Mortgage Information Services started with two employees when it was founded in 1990. It now boasts 450 employees and has posted compound growth in sales and profits of 41 percent and 33 percent respectively in that same time period.
Leonard Stein-Sapir, chairman and CEO, started the consumer mortgage title insurance, settlement services and real estate valuation firm serving just Florida, but has since expanded service to all 50 states.
MIS developed its own software, which handles tens of thousands of consumer mortgage loan closings, valuation assignments and title product transactions anywhere in the United States each month.
Stein-Sapir used three main approaches to building his business.
* Create a nationwide infrastructure. Each state has its own idiosyncratic regulatory requirements that generally operate as material barriers to entry for MIS competitors. Investing in resources to comply with the diverse thicket of state-based regulatory barriers offers a competitive advantage to the company.
* Sign long-term contracts. Stein-Sapir entered into long-term contracts with the multi-billion dollar providers of national real estate information data so that MIS enjoys contractual entitlement to all the data in all states, which is necessary for a lender to close a consumer mortgage loan anywhere in the United States. Data sources do not customarily provide their data to companies like MIS.
* Build proprietary technology. The company’s proprietary technology systems move the required mortgage information to the consumer wherever the consumer is located and in whatever format the lender needs.
The company currently services its customers through seven regional operations centers, but expects to add three locations and 1,000 employees in the coming months. How to reach: Mortgage Information Services, (216) 514-1330 or www.mtginfo.com
