I’ve called St. Augustine and Palatka home since 1979. From my early years in high school, I worked in my father’s title company, Collins Title & Abstract Co., Inc. In 1987, I graduated from St. Augustine High. I went to college, got married, and returned to work with my father. In 1997, I started Land Title of America, Inc., and have been at it ever since, carrying my foundation of family values and solid business practices forward to meet the challenges of today’s real estate market.

I have seen lots of crazy things in the real estate industry over the years, and my experience has taught me the inherent risks of owning real estate. I’ve been around long enough to see the loss from unnecessary risk and how awful that is, like where spending a few hundred dollars on a survey would have saved thousands in a lawsuit. I’ve seen firsthand the need for title insurance, like when title does not get recorded properly. I don’t say what I say because someone told me to—I didn’t hear it at a seminar—I say what I say because I’ve seen it firsthand. And I’ve seen what happens to the people who take a risk without precaution.

I’m glad to do what I do, because title insurance protects people from risk. The threat to real estate ownership can be financially devastating for those who are uninsured.