Ep #68: How to Automate Your Pre-Approval Letters

This episode demos Stead Key, a tool that lets pre-approved borrowers and Realtors generate their own compliant pre-approval letters 24/7 within loan officer-set parameters. Sam Fanon explains how he uses it to attract new agent partners and credits it as a major driver of his year-over-year $10M production increases. Best for LOs in competitive, fast-moving markets with multiple-offer situations.

Takeaways you can run this week

• When prospecting a new agent, skip product talk entirely. Instead ask: 'Would you like to generate your own pre-approval letters?' — then schedule a 10-minute demo of the portal. Sam reports agents 'fall in love with it' and agree to give him a chance.
• Teach a short class specifically on the Stead Key pre-approval portal. Open with the question 'Would you like to generate your own pre-approval letters?' and watch agents raise their hands. Use this class as your agent acquisition event.
• Set parameters in Stead Key so the portal shows agents the estimated monthly payment and cash-to-close alongside each offer price — this lets agents answer buyer payment questions on the spot without calling you.
• For any tight-DTI borrower you're nervous about, check the 'manual approval' box in Stead Key so every letter generation triggers an email to you for review before it goes out. You keep compliance control without slowing down easy files.
• Update the interest rate field in Stead Key whenever rates move so that all auto-generated letters stay accurate — make this part of your daily rate-lock routine.
• Brand the portal with your company letterhead and logo so every letter a Realtor generates looks like official company correspondence, not a computer printout — request a custom template from Stead Key during onboarding demo.

The playbook

1. 1. Get pre-approved borrower set up in Stead Key; enter all parameters (loan type, credit score, max sales price, down payment, closing costs, MI, interest rate, HOA, seller concessions, home sale contingency).
2. 2. Invite the assigned Realtor via email link — they create a password and land on the branded portal.
3. 3. Realtor types in offer price, down payment, taxes, HOA, and seller concessions on the House Approval screen.
4. 4. Portal instantly displays loan amount, estimated monthly payment, and estimated cash to close; if within parameters, the 'Approved' status appears.
5. 5. Realtor clicks 'Generate Approval Letter' — downloads branded letterhead PDF and submits with the offer, no LO contact required.
6. 6. If borrower is over DTI limit or LO has flagged manual review, portal blocks letter generation and emails LO for approval instead.

Worth quoting

“Would you like to generate your own pre-approval letters? You just look on their face — and then they all raise their hands.”

“Stead Key is a massive, massive, massive part of that success. I was begging Jerry not to sell it to other lenders in my marketplace.”

Best for

LOs in fast-moving, multiple-offer markets who are losing weekend and evening hours regenerating pre-approval letters and want a tangible tech tool to differentiate themselves with Realtor partners.