Clarify loan officer and processor responsibilities.

Separate preparing from coordinating and deciding.

Write the task before you assign the role. Preparing a document, asking for a missing item, checking receipt and making an underwriting decision are separate jobs. A stage name alone can leave several people thinking someone else owns the next step.

Under UPG’s Option B, the loan officer handles documents and disclosures. Keep that boundary in the processing discussion. Scope depends on the option and agreement. The lender makes the underwriting decision. Confirm the terms for the actual file. This guide cannot reassign a duty set by law or contract.

Describe what changes hands.

A fictional handoff might work like this: the loan officer records the request and its source. The agreed processing contact follows up. The authorized reviewer decides whether the response meets the requirement. Each step needs its own proof. A sent message proves contact, not that the requirement was met.

Name the person who receives the work. Assigning a task in a system does not prove a handoff is clear. Agree how the recipient confirms they understand and accept the next step. If roles are in dispute, ask the person with authority to decide. Do not guess.

• Who initiates the action?
• Who performs the agreed follow-up?
• Who is authorized to decide whether the result is sufficient?
• Who receives and acknowledges the next handoff?

Use the correct authority for the question.

Use the CFPB’s TRID resources to find disclosure rules, official interpretations and implementation materials. They do not set the roles in a processing agreement. Fannie Mae’s outsourcing guidance addresses its sellers. It is not a full job description for every mortgage professional.

Take open role questions to the people who can answer them. Keep the approved role map where the team can find it. Review it when systems, lender instructions or scope change. The map should reveal what is unclear while leaving room for judgment.