TitleSmart

What TitleSmart does

TitleSmart, Inc. is a privately held, full-service title insurance and escrow agency founded in 2007 in Maplewood, Minnesota by Cindy Koebele and Angela Shackle, and now headquartered in White Bear Lake, MN. The company issues owner's and lender's title insurance policies and provides escrow, document preparation, notarization, and end-to-end real estate closing services to residential and commercial property buyers and sellers, as well as to real estate agents and mortgage lenders who refer clients. Operating technology is built primarily on SoftPro real estate closing software, augmented by in-house tools including the TitleSmart Title Tracker, the Title Insurance Rate Calculator, a Sellers Net Sheet Calculator, and Remote Online Notarization (RON) capabilities; the company is a certified Women's Business Enterprise.

TitleSmart earns revenue primarily through transaction-based fees on real estate closings: closing fees of $495-$600 per transaction, document preparation fees of $200-$500, plus one-time title insurance premiums based on property value, and ancillary charges (state deed tax, courier/payoff processing at $50 per payoff, etc.). Distribution is multi-channel: customers engage directly through eight physical branch offices spanning the Twin Cities metro area (White Bear Lake, Apple Valley, Blaine, Edina, Forest Lake, Maple Grove, Woodbury) plus New Richmond, WI and Faribault, MN; through a website-based self-service ordering portal; and through referral relationships with real estate agents and lenders. The company projects ~5,500 closings annually as of 2014 and has appeared on the Inc. 5000 list eight times between 2014 and 2022, with three-year revenue growth rates of 99%-133% in those placements.

The company remains entirely founder-owned with no disclosed institutional investment, and is led by CEO Cindy Koebele (EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2015). Growth has historically been organic branch expansion, supplemented by the September 2018 launch of a Commercial Real Estate Closing Division and the January 2024 acquisition of Executive Title. Multiple Best Places to Work and Top Workplaces recognitions (2015-2025) underscore the company's emphasis on workplace culture as a retention and customer-experience lever.

Name

TitleSmart

Legal name

TitleSmart, Inc.

Website

https://title-smart.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

TitleSmart, Inc. is a privately held Minnesota-based title insurance and escrow agency that issues title policies and provides closing, escrow, and Remote Online Notarization services to home buyers, sellers, real estate agents, and lenders across eight offices in the Twin Cities and Wisconsin.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Title Insurance & Real Estate Closing Services

NAICS

Direct Title Insurance Carriers (524127), Title Abstract and Settlement Offices (541191)

SIC

Title Insurance (6361)

akta.pro primary industry

Title Insurance & Underwriting (BPAJAOAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Title Search & Examination (BPAJAOAB), Abstracting Services (Title Abstracts) (BPAJAOAC), Document Preparation & Recording Services (Deeds, Liens) (BPAJAOAG), Notary & Signing Agent Services (Remote/Onsite) (BPAJAOAF)

Keywords

• Title insurance
• Real estate closing
• Escrow services
• Title search
• Closing services

Headquarters

HQ city

White Bear Lake

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Title Insurance Policies: TitleSmart issues owner's title insurance policies and lender's mortgagee policies to protect against title defects. The original premium is a one-time cost as long as the owner or their heirs retain an interest in the property.
2. Escrow and Closing Services: Full-service escrow and real estate closing solutions including document preparation, notarization, fund disbursement, and transaction coordination.
3. Document Preparation and Related Fees: Fees for document preparation, state deed tax, recording charges, notary services, and courier/payoff processing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

TitleSmart is a full-service title insurance agency that issues owner's and lender's title insurance policies and provides escrow, real estate closing coordination, document preparation, notarization, and fund disbursement services for residential and commercial property transactions. The company operates eight branch offices across the Twin Cities metro area and Wisconsin, supplemented by digital tools such as title insurance rate calculators, seller net sheet calculators, and Remote Online Notarization (RON).

