We order title after we have a credit decision. Why would I spend anything at the letter of intent?

That order makes sense, and it's how most SBA files have always run. Here's what changes if you move it up: at the letter of intent, what the record shows is still something you can structure around. After the credit decision, it's a closing condition. My recommendation is to order at the LOI. It's the same search, you'll have it within 24 hours, and the $149 is credited in full against the premium when the file closes with an Intelligent Title policy. Try it on your next deal. Start the order.

This is a title search with a marketing name on it. What is actually new?

You're right that the search itself isn't new, and I won't pretend it is. What's new is when and how you can order it: on day one, on its own, before anyone has committed to a policy. You get a cited, dated record within 24 hours, and I can answer pricing and status any time you ask. Order it at your next letter of intent and experience the difference when the record comes first.

Our title company down the street has done our deals for fifteen years. Why should I change?

Fifteen years of good work deserves respect, and I'm not asking you to question it. This is about sequence, not skill. When the search is ordered at the letter of intent, curative work has time instead of a deadline, and the same file carries straight through to the policy. I'd suggest giving us one deal to show you. Order at the LOI, and if it closes with our policy, the $149 is credited in full against the premium.

Most of our files are clean. Why pay on deals that never reach authorization?

Most are clean, and that's good news. The trouble is you can't tell which ones aren't until someone reads the record. The search and examination are performed either way, and the findings are yours to keep. At $149, credited in full against the premium when the file closes with an Intelligent Title policy, it doesn't take many surprises caught early to pay for itself. Order on your next LOI and see what the early read tells you.

Who pays the $149, the bank, the borrower, or the project?

Your fee policy decides, and any of the three works. On 504 files, title searches and abstract costs are eligible project costs under SBA SOP 50 10 8.1. The price is the same $149 whoever pays, credited in full against the premium when the file closes with an Intelligent Title policy. Pick the payer and place the order at the letter of intent.

Is this a second charge on top of the title bill I already pay at closing?

I understand the worry, and it's not. When the file closes with an Intelligent Title policy, the $149 is credited in full against the premium, so you never pay twice for the same work. The search is already done by then, which is exactly why the file that opens at the LOI is the one we'd like to close.

What is my exposure if your search misses something?

That's the right thing to ask before trusting anyone with your lien. Policies are underwritten by Stewart Title Guaranty Company and WFG National Title Insurance Company. Every finding shows the record it came from and the date it was searched, and every judgment call carries a licensed professional's signature. Order early, read the record, and let the policy stand behind it.

How does this touch my workflow? I am not adopting another portal.

Fair enough. Nobody needs another login. There's no portal to adopt: one order at the letter of intent, one document back within 24 hours, and you can ask me for pricing or file status any time. Order on your next deal and see how little changes on your side.

Who do I call at 6pm on a Friday when a closing is moving?

You call me. I answer pricing and status around the clock, and your file has a named closer and closing team behind me for anything that needs a person. The honest answer, though, is that ordering at the LOI means fewer Friday calls in the first place. Start your next file early and see for yourself.

Twenty-four hours is a marketing number. What is the turnaround reality?

I'd be skeptical too. Here's exactly what the 24 hours covers: the initial response on ownership, liens, encumbrances, judgments and taxes, and the legal description. Curative work takes as long as third parties take, and I can't speed up a lienholder. That's the reason to start at the letter of intent. Order there and hold us to it.

Show me the SBA hook. Where does the program actually care about title?

Right in its own procedure. SBA SOP 50 10 8.1 says lien position on real estate is generally evidenced by a title insurance policy, and lenders have to document proper lien priority (13 CFR 120.920). All of that starts with the record. My recommendation is to read it at the letter of intent, then let the same file carry you to the policy.

A lien shows up after SBA has authorized the loan. Walk me through what that actually costs me.

It's rare, but it's the scenario worth planning around. A late lien reopens terms and conditions you thought were settled, and if proper priority was never obtained, the guaranty itself can be at risk under SBA SOP 50 10 8.1. Reading the record at the LOI avoids both. Order on your next deal and see what you know before authorization.

For SBA Lenders, Pre-Policy Intelligence

For 7(a), 504, and Express originators. What is standard and predictable per SBA program is the requirements. What is unpredictable is when they get started. Pre-Policy Intelligence fixes that timing.

A lending officer at her desk with the city skyline behind her

Built for SBA lendersBusiness development officers, underwriters, closers and the credit team.

SECTION 1

The SBA Lender's Operational Reality

SBA lenders operate against a stopwatch. From the moment a letter of intent is issued, the file is racing toward a funding date the SBA guarantee will not extend for lender side delays. Every SBA closing carries specialty title requirements beyond the standard commitment, SBA specific endorsements, municipal lien searches, surveys, code and zoning verifications, environmental confirmations, and rider language the underwriter will only produce after the initial research is complete.

For the most part, these requirements are standard and predictable per SBA program. What is not predictable is when they get started. If underwriting, appraisal, and environmental all move forward for the first four weeks while title sits untouched, there is no way to close in six weeks. The timeline math does not work.

