Mortgage-processing terms, explained

A

Aftercare

Post-settlement contact with the client: welcome call, first-repayment check, rate reviews and annual reviews. Often the first thing to slip when a broker is busy, and a common hand-over task.

Aggregator

The group a broker belongs to for lender access, commission processing, compliance and software (for example LMG, Connective, AFG, Finsure). Task Tango teams work inside the aggregator's CRM under the broker's licence.

ApplyOnline (AOL)

The lodgement platform most Australian lenders use to receive loan applications from brokers. Processors key the application, attach documents and submit it here.

Approval in principle (AIP) / pre-approval

A lender's conditional indication that it would lend a certain amount, before a property is chosen. Not a commitment; expires, typically after 90 days.

B

Best Interests Duty (BID)

The Australian legal duty on mortgage brokers to act in the client's best interests when recommending credit. It stays with the licensed broker; processors prepare but never recommend.

Broker Support Officer (BSO)

Task Tango's title for a trained loan processor on CoreCrew or LifeLite who works for one brokerage.

C

Compliance file

The set of notes, checklists and documents that evidence how a recommendation was made: needs analysis, product comparison, credit guide, privacy consent, BID notes. Built as the file progresses, audited by the aggregator.

Conditional approval

The lender has approved the loan subject to conditions, usually a valuation, final documents or a sale contract. Clearing conditions is a core processing task.

CoreCrew / LifeLite / FlexFlow / SteadyAssist

Task Tango's four mortgage-processing plans: full-time dedicated, set days, four hours every weekday, and per task with 24-hour turnaround. Compare them.

Credit guide

A document brokers must give clients in Australia setting out who they are, their licence and how they are paid. Part of the compliance file.

D

Decision in principle (DIP)

The UK equivalent of an approval in principle: a lender's indication it would lend, based on a soft credit check.

Discharge

Paying out and closing an existing loan, usually when refinancing or selling. The discharge form and timing are coordinated by the processor.

Document checklist

The list of supporting documents a lender needs for an application (ID, payslips, bank statements, contract of sale). Pulse Boards tracks outstanding documents per file.

E

Employer of Record (EOR)

A company that is the legal employer of staff on behalf of a client business, handling contracts, payroll and compliance while the client directs the work. Task Tango's Managed Team is an Employer of Record service in India.

F

Fact-find

The structured collection of a client's financial position, needs and objectives before a recommendation. In the UK also called a client questionnaire; processors prepare and chase it.

Formal approval / unconditional approval

All conditions met; the lender issues loan documents. The file moves to settlement.

L

Lenders mortgage insurance (LMI)

Insurance the borrower pays when the deposit is under 20%, protecting the lender. Processors calculate and include it in servicing.

Loan documents

The contract the borrower signs after formal approval. Processors book signing, check execution and return the documents to the lender.

Lodgement

Submitting the completed application to the lender, in Australia through ApplyOnline or Simpology, in the UK through the lender's portal.

M

MyCRM

LMG's broker CRM. Task Tango processors are trained on it, along with Connective Mercury, Salestrekker, BrokerEngine and others.

P

Packaging

Preparing an application so it is complete and consistent before lodgement: documents collected and checked, servicing run, notes written. The single biggest time cost on a file.

PEXA

Australia's electronic conveyancing platform where settlements are completed. Conveyancers and lenders transact in it; processors coordinate around it.

Pricing request

Asking a lender for a discount below its advertised rate for a specific client. Submitted through the lender portal or ApplyOnline and chased by the processor.

Processing

Everything between a signed fact-find and a settled loan that does not involve giving advice: packaging, lodgement, pricing, valuations, conditions, documents and settlement.

Pulse

Task Tango's own operations platform: Boards, Timesheets, Helpdesk, HR, Metal Fabrication and Property. Clients see their Task Tango team's work, hours and attendance in it.

R

Refinance

Replacing an existing loan with a new one, usually for a better rate or to release equity. Comes in waves when rates move; see surge teams.

S

Second-person check

Task Tango's rule that a second trained person reviews every file or task before it reaches the client. Logged in Pulse; the pass rate is published on the home page.

Servicing / serviceability

The calculation of whether a borrower can afford the loan under the lender's policy, including buffers and living expenses. Run by the processor in the lender's calculator before lodgement.

Settlement

The completion of the loan: funds advanced, property transferred, existing loans discharged. Booked and confirmed by the processor with the conveyancer and lender.

Simpology

An Australian lodgement and application platform used by several aggregators as an alternative to ApplyOnline.

Single Touch Payroll (STP)

The Australian requirement to report salary, PAYG and super to the ATO each pay run. Handled by Managed HR & payroll.

Statement of Advice (SOA) / suitability report

The document a financial adviser (AU) or mortgage adviser (UK) gives a client setting out the recommendation and why. Paraplanners draft; the licensed adviser signs.

T

Task Allocation Tracker

The shared tracker LifeLite and FlexFlow clients use to assign and follow tasks when they prefer not to use a Pulse board.

Turnaround

Time from receiving a task to returning it checked. SteadyAssist promises 24 hours; other plans work to agreed service levels.

V

Valuation

The lender's assessment of a property's value, ordered by the processor through the lender or a valuation panel, often the condition that takes longest to clear.