Jeff Harris

By Buck Wargo

Friday, July 17, 2009 | 3 a.m.

Jeff Harris came to Las Vegas as a football player and now he is a head coach.

Not the head coach of a football team, but Harris views his role as president of Nevada Title Co. much the same way. It’s a role he assumed a year ago after owning another title company.

The 54-year-old Harris came to Las Vegas as a UNLV football recruit in 1976, and after playing punter, he moved into the title business.

Harris, who grew up in Southern California, has three sons with his wife, Judith.

IBLV: Take me through how you were recruited to come to UNLV.

Harris: I thought, “Las Vegas?” I didn’t know anything about it. He said, “Why don’t you come over here because we are having spring workouts and just drive out to the stadium.” I am driving out there and I am saying, “Where is this place?” It was way out in the boonies. They gave me a uniform and everything, and they said, “Why don’t you go out there and show us what you got?” I did my workout and came off, and he said, “When we get back to the offices at UNLV, we will sign you up. We would like to have you.” I said, “Done. I’m in.” That’s how I got here. I figured it was a little closer to home.

How long were you there?

I was there for two years. I ended up breaking my ankle in a freak practice drill, and I met my wife and we got married, and I didn’t finish school. I have a two-year degree and that was the end of it. I went to work at the Desert Inn Golf Course as an assistant golf pro, and I met these guys here at Nevada Title and took a job with Terry Wright (Nevada Title chairman) and started in 1979 and stayed until 1988.

What did you do there?

At Nevada Title, I started out as a salesperson for the company. I worked my way up to sales manager. Then I was the president of Nevada Construction Services, which is a voucher control company that we own. I then managed the lender service department and the foreclosure department, and then at that point, I decided to go start my own company in 1988.

Why did you get into this business?

Title insurance is competitive, and I have always been competitive. I have been in sports all my life, and I thought it was a good challenge to go out there and sell something that not many people know what it is all about. You’ve got to work hard at it and be somewhat aggressive in your approach and you’ve got to build a team. The girls around here all the time look at me like I’m a nut because I relate things to a football team. I will be sitting in a meeting and they will say, “What did he say?” It is all about people. We sell paper. We sell insurance. The service is really important. And it is important that we hire the right people and build a team that stays together.

What does a title company do?

When a buyer enters into a contract to buy a piece of real estate, the buyer gets financing. There is, typically, a lender and a couple of brokers, and all that paperwork and all those people come to us. We are a gathering spot for everything that goes on. We clear the title to the property and make sure there is nothing that is affecting the new homeowner. And then we close the escrow and fund the new loan and all the money goes out to the proper parties and everyone is protected. We are a disinterested third party, and we have no sides in the deal. We just handle the transaction from soup to nuts.

How many employees do you have now and how does that compare with the height of the market?

We have 104. During the height, we were probably right around 385 or maybe a little more.

Has the business changed over the years?

The biggest change is the overall volume, and, so to speak, policing what is happening out there. A lot of agencies have begun to look to the title industry to sort of police IRS situations and different laws that go into effect. We’ve got to bone up on those new laws and what’s happening and train our people to do the same.

How do you get your business?

Most of the time, the real estate brokers will choose a title company or direct a homebuyer or a seller to a title company. As you get known in the community and as they see your name on the street corners or have been through your shop before, they get to know the same people. That’s why it is important to keep the same team.

How are you paid?

We have to file our rates with the state, and once the state approves that rate, it is a dollar per thousand-type deal. It fluctuates and as the price gets higher it becomes a little more expensive. It flows with the sales price. That is why we constantly look at the average sales price that is coming into the company — what market segment are we in and how big are we in that segment? You really need to keep a good eye on that.

What changes do you see in the industry ahead?

I think it is more technology. We are investing heavily in our computer systems and our process in doing a transaction. What is important in the future is that we have quicker systems and good data and are able to process a transaction faster than we used to be able to. That’s money.

What was the business you left Nevada Title for and started?

From 1988 until 2007 I owned United Title here in town.

What prompted you to have your own business?

I wanted to go out and exercise my enthusiasm a little bit, and I always dreamed about owning my own shop and what it would be like. I figured the timing was right and felt the company here was in good hands. They had enough managers, and it was time to go do something on my own. At that age you think if you are ever going to try it, might as well give it a shot now. I did that. When you are that young, you kind of have blinders on. Nothing scares you like it might in your older age. It was a good time. We had a lot of fun. That was the key. In any business, it is to have a good time. Dream about where you want to go and where you want to take it.

How big a company did you grow to?

We got up to 20 percent of the market and up to 250 employees at our height. We started with 35.

Was it a startup?

