Establishing and maintaining relationships with lenders is a critical part of a mortgage broker’s job. Bringing deals that are both properly written and completely vetted can help build trust and lasting relationships between brokers and their lenders. This can also lead to more favourable terms and even less overall scrutiny with lenders over time. 

Early identification of possible delinquencies and issues could result in saved time, money and relationships with lenders. In order to find these issues before an application is submitted to a lender for review, brokers should consider implementing the following practices.

1. Pick up the phone to verify information. Take a moment to verify employment information as well as things like condo or strata fees to make sure the client is up to date.
2. Verify the titles for homeowners, especially when refinancing. Make sure there are no undisclosed participants on the title.
3. Request current mortgage balance statements from current lenders to ensure the total amount owing provided matches the buyout statement. 
4. Pull a free BC Assessment on the property to ensure the information received matches. 
5. Request Notice of Assessments, even if they are not required for income verification at the time, to reveal any tax arrears or potential liens. This will give further insight into the client’s financial health. 

Credit discrepancies, fee arears, multiple mortgages or liens on the property are all issues that brokers can find prior to submitting applications. 

By addressing these areas early in the application process, brokers can significantly mitigate inherent risks. Although all applications have potential risks, thoroughly vetting each client and application can reduce potential problems and help to streamline the lending processes. Ultimately, brokers with these strategies will appear more reliable and build a better reputation with both their clients and their lenders. 

It is important to continuously refine risk management processes as the industry changes. By creating strategies for verification and validation, brokers can protect their lender relationships, their businesses and even their clients.