A couple have been saving for three years. They have a deposit, they have found a street they like, and they have not spoken to anybody because they are frightened of being told the number is smaller than they hope.
They will spend another eight months not asking, during which two of the things affecting their application will get worse rather than better.
The checklist
Publish these and the appointment gets booked.
1. What the first conversation actually is
An assessment of circumstances and an indication, not an application. Saying so plainly removes the fear of a permanent decision.
2. Whether it affects their credit file
Explaining the difference between an initial discussion and a formal application, and what each involves. It is the unspoken fear behind most delayed enquiries.
3. What documents to bring
Identification, proof of income, bank statements for a stated period, details of outgoings and anything relating to deposit sources. Named specifically.
4. What self employed applicants need
Different evidence, over a longer period, and what the provider looks for. This group assumes they will be refused and frequently are not, which is the ground in self employed buyers and the documents they need adjacent territory.
5. How long the appointment takes
And whether both applicants must attend. People book around it and one of them is usually at work.
6. Whether it can happen remotely
Video, telephone or in branch, and whether documents can be sent electronically. It decides whether it happens this month or next year.
7. What affects what they can borrow
Income, outgoings, commitments, the deposit, the property and the term. Explained as factors rather than a formula, so they understand what they can influence.
8. What they can improve beforehand
Reducing commitments, checking their credit file, avoiding new borrowing and having the deposit properly evidenced. Practical advice that makes the appointment go better.
9. Where a deposit can come from
Savings, a gift, a sale or a scheme, and what evidence each requires. Gifted deposits in particular need documentation people do not expect.
10. What happens after the appointment
Whether they receive something in writing, how long a decision takes and what the next step is. People want to know the sequence.
11. Whether there is a fee
For advice, for the application or for anything else, and when it is payable. Publishing it removes a hesitation.
12. What happens if the answer is no
That it is usually a not yet rather than a never, with what would change it. This single paragraph converts people who have been avoiding the conversation for years.
13. Never give the advice in an enquiry
What somebody can borrow, whether a product suits them and what they should do is a regulated conversation. The enquiry captures the situation and books the appointment.
14. Book the appointment at any hour
People think about this in the evening, which is the mechanism in the best AI chatbot for appointment booking and the preparation in specialist clinics and the questions before a first consultation, alongside the everyday questions in member questions credit unions answer every day.
Getting started
Publish the preparation list, what affects borrowing and what happens if the answer is no, then book appointments at any hour without advising. SpideyChat for financial organisations answers from your published pages, plans are on the pricing page, and the chatbot ROI calculator works through the numbers.