I bought an agency here in town. It was Chicago Title. It was owned by a group of investors. They had 2 percent of the market. I knew them from Rotary (Club). They said they were going to get out or were going to get rid of it somehow. I thought, “There’s an opportunity. Why don’t I give it a whirl?”

How much did you pay for it?

It was under a hundred grand. I had the money saved up. I didn’t have the credit I might have wanted so I had to go out and negotiate my way through. It was a buyout where I took over a lot of their debt and took care of that over the years, and I exercised options over a five-year period.

Did you think Las Vegas was a perfect locale for this business?

I looked at Las Vegas and compared it to Los Angeles. People come over all the time, and it is a good growth environment. You can get to know people very quickly here. You are somebody here compared to being a number down there. I felt over the time period, that would add up to something. I didn’t see the market coming the way it did. I don’t think a lot of people did.

What prompted you to sell United Title?

Chicago Title made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. It was one of those deals where they enjoyed our company and enjoyed what we had done over the years. We were the third top agency for Chicago Title in the nation. They had approached me many times to sell the company to them, and I didn’t want to hear it. Let me be alone. I like this company the way it is. We have good people. And finally it came to where the timing was right and relationships have changed over the years. The underwriters, the bigger companies, wanted to come in and take their spot in a pretty good marketplace. I decided for me, personally and financially, and timing, it was the thing to do.

When was that?

That was November 2007 when I left the company. I sold it about a year and a half earlier. I decided it was time to go do something else.

You were smart with your timing to sell during the height of the market in early 2006.

Everybody says that, but it was pure luck. I had no idea. I went to Maui on vacation and came back and called a few friends in the industry. They said, “How did you do that?” I had no idea what they were talking about and so I started researching the market and taking a look at what was really going on. I took about six months off, and I got really tired of that. I thought it was time to do something again. The market was in such turmoil that I thought maybe a new startup might not be the best decision. I was on another trip down in Del Mar and I met up with Terry Wright. He was asking me the same question of what was I going to do. I said, “I have no idea. I am not really sure.” He said, “Why don’t you just join forces with us?” And that is when I became an owner of the company and came on and started to do my thing again, so to speak.

Why come back now?

It was one of those feelings that maybe it was the right time to do something.

But why not stay retired?

The thought crossed my mind, but I was too young at that point. My wife wouldn’t go for it, first of all. I felt like I had to get back in the game. I was getting bored. You can only play so much golf. I have so many friends in the industry, I missed being around everybody. This was a perfect opportunity for me.

Why this company?

It was a Nevada-owned company. I feel it is important for the money that we make here to stay in the state to help the other people that are trying to grow other businesses and the economy here.

Were you worried about the timing of coming back in a difficult market?

I got a little concerned looking at the market and hearing the comments from people who are going in the opposite direction of where they should be right now. I didn’t think that. I thought this was an opportunity for us to pick up some really good people, take care of the really good people we already had here, which is many, and grow it and make a new team. That was the challenge that struck my interest.

How much is business down from the height of the market?

It is at least half. You’ve got to watch your expenses and go to where the market is, and right now that is in the foreclosure arena and lender arena. We are doing a lot of work with law firms, and workouts and things of that sort. We do a lot of work with the local banks here, and we bank with the local banks. That is an important relationship with us. We do a good job.

What is your market share?

It depends on what market you are talking about. For overall market share, we are about third in the pack. If you take a look at commercial, last month we did 65 to 70 percent of the commercial lending. When I was with the company in the early days, I remember we ran an ad campaign that we wanted to do $1 billion in real estate transactions for the whole year. We did it, but it took us a year to get there. Now, we do that in three months and sometimes in one month. It is pretty amazing, the difference.

What is happening in commercial?

If you go back to lending during the heyday when everybody was building and Las Vegas was growing, it was easy to get financing. There were a lot of projects going up at the same time. The market began to slow down, the casino industry slowed down a little bit, the local gaming slowed down. That decreased the amount of money businesses could spend and that affected the retail centers and commercial office buildings around town. Then you had those people begin to have trouble because they can’t move the buildings or lease the buildings as quickly as they used to. Then the banks came into play, and they want to reappraise the structure and the structure doesn’t appraise for what it originally appraised for. Then there is a capital call to the owner and, of course, the owner’s cash flow is not as great as it used to be. That is a difficult situation. Then you have the FDIC coming in wanting them to get — if that is a bad loan — off the books as quickly as possible. So you’ve got the government pressure coming inside the banks, and you have the outside economy putting pressure on the owners. That creates an onslaught of commercial foreclosures.

Where are commercial foreclosures heading?

