Title company opens in Sundance

Black Hills Title Company opened its doors in Sundance last week in the form of a satellite office on Main Street, opposite the post office. The business has been in operation for nearly 35 years across the border in South Dakota, but has spread its wings into Wyoming in response to customer demand.

“It was a popular request from our current clientele, folks in Spearfish and in Wyoming, that we try to look at opening an office there,” says Dan Roe, President.

“That’s what brought it to our attention and we looked into it, found a building we liked and just went for it.”

The satellite office is by appointment only and will be staffed by members of the title and closing departments in Newcastle. This, says Roe, is because staff must be from Wyoming in order to notarize in Wyoming.

In the future, however, he would love to expand the staff further.

“We’d love to man it and be there full time – hopefully it grows to that,” he says.

The Newcastle office was the most recent expansion before Sundance. Black Hills Title Company has grown considerably over the years since its inception, Roe says, and now has 25 people on staff.

“The company started in 1986 in Sturgis, SD. My dad, Wayne Roe, was the person who started it here and I started in the business in 1996,” he says.

At that time, the company was a two-person operation in the back of a utility company on Main Street in Sturgis and was known as Meade County Title. The name change took place five years ago, as the business began to grow its presence in other communities.

“We were able to expand a couple of times throughout the years, including into Spearfish and Belle Fourche in 2015, and then purchased the Weston County title office in Newcastle a year ago,” Roe says.

The business offers two services: title insurance and closing services.

“Title insurance just ensures that if you’re buying real estate, there are no clouds to the ownership, and if there is or something comes up that people were unaware of, there might be title insurance for that,” Roe says.

Title insurance protects a buyer against the rights and claims asserted by others that could limit their use and enjoyment of the property. Unlike other types of insurance that focus on potential future events, title insurance protects against loss from hazards and defects that already exist in the title.

Through the closing services department, “We help facilitate the closing process between the buyer, the seller, the realtor and the lender. We act as a neutral third party to help facilitate that,” Roe says.

For those who have purchased real estate over the last few years, Black Hills Title may already be a familiar name.

“A lot of the people in Sundance have done business in South Dakota over the last several years and certainly our staff has handled those transactions for them,” Roe says. Now, with the company’s expansion into Newcastle and Sundance, this can all be done in Wyoming.

In association with the Sundance Chamber of Commerce, Black Hills Title is planning a ribbon cutting and open house soon as an opportunity to meet the community.

“We’re excited to be able to be a part of this community,” Roe says.

“When we go to different areas, we really try to be involved in that community, support the activities, certainly the youth in those communities, and I really like Sundance and I’m really excited to be a part of it. It’s a great town.”