SPEAKER_01 0:30

My name is Christy Fertone. I'm a licensed title agent. I work with Pride Settlement in Escrow. And who I work with are um real estate agents, investors, and primarily loan officers.

SPEAKER_00 0:43

Perfect. Tell me a little bit about your journey. Like, how did you get here? Oh, sure.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

Well, I'm actually a West Coast girl. So when I was younger, I was actually a teacher. I've always had this entrepreneurial spirit. So that's one thing my mom told me like from the time I was little. She's like, used to just like wave bye, mom. I'm out of

Meet Christy Fertone, Nova Title Gal

SPEAKER_01 1:00

here. So I was always very driven. Um my mom was a stay-at-home mom with four kids. So she worked very hard and my dad worked hard, but I always had this passion to like work. So anyway, um I got my education. I was an elementary school teacher for 14 years, but I always knew like I loved um sales. Like I loved helping people and I loved working with people. And that's where I get my energy. So it's kind of happened where over time I got into like marketing sales. Um, I did uh merchant processing sales, which was very challenging, right after teaching. And that was all commissioned. So that was my first experience with going from not a consistent paycheck to wow. And I really enjoyed it. I just enjoyed helping people. And so eventually I started my own event company, and um that was in Arizona, and I did that for four years. And my mission was that all of my events had a purpose and they gave back to the community. So that was really great. And then COVID hit and then spun my life. So then I got into real estate and I've been in the real estate space kind of ever since. And I relocated out here to the East Coast in April of 2022. So that's what kind of where my title journey started at that point.

SPEAKER_00 2:16

So did you come out here for a specific reason? Did something draw you out here?

SPEAKER_01 2:20

Yeah, yes. Um, so my kids, um, their dad is like Navy and Army, and he started a new family and got remarried, and the kids were like going mostly raised on the West Coast with me and summers with dad, but as they got older, it just wasn't working for them anymore. So I thought, hey, why not four-year adventure? We'll come out to the East Coast. We could all be in the same zip code-ish area. And so their dad and his that family lives in DC, and uh, we live in Falls Church, Virginia. So and well, my daughter's in college now.

SPEAKER_00 2:53

So awesome. Where are you gonna stay? You like this area?

SPEAKER_01 2:56

Um, I love the area.

SPEAKER_00 2:58

It's so much different than the West Coast, though.

SPEAKER_01 2:59

It's so different, yes. Yes. We to be determined. I'm saying I'm one of those people that you never really know.

SPEAKER_00 3:06

Yeah, so yeah, no, I don't blame you. Um so tell me, how did you get started? Oh no, I'm sorry, not how'd you get started? What motivated you to bring brand yourself as the Nova title gal? Yes, I love that.

SPEAKER_01 3:18

After I guess my first year or so in title, um, I decided I needed my own brand because I was working for a different title company than I'm with right now. And I'm so grateful for that opportunity because it really taught me the industry. It taught me like what I needed to do in title to grow my business. And when I started working for a woman-owned company with Pride Settlement Escrow, I was like, how do I stand out so that it's Christy? Is it the I want them to remember Christie? My company is amazing and I love them. But also at the end of the day, I'm the one that's the business development. I'm the settlement agent, I'm the one building these relationships that I want to last. So I was like, your Nova title gal, and it just stuck. So that it was about a year ago.

SPEAKER_00 4:07

It suits you.

SPEAKER_01 4:08

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 4:09

I love your YouTube channel too. You got lots of really good stuff.

SPEAKER_01 4:13

Thank you. It's it's

From Teaching to Real Estate

SPEAKER_01 4:14

slowly growing over time. I need to add more to that all the time.

SPEAKER_00 4:17

I said, What unique perspective or passion do you bring to the title business that most people don't see behind the scenes? Sure.

SPEAKER_01 4:25

I feel like since I have this helping heart, and with my background of marketing, event planning, and also being a real estate agent, because I also hold a real estate license in Arizona under EXP, but it allows me to help agents grow their business. So, really, when I sit down with a real estate agent or a lender too, um, I sit down and we brainstorm and it's like, where are you not growing that you want to grow? So most recently I've been uh working with the agents to do farming in their neighborhood. Um, and basically, so we brainstorm, okay, what's your target audience? How do you want to like get out in front of these people? And I will actually go door knocking with them. And I actually do the marketing behind it as well. So they don't really, we just as plug and play, like I get their vibe, and then we tweak tweak it a little bit so they don't have to worry about that. So I bring my marketing experience to them and it takes the pressure off of them because they're like overwhelmed sometimes. And to me, it's just my passion and I love it.

