Jennifer West Signs

Although I have represented many banks and other lenders over the years, I primarily consider myself a dirt lawyer. I have long-standing relationships with the regional and local officers of First American Title Insurance Company, which help me provide my clients with excellent title insurance service. My transactional work is balanced by day-to-day real estate representation of Mississippi Power Company and other companies and government agencies.

The Mississippi Gulf Coast real estate market was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The cost of insurance and a slow economy also impeded recovery. We are finally beginning to see a sustained increase in new building and renovation projects, and the future of my hometown and the real estate practice in this part of the state is bright once again.

At the beginning of my career, I already knew my way around the records vault and did my own title abstracting for purchase and financing transactions as well as foreclosures. Understanding all of the records that must be examined and the details of a title search has uniquely positioned me to identify and solve title problems at the outset of a transaction and produce title insurance commitments and policies that address complicated requirements and exceptions. Maintaining those contacts at the courthouse over the years has also helped me better serve my clients.

I see both real estate titles and closings as puzzles to be put together. Not everyone enjoys this type of meticulous work, but I see it as my strength. When I have spent weeks preparing for a closing and intense final days coordinating the logistics of a transaction, the last steps of disbursing the millions of dollars that have passed through my hands and signing my name to the  title policy are immensely satisfying.