| A 60-year title industry winning streak
Decades of hard work and help from colleagues carved a path for Jim “Doc” Belardi, president of California-based Crescent Land Title Co., to grow into a title industry trendsetter in the Bay Area.
 He sat down with The Title Report to share standout aspects of his journey, surrounded by autographed memorabilia from several Oakland and San Francisco sports icons. After roughly 60 years’ worth of title industry accomplishments, peers may soon be asking for his signature.
“The people who work the hardest and communicate the best are the ones who’re going to get business,” Jim says. “I’ve always done everything I can to be one of those people. You have to show people respect, whether that’s your clients, your coworkers, whoever. Things like that have allowed me to stick around in the business for a long time, and I’m very thankful for that.”
|
"The people who work the hardest and communicate the best are the ones who’re going to get business. I’ve always done everything I can to be one of those people. You have to show people respect, whether that’s your clients, your coworkers, whoever. Things like that have allowed me to stick around in the business for a long time, and I’m very thankful for that."
Jim "Doc" Belardi
|
Just after graduating high school in 1964, Jim broke into the title industry as a draftsman and poster at Western Title in Oakland, Calif., quickly earning responsibilities often reserved for more experienced peers.
“I think we had a better (title) plant than the recorder’s office in Alameda County,” Jim says. “They’d review all the documents I put into the books to make sure you did it correctly. It was a good A-B-C training process for me. I didn’t know what the heck I was doing at first, but I learned from my mistakes and picked things up quickly.
“I moved into some arbitration work and dividing up all the cuts of the properties, because I had a bit of a mechanical drawing background. I’d do all the parcels on the big maps. After that, they started giving me more and more legal work and we ended up doing every parcel sold in Alameda County. That’s when I thought, ‘It looks like I’m doing something right.’”
Jim recounts being trusted as a teenager with running huge cash deposits from his place of work to the local bank.
“There’d be morning runs and afternoon runs,” he says. “Some days, I’d be carrying close to half a million dollars in cash, just holding a bag. If I tried to do that now, someone would be out there looking for me. I had a little Volkswagen Bug I ran around doing it in.”
In 2019, Jim took over as president of Crescent Land Title Co. and is in the process of expanding the business’ coverage into all 50 states. That venture came after numerous title industry stops, including helping to establish Fidelity National Title and working with Fidelity National Financial Chairman Bill Foley.
Other early- and mid-career stops for Jim included local courthouse recordkeeping and work with Transamerica Corp.
“I got into outside sales at one point and the guy I was working with and I got to be number one in the Oakland Bay area,” he says. “We were doing about 80 percent of the market at one point. We took a basic product, a property profile, the deed of trust and the mapping, and I’d go to offices throughout our network. I explain how to list properties throughout the area using that profile, just a little bit of education. That’s all it took. I really started climbing ladders and finding my way after that.”
 A lifelong professional sports passion for Jim was bolstered by his first cousin, Wayne Belardi, who played Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Detroit Tigers across most of the 1950s. Multiple uncles also played around that time for the Oakland Oaks, a minor league team that has since departed the city.
“I’ll never forget those times,” Jim says. “My uncles would get done with work during the day and walk right across the street to play for the Oaks. The stadium was right there. I met guys through them like Billy Martin, Jackie Jensen, you name it. They were all there and I was just a little guy, about 5 or so. It was just magic.”
Jim remains an avid golfer and has long been nicknamed “Doc,” which stems from friendly interactions on the golf course.
“A buddy of mine kept calling me Doc when we were traveling around playing at all these country clubs,” he says. “He kept saying, ‘Doc, Doc, Doc,’ and I finally asked where that was coming from. He said he knew a family of Velardes, not Belardi, but similar sound. They were all doctors.
 “He even printed cards for me one time that said ‘Doc Jim Belardi.’ That guy was unreal. He said he knew too many Jims, so that was his way to make me different.”
Even through uncertain times for the housing market and difficulties stemming from that for the title industry, Jim says he remains optimistic about the future and stresses the importance of mentorship.
“I believe if you’re focused and you plan for the future, anything is possible,” he says. “That doesn’t mean it’s not an uphill climb. I’m blessed. I’ve been very lucky with the people I’ve been around in my business and personal life. There’re so many smart, outstanding people in this business, and I know they’re going to find a way to get us through these times. It’s what they’ve always done. It’s what I’ve always tried to do.
“We also need to keep focusing on training and being good mentors for the next generation. For those younger people, please remember to take in as much as possible from the people who are reaching out trying to help you.”
|