Mortgage broker client update template

The stretch between submitting an application and receiving an offer is the part of the process clients find hardest, because it is the part where they have nothing to do. They cannot influence it, they usually cannot see it, and they have often just committed to the largest purchase of their lives.

A template set for this period is not about saving typing. It is about guaranteeing that the silence never gets long enough for the client to fill it with worry.

The principle: scheduled, not triggered

Most firms send updates when something happens. That leaves the quiet weeks empty, which is precisely when the client most needs to hear from you.

Send on a schedule instead, and let news arriving early simply replace the scheduled message. A message that says nothing has changed is not a failure. It is proof that you are watching.

A workable rhythm for a purchase is: confirmation on the day of submission, a check-in around a week later, then fortnightly until offer, plus an immediate message for any real event such as a valuation being booked or a condition being raised.

Message one: submitted

Send within a few hours of submission, while the client is still thinking about it.

Subject: Your mortgage application has been submitted

Hello NAME,

Your application went to LENDER this morning. Here is what happens next and roughly when.

The lender will carry out their assessment and arrange a valuation of the property. Based on how LENDER is running at the moment, I would expect their first substantive update in around NUMBER working days, though that can move.

You do not need to do anything at this stage. If the lender asks for anything further, I will come to you with a specific request rather than a general one.

I will be in touch on DATE whether or not there is news by then, so you are not left wondering. If anything changes before then, you will hear from me straight away.

If your circumstances change in any way before completion, including a change of job, a new credit agreement or a change of address, please tell me immediately. It matters more than people expect.

NAME

Message two: nothing has happened yet

This is the message most firms never write, and it is the most valuable one in the set.

Subject: Update on your application

Hello NAME,

A quick update so you are not left guessing. LENDER has not come back to us yet, which is normal at this stage and not a sign of a problem.

Where things stand: the application is with their underwriting team, and the valuation is DESCRIBE STATUS.

There is nothing needed from you at the moment. My next update will be on DATE, and of course I will contact you sooner if anything comes through before then.

NAME

Message three: the lender wants something

The tone here matters. A request for information reads as a rejection to a lot of clients unless you frame it.

Subject: One thing needed for your application

Hello NAME,

LENDER has come back with a query. This is a routine part of their process and it does not mean there is a problem with the application.

They have asked for DOCUMENT OR EXPLANATION.

If you can send it by DATE, that will keep everything moving at the pace we expected. You can upload it using the same link as before, or reply to this message with it attached.

If you are not sure where to find it, ring me and I will talk you through it.

NAME

Message four: valuation booked

Subject: Valuation booked for DATE

Hello NAME,

The lender has instructed the valuation and it is booked for DATE.

DESCRIBE WHETHER THE CLIENT NEEDS TO DO ANYTHING, INCLUDING ACCESS ARRANGEMENTS.

The valuation report goes to the lender rather than to you or to me. Once they have it and are satisfied with everything else, they can issue the offer.

I will let you know as soon as I hear the outcome.

NAME

Message five: offer issued

Subject: Good news, your mortgage offer has been issued

Hello NAME,

LENDER has issued your mortgage offer. A copy is attached and it has also gone to your conveyancer.

Two things worth noting. The offer is valid until DATE, so exchange and completion need to happen before then. And the offer contains a small number of conditions, which I have listed below in plain terms.

CONDITIONS

From here the process is mostly with your conveyancer. My role now is to stay in touch and to sort out anything that comes back to the mortgage.

Please read the offer yourself as well. If anything in it is not what you expected, tell me before you go any further.

NAME

Message six: the awkward one

You need a message ready for a decline or a down valuation, written when you are calm rather than composed under pressure.

Subject: Update on your application, and what we do next

Hello NAME,

I want to tell you where we are as directly as I can. LENDER has DESCRIBE OUTCOME.

I know that is not what you were hoping to hear. Here is my honest read on why it happened and what our options now are.

REASON, IN PLAIN LANGUAGE

OPTIONS, WITH THE REALISTIC IMPLICATIONS OF EACH

I would like to talk this through properly rather than by email. Are you free on DATE or DATE?

NAME

Making templates not sound like templates

Keep the placeholders substantive. A template where the only variable is the client's name will read as a mailshot. A template where the variables are the lender's actual behaviour, the actual dates and the actual next step reads as attention.

Write in the voice of the person sending it. If two advisers in your firm speak differently, let them keep separate versions rather than forcing a house style that neither can say out loud.

Never send a template that contains an unfilled placeholder. Have someone else read the first ten before they go out.

Recording and the regulatory dimension

Every one of these messages should land in the case record automatically, not just in an inbox. The pattern and timing of your communication is part of the evidence that clients were supported through the process.

Whether particular content in your client communications needs specific wording, disclosure or approval will depend on your permissions and, if you are an appointed representative, on your network's rules about client-facing material. Have your templates reviewed through your usual compliance route before you put them into circulation. The drafts here are a starting point for that conversation, not approved copy.