What Does Your Client’s Appraisal Desk / Disclosure Desk Do?

Buying a home is one of the biggest financial decisions of your client's life. It's an exciting time that also comes with a lot of uncertainty. This series "What does my client's _____ do?", aims to provide some clarity on the people your client will work with throughout the homebuying process.

In this edition, we'll look at what the Appraisal Desk and Disclosure Desk do for your clients.

Appraisal Desk

The appraisal is one of the most important factors during the mortgage process, as it usually influences the ultimate value a mortgage lender places on a home. Basically, the Appraisal Desk is a department responsible for ordering and reviewing appraisals and the final home inspection.

The biggest benefit of having an Appraisal Desk is that they provide an extra set of eyes for the appraisal, which ultimately makes for a better customer experience. Also, the Appraisal Desk helps save our old friend, the Processor, time by sourcing and reviewing those appraisals. Otherwise, the Processor would have to do it themselves.

The Appraisal Desk reviews appraisals as soon as they are received., and they usually review a file between the application origination and the final processing of the mortgage loan. Reviews can take up to 48 hours, however appraisals for specific loans like FHA or VA loans go directly to underwriting.

Also, there are typically two to three instances in which the Appraisal Desk will touch a file: the initial order, the review and before final inspection. Once the review is complete, the file is passed back to the Processor and prepared for final underwriting. If there are any issues with the appraisal, the appraisal department goes back to the Appraiser for revisions or further commentary regarding issues noted within the report during review. 

In the end, one of the biggest reasons for the Appraisal Desk is to ensure all appraisals for a Sunflower Bank loan are compliant with regulations.

Disclosure Desk

Loan disclosures are the required documents and information that make every detail and term of a loan known to the borrower. In other words, they are the documentation disclosing and maintaining full transparency between the lender and borrower. And, like the Appraisal Desk, there’s a department that handles disclosure logistics. You guessed it: the Disclosure Desk.

The biggest benefit of the Disclosure Desk is it takes away the worry and hassle from the Mortgage Loan Originator to make sure a loan is disclosed and re-disclosed in a timely manner. Timeliness is crucial to the process, as a loan can’t close until it’s been disclosed with all of the required fees and forms.

A loan is usually disclosed within a few days of the initial application, which is the first time the Disclosure Desk will touch an application file. It’s possible the Disclosure Desk will review the file two or three more times if there are any required re-disclosures, which happens when the terms of the loan have changed, and subsequently the file needs to be disclosed again to the borrower.

While the time it takes to actually disclose is only about twenty or thirty minutes, it is required that a loan be disclosed within three days of an application. All re-disclosures must also happen within three days from when there is a change in the terms.

Once the Disclosure Desk has done their part, the file is sent on to the Processor. And, if for any reason a loan cannot be disclosed, the loan needs to be recommended for denial, or withdrawn if the borrower does not wish to move forward.

In a nutshell, the Disclosure Desk ensures that all loans are disclosed within three days. And, much like the Appraisal Desk, they’re also tasked with staying compliant with all regulations.

Other installments in this series take a look at the closer and processor's roles in the process, so check those out to learn more about the different professionals that help make homeownership possible for your clients.

Our team is always looking for energetic and high-performing mortgage professionals! Visit our mortgage sales careers page for more information!