The Importance of community involvement in title and real estate

Name: The Importance of community involvement in title and real estate
Uploaded: 2025-12-18T15:37:03+00:00
Duration: 24 min 2 s
Channel: HousingWire

00:00Hey, so for the first time ever today, I am talking to a title company executive.

00:06Welcome to the show, Drew Wishour.

00:09He is the CEO of Inspired Title Group, and he's built his company on giving back to the

00:16community.

00:17So we go into a little bit about that.

00:19We do a lot about cybercrime and some of the things that he's seeing and what real estate

00:24agents and brokers can spot early in the transaction, especially given the new AI-based scams that

00:33are out there.

00:34So enjoy the podcast, and thank you to HomeBot for sponsoring the Real Trending Podcast.

00:40Drew, welcome to the Real Trending Podcast.

00:42Well, thank you for having me, Tracy.

00:44I'm really looking forward to today's episode.

00:47Yeah, so you're my first title person on the podcast.

00:51Shocking.

00:52We haven't really covered title before, but I thought it might be interesting to the

00:58people who listen.

00:59We have real estate agents and brokers, so we're going to focus on that side of title

01:05and things that they can do.

01:07And you've said before that title isn't exactly the sexy part of real estate.

01:12So take us back to the beginning and what pulled you into title in the first place?

01:18And when did you realize that you could really build impact in this corner of the industry?

01:23Absolutely.

01:24And you're right.

01:25I mean, this is not something that you wake up one day and say, hey, you know what I want

01:29to do is I want to be a title guy.

01:31Like, you know, you go to these networking events and, you know, you're just a title guy.

01:36You know, you're standing there in the corner.

01:37So, you know, I think it's something for me that it was the curiosity.

01:43And my dad is a real estate attorney or was a real estate attorney.

01:46He just recently retired.

01:47And he had a partner that was diagnosed with cancer.

01:51And I was always in the financial space.

01:54I did a lot of the, you know, working for brokers, setting up broker dealers and arbitration

01:59and things.

02:00And when I saw the need that my dad had as a partner in the title company, when his partner

02:07came down with this illness, I said, you know what, I'm going to bow out of this.

02:12This was right around the time the market was going to crash.

02:14So I kind of was, you know, doing some forward thinking and said, this is not going to go

02:19well.

02:19So I jumped into it to help my dad out.

02:21And, you know, once you get into this industry, it's kind of one of those things that, you

02:24know, you don't ever leave.

02:26But what was crazy for me was the competition and trying to, you know, connect it and relate

02:33it with some of the other things that, you know, I've done in my professional space.

02:37So it was just really come down to the differentiator and, you know, how are you different than Fidelity?

02:44How are you different than First American and all the other big guys?

02:46We're underwritten by those guys.

02:48So we're definitely agents of them.

02:50But the differentiator for me was this giving back piece.

02:53And that's where I was able to, you know, really kind of separate myself in a sense of

02:59being a smaller boutique title company, family owned and having the ability to say, after,

03:04you know, with as part of every deal that we close, we donate a portion of our proceeds

03:09to charity.

03:10And I'm actually getting ready to launch in 26 my not-for-profit that we're going to be

03:16funding.

03:17So it's going to be awesome.

03:18I'm really looking forward to it.

03:19So it's given me that ability to utilize that for, you know, the better.

03:24Yeah.

03:25And I know a lot of real estate companies that do that as well, you know, give a portion

03:30of the commissions to different charities and stuff.

03:32So walk us through the inspired way.

03:35It's what you were just talking about.

03:38And how does that philosophy actually show up inside of a real estate transaction?

03:42So for me and for the, you know, my team here, you know, we are about community and we're

03:50about giving back and we're about making a difference and we're about protecting the

03:55parties of a transaction and things.

03:57So we've kind of fit this into, you know, a little bit of a, you know, mission statement

04:01for us.

04:02You know, we want to communicate to our clients and to the customers that, you know, are an

04:09extension of you guys.

04:10We take responsibility for when things go sideways.

04:13We don't, you know, point fingers.

04:15We're problem solvers.

04:17We are also creative thinkers.

04:18So being a smaller company, we have some luxuries at our hand to, you know, take some different

04:23chances and risk.

04:24And so when we are actually looking at things as a whole, it doesn't have to perfectly fit

04:30in a box.

