The Jerry and Debbie Core Story

Jerry Core and his father, James, were no strangers to the title industry when the two of them and their wives, Debbie and Mary Jo, purchased the Inyo and Mono county operations of California-based Title Insurance and Trust Co. (T.I.) in 1983.

Jerry had 10 years of experience in the business, starting his career at age 18 in Oxnard. James was 30 years into his title and escrow career, as he started with T.I. at 18 in Ventura, managing various California operations. They bought the business sight unseen.

“Because he was well-known and respected in the industry by that time, he had insider knowledge about what offices were being sold,” Jerry says about his father. “They gave us a list of about 10 offices, and we pulled out a California map and decided on an office in Inyo and Mono counties, which is in eastern Sierra, next to Nevada.”

The area is surrounded by forests, including Yosemite National Park, which made it a very attractive to Jerry and Debbie, who were looking to move away from the bustle of Ventura. “It has small populations of towns surrounded by beauty. It was ideal,” Jerry says.

The Cores changed the name of the business to the Inyo-Mono Title Co. When they started, the title and escrow company included Jim and Jerry and five employees they “inherited” from the acquisition. Debbie came aboard about a month later.

Debbie met Jerry when he worked as the chief title officer at California Land Title Co.

“My sister-in-law worked there, and she would always need a ride home. I had no clue what title and escrow was,” she laughs.

Debbie and Jerry were married in 1980. When they moved to Inyo County, Debbie planned on getting a job in her field, computer training.

“I was at home unpacking after the move and Jim called and said, ‘Do you know how to type?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ And he said I needed to come down and learn how to type policies and prelims,” Debbie recalls. “I didn’t know what he was talking about. I came down and did the typing and had no intention of working with them.”

Typing led to bookkeeping, which led to posting and then escrow work, which turned into a career in the industry.

“Having a small title company, you have to be able to do all the jobs,” Jerry says.

The company has grown a lot since its beginnings. Today, Inyo-Mono Title employs 25 and has offices in Bishop in Inyo County and Mammoth Lakes in Mono County. In 1995, it acquired the former Chicago Title Co. building in Bishop.

James passed away from ALS in 2010, and Mary Jo has since retired. Their children and grandchildren continue to operate the business today.

Jerry is president of Inyo-Mono Title, and Debbie is vice president. Their son Tyler joined the company in 2008 after graduating from the University of San Francisco with honors. He is the company’s manager and vice president. Tyler’s wife Bre works in escrow.

Jerry’s sister Judy Markham came on board in 1993 to assist in the Mammoth escrow operation. Her daughter Michelle Forbis joined the company in 2002 as an escrow officer after graduating from Mammoth High School.

The Inyo-Mono Title Co. has deep roots in the region that stretch back to the 1860s. The first title work done in the area was by title searchers and abstracters in mining camps.

Attorney Ben Yandell began a title abstract business in independence, which was purchased by his employee, stenographer and court reporter Cecil MacFarlane, in 1913. In 1917, MacFarlane built a new office building to house the company, the Inyo County Abstract Co. A sister company, Mono County Abstract Co., occupied the same office.

Title Insurance and Trust Co. (T.I) acquired the two abstract companies in 1949. T.I. continued expanding, becoming one of the largest title companies in the industry. It built new offices in 1961 and again in 1977, when it moved its operations to Bishop. It was acquired by the Cores in 1983.

Because of its rich history, Inyo-Mono Title has the area’s only complete title plant with records on every parcel of land dating back to 1860, Jerry says.

“It’s a joy and it’s an envy to other title people,” he says. “When they come to visit us, they are elated because that’s the way title used to be.”

Because of the depth of the historic records, Jerry says they consider themselves a working museum as well as a title company.

“We have researchers, historians and genealogists come in,” he says. “We have contract searchers that come in and search minerals and mining claims because of the accuracy of our title plant.”

The Cores take pride in their ability to maintain that history.

“If Inyo and Mono counties lost our business, it would not only hurt the state of California, it would be detrimental to lose the title office’s resources,” Jerry says. “Yes, there’s the recorder’s office, but the accuracy of their ability is questionable. Having a geographic title plant that is accurately maintained is invaluable.”

In 2000, Inyo-Mono computerized its title plant’s lot books, which Debbie says has made posting much more efficient.

It’s been interesting to watch the difference between some “old school” employees, who would prefer flipping through the old books to searching the records on the computer, and the new, younger employees who can’t read the cursive handwriting in the books, she says.

The Cores have seen a wholesale change in the way the industry operates over the past 40 years, thanks to incredible advancements in technology.

“The fax machine was brand new when we started,” Jerry says. “We had an IBM selectric typewriter and carbon paper was still in existence.”

That was also before email and “instant” delivery services like Fed Ex, he said, which presented challenges in getting documents delivered to places like the Mono County seat of Bridgeport, some 90 miles away.

“Back in the old days, we would take our documents, put them on a Greyhound bus, and sometimes they would end up in Bridgeport and sometimes they ended up in Reno,” Jerry laughs.

Tyler has been a big help in implementing technological advances, Jerry says, including designing the company’s website.

“He’s very computer savvy,” he said. “He’s taken us a very long way from the stone age to today. He’s making us more efficient and profitable.”

Debbie is a whiz at mastering new software and other programs, Jerry adds.

The Cores employ high school students part time, including Michelle’s son Ryan, recognizing the necessity of introducing new blood to the industry.

“There is a problem in our industry, the silver wave, where long-time employees are leaving,” Jerry says. “We’re seeing that. We just lost two title officers who had close to 70 years of experience between the two of them. One passed away, and one retired. To train someone takes years, and perhaps decades. It is hard to maintain and keep qualified, smart people.”

Debbie says she and Tyler have recruited younger employees, playing up the desirable aspects of the job.

“The only way we are going to recruit the younger kids is by making the environment fun,” she said. “We are really flexible with work time, so that helps, too.”

Jerry said he was lucky to be mentored by his father, and he is glad he can do the same for Tyler.

It’s rare to find people that fit into a title and escrow business, he said.

“One of the things about our business is that you either know it or you don’t. There’s no ‘I know it 98 percent.’ You either know it 110 percent, or you don’t know it,” Jerry says. “We’ve had a lot of people through our life of employment that just don’t get it. They can’t fool themselves to think that one day they will get it. They either get it, or they don’t.”