Creating a loan application: first-file checklist

Use this checklist to prepare a first file, review what you entered and give the next person a clear handoff. Follow your organization's current instructions for the selected product and your assigned access. Screen labels and available actions should be confirmed with your administrator; the checklist does not describe a tested sequence of ReversePilot screens.

Before you start

Confirm which account and role you should use, which product your organization intends to offer, and who owns questions about its configuration. Have borrower and property source information available through your approved document-handling process. Check for an existing application before starting another record.

Organize the information your current procedure calls for: borrower identity and contact details, property address and value source, financial information, supporting documents and the intended file owner. Keep estimates distinguishable from verified records. Do not fill a missing value with an invented answer just to move past a required field.

For a training exercise, use an approved test environment and fictional records. Confirm that external orders and communications use test services before proceeding. Keep actual borrower identifiers out of training notes and support screenshots.

Check the selected product before entering the file

For a HECM file, use your organization's current HECM instructions. For a proprietary file, obtain the instructions for that specific product. Ask the responsible product or operations owner to confirm the applicable requirements, configuration and review sequence for each. Do not carry age assumptions, calculation tables, fees or document checklists from one product into another without that review.

Treat a product appearing in a selection list as a configuration observation, not a decision about a borrower's eligibility. If the intended product is missing, preserve the information already collected and ask the administrator to review availability and configuration. Do not select a different product merely to get past the problem.

Enter, save and check the record

Use the new-application route in your organization's current instructions. Compare each requested value with its source as you enter it. Preserve the distinction between an estimated property value and a later appraisal, and keep unanswered questions attached to the file's next action.

Follow the available save procedure, then reopen the record through the normal file list or lookup. Check that the intended borrower label, property information, product and owner remain recorded correctly. If you cannot confirm that the file was saved, investigate before creating a second application. A completed screen or a changed label alone does not establish that the receiving person has the information they need.

Use this fictional first-file worksheet during onboarding. It is an example of what to record, not a report of a completed software test.

Check	Example record for FIRST-01	Next action
Access and product	Test user and intended product identified by the administrator	Confirm the approved creation route
Source information	Fictional borrower; property value labeled as an estimate	Compare entries with the exercise packet
Missing information	One required field is unanswered	Record the displayed message; obtain the missing answer
Save check	File reference and reopened values to be recorded after saving	Confirm persistence before starting another file
Handoff	Document gap and product question listed separately	Name the receiving owner and request acknowledgment

Troubleshoot the specific failure

What you observe	What to capture	Who should act
You cannot start a file	Role, attempted action and sanitized access message	Administrator checks the intended permission
Intended product is unavailable	Product name, property state and configuration question, without borrower identifiers	Product owner or administrator checks the configuration
A field prevents saving	Field label, exact sanitized message and whether a file reference already exists	File owner resolves the missing or conflicting source information
Saved information cannot be found	Time, file reference if present, and the route used to look it up	Support or administrator investigates before another record is created
A calculation appears inconsistent	Product/configuration reference, input sources, expected result supplied by the qualified reviewer, and observed result	Qualified reviewer investigates the difference

Do not change accurate source information until a calculation produces a preferred number. Keep the original observation and record any authorized correction and its reason. Use your organization's separate approval procedure for credit orders, fees and other external actions; creating a file does not authorize those actions.

Make the first handoff explicit

Before handoff, record what is complete, what remains unresolved, which source documents support the entries and who should act next. Confirm that the receiving person can find the file and understands the outstanding work. Saving a record does not mean it has been submitted, reviewed or approved.

For later handoff steps, consult submitting an application alongside your organization's current procedure. For a creation problem, contact support with the failed action, time, role and sanitized message. Do not include passwords, access tokens or borrower documents in an ordinary support message.

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