04:31So, you know, we're, we definitely are about the community.

04:35We're taking responsibility and going out of our way to go above and beyond.

04:39And then we give back.

04:40Those are the three parts of what the Inspired Way is really made from.

04:44And those are the missions that we kind of carry forward.

04:47Okay, great.

04:48And then you've saved a lot of deals by title insurance and some wild scenarios.

04:53So stolen identities, hidden divorce settlements.

04:55What's one story that really sticks with you and what can real estate agents and brokers

05:01learn from it?

05:03And I think, you know, that we are in an industry where, you know, we're highly targeted for

05:08fraud.

05:09Because if you think about it, we're, if not the only business, we are one of the businesses

05:15that is transacting a lot of money throughout the course of a day.

05:19I mean, you know, you do two or three deals a day, you know, that's, that could be millions

05:24of dollars that is moving and changing hands.

05:25So we are definitely highly targeted in this sense.

05:28So we've had, just recently, we had a fraudulent situation where there was a deceased party

05:36who deeded his property to a buyer and that whole transaction was fraud because the buyer

05:47fraudulently created that deed, making it look like the deceased individual transferred

05:53it to him, his LLC.

05:55And then he wound up trying to sell that property to another, you know, investor.

06:00And through our title search and through our, you know, protective measures that we do here,

06:05we were able to, you know, step in and say, hey, this doesn't look right.

06:09Like if the deed was prepared by a, like a staffing company and there was, you know, it

06:16was a warranty deed, but there was no stamps or any kind of monies that was going to be

06:21transacted.

06:22And I'm going, this is just, this just doesn't look right.

06:24So we were able to step in and intervene.

06:27And that was able to kind of stop this thing from, from happening and, you know, defrauding

06:32an ultimate end buyer here.

06:33So, you know, you ask what, what can people do to really help with this stuff?

06:38I think communication is, is a really big part of this because having more conversations

06:44when you're in a conversation where somebody is going, hurry up, we got to get this deal

06:47done fast.

06:48Those are the ones I kind of slow down on because they want to get them done fast because there's

06:52a reason.

06:53It's not because the sellers have the moving truck ready to go.

06:56It's because the fraud is going to catch up to them quick.

06:59So we need to hurry up and consummate this transaction.

07:03So, you know, there is no fraud or I'm not part of it anymore.

07:06So, you know, trust the people that you're working with, the partners that you have in

07:11the, in the industry and know what they're doing and, you know, maybe be on their team

07:16versus going, why aren't you guys moving fast enough to get this along, you know, done?

07:19Because a person that's going to commit fraud doesn't kind of enter into the transaction

07:23and say, hi, I'm here to commit fraud and I'm going to steal your house.

07:27You know, they look like every normal person and, you know, the wire fraud is a big thing.

07:31Make sure that you are confirming wire instructions with whomever is passing those along.

07:38Even if, you know, we've even gotten to a point where somebody is selling their property,

07:42we'll send a letter to that house and say, hey, we just got this title order.

07:45Are you guys really selling your property?

07:47Because it just doesn't seem right.

07:49That has also stopped the transaction from happening.

07:51So it's just some little things, but the big thing is the communication and also

07:55building a rapport with your title team and partner, because that's what we've tried to

08:00do is everybody we work with, we try to, you know, bring them into our circle of, you know,

08:04relationship.

08:05So we build a rapport.

08:08So title is one of those things that generally clients don't shop around for.

08:16They, you know, I mean, they can if they want to, but they, they tend not to.

08:23And I'm sure that you've built quite a few relationships with agents and brokers.

08:29You know, what, from a brokerage or an agent standpoint, what should they know about working

08:37with a title company?

08:39Or what are some, some things that you see happen that may be some mistakes or some better

08:44ways to build the relationship?

08:46What are you seeing out there?

08:49From the, from a, you know, broker standpoint, I think a lot of it is, you know, the brokers

08:54are the first touch point typically with the client.

08:57You know, maybe they got pre-approved.

08:59So they, they started with a lender, but really the, the biggest time spent is with the brokers

09:05to, you know, seeing the homes and, and developing a little bit more of a relationship with the

09:10type of home they're looking for.

09:11So I think it's, it's really important to know the questions to ask your buyers or sellers.

