Scenario-based mortgage training
For every loan officer: new to the industry, moving between retail, bank and broker, or ready to take on more complex files. And for the managers, mentors and trainers who develop them.
Fifty-seven fictional borrower files. Ask the follow-up question, run the numbers, check the guideline and decide what happens next, before a real borrower is waiting.
Now feel it for yourself
What you do in the next hour matters more than you’d think. The free Prologue takes a few minutes, with no account. It’s exactly how every file in the course feels: a real decision, Ellen beside you, and no real borrower on the line.
Then pick your path
Fifty-seven fictional borrower files take you from a first referral to the closing table: first-time buyers, FHA, VA and USDA, self-employed and commission income, divorce, condos, construction and more. Every step is Ellen’s question, the document, the guideline and your decision.
Training a loan officer usually means pulling your best producer off their files to walk someone through real ones. It’s the same at a broker, a retail lender or a bank. The Field Guide gives your people those reps first, on fictional files: the follow-up question, the math, the guideline, the conversation. You see where they’re strong and where they need a second pass, so the time your top people spend goes further.
Helping someone buy a home is listening, checking documents, doing the math and explaining it kindly. The Field Guide lets you try that on fictional files, with no license and no real borrower involved. If someone sent you this link, the Prologue is the best few minutes to spend.
The habit behind every file
In every file, each fact gets one of four tags, based on what you can prove right now. It’s how underwriters already think, and it’s the habit that keeps a loan officer from quoting a number that falls apart later.
Here’s a practice file from later in the course. Watch Ellen explain the tags, or open the key to see each one.
R ReportedO OpenD DocumentedV Verified
We use four working labels to track what we know and what still needs checking. The label tells you what you can say to the borrower now, what goes on your needs list, and what you’d stand behind in a preapproval.
Underwriters already think this way. Loan officers who do too quote numbers that hold up and get fewer surprise conditions. In Chapter 1 you’ll tag the facts in Chloe’s fictional file yourself.
Each fact is tagged by what you can prove right now. Ellen’s rule: tell a borrower or an agent only what you’d stand behind.
She runs the team you join on day one and stays beside you through all fifty-seven files. She tells you why she asked each question, catches the number that’s wrong, and explains the rule instead of just citing it.
It isn’t talent.
It’s the gap.
The gap between passing the licensing test and knowing what to do with your first borrower file.
Try one · Ellen’s first question for you
Step 1 of 2 Lenders cap total monthly debts as a share of income, so every dollar of truck payment is a dollar that can’t go to the house. About how much less can they borrow because of the truck?
| Monthly payment | Loan it carries | |
|---|---|---|
| $100 | → | about $15,000 |
| $2,000 | → | about $300,600 |
Step 2 of 2 Theo hears that and asks, “So you’re saying I shouldn’t buy the truck?” What’s your best answer?
Figures are a 30-year fixed loan at 7%, principal and interest only, rounded. Taxes, insurance and mortgage insurance would lower them, and the rate is an illustration, not a quote.
What changes
They reply to a 6:42 p.m. text from a referred buyer, keep the agent in the loop and set a callback time instead of going quiet.
They label each fact Reported, Open, Documented or Verified, catch a paycheck that doesn’t match what the borrower said, and count a debt that isn’t on the credit report.
One buyer from preapproval through contract, appraisal, conditions and closing week. Then variable nurse pay, a payment reality check with two loans side by side, and a bankruptcy “not yet” turned into a date and a plan.
What’s inside
Fictional borrowers in ten states, each worked one decision at a time.
The tools a new loan officer keeps using after the lesson ends.
For the person who signs off on a new loan officer’s first files.
Work a practice file
Each step brings only what you need, the lines from the call, the document or the rule, and you answer to unlock the next.
Click to enlargeBorrower profile
The numbers fill in only after you’ve earned them in the lesson.
Click to enlargeTeachers, nurses, veterans, surgeons, contractors, retirees and first-time buyers in ten states. Fictional people with real problems.
Co-founder · Educator turned originator
Nearly two decades teaching middle school math and leading teacher development, then a loan officer since 2016 and a mortgage broker since 2023. She builds each chapter the way she built lessons: small steps, practice before pressure.
Co-founder · Originating since 2003
Originating since 2003 at small mortgage companies, a community bank, national retail lenders and now as a broker. He knows how the work looks from each side of the desk, and how much of it nobody explains to new loan officers.
Start with one text from a referred buyer. A few minutes from now, you’ll know how the Field Guide works.
The borrower knows exactly how much they make. Payroll may have additional information.
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Course overview
Watch first · 2 minutes
Ellen walks you through it on the real screens: the Prologue text, the 57 files, labeling what you know, hints and answers, writing in your own words, a practice call, your desk, and what a mentor sees.