SPEAKER_00 5:29

So that's amazing. Thank you. Going back to the the door knocking, the door knocking, yes, legit.

SPEAKER_01 5:36

Well, yeah, and I also tell them it's a community outreach, and why not market your neighborhood you live there? Like they probably don't know, but I do it a little differently. So they do like they highlight a local business and they do a raffle and it engages the community to just get to know them a little bit. And sometimes it's a fun thing, and then sometimes they do some value. And I also really believe in doing community events, like things that like a cornhole event or client appreciation event. Those are so important and like hygiene drives and work with an organization and give back. So it really depends on the agent or the lender and what direction they want to go. Um, once I know that, then I can kind of come up with it because of my marketing background and my event planning background.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

You have a very wholesome brand. You educate, you uh empower, but then you're also giving back as well. And I'm sure motivating and encouraging your agents that you work with to give back as they grow their business.

SPEAKER_01 6:36

It's very close to my heart for sure. Yes. I love that.

SPEAKER_00 6:39

I think it's very important to give back to the community. Agreed. Title and settlement are often invisible parts of a real estate transaction. What are some of the biggest misconceptions clients or agents have, and how do you help demystify those misconceptions?

SPEAKER_01 6:53

I love that. So I personally um love to teach Virginia housing classes. Uh, it's one of the ways I could partner with an agent and a lender, and um we can teach

Creating a Personal Brand

SPEAKER_01 7:04

these classes, they're free classes. I highly recommend anyone that's a renter or they've never owned here in Virginia. That's a big misconception. If you haven't owned in three years, you're actually a first-time home buyer. So it's really important to educate. And so that's one of the ways I do that. And another thing with title is um I like to, for myself personally, be in the transaction from the beginning. So when my agents were building these relationships, I tell them that, like, especially your first-time homebuyers, you don't want them like they built all this relationship with you, the agent and the lender. And then who's this title person that they're handing their earnest money to? And they're like, whoa, whoa, wait, you know, and because they didn't know that person. So I think it's really important to be available, to be a resource. And all of my agents, they have my number in their phone. They know they could text me, call me, email me. I do a lot of consults with first-time homebuyers. I go over the buyer estimates, I explain all the taxes, I explain what title insurance is. And so I think education is a huge part. Must come from my teaching, probably.

SPEAKER_00 8:10

Probably, right?

unknown 8:11

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 8:12

When agents or home buyers choose to work with you, what experience or assurances do you want them to walk away with?

SPEAKER_01 8:19

Yes. So everyone has a choice, right? Most importantly, it's the buyer's choice. And I do empower buyers all the time to know that. And working with a title company, you need to have someone that has good communication. You need to have a title company that has good problem-solving skills. You need to have a title company that has flexibility. We live in the DMV. There's people that are military, State Department. Sometimes people are out of the area. Um, so one of the great things about being a mobile settlement agent is what I am, is that I can go to the client. So I've been in assisted living homes where we had like a nine-year-old seller who she couldn't physically get to the office, right? So these are the types of questions that I'm trying to educate uh the agents to tell their, you know, their buyers. Like, who do you want to work with? I also really believe it's important to be able to explain the documents at the settlement table, not just say sign, sign, make it, you know, so transactional. And I really try to build rapport at the table. And by the end of it, most of the time we're all hugging and celebrating and taking boomerangs. And that's like the most favorite part of my job, even the sell side. Like, you know, you you see a client who very stays very like monotone during the transaction, but at the end, I'm like, you want to do boomerang? Like, yeah. So, you know, they're sold or whatever. But so that's really a blessing to me. But I think having making those connections, educating, making them feel comfortable at the table and knowing that you have choices.

SPEAKER_00 9:48

So that's good.

SPEAKER_01 9:49

And flexibility.

SPEAKER_00 9:51

Yes. Um, speaking of connections, you work with agents, lenders, and other real estate partners. What values or qualities do you look for in partners and how do you cultivate those relationships? Sure.

