New York, NY – November 20, 2014 – Expanding its legal practice which now totals six attorneys, First Nationwide Title Agency (FNTA) today announced that Felix Tschanz, Esq., a commercial real estate title insurance veteran with more than 23 years of experience has joined the firm as senior underwriting counsel/senior vice president. He is based in FNTA’s Uniondale, Long Island office.

Mr. Tschanz offers wide and varied experience in providing title insurance for clients, including large commercial transactions in New York City, working on the aboriginal rights of the Shinnecock Indians for their ownership of Westwoods, the 80-acre, 61,000–square–foot casino located in Southampton, New York; insuring the Cross Sound Cable, an underwater electrical transmission cable situated beneath the waters of Long Island Sound; and helping to insure the largest conservation easement in New York State on Robins Island, a 435-acre undeveloped island in Peconic Bay by the eastern end of Long Island off the coast of New Suffolk.

“It’s an honor and a privilege to announce the arrival of such a seasoned attorney as Felix,” said Steve Napolitano, president of First Nationwide Title Agency who added that Mr. Tschanz is the third lawyer to join the agency this year. “Commercial real estate transactions have reached the buoyancy levels of the pre-2008 downturn and as clients are eager to close deals by year’s end, we are adding experts to meet the heightened demand.

”Mr. Tschanz’s wide range of experience includes surveys, defeasance agreements, tax free exchanges, commercial air rights and platforms, rail yards, streets, luxury and unique residential properties, subdivisions and low income housing to name a few. He has also interfaced with governmental agencies, including working on major historic and open space purchases by local towns and counties such as the towns of Huntington, Babylon, Islip, Oyster Bay, Hempstead and the counties of Nassau and Suffolk.

Prior to joining FNTA, Mr. Tschanz served as chief underwriting and executive vice president at Melville, Long Island-based Advantage Title since 1996, where he was instrumental in transforming the firm from a small residential operation to a major player in the commercial title insurance arena. Before that, he worked for Intracoastal Abstract, Foundation Abstract as a real estate attorney.

Mr. Tschanz is a member of the Suffolk County Bar Association and is licensed to practice law in the State of New York.