When a man walked into First Choice Title last year holding a yellowed business card, Amber James wasn’t sure what to expect. The card, worn and creased from decades in a wallet, bore the name “Kitty Thompson” – James’ mother and founder of the company.
“He said, ‘I’m looking for Kitty,’” James recalls. “The card was from before she started First Choice – at least 1994. I sent a picture of it to my mom and my sisters. We couldn’t believe someone had kept it that long. But that’s the kind of impression she leaves on people.”
The story says a lot about the company Thompson launched in 1995 – and about the people who still run it today. Thirty years after Thompson opened her first office on Shallowford Road, James is now vice president, her other daughters, Brandi Sharpe and Shana Knight, are closing agents, and longtime colleague Starr Kerr drives the roads of Chattanooga as the firm’s mobile closer – sometimes literally going the extra mile to help a client.
Together, they and others have guided First Choice Title through recessions, industry upheavals and the pandemic with a steadfast work ethic that’s earned the trust of clients and colleagues alike.
From Victorian Gardens to downtown
When Thompson launched First Choice in 1995, James was a freshman at Gordon Lee High School.
“I worked summers running errands and making bank deposits once I could drive,” James says. “So, unofficially, I’ve been here since ’97.”
The company began in the Victorian Gardens building on Shallowford Road and later expanded to Ooltewah, but the 2008 recession forced Thompson to consolidate. Resilience – and timing – kept the business alive, and by 2011, after James graduated from law school, First Choice Title had opened a new downtown office in the Loveman’s Building.
Today, the company operates from two locations – the original Ooltewah office on Little Debbie Parkway and the downtown site – reflecting its blend of tradition and adaptability.
The road warriors
If James represents the legal backbone of First Choice, then Kerr is its front line – or maybe its front seat.
“I’m the mobile closing agent,” Kerr says. “That means I go wherever I’m needed – a Realtor’s office, a home, a hospital, even jail.”
Jail?
Kerr laughs. “Yes, I’ve done a closing in jail. We try to offer full service.”
Kerr, who’s been with First Choice for eight years, worked with Thompson decades ago when both were starting their careers. She’s seen title work from nearly every angle – banking, real estate, closing – but she says this company stands apart.
“They’re ethical,” she says. “Sometimes too ethical.”
“I think she means we go strictly by the book,” James laughs.
“Exactly,” Kerr nods. “They do things the right way.”
That mix of professionalism and personality doesn’t just define how the team interacts with clients, it also shapes how they respond when challenges arise.
“One time we went above and beyond to keep a closing on track was when Brandi drove all the way to Memphis to stop a property from being foreclosed,” James says. “There was a hard deadline to pay off the mortgage before it went to auction, but the closing couldn’t happen in time and wiring the money wasn’t an option. So Brandi got a cashier’s check, made the drive to Memphis and waited outside the lender’s office with the check in hand until we confirmed the closing was complete.
“The moment it was, she walked in, made the payment and saved the deal – with happy buyers and sellers on both sides.”
The local advantage
James says part of doing it right is being local.
“We were born and raised here,” she says. “We’ve seen Chattanooga’s transformation. When I was in high school, you didn’t go downtown after dark. Now it’s thriving, and being part of that has been amazing.”
Even in the age of online records, she adds, there’s no substitute for local knowledge.
“Our examiners know the neighborhoods, the properties, even the history behind them. That context makes a difference. You can’t get that from a computer.”
The personal touch also reflects Thompson’s original motivation for starting the business.
“She wanted to control the process – not in a negative way, but to make sure every part of the experience was excellent,” James says. “When she worked for another company, she didn’t have control over turn times or deadlines. Starting her own business let her set her own standards.”
Three decades later, those standards are still driving the company.
Lessons from the filing cabinet
Like many family businesses, First Choice grew organically – and sometimes painfully.
“My sisters and I have all been fired at least once,” James admits, laughing again. “I was about 18 and my job was filing paper files, which was incredibly boring. I told mom I wanted to do something else. She said, ‘Well, there’s no opening, so you can keep filing or find another job.’”
James found another job elsewhere – briefly.
“I realized pretty fast that was a mistake,” she says. “When I came back, mom rehired me to file files.”
That experience became one of the most formative of her career.
“She taught me that nothing is beneath you and that every detail matters. If you misfile one document, it can be lost forever. That’s a lesson I carry to this day.”