SPEAKER_01 10:02

So one of my things when I was starting out as a title agent, and I do a lot of networking. I'm sure you've seen from my social media that I'm like, I'm in Women's Council of Realtors. I'm like actually the treasurer this year. Um, but I do run a lot of networking events and women in business events and things like that. But I'm sorry, refuse the question because I got what qualities. Yeah, what qualities do you look for when I work with someone? Yes. So because in the

Helping Agents Grow Their Business

SPEAKER_01 10:28

title space, it is a lot of things are time sensitive. Uh, we have to be able to work with people that have great communication skills. So I always tell people like, I want someone who's receptive because sometimes there's things that we need to talk to you about like right away. And so that's really important. Trust, trusting somebody. I started a coffee with Christy on Monday mornings, and that's open to really anyone that owns a business, but it's like in the real estate space. So we have, you know, sometimes uh lenders, we have real estate agents, we have people from interior design, you know, plumber, anyone's welcome that's kind of in that space. And that kind of gives people an opportunity to collaborate. And sometimes they're like, oh my gosh, I actually needed a junk removal guy, and I'm so glad you're here today. So I love watching that. I love connecting people, and I think for me that that's so important.

SPEAKER_00 11:20

Yeah, that's amazing. I love that coffee with Christy. Coffee with Christy.

SPEAKER_01 11:25

Mondays at Caboose. There we go. Where's which caboose? Caboose Commons in Fairfax. It's in mosaic. It's a coffee shop, and yeah, 10 to noon, any Monday, except for holidays, I say.

SPEAKER_00 11:37

How do you build culture and standards in your work and within the team that you work in to ensure every closing is smooth, reliable, and client first? Because I know that's really important to you.

SPEAKER_01 11:48

Yeah, exactly. So I uh work for an amazing team. I mean, we're a very boutique, smaller title company, but so much knowledge. I mean, Lee Hewitson's the owner of the company. She grew up in this industry, she has 40 years in the industry, and we you know, we have um attorneys on staff in DC, Maryland, Virginia. Our post-closing team is amazing, our processes are amazing. And I think it's because we communicate well and we're ahead of things. So, you know, if so, if we see a problem or something that might be coming up, we always educate the client, what's going on, and this is what we need to solve this. Because there are things that happen in title, and what I've heard from most people is if you can't own it and you can't problem solve it, they're not gonna work with you again. Yeah, so as long as you can over-communicate and stay on ahead of things, and then also when things happen, you're like, This happened, this is what we're doing to fix it.

SPEAKER_00 12:50

That's what you mean by owning it. Owning it, yeah. Exactly. Nobody's perfect. Yeah, no, I get that. Yeah, you already help with residential and you guys do commercial land title services, correct? Yes, we do.

SPEAKER_01 13:03

We do um commercial land and uh residential in DC, Maryland, and Virginia.

SPEAKER_00 13:09

Do you so how do you adapt your approach depending on the kind of property or client?

SPEAKER_01 13:14

Sure. So I mean, with title, all title companies are we're a neutral third party, right? So our role is to run that 60-year titles title search on the property. Uh, we're checking for any liens to make sure title's clear that we can see. So that's when we issue either a standard owner policy or um an enhanced policy. It really depends on the client and what type of property they're buying or selling. Every title company is the same, typically handles the earnest money on the buy side and does that 60-year title search. And we have to do that on both sides. So the seller has to be clear of any liens to convey title. So we can only problem solve what we see, and that's where a lot of misconceptions come in because people haven't been educated on actually what

Demystifying Title Insurance

SPEAKER_01 14:00

an owner's title policy covers. It covers everything that's not on the title search. So it's quite interesting. Because people think, oh, well, it should have came up on the title search, but it doesn't always come up. And more often than not, we've been seeing a lot of that lately.

SPEAKER_00 14:16

I was gonna say, I just heard about this, how there's this scam fraud.

SPEAKER_01 14:21

There's a lot of deed fraud, and especially with like sellers, maybe like they're not in the property any longer. So there's fraud with the deed getting signed and turned, and and then it comes up later on after someone's purchased. We just had an example. I was closing actually in a home in in Culpepper, and the lender was there at the closing as well, which is always nice. But my point being is he said yes, just last week they had a buyer was refinancing, didn't think anything of it. An $80,000 lien came up when they refined. And they're like, Are we gonna have to pay this? Technically, if they didn't opt in for their owner's title policy, it's on them. It conveys with the property. So you have to be very careful and you definitely have to educate yourself and you want to always protect yourself on your investment.

SPEAKER_00 15:09

Oh my. Yes. So at what point did that, sorry, now I'm curious. What what point did that come in though if it was refinanced?

