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According to a specialist lender, the increasing emphasis placed on responsible lending and other compliance considerations should have no bearing on application processing times.
“It’s an easy way out to blame legislation for longer turnaround times,” said group sales manager at Liberty Financial, John Mohnacheff.
“Complex deals absolutely do not mean slower turnaround. That’s a myth. If everything is completed properly and all the documentation is available, there is no need for it to slow a lender down.”
In his thirty years in the industry, Mohnacheff has come across three simple and recurring causes of delays in processing applications submitted by brokers: gaps in the information provided, illegible forms, and missing documentation.
While brokers may leave portions of the application blank in order to spare their clients being chased for in-depth information, they are doing both the borrower and themself a disservice in the long run.
“If the lender is asking for more information, there’s a good reason – provide it,” said Mohnacheff.
“In most instances, the customer will be happy to give you everything you need. We are seeing much more robust scrutiny of a customer’s circumstances which is positive and serves to protect them. If you take the time to explain this, they’ll be happy to do their part.”
Liberty places high importance on maintaining its fast turnaround times for loan applications, knowing how critical it is for the smooth and successful operation of brokers’ businesses.
Liberty IQ, the group’s loan tracking app, allows brokers to monitor deals in real-time, as well as eradicates legibility concerns with the electronic lodgement it makes possible.
“Having access to Liberty IQ empowers the broker to be the hero of the customer,” explained Mohnacheff.
“If a customer rings at 10pm, they can say, ‘Yes, I have your file right here. I see Liberty ordered a valuation this morning. That should be back within a couple of days.’”
“We also have a dedicated team of BDMs always willing to help discuss the scenario and talk through the application to clarify what we need to go ahead,” he added.
Additionally, brokers are automatically assigned a Liberty credit analyst who is there to support them through the process to settlement, which is particularly important with custom loans.
