This is my first post on SOT.

I am Don Sedy and I started TSUSA in 1999. I want to brief all of you on our history and where we are today. It may be a long rant so if you are interested, just read it.

I started off as an abstractor just like all of you and didn't know a curreent owner search from a doc retreival in 1999.My motto was 'get paid and pay your people'. plain and simple.

My mother used to drive me to my 1 person office at 7 am in the morning, beacuse I didnt have a car, and pick me up at 9 or 10pm when the day was done. I worked my but off. Eventually i started working for banks on and made inroads with a large instiitution. We spent 100's of thousand of dollars on infrastructure, systems, staff and the like. We were told "grow with us" and we did.

Life was good, for us, our clients and our vendors. We sequentially grew our product lines, reveune, staff, vendors, locations (1 NY 2 Chicago) and subsatntially contributed to many local economies.

In 8 years in business we paid out close to 20 million to all of you, which was well dseserved on your part.

We did all of this through hard work and sound busineess practices. We employed over 70 people at one time and did it all with NO outside financing or going public. We had 401K plans, health care, vacation pay and a great atmosphere to work in.

Most importantly we had a great team! And we all became freiends. For some working at TSUSA was a stepping stone for other life endeavors. For a few, we set them up with there own company. WE took care of people and we loved the comradiere and the singular focus we shared...."get the job done for the client". We called many of you "our friends".

In 2004, our main customer which accounted for 80% of our revenue, close to 8 Million dollars, decided to drop us and open up there own title company.

The rest is history. We tried getting new clients, putting in proposales and did indeed land a few. But project profitabilty was an issue, and the margins are so low that it was almost better to not take the work on. That, coupled with the rise in fed funds from june 04 forward and the burst in the housing mkt has left us in the same postion as many other title/abstract companies that grew very quickly.

To say that the last 2 years have been a challenge would be an understatement. It has been hell. Both persoanally and proffesionally.

TSUSA has downsized so much that we now only have myself and 1 employee. We dont have a 401K, or even a healtcare plan. I struggle to make it into the office on a consistent basis.

I personally have put over 80K of my own savings  back into the company this year alone that went to pay all of you. I have a few bank clients left that like to go out over 90 days paying us.So as wqe wait for them, you wait on us.

See the news lately, Countrywide lowered earning guidance for the 3rd time this year saying that a housing recovery is not in store until at least 2009.

It's tough for everyone these days. None of us planned this market outcome, no one wants it and for many, including me, its a f'in nightmare. And unfotunately it's 'trickle down economics'. From the banks who want more service but paying less,to the title companies, to us asking you to lower prices and better terms on payment. 

The market has changed so much. Remember how easy it was to get a client 3 years ago?

For us, on the banking side, Its next to impossible to get a good client today. If they don't want some sort of 'payoff' just for sending you the work, there request border on the unreasonable.

Not only is pricing imperative, but you have to get through SarBox (Sarbanes Oxley) and approved by 12 diferent department/levels of management before they say OK! Oh yeah, and wait 90 days for payment.

In my opinion,  only a few big companies can weather that and perform on a nationwide level profitably.

I hope that the mkt changes. I know most of you are good people and unfortunatley we are facing difficult, frustrating times...


In closing, I am by nature, a fighter. And although I don't know what tommorow brings and I cannot guarantee any of you anything, I want you all to know that I have tried my best over the last 8 years, and I will continue to.Titlesearch USA will try it's best to make good on any outstanding debts.

i appreciate you time.

don sedy
Titlesearch USA