The only way to close on the schedule you promised the borrower is to start title work at the same moment the LOI goes out, not when the closing is scheduled, not at underwriting completion, not at commitment.

SECTION 2

What Pre-Policy Intelligence℠ Is and What the $149 Order Does

Pre-Policy Intelligence begins the title process at day one. Work on the property begins the moment the order is received, ownership examination, lien identification, encumbrance disclosure, judgment and tax review, and legal description verification. Every party to the transaction sees the same record simultaneously.

From the moment the Pre-Policy Intelligence order is placed, you have forecasting capability. You know what the property looks like at a title level. You know what riders will be required, what municipal work needs to be commissioned, whether a survey needs to be ordered, and what SBA endorsements will need to be drafted. The unknowns become known early enough to plan around.

One company, one file, one relationship

Intelligent Title opens your file at day one and issues the policy that closes your deal, one company, one file, from LOI through funding. Pre-Policy Intelligence launches the full title package that follows: the preliminary commitment, title clearance work, municipal and special searches, survey coordination, SBA specific endorsements, rider language, and the final owner's and lender's policies.

A two-story medical office building with a covered entrance — Owner-occupied medical officeSingle-family, multifamily, mixed use, retail, industrial, hospitality and land: the same $149 search and examination for every property and transaction type.

SECTION 3

Why the Timing Matters, The 60 to 90 Day Picture

An SBA closing typically runs 60 to 90 days from LOI to funding. The title package required to close cannot be produced in the final two weeks of that window. If title work starts at day 30 or day 45, the file will slip past its closing date, not because anyone did anything wrong, but because the work required cannot compress that far.

Ordering Pre-Policy Intelligence at LOI moves title work parallel to underwriting rather than sequential to it. Sequential title work is why SBA closings slip. Parallel title work is why they close on schedule.

Stage	Conventional Sequence	With Pre-Policy Intelligence
LOI	Title order deferred. Appraisal and environmental initiated.	Pre-Policy Intelligence link included in LOI package. Borrower orders same day.
Day 1–2	No title activity. Underwriting begins collecting borrower documentation.	Title file opened. Ownership examination, lien identification, and encumbrance disclosure delivered to all parties.
Weeks 1–4	Underwriting, appraisal, and environmental progress. Title remains unopened.	Preliminary commitment issued. SBA endorsements and rider language drafted. Municipal searches ordered. Survey scheduled.
Weeks 4–8	Title finally ordered at commitment or when the closing is scheduled. Full package cannot compress. Closing date at risk.	Title clearance work resolved. Municipal returns received. Survey delivered. Final policy ready for issuance.
Closing	Closing slips one to three weeks. SBA guarantee timeline at risk.	Closes on the date the LOI quoted.

SECTION 4

How It Enters Your Workflow, Running in Parallel

The mechanism is straightforward, and it does something structural to how the deal moves. The SBA lender includes a Pre-Policy Intelligence order link in the LOI package or intake checklist the borrower receives. The borrower orders and pays $149 for the title search and examination, credited toward the title insurance premium when the file closes with an Intelligent Title policy. Pre-Policy Intelligence work begins the moment the order is received. Initial response is targeted within 24 hours of order.

What this actually accomplishes is parallel workstreams. Every SBA transaction has multiple workstreams that need to advance in parallel, the lender orders appraisal and environmental, underwriting begins its work, the borrower produces documentation. Title work was never the slow part. Waiting to start it was. Pre-Policy Intelligence shifts that pattern, it puts title in the borrower's hands at day one, one more thing on the list the borrower is already working through, and it starts moving on the same clock as everything else.

The five-step institutional flow

Loan officer includes the Pre-Policy Intelligence order link in the LOI package or intake checklist.
Borrower completes the order and $149 payment for the title search and examination.
Intelligent Title opens the file on receipt of the order and delivers the report to all parties. Initial response is targeted within 24 hours.
Closer populates the conditions tracker with what has already surfaced.
File continues through preliminary commitment, clearance, endorsements, survey, and final policy, with Intelligent Title from LOI through funding.

There is a second thing this does that matters just as much. The borrower is engaged with the reality of title from day one. They understand it is a real workstream, not a formality that happens the week of close. When encumbrances, liens, or property issues surface, and on some percentage of files, they will, the borrower sees them at day one, not at the eleventh hour. No closing table surprises. No "why didn't anyone tell me this three weeks ago." The lender who put the Pre-Policy Intelligence link in the LOI is the reason none of that happens.

SECTION 5

What Your Team Gains When Pre-Policy Intelligence Is in the File From Day One

Closing team

Your operations team stops chasing title. Instead of the operations desk hunting the borrower for title status three weeks before close, the title package assembles on a predictable timeline that started at LOI. Runway exists for title clearance work and coordination. Intelligent Title runs the file from day one through policy issuance.

