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The disruption everyone talks about in this industry is much like self driving cars so far off into the future. Can the process be streamlined yes, can you get rid of some of the players not really. You will always need a title check you will always have to handle servicing( some banks and lenders do it in house depends on the cost) you will always need someone to buy a pool of loans and sell it to other investors.

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Title companies or title insurance is one piece I've never fully understood.

Are title companies basically just insurance companies that do a lookup in public / private records on that property to make sure the person selling the property is actually owned by them. And if they did poor research or the records were wrong, they'll pay for fees. Is that accurate or am I missing something?

You got it. They sell a couple different depths of products, the more guaranteed it is the more cost. They do the research to make sure there arent any valid competing claims or partial claims to any property. They bundle that all up with an insurance package for if they are wrong.

You don’t always need a title check - you just need a party willing to bear the risk of problems with title, which are rare. There is plenty of margin to play with there.

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