Mortgage Instructions and Funding Package: What the Broker Should Deliver

The brokerage can materially reduce closing friction by sending a concise transaction cover sheet with the lender's current commitment/instructions and all relevant attachments. The cover sheet is not a legal instruction; it is an index of the commercial transaction the brokerage arranged.

The most useful fields are current loan amount, lender, borrower, property, closing date, rate/term/payment, fees and deductions, intended priority, debts to be paid, funds to borrower, ILA/title-change flags, and the named person who can obtain a lender decision if counsel raises an issue.

Mortgage files often contain an original commitment, one or more amendments, broker fee disclosure, lender fee schedules and late emails changing the advance. If those documents conflict, the brokerage should produce a clear final summary rather than expecting counsel to infer which terms govern.

Any superseded commitment should be marked as such in the brokerage record. If the lender issues legal instructions directly to counsel that differ from the broker's understanding, the broker should reconcile the discrepancy with the lender before asking the borrower or lawyer to proceed.

The brokerage should understand the economics well enough to explain why the borrower will not receive the face amount of the mortgage. Lender fees, brokerage fees, prepaid interest, interest reserves, payouts and other authorized deductions can reduce funds available on closing. Those deductions should align with the borrower disclosures and lender authorization.

Counsel may calculate legal adjustments and payout amounts that change the final funds flow. If those changes materially alter the financing purpose or borrower cash requirement, the issue belongs back with the brokerage and lender.

A lender may require income documents, proof of insurance, appraisal conditions, property repairs, proof of equity or other underwriting items that the brokerage is expected to clear. Other conditions are specifically legal—title, registration, ILA, payout, postponement, undertakings or solicitor opinions. A good closing package makes ownership of each condition clear.

The lawyer should not be chased for a condition that belongs to underwriting, and the broker should not attempt to clear a legal condition by sending the lender an unsupported legal interpretation.

When counsel identifies a problem—unexpected charge, name mismatch, title issue, payout problem, insufficient funds, ILA issue, construction lien concern or inability to satisfy a lender instruction—the brokerage should document the issue and obtain a lender decision where required. The response should then be sent back to counsel in a form that can be relied on as a current instruction or approval.

This closes the loop between legal due diligence and credit authorization without asking either profession to take responsibility for the other's decision.