An hour on the phone, most of it typing
A first-time buyer calls after seeing a flat they like. The broker books a fact find call. On the call, the broker asks for employment details, salary, overtime and bonus, car finance, credit cards, student loan, any missed payments, deposit amount and where it comes from, the property price, the estate agent. The client goes to find a payslip. The broker types.
An hour later the broker has most of what they need, but the client is not sure what their credit card limit is, their partner is self-employed and needs to find their tax figures, and the deposit is partly a gift from parents. Follow-up emails go out. The decision in principle waits.
Why the fact find stays on the phone
Brokers take fact finds live because clients do not complete long forms, and because a mortgage fact find branches heavily: employed versus self-employed, first-time buyer versus remortgage, residential versus buy to let, single versus joint. A static form either asks everyone everything, or misses things.
The CRM, whether Acre or another system, often has a client-facing fact find, but brokers find clients abandon it, or complete it badly, because it was not built for someone on a phone in a lunch break.
- Clients face a long form that asks about everything.
- Self-employed and joint cases need different questions.
- Clients do not know figures like credit limits and commitments off hand.
- Answers typed into the CRM by the broker during the call.
- Gaps discovered only when sourcing or submitting.
What phone fact finds cost the brokerage
| Stage | Phone-led fact find | Guided online fact find |
|---|---|---|
| Before the call | Broker knows nothing yet | Broker sees a completed profile and gaps |
| The call | Spent collecting figures | Spent on the client's plans and questions |
| Joint and self-employed cases | Follow-up emails for partner details | Each applicant completes their own section |
| Decision in principle | Waits for missing details | Details largely ready |
| CRM data | Typed live, typos included | Entered by the client, checked by broker |
Broker time is the brokerage's capacity. Every hour spent typing figures is an hour not spent advising, and in busy periods it is the difference between calling a new enquiry today or next week.
The fact find we build
- We map your fact find with your brokers, including the branches for employed, self-employed, contractor, remortgage, buy to let and joint cases.
- Clients get a link that works on a phone, saves progress and only shows questions that apply to them.
- Each applicant in a joint case can complete their own income and commitments section.
- Prompts help clients find figures, for example where to look on a payslip or a credit card statement, and let them mark an answer as an estimate.
- Answers are written into your CRM, such as Acre, through its API or import route, so nothing is retyped.
- The broker receives a summary before the call, with gaps and estimates highlighted.
- Clients who stop part way get a reminder with a link back to where they left off.
The fact find collects information. It does not assess affordability, suggest lenders or give any view on what the client can borrow. That is the broker's work.
How the first call changes
The broker picks up the phone with the client's profile already in the CRM. The call is spent confirming details, understanding plans and explaining the process. Decisions in principle can be run sooner, because the data is already there. And for remortgage clients coming back, the fact find becomes a quick check of what has changed.
Is this how your fact finds work?
- Fact finds are taken live over the phone.
- Brokers type client answers into the CRM during the call.
- Joint and self-employed cases need several follow-up emails.
- Clients abandon your CRM's online fact find.
- Gaps are found at sourcing or submission.