Borrower uploads docs via portal
Self-serve upload against the needs list; items pend until reviewed.
Overview
With the needs list emailed, the borrower self-serves: they follow the link, see their itemized list, and upload documents against each need in the Arive portal. This step belongs to the borrower — but what happens (and doesn't happen) on our side while they upload is worth understanding clearly.
How uploads flow
- Documents land under the Client Needs tab — matched to the need they were uploaded against. They are NOT auto-filed as accepted; each item sits pending until someone reviews and accepts it.
- Arive sends an email notification per upload — so the LO knows when documents are coming in.
- Arive auto-reminds the borrower about anything still outstanding, on the cadence configured in the previous step.
Encourage borrowers to upload through the portal rather than texting photos or emailing attachments — portal uploads land in the file automatically, matched to the right need. A paystub texted to your phone is a document you now have to handle manually.
Known gap — read this honestly. Between pre-approval and the processing handoff, no one consistently reviews uploads or chases missing documents. Uploads accumulate under Client Needs, pending, until Hunter picks up the file at handoff and works the full review. That's the current reality of the process — not the ideal. What it means for you as the LO: on an under-contract file, don't let uploads sit. The contract clock doesn't pause for our handoff timing. If the deal is live, review documents as the upload notifications land, and chase gaps yourself until the handoff form is submitted.
What borrowers get wrong
Whoever reviews the uploads — the LO pre-handoff on a hot file, Hunter after handoff — sees the same recurring problems:
- Partial documents. Bank statements missing pages (all pages are required, even the intentionally blank ones), first page of a tax return instead of the full return, one paystub when the findings require two.
- Phone photos instead of documents. Blurry, cropped, glare-covered photos of paper statements. Ask for PDF downloads from the bank/payroll portal instead.
- Wrong document against the need. The 401k statement uploaded against the bank statement need, and so on. Uploads land where the borrower puts them, not where they belong.
- Stale versions. January's paystub in April. Needs list items age; the file needs current docs at underwriting.
Setting expectations when the needs email goes out prevents most of this: "Download PDFs from your bank and payroll websites — all pages — rather than photographing paper."
What happens next
Docs accumulate here until the borrower goes under contract and the file is ready for processing. Then the LO submits the handoff form — and Hunter takes over document verification, review, and gap-chasing as his first task on the file.
Who to ask if you're stuck
Borrower can't log in or upload: walk them through it live; if the portal itself is misbehaving, Bryce or Dean.
Unsure whether a document satisfies a need: Bryce or Dean.