A Loan File Isn’t a Stack of Documents
A lot of a loan officer’s time after an application comes in doesn’t go to the borrower. It goes to the file. Paystubs, W-2s, bank statements, tax returns, a photo ID, maybe a gift letter. Each one has to be opened, checked, and understood before the loan can move.
Most of that review happens one document at a time. That’s where much of the time goes, because the questions that actually hold a loan up rarely live inside a single document. They live between them.