Some three months after officially entering the local real estate scene, an up-and-coming title company is on the move again.

Earlier this month, Providence Title Co. opened a second office in the greater San Antonio area — at 171656 IH-35 North, in the city of Schertz, on the far Northeast Side.

The office has opened for business with a staff of eight — including escrow officers Dinah Heilmann, Donnetta Dobbs and Dedra Stark. The professionals hail from competing firms, including Independence Title and Mission Title Co.

“They are already successful to begin with,” says Denise M. Smith, area vice president and an escrow officer for Arlington-based Providence.

Why are they moving to Providence? According to Smith, who oversees the new Schertz office, it’s because of the title company’s culture — its commitment to support employees who are making the day-to-day decisions in the specific markets they serve.

“Our philosophy: We hire successful people, and give them the support to be more successful,” Smith explains.

A title company acts as a middle party in collecting the information related to a real estate deal, and assures the proper transfer of the title.

It was Smith who initially brought Providence Title to the local market. This past March, she re-aligned her company — formerly a franchise office for LandAmerica Lawyers Title — with Providence. Her office is located at 700 E. Sonterra Blvd., in far North San Antonio.

Local leadership

Smith and Providence founder Dan Foster talked with the Business Journal this past March, when the firm made its debut in the Alamo City.

Like Smith, Foster also previously hailed from LandAmerica. A fee attorney by profession, he founded Providence in May 2008.

As Foster explained to the Business Journal, the decision-making power afforded to Providence’s employees has been crucial in a state like Texas — which has fared much better during the housing slump than much of the country.

By comparison, that freedom is often lost in larger firms — which may be more focused on the bottom line than on the individual markets or on the escrow officers that serve those markets, Smith contends.

Case in point is a city like Schertz. The professionals who make up the new Providence Title office already have good market share within the city.

“Schertz is a unique community — with its own customers, its own clientele,” Smith says. “It’s a fairly young market, but a relatively explosive market.”

“Providence Title’s move into Schertz is an affirmation of something that we’ve known in the community for a long while now — Schertz and the entire area northeast of San Antonio continues to be in a strong growth position,” says George Antuna Jr., executive director of the city of Schertz Economic Development department. “Providence’s new office is a clear indication that the real estate market is starting to gain more confidence in Schertz … .”

And as a city like Schertz grows, having professionals in place who know that market is going to be the key to Providence’s success, Smith says.

Of the new professionals who have joined the firm, she adds: “I am so proud, and so honored (to have them at Providence). They are just that good.”

More to offer

Another advantage that Providence brings to this industry: Choice. For example, as an officer with LandAmerica, Smith was limited to selling that firm’s title insurance products. With Providence, she has been able to shop a myriad of underwriters. The company is currently licensed to sell insurance products by major underwriters Lawyers Title, First American, Title Resources and Stewart Title.

With the Schertz office, Providence Title’s coverage now spans eight Texas counties: Bexar, Guadalupe, Kendall, Comal, Tarrant, Denton, Johnson and Parker County.

Statewide, the firm has nine offices. In addition to the two local offices and the Arlington headquarters, Providence Title also has a presence in north Texas counties Weatherford, Burleson, Colleyville, Mansfield and Southlake.

Here in San Antonio, Smith is intent on expanding Providence’s presence.

“I won’t stop until I have everybody,” she says.