Hawkeye Title & Settlement Services of Iowa City has entered into an agreement to purchase the assets of longtime real estate title business Security Abstract Company of Iowa City.
The parties closed the transaction this week, according to a news release.
Mr. Anderson, an Iowa City attorney, is CEO and owner of Hawkeye Title Services and Hawkeye Settlement Services, which provide comprehensive real estate title and closing services in Johnson County and the surrounding area.
“We could not be more excited about this opportunity to merge two excellent and historic Iowa City businesses that have both served the local real estate community so well for so many years,” Mr. Anderson said in a release. “When I started practicing law here almost 34 years ago, I never would have foreseen this winning combination as even a remote possibility. We are humbled by the opportunity to combine these outstanding local professional offices. We plan to continue to operate in the same manner we always have – providing a high-quality service and product, in a fast, efficient, fun, and friendly manner.”
“Security Abstract Company is an institution in this community, and we have been honored to continue shepherding its proud tradition that was so diligently built by the company’s pioneering owners, Craig and Nancy Willis,” added Sean Wandro, a local attorney and a principal of Security Abstract Company, regarding the Hawkeye Title purchase. “We are pleased that those traditions will continue in the capable hands of Steve and his great staff at Hawkeye Title Services.”
Security Abstract Company was established in Iowa City in 1898, offering real estate abstracting services. The company also has a complete in-house set of tract indices (from the first territorial land grants in the 1830s to the current date) for Johnson County.
Hawkeye Title and Settlement Services is one of the largest privately-owned abstract and settlement companies in Iowa. Hawkeye Settlement Services is the leading real estate settlement company in the area, having closed some 30,000 loans and transactions since 2004.
Hawkeye is a member of the Iowa Land Title Association, the American Land Title Association, and the Iowa Title Guaranty Program. The company was named the 2006 Iowa City Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year, was awarded the Community Development Award as an Outstanding Community Partner in 2012 by the City of Iowa City and Housing & Community Development Commission in honor of work with the 2008 flood recovery victims and housing, the UniverCity Housing program, Habitat for Humanity, and other low-income housing projects, and was awarded the Iowa Finance Authority State of Iowa Kay Anderson Friend of Iowa Award in 2012.
Mr. Anderson founded Hawkeye Title and Settlement Services after practicing law in Iowa City since 1990, when he graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law. He is a lifelong Iowa City resident. Mr. Anderson is active in the community and most recently served on the Mercy Hospital Iowa City Board of Directors, as well as chair of the board of directors of the Mercy Hospital Iowa City Foundation.