09:19And, and those questions, you know, when we find things, they always come back and say,

09:25oh, I didn't know about that.

09:26Or that's surprising.

09:27I think it's, it's important to, to make them feel comfortable so they can be honest with

09:32you guys.

09:33So we know the truth.

09:35It's kind of like going to the doctor and telling them that you don't have something wrong,

09:38but they're going to do blood tests and they're going to find out what that is, or you're

09:41doing illegal things and, you know, we're going to find out.

09:44So just tell us and it'll make it easier because we want to help you fix it.

09:48We want to get this thing to the end.

09:50We're not in the business of being obstructionists where we want to get in the way.

09:54So I think that one of the, the things that I hear a lot in the business is that, you know,

09:58all title companies are the same.

10:00It's like, you know, just work with these guys.

10:02Don't worry about it.

10:03You know, title is title is title.

10:06Somebody said to me one time in this business that you don't need title insurance until you

10:11need title insurance.

10:12And it really is just that you hope you never need it, but man, you are so thankful that

10:18you have it.

10:19And, and really a simple explanation for this is it's not like any other insurance that

10:24you are, you ever bought.

10:26Think about, you know, health insurance, car insurance, it covers you from today, everything

10:31that might happen going forward.

10:33If you get sick, if you get no car accident, title insurance is one time you pay it at closing,

10:38it's done.

10:39And it says everything that has happened on this property since the beginning of time till

10:45now and rightfully giving you that ownership is, is perfectly been done.

10:51And you are the rightful owner.

10:53There are no questions and there are no problems.

10:55So I think understanding that piece is big because, you know, you're buying two, three,

11:01$400,000 houses, even more, the percentage, the cost for title insurance for that.

11:07I mean, it's, you know, maybe 1%.

11:10I mean, it's, it's, it's crazy.

11:12It's, and you never have to pay it again, but I'll tell you if a fraud happens, if somebody,

11:17you know, comes out of the woodwork and says, I own this house because of a divorce that

11:20happened 20 years ago, you're going to be protected.

11:23Your, your, uh, legal fees are going to be covered and things like this that you don't

11:29think of that you could be, you know, on the hook for a lot of money.

11:33So, um, all companies are not the same title companies, you know, title insurances is not

11:39just another fee.

11:40I mean, there's a value to all of that.

11:43Yeah, absolutely.

11:45Um, so I want to talk cyber, uh, you know, with the, with the advent of AI and I mean,

11:51we know about wire fraud, you know, there's a lot of scams that have been going on for

11:56a while.

11:56Have you seen anything new related to AI that you're running into right now?

12:02Yeah, yeah, no, that's a, that's a really great question.

12:05And I was, uh, you know, kind of given this a little bit of a thought as we, you know,

12:10before we kind of, you know, uh, did this, uh, today.

12:13And I, I think that the AI, the introduction of AI has allowed more falsification for, uh,

12:22IDs, you know, the, the, the ID thing is the thing that we've seen a lot because they

12:27can make you look like you, but if you're never there, you know, if you never see

12:32them, meet them, you know, you just talk to them, you don't know.

12:36Um, so definitely AI has, has played a, a strong run in the space of capturing the identity

12:44of people and misrepresenting who that is.

12:47Um, the, the phishing scams have just gotten so much better, you know, through the fake

12:53emails, everything looks like it's coming from the source that you've been dealing with.

12:58It's, it's incredible how, um, you know, alike these things are.

13:03And I, I'm just, I'm just, you know, mystified by, by the craziness of this.

13:08So I think it's really important that we educate our clients upfront.

13:13You know, it's too late at the closing table at that time that they want to close and give

13:17me the keys.

13:17I think updating them at the onset and explaining them kind of the process and, and really what

13:24the expectations are, and then really using some of these secured, um, you know, encrypted

13:30portals that you can, you know, send messages through wire instructions through.

13:35Um, and, and what we do is, is we, we do, uh, twice a year, what we, what I like to call

13:41like a fire drill, where if something were to happen, we kind of go through the steps and

13:47in, you know, repetition of, all right, who does what and where do we, where do we go

13:53to try to mitigate some of the loss, if, if any, because, you know, to, to be in this

13:59business and say, oh, you know, it's never going to happen.

14:01You're fooling yourself.

14:02It's just when, and you want to kind of minimize that risk.

