| Sports fan and brewer finds success and happiness in title industry
Jim Lamphere, the new vice president of title and escrow services for HomeServices of America and brewer extraordinaire, has spent his life bouncing between Nebraska and Minnesota, with a short sojourn in New York.
 Jim was born in Minneapolis, but grew up in Lincoln, Neb. His grandparents had a summer home in Alexandria, Minn., and he attended college at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn., and William Mitchell Law School in St. Paul, Minn.
Following law school, he became a practicing attorney, but quickly realized he wasn’t happy with his choice to be a litigator.
“It didn’t suit me,” Jim said. “I did enjoy the banking work I was doing, mostly real-estate related. I was looking around and found a position with Greg Booth at Land Title Co. in Arden Hills, Minn. I took the position and worked there for three years. He got me hooked on title insurance.”
His wife, Amy, was then offered a job in New York so the two relocated. For nearly two years Jim worked for American Title as an agency manager for New York and northern New Jersey.
“We had a young son at the time, and I had a standing offer to move back to Nebraska to work for a friend of my wife’s. So, we moved to Lincoln. I worked in private practice for 7-1/2 years, first in a partnership and then on my own, mostly specializing in real estate and title issues.”
 One of his clients, Capitol Title brought him on as president in 1998. Given his experience and love for the industry, Jim said it was an easy choice to leave his law practice and begin his career with Capitol Title. HomeServices bought the company in 2002 and he’s been working for them ever since.
“I love HomeServices,” he said. “It’s a great company. Their philosophy fits my personality. They’ve been good to me. I can’t see going someplace else. I plan to be there for the rest of my career.”
Recently, Jim was promoted to his new position at HomeServices where he is responsible for growing the title and closing network including workflow, technology along with expanding new business opportunities for the network. He is also the primary liaison between the American Land Title Association and the federal and state legislative bodies on title industry-related issues.
“I was told I wasn’t going to be bored and I haven’t been yet,” Jim said. “We’re working on a number of different initiatives. We have the best software out there. We want to make sure everyone’s compliant and that things are going as efficiently as possible.”
There have been a few times Jim had to step in and help his closers, and he admits it hasn’t always gone smoothly.
“In accordance with our procedures I asked for a driver’s license from two sellers signing their papers,” Jim explained. “They left and never came back. Later, I found out he wasn’t with his wife, he was with his girlfriend and she didn’t want to show her license because she had a different last name.”
Another time, he asked if the seller had ever gone under any other name. As it turns out, the seller had several aliases he hadn’t disclosed so Jim decided not to close the deal.
On a personal level, Jim enjoys spending time with his wife Amy and their two children Jake and Sarah.
Recently, he was able to cross one item off his bucket list by attending the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta, Ga. But, his favorite hobby is brewing beer. Jim said he would love to open a brewery when he retires.
 “It’s something that intrigued me for a while and I ran into a guy who encouraged me to give it a try. I really enjoy it,” he said. “There’s a lot of science involved in the process and it’s fascinating to me.”
Now the question on everyone’s mind is, with his roots in Minnesota and Nebraska, which teams does Jim root for?
“They both have their great qualities. The sports teams each have their pros and cons,” he said diplomatically. And then when pressed, he admitted, “I love the [Minnesota] Twins and I love the [Nebraska Corn] Huskers. I pretty much love all Husker sports.” |