Saratoga Business Jourenal photo
By Jill Nagy
For 20 years, Stephen Heidorn has operated a successful real estate title company, the Broadway Title Agency, by keeping it small and keeping it local.
“I have found my niche and I am happy with it,” he said, “It’s been a good business.”
Heidorn has only one employee, his secretary. He started out in a basement office, then as the business grew and prospered, he moved to an upstairs office and recently moved to a nicer office upstairs, all in the same building at 480 Broadway, Saratoga Springs.
Most of his clients, including a law firm and some local banks, have been with him throughout those 20 years. The company’s clientele consists mainly of law firms representing people buying or selling real estate and banks that lend them the money for the purchases.
He contracts with a corps of researchers to do the actual title searches. They review real estate records to be sure the buyers and sellers match up and the potential seller really owns the property; they check court records for unpaid judgments or liens; they review probate and tax records. Some of the searching can be done online, Heidorn said, but to be sure that the results are 100 percent accurate and up to date, it is necessary to look at the actual physical records.
Heidorn then reviews the search results looking for so-called clouds on the title—things that have to be cleared up before the sale can go forward. He notifies his clients of the results of the search and any clouds on the horizon.
A large part of Heidorn’s business and, he said, his main source of income, is selling title insurance. He sells policies written by two companies. Title insurance is a one-premium insurance policy real estate buyers normally purchase at the time they buy the property. It protects the property owner from problems with the title that did not show up on the search.
Heidorn began his career as a real estate broker. He worked for a mortgage company and, before beginning his own business, for another title company. He decided 20 years ago to start small, he recalled, and, despite some growth over the years, has remained small—and successful.
Broadway Title Agency is located at 480 Broadway, Suite 252, in Saratoga Springs. They can be reached by telephone at 518-583-6000.