14:06And, you know, we have, as a type of company, we have insurances in place that if this does

14:11happen, that we are protected and covered.

14:13So, you know, it's not like, all right, yes, that happened.

14:18That was a loss, but there's nothing worse than a, you know, a buyer losing their monies

14:24because it went overseas.

14:26And now they're kind of going, I didn't know, not only did I not get the house, I also lost

14:30the money.

14:31I mean, that's just, that's just tragic, you know?

14:33So, um, I definitely think it's important to, you know, inspire your team to, to really

14:38understand and educate the, the, you know, people that you're working with as well.

14:44Yeah.

14:45I've noticed them just working for, uh, you know, a real estate publisher that I get

14:51stuff like sent to me where they want me to download documents or, you know, from title

14:58and from blenders as well.

15:00Um, I think that's interesting.

15:02There's also the new one where they just put, hi, Tracy, it's Jessica.

15:07How are you?

15:08Yep.

15:08And then you're supposed to answer back, like, who is this?

15:11And I always delete them, but yeah.

15:13No, they've got you, right.

15:14They've got your keystrokes there, you know, they're following, you know, what you're,

15:18what you're following.

15:19It's insane how, you know, into our lives they are.

15:23I know.

15:24So when a real estate scam hits, um, before it comes to you, you know, what are some signs

15:30that real estate agents can look for and, um, you know, to spot this early on?

15:38Um, yeah, and, and timing is, is really critical in these instances because, you know, you're,

15:45you're, especially if you're dealing with a wire, I mean, holy cow, I mean, once a wire

15:48hits the, you know, fraudulent party's bank, it's over.

15:53And, you know, it, there, you can't, you know, retrieve that in many instances.

15:58But, uh, you know, as I tell my team, the first hour is it's game time.

16:02It's like, I don't care what you're working on.

16:04I don't care what you're doing, this becomes your priority.

16:07Um, so we, we try to freeze that transaction as quickly as we can, which just means that

16:13we get out to all the parties and just notify everybody that, hey, this is what's happened

16:19and here's what we, we need to do and try to get, you know, them to collectively, uh,

16:24pitch in for, for that as well.

16:26Um, I definitely want to, you know, kind of do a chronologic, uh, chronology of the transaction

16:33so I can identify all the parties.

16:36Um, we definitely notify the authorities because especially if it's fraud, it's crime and, and

16:41they're committing a crime.

16:42So it's differentiating, you know, was there an error that happened that, that caused this

16:48problem or, or issue, or is this a, somebody is trying to commit fraud and we need to protect

16:54that, you know, but notifying the, the, the authorities, the police and such, you're definitely

16:59notifying your bank because they may be able to put a freeze on the recipient's bank account.

17:05Now, not in all instances, banks have gotten a lot more protective in, in who they talk

17:10to and what they reveal.

17:12But if you tell them that, Hey, you know, we're a title company and this just happened

17:16or we're a real estate broker and this just happened to my clients, they will, they seem

17:22to, you know, listen to that a little bit more than somebody just calling and, um, you know,

17:27uh, acting, but I, I also think that it's important to communicate with your clients and letting

17:34them know, because, you know, the client, they don't want the cast.

17:38They want to be, you know, calmed.

17:40And, and I think that the more you communicate with them, the more you involve them to say,

17:44this is what we're doing.

17:45This is where we're acting, you know, lead.

17:47I think it's super important to show them that you're taking the lead on this because

17:51they're, they, they're not going to know what to do and they're going to lean on us

17:55anyway.

17:57So if we can jump in and take the lead, I think that's huge to the importance of what

18:00this is.

18:00So showing that we're calm, we're efficiently, you know, getting after this and trying to

18:05resolve the problem.

18:07I think that, that gives a sense of comfortability to, to the client as well.

18:11But, um, it's, it's so, it's so frustrating and, and we, we've all seen it, right?

18:17I mean, we've all been sadly, you know, involved or know somebody who has had this happen

18:23and your heart just goes out to them when, when you're in it.

18:26Yeah.

18:27Um, okay.

18:28I'm going to go to lightning round questions.

18:30So these are just short first thing that comes to your mind.

18:33What's the most, you can't make this up title issue you've ever seen?

18:39Oh my goodness.

18:40Um, okay.

18:43I can't make it up.