Eventually, Amber became a closer, then went to law school specifically to work in the title business.
“I’d already fallen in love with it,” she says. “It’s never boring. Every transaction is different, and there’s always something new to learn.”
A people business
If the legal work behind a closing is complex, the emotional work can be just as demanding.
“Sometimes people are selling the home they grew up in or buying their first one,” James says. “It’s not just paperwork to them. Understanding that context – that this is a big moment in someone’s life – is important.”
Kerr agrees.
“We’re the last step,” she says. “When everyone’s happy at the end, we feel good.”
Of course, not every transaction goes smoothly. James remembers one early in her career that didn’t.
“I’d missed a detail in a title search and had to call the client the day before closing to postpone,” she says. “I was mortified. We waived our fees and, thankfully, it only delayed things a few days.”
The lender involved – a longtime referral partner – told her he didn’t judge people by their mistakes but by how they recover from them.
“Being human, those times are inevitable – though I wish they weren’t,” James says. “Our philosophy has always been to own the mistake, offer a sincere apology and then work hard to make it right.”
Private eyes
Sometimes, the challenges are less about errors and more about human nature.
“Our processors are like private investigators,” James says. “They have to verify identities and make sure no one’s trying to commit fraud.”
“We’ve had sellers pose as spouses who weren’t actually spouses,” Kerr chimes in.
“Yes,” James laughs. “One man told our processor he was single, but she happened to look at the online listing for the property and said, ‘This house looks like a woman decorated it.’”
Her instincts were right.
“She checked court records and found not only was he married, but he was in the middle of a divorce – and his wife was claiming part of the sale,” James says. “He was trying to sell the house without her knowing. That processor is our resident PI. If you lie to her, she’ll find out.”
Fighting fraud
In an industry that’s increasingly digital, James says protecting clients from fraud is one of their most serious responsibilities.
“Our underwriters give us tools to verify identification,” she explains. “If a seller can’t be present – what we call a ‘mail-away closing’ – we use third-party notaries or online notaries we know are legitimate. That helps prevent people from pretending to be someone else.”
Her accent turns the phrase “mail-away” into “mellow way,” prompting more laughter.
“I didn’t realize how Southern I sounded until I saw what my phone typed when I use talk-to-text,” she jokes.
Beyond tech safeguards, James still relies on something more old-fashioned: intuition.
“Sometimes a processor or closer will say, ‘Something doesn’t feel right,’” she says. “We’ll dig deeper, and usually they’re right. In the last year, we’ve caught four or five attempted fraud cases that way.”
One common scheme involves vacant land.
“Those are magnets for fraud,” James says. “If we get a contract for a piece of land, we’ll send a letter to the address where the tax bill goes. If the owner isn’t selling, they’ll call us, and we can stop the transaction before anyone gets hurt. That’s saved more than one person from losing their property.”
Evolution and endurance
Thirty years in business means adapting – to new laws, new technologies and even global events.
“The lending regulations changed significantly in 2015,” James recalls. “That was a huge learning curve. Then the pandemic came, and we had to rethink how to do closings safely. Technology changed everything, but it’s also allowed us to serve clients who might be in different states or even different countries.”
The core values, however, haven’t changed: honesty, precision and service.
“We focus on customer service,” James says. “It’s competitive out there – new title companies are popping up all the time – but we’ve built relationships that have lasted decades.”
The next generation
Thompson, now semi-retired, still handles closings at the Ooltewah office. Her daughters insist she’s earned a break, but retirement doesn’t seem to be on her agenda.
“She’s cut back a little, but she still works full-time,” James says. “We tell her she should relax, but she loves what she does.”
When the day eventually comes for Thompson to hand over the reins, James says the next generation is ready, though she doesn’t pretend to know what the future holds.
“There’s a Bible verse that says we make our plans but the Lord orders our steps,” she says. “Things don’t always look like you expect. After recessions and pandemics, we’ve learned to be grateful for where we are and open to what’s next.”
Closing time
For all the complexity and stress that comes with title work, the end of a successful closing never gets old.
“This room has heard a lot of sighs of relief and a few ‘woo hoos,’” James says, looking around the downtown conference room where countless transactions have taken place.
Thirty years after Thompson decided she could do things better, First Choice Title still closes every deal with that same care – and maybe a little laughter to go with the signatures.