SPEAKER_01 15:16

So they when you do a refi, we have to do that title search again. So every time someone doesn't purchase or they sell or they're refinancing, we go through our process. We're clearing title, making sure it's good to convey. These things come up because they don't always get recorded in the timely manner.

SPEAKER_00 15:36

Timely manner for you as oh wow.

SPEAKER_01 15:38

And it's you'd be surprised. There's a story. There's a story. That's a whole nother episode. We'd have to have a whole nother time for that.

SPEAKER_00 15:47

Oh, that's crazy. Um, given your branding and visibility of your Nova Title Gal, how do you use personal branding and content specifically, your YouTube and social media, to drive that authority and trust?

SPEAKER_01 16:00

I will say I just my life is kind of on social media and I love riding my e-bike. I love watching my son play football. I love visiting my daughter at college. During the week, I kind of am just showing what is going on in my life. And I think that that connects people to me because they can see who I am as a person, as a mom. You know, I work hard, I do do a lot of networking. And that's because I really enjoy people. I enjoy connecting people, I enjoy helping people. And so I think like because I'm so transparent, my mom always will call me, she lives in California and she'll be like, I haven't talked to you in a week. I'm like, mom, you can see my life on Facebook. I know you're commenting on it. So I'm okay. I'm like, if you ever don't see me, maybe that's a time to concern. But yeah, so both, you know, my Instagram feeds into my Facebook and vice versa.

SPEAKER_00 16:54

So basically you're living authentically online and that kind of is attracting the right type of people into your life.

SPEAKER_01 17:00

Yes, I'm actually starting to get people to reach out to me now, which is very nice. Yeah, like you guys. Yeah. Yeah. I guess I'm gonna have to door knock. Yeah, knocking on your door.

Creating Smooth Settlement Experiences

SPEAKER_00 17:10

Instagram door knocking. What is one thing that every home buyer or real estate agent should know about title insurance insurance or settlement that most people don't?

SPEAKER_01 17:21

Yeah, I think I kind of touched on that a little bit. I think what's most important is to have someone in title. If you're going to work with a title company, you want to be able to have a point of contact that can be a resource for you, that can answer questions. That if you have a first-time home buyer or they've never bought in Virginia or DC or Maryland, like someone that they can pick up the phone and call. Like I'm a licensed settlement agent. I had to go to school to get that. I had to pass a test. I have to keep up with my hours. Um, so you have to be a resource for people. And my team behind me, I know my the owner of the company, 40 years in the industry, like there hasn't been anything that haven't been able to call her and say, I don't know about this, but I know this is your, you know, you got the experience behind you. So I think, you know, having knowledge is huge and being able to be a resource for people. And if you don't know the answers, then you need to be honest and say, I'm going to find out for you. And that's a great question. But I don't, I stay in my lane.

SPEAKER_00 18:23

Speaking of staying in lanes, I've got a question. If a deal is threatened by a title issue near closing, what steps do you immediately take to protect all parties and maintain goodwill? I personally went through something like this, so I'm curious how sure.

SPEAKER_01 18:38

So behind the scenes, how it works. What happens? Can you give me a little bit more of a specific example or just you can take it however you want to, but essentially like when crap hits the fan. If like the maybe it's not gonna go to all the way, or maybe more of something like a miscommunication factor. Yeah. Okay. Sure. So I think like I said, because of the relationships that I build with um with my the agents and the um, you know, the lenders that I work with, we're usually in communication, but things do absolutely happen. And like I said, I think the best thing to do is is you approach the problem and say, here's the facts. XYZ is happening, we can solve it. A, B, or you know, whatever options that you have, and educate the person that's on the other end because your emotions are gonna go high. It always goes high in real estate, right? It's like, but we're about to close, you know. Sometimes you do have to void because it's in the best interest of your client. And if you had a contingency and something really awful came up in the home inspection and and that agent has put that contingency in there, then avoid does happen and we get that. Um, that's okay. That's what you're supposed to do, right? Um, but other times if things happen, there's a miscommunication, or maybe the CD doesn't get released in time and they were supposed to close and they can't close because there's a three-day rule. So at that point, you have to communicate with all parties and say, unfortunately, uh, the lender did not send the CD in time because the XYZ, whatever happened on his end. And these are the ways we can solve it. You know, you have to have a way to solve the problem.

SPEAKER_00 20:28

Yeah. Yeah. So we have happened to us recently is the lender was very slow, did not send his

Fighting Deed Fraud

SPEAKER_00 20:36

CD. I think that's what it's called. The closing disclosure. Oh, yeah, that thing.