A prologue, then fifty-seven borrower files (fifty chapters and seven bonus files): forty-nine borrowers whose lives keep moving. Some files are one borrower. Others are a married couple, unmarried partners, or a college student whose parents are helping.
And borrowers come back.
A divorce turns one household into two separate files.
A first-time condo buyer relocates and keeps the condo as a rental.
A retiree returns newly widowed, on a smaller income, with grown children who disagree.
A buyer who needed a co-signer refinances to stand on her own.
Two partners with a house each build one together.Read a veteran loan officer’s first call and see why she asked each question. Sort what the borrower said from what still needs a document.
Open the paystubs, returns, statements and credit report. Compare what the borrower said with what the file shows, and look up the guideline.
As you answer, the borrower profile fills in like a lender portal. Work out income, loan-to-value (LTV) and debt-to-income (DTI) by hand, then check them against the loan’s summary.
Pick the next step and the words for the borrower or the agent: an honest status, the open items, and no promise you can’t keep. Every answer comes with the reason.
What this isn’t. The Field Guide doesn’t replace company training, official guidelines, underwriting, compliance, licensing education or supervision. Current agency, investor and lender guidelines always control.
The syllabus lists every file, what it practices and the guidelines it teaches.
Prologue · Can We Chat?
You just joined Ellen Quinn’s team at Quillmark Home Lending. You’re licensed. Nobody has told you what to do next. Then a text comes in.
Your mentor
She is the veteran loan officer whose team you just joined, and she stays beside you through all fifty-seven files. She does not do the work for you. She tells you why she asked a question, catches you when a number is wrong, and explains the rule instead of just citing it. Miss something once and she gives you a hint; miss it three times and she shows you the answer and the reasoning behind it.
Start here. Everything you pick up in the next few minutes — the contact, the reminder, the habit — moves onto your desk and carries into Chapter 1.
“My team’s in Massachusetts, so our first few borrowers are local. Almost everything you’ll learn works the same in every state. When something is a Massachusetts thing, I’ll say so and show you how to look it up for yours.” Ellen
Ellen and every borrower in the course are fictional. The situations are not.
Chapter 1 · The First Conversation · Phases 1–3
New here? Start with the Prologue first — it takes a few minutes and sets up your desk.
Ellen Quinn, a veteran loan officer, just finished a call with a referred buyer named Chloe, and she’s handing you the file. Read the conversation once. Then work through it one step at a time. Every right answer unlocks the next step, and every new tool, person and system goes onto your desk.
All characters, their portraits and financial records are fictional training material.
What to watch
Practice call · you run it
The borrower is played by AI, in character and fictional. Never type real names or real borrower details.
Practice calls aren’t available right now. Try again later.
That is the sample
Chapter 1 is the rest of this file, from the first conversation to a clear next step.
Request Chapter 1About the free preview
A short form. It goes straight to the two of us.
Chapter 2 · Chloe, from preapproval to keys · Phases 1–3 · approved draft
Chloe’s follow-up documents are in and her application has been reviewed. Now settle the open items, write a preapproval Talia can trust, get through the contract deadlines, a condo review, a low appraisal and closing week.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Chloe’s documents for this chapter are in her case file in the Field Kit. New here? Start with Chapter 1.
Chapter 3 · Sofia Alvarez · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Chloe sends you her first referral: Sofia, an ICU-tough nurse who wants to buy on her own while her boyfriend helps with bills. Her overtime is shrinking, her differential stopped, and her score is two points from a pricing tier.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 4 · Maya Chen · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Russ Halvorsen, a veteran Gulfshore County agent, sends Ellen a buyer: Maya Chen, a seventh-grade math teacher who wants a modest single-family home before winter break. Ellen is licensed in Florida too, and she takes the call while you listen in. Then you work the file.
All characters and records are fictional training material.
Chapter 5 · Kelsey Brown · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Russ sends you Kelsey, a hospital administrator with a 2024 bankruptcy, a 557 score and a perfect mortgage history. The right answer today is a plan, not a loan. How you say it decides whether she comes back.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 6 · Darius King · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Kelsey, your readiness client, sends you Darius: a firefighter/paramedic whose overtime rivals his salary, who hates paperwork, and who almost forgets to mention six years in the Army.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 7 · Daniel Ortiz · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Talia sends you her cousin in Silvermere, Oregon: Daniel, a fast-moving sales manager fresh off a huge commission year. He wants a number now. His weak year, his child support and a house sale that hasn’t closed say: not yet.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 8 · Owen Murphy · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Russ sends you Owen, his go-to insurance broker. Owen wants to keep the house in his divorce, quotes his gross commissions and promises documents “this weekend.”
