When the deal stage is changed to Formal Approval, BrokerEngine creates a task that tells the team a Formal Approval Checklist must be completed. This checklist helps the broker team make sure key deal details (e.g. loan amount, payment term, interest rate, etc.) have been reviewed and verified before the client completes their property purchase. That task cannot be marked complete until all the items in the Formal Approval Checklist have been ticked off.
Formal Approval means a deal has been unconditionally approved by the lender, and the bank has no outstanding conditions.
Contents
Prerequisites
None.
Video walkthrough
Learn how to create a formal checklist.
What is Formal Approval?
The diagram below shows where Formal Approval sits within the loan lifecycle.
When is a loan formally approved?
A Formal Approval Letter email, usually in PDF format, is sent to the broker. The content of the letter varies from lender to lender, but as a minimum, it contains the following:
client name(s)
approved loan amount
address of the security property
Stage Formal Approval steps
The primary purpose of Stage Formal Approval is to accurately notify the client of the Formal Approval so they can let relevant parties know.
Before you notify the client of the formal approval, you must first confirm that approval has been issued as you requested. That is, you must check these items:
The loan amount is correct.
The interest rate is correct (i.e. pricing has been applied if applicable).
The lender's mortgage insurance (LMI) is accurate.
The names are accurate.
The required minimum building insurance has been secured.
The delivery address for the mortgage documents.
Other miscellaneous items (e.g. a fixed rate lock has been applied, the lender rebate has been approved, a First Home Owners grant was submitted).
The items to check vary depending on the 1-Click-Workflows and Type. For this reason, BrokerEngine has the Formal Approval Checklist for team members to follow for each deal.
The Formal Approval Checklist in detail
The following steps explain how this checklist works and the steps involved.
You can view lender contact details, including the broker's Broker Code, on the sidebar when completing a checklist.
Updating funding position in Checklist mode
Funding positions within BrokerEngine have a Checklist mode. This mode allows you to confirm the loan approval issued by the lender matches data in BrokerEngine.
To update the funding position in Checklist mode:
Click the pencil icon in the Funding widget on the sidebar.
Set the mode to Formal. This option displays a series of checkboxes that need to be checked off.
Open the Formal Approval Checklist on the right-hand side of the screen. If you need to call the lender to update the funding position in Checklist Mode, you can complete both the funding position and the checklist at the same time.
Checkboxes
Scroll down the Funding Positions panel. The panel displays fields with multi-coloured checkboxes. Carefully verify the data in each checkbox. Check GREEN for correct information or RED for incorrect information. Checklist items apply to every split in the Funding Position.
If any data are incorrect, update the Funding Position as per the lender's approval and make a note of any changes in the wizard.
Marking a task complete
The task can now be marked complete. This action triggers a workflow email to the broker or client-facing team with the following documents attached:
Lender Formal Approval
Broker Formal Approval Advice
These documents should be forwarded to the client, confirming the final details of the approval and the next steps.
Example Formal Approval Advice generated by BrokerEngine
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