Partnership is second for First American, LandAmerica
By MortgageDaily.com staff
6/6/2002

Two titans of the title insurance industry have joined forces to create what they say is the "nation's largest provider of real estate valuation services." The First American Corporation and LandAmerica Financial Group, Inc. have entered into a joint venture which will operate under the name 'eAppraiseIT', according to a recent announcement.

The terms of the agreement call for LandAmerica to combine its OneStop appraisal production division with First American's eAppraiseIT division. First American will manage and hold a majority ownership in the new entity. LandAmerica will retain the OneStop name for its current portfolio of services and rely on eAppraiseIT to fulfill the appraisals.

Parker S. Kennedy, president of The First American Corporation, said "this transaction will be immediately accretive to First American's earnings and will create economies of scale that will result in improved efficiency and profitability in our appraisal business."

The two companies previously formed a similar venture in 2000 with the creation of Data Trace, a title technology company that was also majority owned and managed by First American. First American noted that Data Trace has proven successful, outpacing its competitors with notable volume and margin increases in 2001. Data Trace holds the number one position in the title plant automation market, according to the company.

LandAmerica will begin to transition its appraisal business to the eAppraiseIT technology platform in June 2002.

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