Credit team

Early confirmation that the collateral supports the structure, before appraisal and environmental fees are committed. Non-closable files exit early instead of consuming pipeline capacity. Guarantee exposure stays clean because the title record is known at underwriting, not discovered at closing.

Borrower and seller

Borrowers stop hearing "we are still waiting on title" a week before close. They hear "we are ready to close on the date we promised." Sellers learn clearance requirements early enough to satisfy them without renegotiating price or timeline. That is the difference between a lender who retains borrowers across future transactions and one who loses them mid-deal.

SECTION 6

Where It Applies

Pre-Policy Intelligence applies to any SBA transaction involving real property where a title policy is issued, including:

7(a) business acquisitions with real estate collateral.
Owner-occupied commercial real estate financings.
504 projects with the two-lien structure and CDC coordination.
SBA refinances where existing lien clearance and payoff coordination drive the timeline.
Multi-parcel files where each parcel introduces its own title complexity.
Compressed timelines where the LOI quotes a close date that cannot tolerate title slippage.

SECTION 7

How the SBA Lender Serves the Client

The SBA lender is the borrower's advocate in the closing process. Handing the borrower a Pre-Policy Intelligence link at LOI is not a sales pitch, it is professional guidance from a lender who understands how SBA closings actually work.

The positioning to the borrower

"SBA closings run on tight timelines. To close on the date we are quoting you, we ask every borrower to place a Pre-Policy Intelligence order at LOI. It is $149 for the title search and examination, credited in full against the title insurance premium when we close with an Intelligent Title policy, and it starts the title work moving on day one. Here is the link. Order now."

That message positions the lender as the source of the borrower's good outcome. When the closing lands on the schedule the LOI quoted, the borrower remembers who put them on that path. When the next SBA deal comes around, they call the same lender.

SECTION 8

Compensation, Borrower Choice, and Provider Selection

Compensation flows. Pre-Policy Intelligence is a title order placed by the borrower with Intelligent Title, a full-service title insurance business. The $149 is paid by the borrower to Intelligent Title for title search and examination work. Intelligent Title pays no referral fees, no commissions, no marketing payments, no per file compensation, no revenue share, and no thing of value to the SBA lender, the referring officer, the packager, or any other party in connection with the order or the subsequent title insurance policy. Nothing flows to the lender. Lender teams and their counsel remain responsible for evaluating this structure against applicable frameworks, including RESPA Section 8, SBA SOP requirements on settlement service selection, and internal provider selection standards.

Borrower choice. Borrower choice of title provider is preserved. The lender makes the Pre-Policy Intelligence order available at LOI; the borrower places the order and pays the $149 directly. Nothing about Pre-Policy Intelligence conditions loan approval, terms, or any element of the SBA package on the borrower's choice of title provider.

The $149 is disclosed to the borrower as payment for the title search and examination, credited in full against the title insurance premium when the transaction closes with an Intelligent Title policy.

PRICING

Pre-Policy Intelligence is $149.

Pre-Policy Intelligence is $149. That price is the same for every property, every customer, and every transaction type. Intelligent Title does not offer volume discounts, tiered pricing, negotiated rates, or promotional pricing on Pre-Policy Intelligence.

How the $149 works

One order, one file, from today to the policy

TodayOrder Pre-Policy Intelligence$149. No policy commitment and no executed contract required.
Within 24 hoursThe initial responseOwnership, liens, encumbrances, judgments and taxes, and the legal description.
At closingYour title insurance policyThe $149 is credited in full against the premium when the file closes with an Intelligent Title policy.

Price your policy with IRISThe findings are yours from the moment they are delivered.

SECTION 9

What Pre-Policy Intelligence Covers

Deliverable hierarchy. Pre-Policy Intelligence produces a preliminary title picture, the earliest documented view of what is on record against the property. That picture is not a title commitment and it is not a policy. As the file matures toward closing, Intelligent Title issues the formal title commitment (governed by the underwriter's commitment form and applicable state regulation) and, at closing, the final title insurance policy (governed by the policy form and jurisdictional regulation). The three deliverables serve different purposes and carry different legal weight. Findings in the preliminary picture inform, but do not constitute, the commitment or the policy.

Pre-Policy Intelligence is record based. Ownership, liens, encumbrances, judgments, and tax status reflect the reasonably discoverable public record at the time the file is opened. Search turnarounds vary by jurisdiction, some municipal returns and survey coordinations run on standard local timelines beyond Intelligent Title's control.

Title work is a distinct scope from survey, appraisal, and environmental. Pre-Policy Intelligence coordinates the title package. Appraisal and environmental remain the lender's separate workstreams.

SECTION 10

Getting Started With Your Platform

Institutional setup is straightforward. Intelligent Title provides a dedicated intake link for your platform, agreed delivery specifications for the report format your closers and credit teams use, and a single point of contact for every file. Pilot structures are available, typically 20 to 30 files across two or three markets to validate the timeline gain before broader rollout.

To open a conversation about deploying Pre-Policy Intelligence across your SBA pipeline, contact orders@intelligentitle.com.

Start the title work the day the letter of intent goes out.