Your Borrowers Don't Need a Faster Pre-Approval

Most loan officers think speed wins the pre-approval. Get the letter out fast, get the borrower shopping, move on to the next one.

Speed matters. But a fast letter built on the wrong structure can quietly cost a borrower thousands, and cost you the relationship that should have come after it.

What one strategy call turned up

Last week I met over Zoom with a couple who had just gotten an offer accepted. They already had a pre-approval from another lender. On paper, they were done.

Then we ran it live. Their mortgage scores came back well below what their budgeting app showed, which changed the mortgage insurance and the pricing. We looked at 5 percent down, 15 percent down and 20 percent down. We checked mortgage insurance from six providers at once. We priced points. We looked at two other loan programs and ruled them out together, on screen.

Where we landed: 15 percent down with two points to buy the rate down came within about $16 a month of putting 20 percent down, with roughly $28,000 less cash going into the house. They wanted the payment under their target and their investments intact. They got both.

That's not a pre-approval. That's a strategy. And it took about 85 minutes.

Why most loan officers never have those 85 minutes

Here's the uncomfortable part. Most loan officers know this kind of call is the job. The reason it doesn't happen isn't skill. It's time.

When you're the one chasing documents, ordering the appraisal, answering status calls and fixing the disclosure, an 85-minute strategy call feels impossible. So the borrower gets the fast letter instead, and the strategy never happens.

What it takes to make the strategy call the default

On our team, I do about 10 of these strategy meetings a week. That's only possible because everything around the meeting belongs to someone whose job it is:

• The file is prepped before I join, so I'm not reading it for the first time on the call.
• The call is recorded with permission, so I can be present instead of taking notes.
• The recap email, the next steps and the disclosures go out from a system, not from my memory.
• A contract-to-close specialist takes the file from there, and someone else owns the relationship after closing.

I'm still involved and still watching. But my part is the strategy, and that's where I get to spend my time.

The question worth asking yourself

Look at your last ten pre-approvals. How many of those borrowers got a real strategy conversation, and how many just got a letter?

If the answer bothers you, it's probably not because you don't know how. It's because your day doesn't leave room for it. That's worth fixing, whether it's your systems, your support, or where you work.

Let's compare notes

If you're a loan officer who wants more of your week spent on strategy and less on chasing paper, I'd love to talk. Reach out here.