18:44Um, so I won't, but realistically the, uh, we had before the, um, the demanding,

18:53of anything over $50,000 had to be a wire.

18:56We had a fraudulent check that was $500,000.

19:00That was a certified or a cashier's check, um, passed on us for the closing by a, what

19:07was a straw buyer.

19:09And it passed through, uh, my hands, my bank's hands, the bank's back, back office paid it

19:16all out and did everything.

19:17And then became the topic of me doing a couple, um, speaking engagements about fraud to, you

19:24know, some bankers and things.

19:25This check, Tracy was unbelievably well done.

19:30And the worst part of it is when you called to confirm a person answered the phone and

19:36said, no, no, you have to deposit it this way.

19:39It's a cashier's check.

19:40There's, there's not a tricky way to deposit.

19:43The fact that somebody answered the phone on a fraudulent check and knew this and acted

19:48as if nothing was odd about it blew my mind.

19:53And they were up in Michigan.

19:55It was an out of state, but Holy cow, a $500,000 fraudulent check.

20:00That was a cashier's check.

20:02I, and, and, and having somebody talk about it and say, no, they're, your bank is just not

20:06depositing it.

20:07Right.

20:07And then getting on the phone with the bank to have the same conversation to tell them

20:11how to deposit that check.

20:13I've never, I never, it's like eating a pop tart.

20:16You don't need instructions for it.

20:17Right.

20:18Like I don't need to read the, how to, how to do this.

20:21I know how to deposit.

20:24Well, so what is one myth about title insurance that drives you absolutely crazy?

20:29Um, that you don't need it.

20:32Uh, that it's, it's, you know, it's super expensive and the title companies are just getting

20:36rich off of it because, um, if you know, if it's public record, if you, if you were to

20:42Google first American and fidelity to find out what their claims are and what their loss

20:47is, they pay out a lot of claims, they pay out a lot of money.

20:51So it's not as lopsided, but again, it is insurance and insurance companies win state

20:58farm is big and, you know, United healthcare is big and all these other ones.

21:01I mean, you know, there are a bunch of people that never have to use it.

21:06But that's a golden problem.

21:08I would much rather be in the space of never having to use this, but knowing that I'm protected.

21:12It's like I said, it's insurance.

21:14It's in case something happens.

21:16And when we talk about our industry, our industry happens to have things that can happen that

21:21are very expensive.

21:22Yeah, absolutely.

21:24All right.

21:25My last one is the most overlooked step in a clean drama free closing.

21:30And I'd love it from the real estate agent's perspective.

21:33Most overlooked step from the real estate agent's perspective.

21:39I think, and this is not to stereotype or even call out the agents, but I think that it's a

21:46become a practice where they're conditioned to say, I found them the house, you guys take

21:54it from here.

21:54And there's no more interaction or even understanding of when we say, hey, there's a problem on this

22:05property, you know, or your client has a federal tax lien.

22:09And did they say anything to you about that?

22:12And it's the oversight of just saying, well, okay, can we just, you know, waive that and get

22:18it done?

22:18Well, no.

22:19I mean, these are, these are big items.

22:20So I think it's, it's the education too, of the individual real estate brokers to understanding

22:26a little bit about title insurance and the risks that kind of are afforded through this

22:33process that are, we're trying to protect the clients from.

22:36So our snails pace sometimes, or as visualized as, is us protecting the clients a little bit

22:44more.

22:44It's not just our, us standing, you know, saying, hey, we don't want to do your deal.

22:48It's, there's something going on.

22:50We're trying to follow the path and we're not finding it yet.

22:53Can you help us out?

22:54So I think them understanding a little bit more about the industry of at least that part

22:58of the business, I think is, is huge.

23:00Yeah, absolutely.

23:02Well, Drew, thanks so much for, for joining Real Trending.

23:05It was a pleasure having you on and I see your Packers hat.

23:09I'm a Buffalo fan.

23:11So.

23:13Well, we're in the Midwest.

23:14So we had a big game yesterday.

23:15It was, you know, Bears-Packers game and most of my office is Bear fans.

23:18So I had to let them know where, where I stood.

23:22There you go.

23:23Or gloat a little bit, either way.

23:25Well, thanks, Drew.

23:27Thanks for having me, Tracy.

23:28We appreciate you.

23:57You

The Importance of community involvement in title and real estate

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