By Grant Armstrong, Head of Distribution at Neighborhood Belief
Collectively, we assist on a regular basis Canadians make what is often the biggest transaction of their lives, enabling them to go from discovering their dream dwelling to getting the keys in a matter of 45 to 90 days.
On this business, effectivity is every thing. Working on the tempo prospects anticipate is a shared duty. Inefficiency can imply missed alternatives and misplaced enterprise, whereas better effectivity reduces wasted assets for lenders, which might translate into decrease consumer prices, greater dealer commissions and even new product improvements.
This is applicable to all lenders, however significantly to these within the different house, like ourselves at Neighborhood Belief, the place underwriting is much less standardized. Brokers who put in somewhat additional effort to grasp not simply what we ask for, however why we ask for it — and the way greatest to arrange and package deal offers — in the end assist us work sooner and extra successfully for them and their shoppers.
Listed here are a couple of methods brokers can assist create a smoother borrowing expertise.
Study your lenders’ processes
Among the best methods to extend effectivity is for brokers and lenders to spend extra time understanding one another’s processes.
It is a two-way road. Lenders must do a greater job of training brokers, however we additionally ask that brokers stay open to studying. Realizing what we have to course of a file helps us transfer offers ahead extra shortly, even when some info isn’t accessible.
For instance, when a lender asks for 12 or 24 months of financial institution statements, there’s often one thing particular we’re on the lookout for. If a consumer is unable to supply that documentation, understanding why we requested it could possibly assist brokers meet that expectation in different methods, avoiding prolonged back-and-forth exchanges.
Present a highway map for incomplete recordsdata
We all know shoppers can’t all the time provide each doc directly.
Underwriters juggle dozens of recordsdata at a time, and every time they reopen a file, they should reacquaint themselves with what’s there and what isn’t.
The very best assist brokers can provide is to submit full recordsdata. When that’s not doable, present a short information or notes explaining what’s included, what’s lacking, what’s been substituted and when the remaining paperwork will comply with. That readability prevents assumptions and misinterpretations and helps us course of offers a lot sooner.
The extra organized the paperwork are obtained, the better it’s to handle. Providing that clarification makes a giant distinction in turnaround time.
Don’t wait till the final minute
We’ll all the time do our greatest to accommodate shoppers, however we don’t have a lot room to compress timelines. Information submitted late can’t all the time be rushed.
A file requires a set variety of days from the time paperwork are obtained, no matter how shut you’re to closing. A lender will all the time want a couple of days to evaluation paperwork and full their inside processes — that timeline doesn’t get compressed when paperwork are obtained later.
Ask how one can assist effectivity
A part of our job is to ask brokers how we are able to do higher. However a few of our greatest partnerships are with brokers who ask us the identical query.
Ask your lending companions what they must be extra environment friendly, what challenges they face, and how one can work higher collectively. Study their underwriting course of, most well-liked communication channels and their greatest ideas. I can guarantee you that almost all lenders are very happy to share.
Our partnership helps Canadians full the biggest transaction of their lives on time, however there’s all the time room to enhance. Simply as brokers depend on us to get offers throughout the end line, we depend on brokers to assist us work extra effectively.
After we work as a really unified workforce, it in the end creates a greater expertise for lenders, brokers and shoppers, resulting in extra deal quantity, stronger margins, extra progressive merchandise, and extra repeat enterprise.
Have questions on different lending? Click on right here to get in contact.
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Final modified: October 8, 2025
