Butler County Abstract Company has new owners
Wednesday, May 6, 2009 - 1:57 pm
Joan Riha can recite the details of where her eight grandkids are in their young lives, whether they are taking on a new job or finishing college.It's probably no surprise she is keenly aware of the details. She's been doing detail work as owner of Butler County Abstract Company for 37 years. Now she'll soon be busy visiting her grandkids' graduations and weddings.
Last week she prepared to retire as she sold her company to Greg and Lori Aschoff, who have renamed the company Butler County Title & Escrow. The company's office is at 373 E St.
Riha, who is 69, said it doesn't seem like 37 years since she bought the business from attorney Ray Sabata and went on her own.
"Time flies when you enjoy what you do," she said. "I enjoy serving the people and doing the best job I can."
Riha said she's helping around the office to wrap up ongoing property transactions and to be a resource for the new owners. She said that it was important to sell her business to younger professionals who were going to be a part of the community in the years ahead.
Riha has been a nearly constant presence in the records room at the Butler County Courthouse, making sure that property buyers had all the information they needed to bring clear title to property transactions.
The Aschoffs have followed a career path from Lincoln to North Platte and back to David City. Greg, 37, who is president of the Nebraska Land Title Association, has most recently been employed with Platte County Title. He is a native of West Point. Lori, a Lincoln native, is a grant writer, and she will be working in the office.
They wanted to move back to the eastern part of the state to be near their family. The shortage of housing in Columbus led them to move to David City, and now Greg's commute will be much shorter.
The Aschoffs have three children, Ben, 13, Katie, 11, and Libby, 7, who go to school at Aquinas and St. Mary's.Riha said the sale to the Aschoffs made her pleased to know the basis of her business, all those years of research conducted for transactions for attorneys and real estate professionals and financial institutions, would continue to provide assistance for the public through the Aschoffs.
"I really feel good," Riha said. "I'm just delighted."
The Aschoffs said the name change reflects the company's addition of escrow and title services.
"As we contemplated the name, we wanted to provide continuity in terms of name recognition, but we also wanted the name to better reflect the services we provide," Lori said.
Butler County Abstract Company provided title insurance, title searches and abstracts, records research and recording of documents.
The new owners will provide escrow closings or 1031 exchanges, which over the years have become increasingly important to lenders, real estate brokers and attorneys, Lori said.
Butler County Title & Escrow will not only continue to provide the same services, but we have expanded services to provide escrow closings and 1031 exchanges. The new owners also will be working in surrounding counties to provide their services, she said.
"Because of Greg's involvement in the NLTA and the title industry, we have connections in nearly every county across the state," Lori said.
Riha said she's ready to spend more time with her family. Her husband, Ray, died in 1998.
Her daughter Barb and Barb's husband, Chuck Brandenburgh, live in Overland Park, Kan., where they raised three sons; son Chris and his wife, Rhonda, Riha live in Grand Island, where they raised two daughters and a son; and daughter Jeanne Riha of Eagle has raised a daughter and a son.
