Heritage Escrow Begins Bringing Spring Mountain Into the Fold

Now that Heritage Escrow Co. of Irvine has acquired Spring Mountain Escrow, creating the nation’s largest independent escrow firm, work has begun on trying to merge the firms.

The combined companies, which act as third-party agents in residential and commercial transactions, consist of 23 branches and 240 employees, and accounted for 25,000 closings last year.

Janet Shreiar, chief executive officer and president of Heritage said she’s confident the combined companies will continue to grow, but noted that her biggest challenge is helping new employees feel secure with the acquisition. “The employees are a little nervous,” she said.

Spring Mountain has been sold three times in four years, said Shreiar, who purchased the Irvine-based company from First American Financial, a huge real estate services provider based in Santa Ana. None of the previous purchasers were escrow companies, however, she noted.

While much of Heritage’s business comes from performing escrow services for resales, Spring Mountain specializes in new construction. Shreiar said she believed the combined companies would be able to handle a larger share of the residential market.

Shreiar, a longtime Heritage executive, bought the company’s two Orange County offices in 1983 and had expanded to nine offices by this year. The acquisition also will allow Heritage to expand into Walnut Creek in the Bay Area.

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Daryl Strickland covers real estate for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-5670, and at daryl.strickland@latimes.com.