Lennar acquiring Regency Title, expanding local mortgage firm. (Lennar Corp.; Regency Title Co.)

One of Houston's largest title companies is being purchased by real estate giant Lennar Corp., which acquired Friendswood Development Co. late last year.

The pending purchase of Houston-based Regency Title Co. by Florida-based Lennar Financial Services is part of an overall attempt to streamline Lennar's operations in Houston. As part of the deal, Lennar will also rapidly expand a small mortgage company that, it established here last year to handle all of its mortgage lending activities.

Lennar will pay an undisclosed sum to acquire Regency Title, which will become the exclusive title company for Village Builders and will also handle title work for Lennar's small but growing Houston home building division.

"We're still trying to iron out all the details," says Linda Reed, executive vice …