By Jo Mixon
Kathy & Bob Harris
Title Services, Inc. has been a member of the Angel Fire Chamber of Commerce for eighteen years plus they are celebrating fifty years of doing business in New Mexico. Bob’s dad, Bill Harris, bought the company on August 20, 1964. When Bill retired in 1981, Bob took the helm. I went to visit them in Raton last week. Walking back to Bob’s office, I pasted through a “hall of history”. Housed there is a complete set of every document you’d find at the county clerk’s office and much more. Many years ago when First National Bank moved and sold the building across the street from Title Services, they allowed Bill to go through their records and keep whatever he wanted. In those records were many of the original Maxwell Grant documents and papers. The walls are decorated with maps dating back to 1925. They even have an original Cimarron surveyor cornerstone! And Bob is open to sharing his knowledge of Colfax County and New Mexico history.
As a title service company, they give property owners knowledge and peace of mind. They insure that, when you buy a property, you will own as much of that property as you possibly can. They work to make sure there are no surprises during or after closing. For buyers, title insurance is a one-time fee when you close on the property and it stays in effect until you again sell that property. Title Services will do the research for you. They will make sure the property you are purchasing has no other liens against it and the person selling it actually owns it.
All of their records have been computerized since 1985. They receive county records on a weekly basis. These include liens, mortgages, deeds, judgments easements, etc. from the county clerk’s office. The records are then loaded into their software and indexed. As another service to the public, Title Services also offer an online title search service. For a small fee you may have access to research on your own. Find it at www.etitlesearch.com.
Title Services six highly qualified employees making it possible to do all of their work for you as a buyer, in house. A few years ago, Bob Harris was the recipient of the PC Templeton Lifetime Achievement Award from the New Mexico Title Association.
I was interviewing both Bob and Kathy Harris, so I turned to her and asked if she had also worked there since the 1980’s. She smiled and said, “Oh, no!” She in fact had a career in the health care field for 29 years. But in 2009, one of Bob’s key employees had to move on. Kathy agreed to come into the office and help out for two to three months…the rest is history! The Harris’ have been married twenty three years. Kathy told me they were married on Leap Year. Bob laughed and said he thought it would get him out of lots of anniversaries, but in fact it just doubled them. Because now, in the non-leap year years, by Kathy’s calculations, he says they celebrate on the day before and the day after! By the broad smile on Kathy’s face, I could see he was not exaggerating!
When you are in need of abstracts, title insurance, escrow closings, or USGS maps visit Bob and Kathy Harris and their employees at 112 N. 2nd Street in Raton, NM. Call them at 575-445-3603. Or visit their web page www.tsiraton.com.
Business After Hours – 50th Anniversary Celebration
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