| Providing professional service with a smile
J ulie (Richardson) Sewall got her feet wet in the industry at an early age.
 Her parents were real estate brokers who owned Paradise Realty in Santa Rosa, Calif., and they put the eager-to-learn youngster to work.
“I worked for my parents’ real estate company at 12 years old for a few years, and at 21 I obtained my real estate license, and at the same time worked in the title insurance industry new homes division. Within a year I was promoted into the Escrow Division as the manager’s assistant. It is there where I found ‘the escrow world’ and was so intrigued by all the intricacies and uniqueness of each escrow, I had found my career.”
She spent years learning and gaining knowledge working with various escrow officers at several independent escrow companies, all the while establishing her clientele of top real estate agents. After 23 years, those agents still have that business relationship with Julie, and she decided to open Homestead Escrow, Inc., an independent escrow company, in 2000.
Julie handled and specialized in residential resale, commercial, and creative financing types of escrows. Starting out with herself and her assistant, it wasn’t long before she managed more than 23 employees in that first location in Laguna Niguel, Calif. After a few years, Homestead Escrow grew to open other locations.
Today, Homestead Escrow is one of Orange County’s largest independent escrow companies. It has nearly 50 employees with offices in Laguna Niguel, Irvine, Ocean Ranch, and Beverly Hills. It has managed and closed more than 96,000 escrows since opening its doors.
“It grew for me right away, and I have always been so grateful to all of my clients and employees who are the foundation of the company, who helped me make service with a smile a No. 1 priority. I wouldn’t stand for less,” she said.
In opening Homestead, Julie said her goal was to provide “professional service with integrity, experience and a genuine smile.” She said that’s how she’d compiled the list of real estate agents willing to refer business.
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“It’s one thing to get contacts. It’s another thing to be able to keep their business.”
Julie Sewall
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“[I always went over and beyond] to make them feel like the most important person. In this business, timing is crucial and so is the accuracy of everything we do. Realtors and principals of our escrows have a lot of pressure on them, and we at Homestead must be willing and expedient in what we do with an attitude of service.” Julie stressed.
Creating an escrow company at which those qualities of service and professionalism were consistent brought challenges, but the people of Homestead would follow Julie’s lead.
“You want to hit the ground running. I had a whole book of business, and within days of opening Homestead, I had several escrows I was opening and closing. I opened the office with one assistant. I was really busy,” Julie remembered. “The challenge was finding more quality help. And getting the software and all the technology in place.”
The software challenges were met with the help of companies such as SoftPro. Finding the right employees was a bit more challenging. Julie knew she couldn’t simply fill seats with warm bodies.
“I won’t have anyone working for me unless they are service-oriented, and willing to go the extra mile,” Julie said. “That has been the key to our success, and the people who work for me deserve a ton of credit. It’s one thing to get contacts. It’s another thing to be able to keep their business.”
 Julie’s experience, dating back to her days at her father’s realty business, also helped. She is well versed in real estate, including property management, title insurance, real estate sales and leasing.
Married with a son and two stepdaughters, Julie said she enjoys downhill skiing, vacationing with her husband, hiking and appreciating nature during her time away from the office — even if those times are infrequent.
“I love horses,” she stated. “I grew up around horses. And I lived outside the city (Santa Rosa) in the rolling hills of the wine country. I find my peace at the ocean and amongst redwood trees.”
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