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The primary business of a mortgage lending company can be summed up as loan origination. This process includes all of the steps that lead to placing a loan on the books:
Have you ever been on the phone with a loan officer, applying for home refinancing or an equity line of credit? Perhaps you were aware that the loan officer was using a software application that allowed him or her to enter your data and calculate numbers such as your estimated monthly payment with two or three refinance options.
Behind the scenes, the loan officer must clearly understand company policy for all levels of customer interaction, and must follow specific procedures for qualifying applicants and matching them with appropriate loans. Typically this knowledge is conveyed through training programs, policy and procedure documentation, and help systems or printed user manuals for software applications. Some mortgage companies expect their financial experts to develop these materials themselves, some realize they will get better results if they hire technical writers to help, and others appear to be confused about the issue.
A technical writer, let's call her Diane, is currently employed by a leading Orange County mortgage company. When Diane was hired one year ago, she had no financial background. Over time, she learned industry jargon and acronyms, and came to understand what she termed the "paper flow" through the organization that occurs when a mortgage is sold. Diane's managers now believe they should hire only writers who have previous financial experience, and as a result, they are hiring people who have financial knowledge but no writing skills. Diane is now very busy teaching these employees how to write.