SPRINGFIELD -- Guaranty Title Company closed suddenly this week, raising questions for employees, builders, buyers and sellers.  Title companies are important cogs in the process of buying and selling property.  On Wednesday, the Missouri Department of Insurance said it is investigating the sudden closure.  Guaranty Title had at least 10 offices in Springfield and surrounding towns, including Aurora, Branson, Mount Vernon, Nixa, Ozark and Republic.

  Some employees say they never knew this was coming.  They say they had just about 20 minutes to clear out their stuff before owners closed the doors.  On Wednesday, the doors were locked and employees wondered what's next.

  “I just left for lunch and got a text message to come back as soon as possible,” said April Cole, a Guaranty Title employee.

  Cole says the news came suddenly.

  “It was a steady job.  I’d been there almost two years -- a single mom just working, raising my kids.  Now it's a whole new life today -- no job, no income, no anything,” she said.

  She and the other employees had about 20 minutes notice to get out before the doors were locked.

  “We had trash bags getting our stuff off our desk. I had some builders coming in and had to turn them away.  They were wanting their paychecks, and I had to turn them away.   I didn't know what to tell them,” said Bobbie Clark, another employee.

  They say the only signs something was wrong were the couple of times that employee paychecks bounced.  The company's owners told them they'd fix the problem.

  “’We'll get it covered.  It'll get handled.  You'll be fine,’” they said the owners assured them.

   Now all of the employees are looking for new jobs, unsure if they'll ever see a final paycheck, and wondering why this happened.

  “It's not only us but all the business that we had.  That's a lot of questions that need to be answered,” said Cole.

  In an email message on Wednesday, Guaranty Title’s owners refused a reporter’s request for an interview.  In the email message, they said their offices are closed and, if customers have concerns or claims, they need to submit a request in writing by faxing it to (417) 725-4432 or (417) 725-9303.  They also have an email address: guarantytitle@gmail.com.

  “We will be working diligently on those claims as they are submitted,” the message said.