Covius’s Joe Chappell on Title365 acquisition, home equity footprint

Covius, a financial services firm that offers insights and technology to the housing industry, says it’s poised for growth through its acquisition of Title365 from Blend Labs. Company executives believe the move will strengthen their foothold in the booming home equity market.

The deal, announced in June, is pending regulatory approval, which is expected to happen by the end of this year.

In a recent interview with HousingWire at the Mortgage Bankers Association‘s annual convention, Joe Chappell, executive vice president of settlement services at Covius, said the acquisition fits squarely within the company’s strategy to offer end-to-end mortgage lifecycle services.

“We’ve got three pillars: origination, servicing and capital markets — and title spans all three of those,” Chappell explained, adding that the acquisition is “a 100% growth play” that strengthens Covius’s presence in origination.

“We’ve got wind in our sails right now,” he said. “It’s a very favorable time for this pickup.”

Covius will acquire the full Title365 team, which Chappell says is a strong cultural and operational fit.

“There’s no substitute for great people, and there’s a great team we’re picking up at Title365. A lot of them have worked for me in the past,” he said.

A key focus of the Title365 integration is home equity, which Chappell described as “an extremely prominent product line.” With mortgage rates still high, demand for home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) has surged.

“Focusing on the borrower experience is critical to HELOCs and home equity. … The problems with a lot of HELOCs, depending on the vendor, depending on whether it’s a lender or credit union, is that digital adoption is very low,” he added.

Chappell said that Covius plans to consolidate overlapping offices — both companies have facilities in Dallas — and will gain several new state licenses through the acquisition. The company operates on a hybrid work model with production centers in Madison Heights, Michigan; Kansas City; and Pittsburgh.

The deal continues Covius’s expansion under the leadership of co-CEOs Rob Clements and John Surface, who joined from EverBank in 2017. Since then, the company has acquired several major industry players, including Nationwide Title Clearing in 2021 and Clayton Services, a due diligence provider, in 2020.