LegalTech platform Closer expands to Alberta

An Ontario-based LegalTech platform streamlining real estate transactions is expanding into Alberta, the company announced Monday. 

Founded in London, Ont., Closer is a legaltech software platform that streamlines conveyancing—the legal process of transferring property ownership from a seller to a buyer—for Canadian real estate law firms. The platform assembles information needed from different parties in a transaction, and provides tools for preparing closing documents to register the change in title for a piece of property.

“We have our sights set on one platform for all of Canada.”

Harrison Kelly
Closer CEO

“Closer’s job is to do all the searches and assemble all the information from different partners in the ecosystem, and ultimately close the transaction,” said Closer CEO Harrison Kelly. 

Closer’s software, which it claims is used by more than 600 real estate law firms in Ontario, is now available for use by firms anywhere in Alberta. The province-wide rollout follows a three-month, early-access program the company made available to 14 law firms across Alberta.

Kelly told BetaKit that Closer has had eyes on expanding its services across Canada for some time, with Alberta making sense as the first jurisdiction to move toward given its similarities in real estate law to Ontario. Because legal frameworks around conveyances shift from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, Closer’s platform needs to tailor its services to the requirements of different provinces. 

“Alberta’s a great fit to be the next launch point because the practices are quite similar to those of Ontario,” Kelly said. “We’ve taken time over the last year to localize [the platform] effectively, hiring local experts and working with data firms. Alberta is just a great fit from a workflow perspective.” 

Some of the Alberta-specific changes include implementing the Western Law Societies’ Conveyancing protocol, creating a repository of Alberta-compliant documents like Transfers of Land or Affidavits of Value, and support for the Alberta Registry for Land Online, a new digital land titles registry. There is also Alberta-based onboarding support now available. 

Kelly said the Alberta expansion is a jumping-off point for the larger project of rolling out Closer across the country. He wouldn’t disclose which provinces the startup is eyeing next, but said Alberta will serve as a case study for how to expand the product elsewhere. 

“We have our sights set on one platform for all of Canada that can operate in multiple provinces from the one platform. If you’re a firm that operates in both Alberta and Ontario, you can run things from the central mothership, which is really unique,” Kelly said. “We gave teams out localizing for a few other provinces, and we’ll be national very soon.”

BetaKit’s Prairies reporting is funded in part by YEGAF, a not-for-profit dedicated to amplifying business stories in Alberta.

Feature image by Tierra Mallorca courtesy Unsplash.