expertise and resources because of the proximity this move brings.”
Although most staff members are working remotely, they are fully functional, continuing to offer all services and expertly handling all customers' transactional requests. Each office has spent time both testing and expanding remote working capabilities to minimize the disruption brought about by the coronavirus. When state, county and local government authorities begin to adjust stay-at-home orders, both offices will prudently bring employees back into a combined office space.
Both offices are part of Fidelity National Financial Inc., the nation’s largest family of title insurance companies. Fidelity’s title insurance underwriters — Fidelity National Title, Chicago Title, Commonwealth Land Title, Alamo Title and National Title of New York Inc. — collectively issue more title insurance policies than any other title company in the country. Commonwealth, established in 1876, is one of the world's first title insurance companies and has offices located around the country.
This feature was produced in collaboration between the Bisnow Branded Content Studio and Fidelity National Title Insurance Co., National Commercial Services – New York. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.
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