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 9 · Grace Kim · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Sofia sends you her coworker Grace, a pharmacist with a spreadsheet, a 795 score and a husband who teaches chemistry. Their only question: sell the condo or keep it as a rental?
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 10 · Caleb Reed · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Grace’s cousin Caleb has found a Kentham triple-decker and watched a lot of house-hacking videos. He has $14,000, a big truck payment and a friend who “might go in on it.”
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 11 · Brenda Lawson · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Maya sends you Brenda, her former assistant principal: widowed, 67, in a paid-off Seagrape house that’s too big. Her brother has opinions. Your job is options, including doing nothing.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 12 · Lena Park · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Chloe sends you a coworker who works remotely from Mistral Falls, Montana: Lena, 24, who has never had a credit card. She pays rent by check, has $9,000 saved, and a family friend offering to co-sign.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 13 · Marcus & Renee Reed · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Caleb’s uncle Marcus builds houses for a living and keeps his paperwork in a shoebox. His wife Renee keeps everything else. Their $1.25 million colonial is jumbo territory.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 14 · Priya Nair · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Sofia’s coworker Priya brings your Loan Estimate and a competitor’s, and wants every line explained. The fair answer earns her trust.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 15 · Elena Torres · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Darius sends you Captain Elena Torres, moving to MacDill with a VA loan still open on her old house. Entitlement math decides how much she can borrow with nothing down.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 16 · Jamal Washington · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Talia sends you her old college friend Jamal, now in Dellmont, Georgia, a police officer who doesn’t trust banks. He wants a place for his kids, but he’s still on the house with his wife, and nothing’s signed.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 17 · Harper & Eli James · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Eli sells houses at Russ’s brokerage. Now he and Harper are buying one: her salary just dropped by half on purpose, his commissions fell, and his credit card habits show.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 18 · Nia Okafor · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Priya sends you Dr. Nia Okafor, a surgeon she worked with in Bayport who now co-owns a practice in Carrow, North Carolina, with $310,000 in student loans, strong assets and a preference for keeping cash. Physician loan or jumbo?
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 19 · Walter Lawson · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Brenda’s brother Walter wants a $1.1 million Gulf-view condo in a tower that’s barely started selling. His income is fine. The building may not be.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 20 · Samir & Mariam Haddad · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Mariam, a dentist who once tutored Lena in college chemistry, and her husband Samir, an engineer on an H-1B visa with no U.S. score, want a Vista Serena townhouse in Solana County. Part of their down payment is still overseas.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 21 · Aisha Rahman · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Samir’s former coworker Aisha has a spreadsheet for everything: three jobs in three years, new RSUs and $86,000 in vested shares.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 22 · Ethan Brooks · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Marcus sends you Ethan, an executive who found a $1.6 million house before selling his own. Four ways to bridge the gap, each with a price.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 23 · Tyler Brooks · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Ethan’s son Tyler left teaching for pharma sales four months ago and moved to Nashford, New Hampshire. He’s counting commission he hasn’t earned, and he doesn’t want his dad to know about May.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 24 · Noah Bennett · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Brenda’s friend from her old church in Maine, Noah, wants to build an apartment behind his rural Stanhope Lake home for his daughter’s family. He’s trusting, prefers mail, and someone has offered to “handle the paperwork.”
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 25 · Andre & Natalie Coleman · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Jamal sends you Andre, who inherited a third of his mom’s Dorrance two-family. His sisters want out. He and Natalie want to buy them out.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 26 · Victor Petrov · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Walter’s favorite restaurant owner, Victor, makes more than his returns show, keeps cash in a safe, and finds U.S. paperwork baffling.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 27 · Camille Dubois · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Lena’s godmother Camille, a financial planner with three rentals, wants a cash-out refinance in 21 days. Her other lender promised ten.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 28 · Henry Wallace · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Maya’s school volunteer Henry is a 71-year-old Navy veteran who never used his VA benefit. His wife likes money in the bank.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 29 · Monica Ellis · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Owen’s CPA Monica needs to refinance to pay her ex-husband his share within 180 days, and she wants a citation for every rule.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 30 · Trevor Ellis · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Monica’s ex, Trevor, wants to buy the day his buyout arrives, with a 618 score and a plan to put part of the down payment on a credit card advance.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 31 · Miguel Santos · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Russ sends you Miguel, an architect with a clean file, a 1950s ranch and a $12,000 seller credit. Closing costs, a permanent buydown or a 2-1?