Product overview

TitleSmart is a full-service title insurance company providing a unified suite of title, escrow, and real estate closing solutions across the Twin Cities metro area. The core offering centers on title insurance policies (Owner's and Lender's), escrow services, and closing coordination, supported by digital tools including the Title Insurance Rate Calculator, Sellers Net Sheet Calculator, and Remote Online Notary (RON) service. The company operates multiple branch offices and offers various resources including closing worksheets, seller's expense worksheets, and reference guides for real estate professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Title Insurance Title insurance policies that protect property buyers and lenders from title defects, liens, encumbrances, and hidden risks discovered after closing.
• Escrow Services Escrow services that manage the transfer of funds and documents during real estate transactions, ensuring all parties fulfill their obligations before closing.
• Real Estate Closing Services Comprehensive closing services that coordinate and execute real estate transactions, including document preparation, signing coordination, and fund disbursement for residential and commercial properties.
• Title Insurance Rate Calculator Online tool for generating title insurance rates, taxes, and fees in a disclosure-ready format for Minnesota and Wisconsin properties, available via desktop and mobile.
• Remote Online Notary (RON) Virtual notarization service enabling remote document signing through secure online video conference, eliminating the need for in-person notary visits for home buyers and sellers.
• Commercial Real Estate Closing Services Specialized title insurance, closing, and escrow services for commercial real estate transactions, led by an experienced commercial closer/underwriter with expertise in complex commercial transactions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5,500 closings projected annually (2014)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Stewart Title: Major national title insurance and real estate services company offering title underwriting, escrow, and closing. Operates in the Twin Cities through direct and agency offices, competing with TitleSmart for both residential and commercial title work, but with significantly broader geographic coverage.
• First American Title Insurance Company: One of the largest national title insurance underwriters in the U.S., issuing owner's and lender's policies and providing closing/escrow services nationwide. Competes with TitleSmart in the Twin Cities via direct operations and agency relationships, but operates at national scale across many product lines.
• Fidelity National Title: The largest U.S. title insurance underwriter (parent FNF), offering direct title, escrow, and closing services through national and regional operations. Overlaps with TitleSmart on residential and commercial title issuance in Minnesota and Wisconsin, with materially deeper balance sheet and lender-direct relationships.
• North American Title Company: National title insurance underwriter (formerly part of FNF) issuing title policies and operating agency title operations. Competitor in the broader national title market with overlapping products (owner's and lender's policies, escrow, closing), but at much larger scale than TitleSmart.
• Old Republic Title: National title insurance underwriter issuing policies through direct and agency operations across the U.S. Competes with TitleSmart on lender-direct title work in the upper Midwest and offers commercial title services that overlap with TitleSmart's commercial division.

Others

• Qualia: Closing and title technology platform used by title agents, underwriters, and real estate professionals to coordinate real estate transactions. Adjacent / enabling rather than directly competing — Qualia's software is actually used by some title agencies — but it is the kind of platform that could reshape how TitleSmart-style regional shops operate.

Emerging players

• Spruce: Digital-first title insurance and escrow platform offering a fully online closing experience for home buyers, sellers, and lenders. Competes with TitleSmart on the consumer experience layer — particularly RON and online ordering — though at a much earlier stage and smaller geographic footprint.

Regional players

• Sun Title Agency: Midwestern title and closing agency with multi-office operations serving residential and commercial transactions. Comparable regional title/closing model to TitleSmart, though operating in a different upper-Midwest market rather than directly in the Twin Cities.
• Title One: Regional title and escrow company operating across multiple Midwestern/Mountain-West states with branch-based title and closing services. Comparable operating model to TitleSmart (multi-branch, residential-focused) but in different states, so primarily a comparable for business-model benchmarking rather than direct competition.

Direct peers

• The Title Team: Independent Twin Cities title and closing company providing title insurance and real estate closing services to home buyers, sellers, and real estate agents in the same Twin Cities metro as TitleSmart. Closest direct competitor given the overlapping geography, customer base, and service mix.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/titlesmartinc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TitleSmart