I think we are going to be into the end of the first half of 2010 at least before we start to see some improvement in the market. I don’t think we have seen the majority of the commercial foreclosures yet. We’ve got a little more to go, and we are anticipating quite a few of those.

How bad is it going to get?

I wish I had a crystal ball. The government has tried to do quite a bit to spark the economy. I think housing has a little bit further to go and, hopefully, we can get through that quicker than we think, but I think the commercial will be behind that a little bit. I was hoping we would get through it this year, but I tend to believe more realistically it will be mid-2010.

How bad is commercial?

I am not terrified. I have confidence in the Las Vegas economy. I think this is a good place to be; it is a good business environment. I am concerned like everyone. I think we will survive this, and the economy will bounce back. It is just going to be a struggle for a little while.

What is happening now?

We are beginning to see larger groups take a lot of interest in the Las Vegas market, coming from the East. That is a good sign. There are a lot of good buys out there right now. When the banks take the foreclosure property back in their hands, they are going to have a time period where they are under pressure. I think you are going to see some builders look at that portfolio and see some opportunities for them to get going again, and, hopefully, they can do that and get the financing to start new projects.

Where do you see housing heading?

I think the housing economy will come back. The housing prices have to come down. That is the key. And that is a tough pill for everyone to swallow, but that has to happen in order for it turn around and start picking back up. That’s what we are looking at in that arena. The commercial will go through some foreclosure period that is going to be tough. There is a lot of struggling going on in every arena. In general, this economy is good. The environment is good and the people are good. And we can make it.

Will we return to where we were?

I don’t think we will get back to that pace, but we will have a strong economy. I think people have learned a good lesson of how it can damage the overall picture by moving too fast. I would like to see us take a slower pace and be stronger.

Is it tougher to manage in a boom or a downturn?

Equal. When you have a boom, your focus goes away from the cash flow to managing the numbers that (come) through the front door. When there is not the boom, then your attention goes to the cash flow and how do you deal with all the personnel that you don’t want to lose because you trained them and put a lot of hours into what they know in the industry. I will say both times are tough.

What are you seeing in the market for the rest of the year?

I was hoping to see an improvement in the final quarter of the year. I think it is going to be more into 2010. I think this year we are positioning for the market to turn around. We are training a lot. We are moving people around in our company and taking a look at where we are maybe weak and strong and adjusting a little bit. When we come out of this marketplace, we don’t need to worry about those things. We can move forward and hit the pace without missing a beat.

What have you done with your offices?

We have opened three — one brand new one that is going to open in Boulder City. We are already out there operating, but we redid our building. We are going to move there next month. We reopened our Summerlin office and we opened our Rainbow office. We had them before and we closed them down because of the economy. We expanded and reopened them.

Why expand?

We feel if we can hire the right people in the right locations that is a strategic move for our company. That’s where we need to be when we come out of this market: ready to go. We feel we have the right people in those locations, and it was a good move for us.

How do you boost morale as the head coach in this market?

I walk around. I don’t sit in my office. I will take my cell phone and tell my secretary, “I will see you in about two hours.” I go down and spend time with people and see what is going on in their department. I find out what their challenges are and what my idea might be to fix the problem, or if they need any help with customers. I look at pictures on the wall and straighten them out and generally get involved and talk to people and relate to them a little bit. And not have this distance from the management office to the ground floor. That is important. If people can see a real person managing their company and they can see appreciation for what they are doing downstairs and upstairs, it goes a long way.

Did you ever think you’d be in this position when you came to UNLV as a punter?

I had no idea. The thought had not crossed my mind. I was worried about trying to get through the next game and where my next meal was going to be. I look back now. One common thread in that trip through the years is to stay motivated and dream. Think about where you want to go. I tell my people this: “Don’t ever think that you can’t get there because you can.”

What do you do to motivate employees?

There are so many things that we do. Last month, the foreclosure department was just shy of a revenue goal so I went down there, got the manager and said, “Let’s go have a dinner party if you guys hit this goal.” They hit it and so Thursday night we will go to dinner and have a good time. Little things like that are spur of the moment: “Hey, you are doing a good job and I see that.” That builds team morale and makes it fun around here. It can get real mundane. You are doing real estate deals or doing foreclosure work all the time. You’ve got to have a good time. There are some title companies in our world that are not fun. They are governed by corporate dictation and you do what you are told.

Who is your coaching mentor?

I think I like Vince Lombardi. I read his books and I like his quotes. He was a kind of a man’s man, and he got out there among them and got dirty and thought about what it means to fight and do the right thing. I think he had some good stuff to say. You’ve got to be with your people. They have to see you doing the things they do. That is important.