Pick up the file & clear the CD gate

Overview

The file has cleared underwriting and Arive has notified Emily that the milestone changed. She now owns it through funding.

First job: get oriented, then work the file until it satisfies the CD gate — the checklist every lender requires before a Closing Disclosure can be issued. Nothing else in closing happens until that gate clears.

Getting oriented

There's no handoff conversation. Emily opens the file in Arive and the lender portal and works out where it stands herself. On a straightforward file that's fine. On anything unusual — a closing date that already moved, a difficult title company, a borrower who's been slow — that context doesn't travel automatically.

Start by reviewing the CTC approval itself: confirm the loan actually cleared, confirm every condition shows satisfied, and confirm the terms on the approval match what you expect. If anything looks off, ask before proceeding — the LO or Danielle can fill in the gaps in a minute.

The CD gate

Every lender requires the same set of items to be resolved before a Closing Disclosure can be generated. The specific list below is UWM's, but the shape is nearly universal — expect the same requirements at Kind, PennyMac, Loan Store, and the rest.

Our side

These are ours to complete. Most were set up during file setup — this is where that work pays off:

• The loan has been locked
• Title company information is complete
• Trust information is complete
• Borrower email has been completed
• Settlement agent contact information is complete

The lender's side

These reflect the state of the file itself:

• The loan is in Approved with Conditions status or later
• The appraisal has been cleared by underwriting
• Taxes have been finalized for the loan
• The annual premium amount for property insurance is complete
• There is no pending change of circumstance request
• The one-business-day waiting period after the most recent Loan Estimate was signed is complete
• The loan has no pending restructure

Where these items usually stall

Taxes not finalized

The property tax figure has to be nailed down for the escrow calculation. This traces back to the tax verification Danielle did during file setup — if the figure was estimated rather than verified, it surfaces here.

Insurance premium incomplete

The annual premium amount has to be in the file, not just a binder on the way. If HOI is still unsettled, that's the blocker.

Pending change of circumstance

Any open COC request freezes the CD. It has to be resolved or withdrawn first.

Loan not locked

A floating loan can't produce a CD. If the file is still floating this close to closing, that's a conversation with the LO immediately — not a wait-and-see.

The LE waiting period

If a revised Loan Estimate went out recently, the one-business-day clock after signature has to run. Nothing to do but wait — but know it's why the gate is holding.

What happens next

Once every gate item clears, the CD gets issued and the three-day clock starts. See CD issued & the 3-day clock.

Who to ask if you're stuck

A gate item you can't clear: the lender's account executive.
Lock status or a floating loan close to closing: the LO on the file, immediately.
Missing context on a file that just landed: Danielle or the LO.
Taxes or insurance figures: Danielle set these up — start with her.