Use Titleman when the slow part of underwriting is gathering and checking inputs: it starts from an address and returns a memo and a live Excel model where every input shows its source and date. Stay with your own Excel model when the deal needs your firm's house template, a bespoke structure, or a model your committee already reads line by line.
Published by Titleman, which makes one of the tools compared. Updated 19 October 2026.
What is actually being compared
"Excel" here means the generic spreadsheet underwriting model most CRE teams keep: a rent roll tab, a T-12 tab, a pro forma, a debt tab and a returns summary, filled in by an analyst. Excel itself is a general tool. Microsoft describes it as a way to analyze and visualize data, offers Excel for the web at no charge and sells it inside Microsoft 365 plans, and says Copilot in Excel can help edit formulas, tables and formatting so you can "review the changes and stay in control."
Titleman is not a spreadsheet replacement. Its underwriting output is itself a live Excel model. The difference is where the inputs come from.
Side by side
| Question | Excel model (generic template) | Titleman |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Deals that need your house model or a bespoke structure; low volume with verified inputs in hand | A sourced first underwriting of a property from an address plus the OM, rent roll and T-12 |
| What it does | Calculates whatever the analyst builds and types in | Gathers the property record, comps and documents from 2,100+ sources and your files; returns a memo and a live Excel model with a 10-year pro forma, sources and uses, a loan schedule, DSCR, debt yield, returns and sensitivity grids |
| Where it stops | It does not find or check inputs; sources sit in someone's notes, if anywhere | It does not know your house conventions unless you give them; the memo text gives no final price or buy or sell verdict |
| Pricing model (as stated) | Per Microsoft: Excel for the web at no charge; paid Microsoft 365 subscriptions for individuals and per-user business plans; some AI features may bill by usage | Not listed here |
Where Excel is the right answer
- Your firm has a standard model. If the committee reads every deal in the same template, a different layout costs review time.
- The structure is the analysis. Joint-venture waterfalls, preferred equity, construction draws and unusual lease terms are built cell by cell by someone who understands the deal.
- You already have clean inputs. If the rent roll is verified and the comps are in hand, what is left is modeling, and a good analyst in Excel goes straight at it.
Where the template runs out
A template is only as good as what goes into it. Before the first formula runs, someone has to confirm the parcel and the owner of record, check zoning, find sales that are actually comparable, reconcile the rent roll with the T-12 and note what is missing. In a typical template, none of that work is recorded next to the number it produced.
That is the part Titleman does. On first underwriting runs over the 30 days to 13 October 2026, the median report carried about 1,000 data points: 159 found with a source and date, 607 computed by formula and 164 named as missing. Gaps are named, not filled with a guess. The median time from request to delivered files was about 58 minutes (44 runs, 30 days to 18 October 2026).
Who should pick which
- Pick Excel alone if you underwrite few deals, already hold verified inputs, or need a bespoke structure in your house format.
- Pick Titleman if you screen many properties, want a sourced first pass before deciding which deals earn a full model, or need to show a lender or committee where each input came from.
- Use both if you want sourced inputs and still finish in your own template. Titleman's Excel uses live formulas, and you can upload your own workbook (up to 40 MB) and change it by typing, with each change shown before it is applied.
For the wider field, see AI tools for commercial real estate, outsourced CRE analysts vs AI and Dealpath vs Excel for deal pipelines. The product page is real estate underwriting AI.
To check it on a deal you have already modeled, request access and compare the two files.
FAQ
Does Titleman replace Excel for CRE underwriting?
No. Titleman's underwriting output is a live Excel model. What changes is how the inputs arrive: gathered from 2,100+ sources and your documents, each with its source and date, with gaps named as missing.
When should I keep my own Excel model?
When your committee expects a house template, when the deal structure needs custom modeling such as waterfalls or construction draws, or when you already hold verified inputs and only need to model.
Can Titleman work with my existing Excel model?
Yes. You can upload your own workbook, up to 40 MB, and change it by typing. Each change is shown before it is applied, formulas stay intact and any step can be undone.
How long does a Titleman underwriting take?
Measured on production runs over the 30 days to 18 October 2026, the median was about 58 minutes from request to delivered files (44 runs).
Does Titleman tell me what price to pay?
No. The memo text gives no final price and no buy or sell verdict. The numbers and methods are in the Excel file for your team to check and decide.
Statements about other companies come from each company's own website, read on 19 October 2026.
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