Partner Spotlight ~ Paul Wagner, Milestone Title Services LLC

Paul Wagner

MILESTONE TITLE SERVICE LLC

FOR THE INDIVIDUAL

By Brandon Jerrell

With big business becoming evermore omnipresent, personal interactions are more and more rare. For a small business, the individual matters, and often matters the most. This is just one of the privileges of working with a smaller business.

Enter Paul Wagner of Milestone Title Services, LLC who makes sure to capture this personal touch in every interaction and subsequent transaction. Paul, who is the vice president of Milestone, makes certain that his clients know that they are cared for and are as comfortable as possible when working with his team. Milestone Title Services is a full-service title company providing services for residential purchase, refinance and commercial closings.

Education and Persistence

Paul was born into an Air Force family and has therefore lived all around the globe as his family moved from base to base. In his younger years, his family lived in Thailand and the Philippines. They settled in Dayton, Ohio for ten years where he became a lifelong Ohio State Buckeye fan.

Paul shares a story from his childhood that defines the type of person he is. “When I was in sixth grade, my defensive football coach gave me an award at our end-of-year banquet. It was not a normal award that was given out, he actually gave me his coaching hat. He made a speech that he wanted to give an award to a player who never asked for anything but would do anything he asked of him. I had no idea it was me until he said my name. My parents were so happy that they talked about it for a few weeks after the banquet.”

Paul moved to Tampa for high school. “After spending three years in Florida, I was not moving back to Ohio for college,” he shares. He received his degree from the University of South Florida. He was then hired soon after by Merrill Lynch in Jacksonville in 1992.

Big Bank, Big Lessons

He credits much of his industry knowledge to his 23 years at Merrill Lynch — both the what to do and the what not to do. A core belief he learned while at Merrill is to never say “no” to your clients.

Now being in the title business Paul says, “I have learned how to find ways to make things work rather than just give up and let a deal die. My clients and vendors love this about me. I want to do business and will do all I can to make a deal work. With my background working on the denied files at Merrill, I have come up with ways to save deals with the lenders I am working with.”

I WORK DIRECTLY WITH THE REALTORS® SO THEY ALWAYS KNOW WHO IS WORKING THEIR FILES AND WHO TO COMMUNICATE WITH SHOULD THEY HAVE QUESTIONS.

During his tenure at Merrill Lynch, Paul worked originating loans on the broker/correspondent channel, and as a problem-solver working directly with the underwriters to find a way to approve a denied loan.

Paul’s career as a lender ended when the company restructured. “Merrill Lynch was eliminating my position and was going to make me a 100% commissioned loan officer at Bank of America,” he explains. “My current boss offered me the job at Milestone Title, and once I was released from my role at Merrill, I opened up the North Florida office for our company.”

The Milestone Way Milestone Title Services is able to address each and every client on a personal level. Paul compares the amount of care to a “concierge service.”

“I work directly with the REALTORS® so they always know who is working their files and who to communicate with should they have questions.”

A significant service that separates Paul from others in his space is that he will meet with sellers prior to the mortgage closing so they don’t have to attend the closing.

These meetings are typically done at the seller’s residence to allow them the comfort of signing in their own home and is a service that they and their REALTORS® appreciate.

Family, Fun and Giving Back

Like many in small business, Paul places his family high on his list of priorities. “My dad and stepmom live here in Jax and my stepdad is close by in Lakeland, Florida. I have a beautiful daughter that is currently in school in Tampa at my alma mater, USF.”

“I enjoy doing anything outside. I love the beach, golf, and my Buckeyes. I coached my daughter in softball for 10 years and we were lucky enough to win a USFA World Series title in softball. We also took second and fifth in the USSSA World Series in her younger days,” Paul recalls.

Giving back is important to Paul as is the top fundraiser for the American Lung Association’s Fight for Air Climb. Paul explains, “I have participated for 12 years now and have been the top fundraiser in 10 of those years and second twice. This year I set a personal best record by raising over $10k for the climb. For the 12 years, I am now over $74k raised.”

For a hands-on title service ready to assist clients and agents, then look no further than Paul Wagner and Milestone Title Services.

Website: milestonetitlesvcs.com

Paul has participated in the American Lung Association’s Fight for Air Climb for 12 years raising over $74K himself.

Paul is a huge Ohio State Buckeye fan.

Paul and his daughter, Erin, who is currently attending USF, Paul’s alma mater.