Move each borrower from first enquiry to funded loan without losing a condition or a deadline.

A loan officer works a pipeline of borrowers at different stages. Some are asking about rates and a buydown. Some have a signed application and are waiting for a processor to open the file. A few are days from closing with one condition still open, perhaps a gift letter or a missing bank statement.

Most keep this in a mobile phone, an email inbox and a sheet of lock dates. Referral partners ask for status. Answers come from memory, and the borrower hears the same answer a day later.

The loan officer takes enquiries from referral partners such as estate agents, builders and conveyancing solicitors, and from past clients. Each borrower is asked about income, assets, debts and the property, and whether the loan is conforming or jumbo. A rate and loan estimate are quoted, the application is taken, and the supporting documents the lender needs are requested, from payslips to tax returns. Pre-approval letters follow.

Processors check the file, order verifications, valuations and appraisals, and send it to underwriting. Underwriters return conditions that the borrower must clear, from a seasoning query on a deposit to proof of homeowners insurance. Each one comes back through the officer. The closing team then books the signing and the funds.

Lock dates, rate expiry and closing deadlines drive the week. After funding, the officer thanks the referrer. The commission due on the loan depends on the plan the lender set for that quarter, the branch split and any buydown cost.