By: KewCrew Media
Real estate professionals rely on title companies to close deals efficiently, but many title operations have invested in automation that hasn’t lived up to its promises. The gap between automation potential and actual results often comes down to a fundamental misunderstanding of what needs automating.
Jimmy Lewis has watched this pattern play out repeatedly. As a Co-Founder of TrueFocus Automation and a title insurance veteran with over 20 years of experience, he sees title companies making the same mistake: buying automation solutions from vendors who understand technology but not title insurance workflows.
“Most vendors focus on the wrong problems,” Lewis explains. “They want to replace your entire system or build flashy interfaces, but they miss the manual processes between your existing systems. That’s where the work really starts to slow teams down.”
For real estate agents waiting on title work to close deals, these operational inefficiencies create frustrating delays. A title search that should take hours stretches into days. Document processing that could happen overnight takes a week. Exceptions pile up because the automation doesn’t account for real-world variations in county requirements.
The solution isn’t more technology. It’s a better application of existing technology, guided by people who actually understand title operations.
TrueFocus’s approach reflects this operations-first philosophy. The company has deployed 760 bots handling over 2,400 tasks across title, mortgage, and appraisal operations, with clients typically seeing ROI within months rather than years.
Consider Title Hunter®, TrueFocus’s online automated title search platform. These bots can deliver tens of exam-ready title searches in an hour in counties where traditional abstractors would need hours or possibly days. For agents managing multiple orders, that speed can be the difference between responding to a client right away and losing the business to another title company that moves faster.
The cost structure matters too. While many enterprise automation projects require massive upfront investments and multi-year ROI timelines, TrueFocus’s per-bot average runs around $9,500 with much faster returns. That makes automation accessible to small and mid-size title companies, not just the largest national players.
Sridhar Loganathan, TrueFocus’s Co-Founder and COO, emphasizes the transparency component. “We’ll tell you upfront whether something is ready to automate or not,” he says. “We’re not going to take every project just to make money.”
That honesty matters in an industry where failed automation projects waste significant time and resources. Title companies that have been burned by previous automation attempts become skeptical of new solutions, even when better options exist.
The ownership model also differs from typical automation vendors. Most retain ownership of their solutions and charge ongoing transactional fees. TrueFocus provides transaction-based solutions, but also offers clients the option to own what gets built, helping address long-term cost planning and data security concerns.
For title professionals, the implications are significant. Better title automation means faster closings, fewer exceptions requiring manual intervention, and more predictable timelines. It means title companies can handle volume spikes without proportional increases in staff or processing delays.
The challenge is identifying which title companies have effective automation versus those still relying heavily on manual processes or inconsistent technology. Questions to consider include:
- What is your typical turnaround time from order opening to the client receiving their title search?
- Can you handle sudden volume spikes without delays?
- What percentage of your work requires re-work or manual corrections?
- What technology do you use to reduce errors and speed up workflows?
As the real estate industry continues to evolve, automation will increasingly separate efficient title operations from those dependent on manual work. For agents building referral relationships with title companies, understanding which partners have truly effective systems can provide a competitive advantage and help deliver faster, more reliable closings for clients.
About TrueFocus Automation
TrueFocus Automation provides intelligent process automation solutions for title insurance, mortgage, and appraisal operations. Founded by title insurance veterans, the company combines deep industry expertise with custom bot development to automate complex workflows while allowing clients to maintain ownership and control of their automation infrastructure.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. The information provided does not guarantee future returns or results. Readers are encouraged to consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