SPEAKER_01 20:39

Yes, the closing disclosure, yes. That's called the CD, yes. So it delayed your closing.

SPEAKER_00 20:46

Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 20:47

By a few days. By quite a bit, yes.

SPEAKER_00 20:48

Well, it was a few days, and it was like we were waiting on that in order to close on this type of uh issue. So then delay, you know, like that's the thing with real estate, is everyone is kind of dependent on each other a lot of times.

SPEAKER_01 21:01

Especially if you're doing like a buy-sell sign or sell buy. Is that what was happening? Exactly, yeah. Yeah. So that actually happened this week, which was the reason why I was in Gainesville very early this morning, is we had that situation happen. And so we had that the seller was able to pre-sign, but then the CD didn't get delivered in time. So closing got delayed by a day, but they had to they actually had to rearrange the closing and the purchase of funds had to be sent. So I went at we did a 7 a.m. closing this morning. I drove out to Gainesville in the rain, and you do what you need to do so that they got funded, they were able to reschedule it and get it closed, and now everything's good. But where's their heightened emotion? Yeah. You know, you're dealing with people and they have to shift things around, and that's not fun. But I go, I really think it comes down to if you trust who you're working with, yeah, it makes that so much easier to hear.

SPEAKER_00 22:02

The emotions aren't as yes.

SPEAKER_01 22:04

Oh, you still get probably a little heated, but yes, at least you know, like these are the ways we can help this, and you definitely want to have someone in your back corner that's going to be able to advocate and push through.

SPEAKER_00 22:18

And I think it's also important to just, like you said, have trust in your team so that there's no second guessing. Are they really doing what's in my best interest? Do they really care about making sure it gets closed in time? You know, or are they just kind of like sipping back, sipping on those margaritas for this weekend and they're not us? They're not doing their job. Let's hope not. Looking forward, what's your vision for where you want your Nova title gal and Pride Settlement escrow to go? I know, I know that's Lee's company, but you're in there as well. And then how do you want to be seen by clients, agents in the industry in the next five to 10 years?

SPEAKER_01 22:53

Okay. Definitely. So I would say, you know, we are definitely because we're a more boutique, smaller company, right? Like our footprint

Personal Branding on Social Media

SPEAKER_01 23:02

is definitely growing. And so they brought me on to help with that. So my territory is pretty much northern Virginia. That's what I focus on. And we, I would love to bring on another licensed title agent because that we are growing that much that we have we need that, right? And grow our team. Like ideally, like we are small, but we're mighty, and we can only be in so many, like basically boots on the ground is Lee Hewarton, my boss, and myself. And she does a lot of the Maryland, and I do, and I do more of like the Northern Virginia. However, as we grow, we're gonna need to build our team. So I'd love to see more amazing women in business.

SPEAKER_00 23:48

Sorry, because it's women owned, right? Yes, it is.

SPEAKER_01 23:50

They're not all women on, but mostly. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:53

Poor Derek. Derek's our one male. Stay strong, Derek. He's amazing. Is there anything specific that I didn't ask you about that you would like to share?

SPEAKER_01 24:03

Um, I guess we could touch on my passion for my event company too, but it's not necessary.

SPEAKER_00 24:10

No, please share.

SPEAKER_01 24:11

So um, one of the things because I run so many events, I started um petite party planners last year and I did transition to Pride at the same pride some at the same time. So even though I had just launched my LLC, it was like it took a whole year for me to start that going again. So basically, it is a side hustle, if you want to call that. And we all have one, I think. But I really love um putting together client events, maybe community outreach type of things where we're doing maybe bringing in a charity or something like that. Um, or even doing like we're doing some welcome kits or swag bags for like uh apartment complexes and bringing making them feel special. So any of those things are all, I'm just trying to get my footprint out there. Uh so it's starting. That's fun.

SPEAKER_00 25:03

That sounds like something where it goes. Some of your sparkles that you have. I see like the party. Oh, the party.

SPEAKER_01 25:09

I love glitter, that's true.

Navigating Closing Challenges

SPEAKER_01 25:11

I think in high school it was like glitter girl or something. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:15

It never left.

SPEAKER_01 25:16

It never left. Yeah, you gotta have a little bling.

SPEAKER_00 25:18

Thank you so much for being on our episode today and sharing this amazing world of title.

SPEAKER_01 25:24

Oh, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 25:25

Um, and it was such an honor to have you on. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01 25:27

I'm so grateful.