Submit processing handoff form
Outlook or Teams message to the processor — use the Pass to Processing form.
Overview
The handoff is the formal moment a loan moves from LO ownership into the processing pipeline. Disclosures are out (see the previous phase) — now the LO hands the file to the processor, who begins working it on two tracks: the borrower-facing side (Pre-W, doc collection, insurance intro) and the back-office side (title, appraisal, contract, CD data).
A good handoff transfers everything the processor needs to run without calling you: lender, close date, appraisal status, HOI situation, lock status, what docs are in and what's outstanding, and any file-specific notes. A bad handoff is a one-line "new file for you" that generates four clarifying questions before anyone can start.
How it works today
Today the handoff is a message the LO sends directly to the processor — via Outlook or Teams.
The standard for what that message must contain, regardless of how you compose it:
- Borrower name(s) and Arive loan number
- Transaction type and lender
- Estimated close date
- Property address and vesting
- Appraisal status — not needed / not yet ordered / already ordered, plus due dates and payment-link status if ordered
- HOI status — has a provider (with agent info) or needs a quote
- Rate lock status — locked (rate, expiration) / floating / pending
- Documents received vs. still outstanding — this becomes the processor's chase list
- VOEs needed or not
- Anything special — credit repair flags, new construction, borrower circumstances
Use the Pass to Processing form
A Pass to Processing web form exists that collects all of the above and generates a formatted task list — back-office setup and borrower-facing items in separate sections — ready to copy into Outlook. This is the standard. Adoption is inconsistent today, and that inconsistency is exactly why files start with missing information. If you're handing off a file, use the form: it's faster than composing from scratch and it can't forget a field.
Confirm receipt
The processor is expected to confirm receipt of every handoff — a simple reply. This is inconsistent today; make it consistent. An unconfirmed handoff is a file that might be sitting unowned, and nobody knows.
Once Pipeline Manager ships: the handoff moves in-app. The LO opens their pipeline view, hits Pass to Processing on the loan row, fills the same fields in a modal (with a required processor selection), previews the punch list, and confirms. Tasks generate automatically for the processor, their queue populates within seconds, and the queue itself becomes the notification — no email, no Teams message, no receipt-confirmation problem. The email/Teams channel stays available as a fallback during the transition, but the queue becomes the system of record for "what do I work next."
When to hand off
The trigger: initial disclosures are sent and the file is real — under contract (purchase) or committed (refi). Handing off before disclosures means the processor starts working a file the LO still owns; handing off long after means the 48-hour Pre-W clock starts late on a file whose contract clock is already running.
Common issues
The freeform handoff
"Sending you the Johnson file" with nothing else. Every missing field above becomes a question, a delay, or — worse — an assumption. Use the form.
No receipt confirmation
The LO thinks the file is being worked; the processor never saw the Teams message. Days pass. Confirm receipt, every file — and LOs, if you haven't gotten a confirmation within a business day, chase it.
Handing off with stale Arive data
The handoff message says locked, Arive says floating. The processor works from Arive — make sure Arive reflects reality before you hand off.
Updates after the handoff
Something changed — new close date, appraisal ordered, lock executed? Update Arive and message the processor directly. Don't re-send a full handoff.
What happens next
The processor starts the Pre-Underwriting Review — first review within 48 hours — and begins file setup on the back-office side. From here the file has two owners: the processor (borrower-facing and back-office) and the LO, available for decisions routed to them.
Who to ask if you're stuck
Form not loading or acting up: Bryce.
What to include for an unusual file: ask the processor what they'd want to know.