File setup
Title, appraisal, contract review, CD party info, VOEs.
Overview
File setup is the processor's opening move once the handoff lands — the back-office work that gets a disclosed file ready for underwriting. It runs alongside the borrower-facing work the same processor owns (Pre-W, doc collection, insurance intro); this step is everything else — title, appraisal, contract, CD data, and the submission package.
Borrower-facing touches that come out of file setup — like the appraisal-payment heads-up below — are handled on the processor's own borrower-facing side, the same channel opened during Pre-W.
Title request
The processor initiates title by emailing the title company listed on the contract, attaching the contract and the order info they need to open title.
Scribe walkthrough pending — the title request email and what to attach.
Appraisal
The appraisal is ordered through the lender's portal — the lender's AMC handles the assignment. The processor places the order in the portal; the AMC takes it from there.
Payment
The AMC emails the payment link directly to the borrower's email on file. The borrower shouldn't get a cold payment request from a company they don't recognize, so the processor gives the borrower a heads-up that the appraisal payment link is coming.
Punch-list gap flagged: the "warn the borrower the AMC payment link is coming" step needs to be a standing item on the processor's task list — it isn't consistently there today. Until it's built into the punch list, make it a habit: send the heads-up whenever you place an appraisal order.
CD info with the lender
"Complete CD info" means inputting the transaction's party information into the lender portal so the lender can build the Closing Disclosure: buyer, seller, both agents, and the title company.
Part of CD info is the property tax estimate/verification for escrows — getting the right tax figure so the escrow account is set up correctly. (This is what "tax analysis" refers to here — it's property-tax-for-escrow, not income tax return analysis.)
Contract review
The processor reviews the executed purchase contract for:
- Dates and proper execution (all signatures present)
- Price and terms match the 1003
- Option period and closing dates
- Seller concessions
This is the substantive contract review — the counterpart to the Pre-W check that a contract simply exists in Arive.
FHA / VA amendatory clause
On FHA and VA files, the processor sends the amendatory clause to the realtors. This is transaction-type-specific — conventional files skip it.
VOEs (when flagged on the handoff)
When written verification of employment is flagged, the processor orders it directly to the employer — emailing or faxing the VOE form. (Not through a third-party service; direct to the employer.)
Common pitfalls
Ordering the appraisal without the payment heads-up
The borrower gets an AMC payment link from a stranger and ignores it or flags it as spam — appraisal stalls before it starts. Send the heads-up when you place the order.
CD party info entered incomplete
Missing or wrong agent/title/seller info means the lender can't build an accurate CD, which surfaces late in closing when it's most expensive to fix.
Contract terms that don't match the 1003
Price, concessions, or dates that differ between contract and 1003 are exactly what underwriting will bounce. Catch them here.
Missing the amendatory clause on FHA/VA
Easy to forget because most files are conventional. On government files it's required.
Who to ask if you're stuck
Lender portal or AMC issues: the lender's account executive, or Bryce.
Contract questions beyond the basics: Bryce or Dean.