Name: Joe Amoroso
Title: Co-founder, Managing Director, Indeed Abstract
Age: 60
Experience: 4 years
Joe Amoroso left the mortgage business after 28 years to co-found Indeed Abstract, a title insurance, settlement services and default management company. He describes himself as a mortgage guy in the title business and likes to laugh about living in Connecticut, one of the worst states in the country for title companies. He operates in all 50 states, and has learned to turn work around as quick as he can in what he said is increasingly becoming a fast-paced Millennial marketplace.
Q: What made you jump from a career of nearly 30 years in the mortgage industry to starting fresh in the title world?
A: At the time I was working for HomeBridge financial services, a national mortgage operation, as a senior manager. At the time, a lot of lenders were beginning to own title companies. We had originally discussed starting a title company that HomeBridge would own. We started to pursue it, and with all the compliance challenges, I decided to go out and do it on my own. I raised some money, got a partner who is also a mortgage guy who became a title guy. We thought it would be interesting. Our mortgage experience has been incredibly valuable to us because now they are our customers and we know exactly what they want. We have six full-time employees and a partner who also runs another title company. We do load-balancing with another small company. Then there’s another four part-timers. Technology helps a lot.
Q: What do traditional title companies not get about the mortgage industry?
A: I think they are extremely focused on providing clear title for a mortgage transaction and that’s all well and good because that’s their job. But it’s important to know your customer. They don’t understand the challenges and plight of lenders from a compliance standpoint. We have a really good finger on the pulse of what it’s like on the mortgage side of things, like how to advise a lender on how different branches can provide disclosures. I can advise them on that. My customers are mostly the people I’ve known from the mortgage business and tend to be regional or national customers. Those are customers I manage myself. I have other people who manage smaller accounts.
Local banks and mortgage companies talk about compliance challenges. I get calls from people asking how to do things and remain in compliance all the time. I tell them how I’ve seen things done and what works and what doesn’t. We learn a lot about the CFPB by reading their audits. I also have customers who ask me to do training for them when they open a new branch.
Q: Interest rates are expected to continue to inch upward this year. Is that going to impact your business?
A: Yes. It impacts lenders and that rhymes with vendors. That’s why our ancillary businesses are so important to us. The refinance market closed down a little, but purchases increased to offset that somewhat. I have customers who run consumer driven call centers which is sweet spot for me. If you have 30 to 40 people getting mortgages online, I can provide title services and custom reports for them nationally.
We also have a very significant default management services business. I have several servicing companies and we will do all types of different reports for them. Loss mitigation departments have many different needs. After a borrower is delinquent more than 90 days, they want a certain report on the property. We can pull reports on ancillary properties. We do mortgage modification policies for them. I was unaware of how significant it was when I started, but it’s pretty significant. Yesterday I had an order come in for 17 properties. They were probably in default and my customer wanted to get a quick snapshot of where the consumer was [e.g. were there any liens on the property] so they could make a decision. We do quite a bit of that in bulk for lenders and servicers. There is also a very robust 203K business right now. Those government-backed loans are written by lenders and the disbursements have to be managed. We do 350 to 400 of those a month. The increased interest in remodeling has been great for the 203K business.
Q: What do you think the likelihood of paperless e-closings becoming the norm?
A: I find it very interesting. I think we’ll go there, but it will take us a little longer to get there than everyone thinks. The industry needs it. There will be demand for it, particularly with the Millennials. They need immediate gratification. They do everything on their phone. That new crop of homebuyers is going to want to do things online and not have to go to an attorney’s office. I don’t see that getting sidetracked. Everyone is trying to figure it out.
Q: What do you see happening in 2018?
A: I think while were clearly in a rising rate environment, the refi market contracts, but doesn’t go away. You can see that happening this year. I also think the housing market is pockets across the country. Florida is incredibly busy with purchases. California too. There are also pockets that aren’t. Tech changes are going to be big, like e-closings and streamlining the process. There’s talk of companies combining in credit info tax info and land records, and the more the tech world figures out how to access and process that info, it will streamline the mortgage process and probably the title side as well.
Q: What do you like to do when you’re not working?
A: I’m married with two great 24-year-old twin boys and I love spending time with them. I am also somewhat of a vintage sports car and motorcycle freak. I have a Harley and an old Honda. I’m really into vintage Porsches, Mustangs and Alfa Romeos. I love golf, too, but it takes too much time. I can pick up a wrench and go to work on a Mustang at 11 p.m., but you can’t do that on a golf course.
Amoroso’s Five Favorite Vehicles He Has Owned and Restored:
- Porsche 356
- BMW Tii
- Mach I Mustang
- Alpha Romeo Spider
- Harley Davidson motorcycle
