Three payslips, but not the right three
The decision in principle is done and the client has an offer accepted on a house. The broker needs three months of payslips, three months of bank statements for each applicant, photo ID, proof of address and evidence of the deposit. The request goes out by email.
Back come two payslips, one from four months ago. Bank statements as screenshots from a banking app, cropped so the account name is missing. Only one partner's documents. The broker writes another email, and another. The vendor's estate agent is asking when the mortgage will be submitted.
Why document collection drags
Clients do not know what lenders accept, and brokers' requests are often generic. "Please send three months' bank statements" leaves room for screenshots, missing pages and the wrong account. Each round of correction adds days.
Requirements also vary. Different lenders want different things, self-employed and contractor cases need different evidence, and gifted deposits bring their own paperwork. Keeping track of what is needed and what has arrived, for each applicant, is a lot to hold in an email thread.
- Generic requests that do not say what lenders accept.
- Documents arrive as photos, screenshots and PDFs, through email and WhatsApp.
- Joint applicants send documents at different times.
- Checking dates, pages and names done by eye.
- No clear view of what is still missing per applicant.
Channels multiply the problem. One applicant emails, the other sends photos on WhatsApp, and a third bundle is dropped off at the office on a memory stick. Somebody has to gather all of it into the case, work out which is the latest version and notice what is still missing.
What the chase costs
| Problem | Effect |
|---|---|
| Wrong months sent | Another request, days lost |
| Screenshots instead of statements | Lender may reject, case delayed |
| Missing pages | Found at underwriting, not before |
| One applicant's documents missing | Whole case waits |
| Documents in several channels | Time spent finding and filing them |
Delays at this stage are felt by everyone in the chain. The client worries about losing the property, the estate agent chases, and the broker spends time on paperwork instead of new cases.
The document collection we build
- Each case gets a document list built from its type, applicants and your chosen lender's known requirements, which your team maintains.
- Each applicant receives a secure link with named upload slots and plain instructions: which months, full PDFs downloaded from online banking, all pages.
- Uploads are checked automatically for obvious issues: dates outside the required period, missing pages, a name that does not match the applicant, or an image that is too blurred to read.
- Clients are told straight away if something is not right, while they still have their banking app open.
- Reminders go to each applicant for their own outstanding items.
- Documents are filed to the case in your CRM with consistent names, and the broker sees a checklist that turns green when complete.
The checks catch obvious problems. They do not assess the documents for lending purposes. The broker reviews the pack and the lender makes its own decision.
How submission day feels
The broker opens a case that shows every required document, checked for the obvious problems, filed and named. Submission happens as soon as the pack is complete. Clients know exactly what they still owe you, and joint applicants each see their own list. Estate agents asking for an update get a clear answer.
Case handlers or administrators, where the brokerage has them, gain the most. Their day moves from chasing and renaming to checking complete packs, and a broker's pipeline can be packaged by whoever is free rather than waiting for the one person who knows where everything is.
Recognise the chase?
- Clients send the wrong months or partial statements.
- Documents arrive by email, WhatsApp and in person.
- You find missing pages when the lender asks.
- One applicant's documents hold up the whole case.
- Staff spend hours filing and renaming uploads.