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 32 · Tessa Morgan · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Lena sends you Tessa, a freelance designer who avoids bad news and hasn’t checked her credit in years. It’s 584.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 33 · Arjun & Neha Mehta · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Nia sends you the Mehtas: six financed properties, $2.8 million in balances and a lake house. Arjun expects exceptions. Neha asks whether they should.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 34 · Leila Mehta · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
The Mehtas’ daughter Leila is 20 and wants a condo near campus. Her parents will help. She didn’t know she could be the buyer.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 35 · Patrick & Denise O’Neal · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Marcus sends you Patrick, who’s heard five banks say they know their stuff, and Denise, who keeps the books. A sixth rental, two ways.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 36 · Frank & Linda DeLuca · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Patrick sends you Frank, who runs three auto-repair companies, mixes business and personal money, and wants you to “leave some of that out.” Linda keeps the records.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 37 · Raymond & Evelyn Greene · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Noah sends you the Greenes. Raymond doesn’t want a loan. Evelyn worries about the bathtub. The roof is from 1998. The best answer may be no loan.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 38 · Jordan Price · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Priya sends you Jordan, a fintech analyst in a divorce who has read the Selling Guide and insists her new alimony counts. It doesn’t, yet.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 39 · Kayla Price · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Jordan’s little sister Kayla is a school aide with a 612, $6,000 saved and a strong need to leave her parents’ house. Jordan might co-sign.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 40 · Robert & Michelle Sinclair · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Camille sends you Robert, a bank executive whose bank gives him a rate discount, and Michelle, whose design firm he forgets to mention. You might lose this one, honestly.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 41 · Lauren Bishop · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Monica sends you Lauren, a COO whose ex let the old mortgage go 30 days late during their divorce. She’s rewritten her question four times.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 42 · George Whitaker · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Robert Sinclair sends you George, 82, who wants to help his granddaughter buy a condo without selling investments. Gift, co-sign, buy it himself or lend?
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 43 · Chloe Nguyen, returns · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Two years after Chapter 2, Chloe is moving to Cedar Hollow. She wants to keep her condo and buy in Texas. Ellen isn’t licensed there.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 44 · Kelsey Brown, returns · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
March 2028. Four years since Kelsey’s discharge, her score is 702, and Russ found her a house in Clearhaven.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 45 · Darius King & Miguel Santos · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Darius and Miguel, both past clients, are building a custom home on Miguel’s lot. One construction loan, two current houses and a title question for an attorney.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 46 · Evelyn Greene, returns · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
After Raymond’s death, Evelyn calls Ellen. Her income has dropped, her children disagree, and she’d like to stay.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 47 · Kayla Price, returns · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Kayla is a certified teacher now, on time, and ready to take her sister off the loan.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 48 · Owen Murphy, returns · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Owen has sent you six clients and wants $250 for every one that closes. Then he suggests a “marketing fee.”
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 49 · Walter Lawson, returns · Phases 1–3 · complete draft
Walter wants cash out of his 1978 Clearhaven Beach condo. The building’s milestone inspection found $3.4 million in concrete repairs.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 50 · Capstone · approved draft
Ellen is out for the day and hands you her desk: five calls before 9 a.m., from people you know, and one stranger who wants a rate.
All characters and records are fictional training material. Approved by the founders as a working draft. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
My Desk
Chloe’s complete case file, ready the moment a lesson calls for it.
Chloe’s case file opens page by page, one phase at a time. It’s practice with a course borrower. Real borrowers belong in your company’s LOS and CRM, never on this site.
The templates a mentor would hand you. Build your lists on your own computer, import them into Outlook or Google Contacts now, and into your company’s CRM when you have one. Never upload them to the Field Guide.
Use these with real borrowers. Download a PDF and fill it in on your own device, or print it and write on it during the conversation. Nothing is typed into this site. When you’re done, keep it in your company’s LOS or approved secure storage; never email it or leave a printed copy out.
Chapter 1 opens each document inside the lesson when you need it. Here is the whole file for review. Tap any page to read it full size.
The documents will wait. They have nowhere else to be.
Instructors and mentors: the instructor edition with the full answer key is shared separately. Ask the Field Guide team. Every borrower, building and record here is fictional. The condo-research record is modeled on a real HUD lookup so you can practice reading one.
My Plan
It starts with a few questions and grows with you: your vision, a private journal, quarterly reviews and an honest look at what’s working. Answer a little at a time, whenever you’re ready.
✦ My Why
Where you came from, what you’re doing this week and where you’re going, in one private place. Start with one sentence.
Bonus chapter 51 · Brianna & Corey Holloway · Phases 1–3 · new draft
Dr. Nia Okafor sends you Brianna Holloway, a medical assistant at her Carrow practice. Brianna and her husband Corey want a $280,000 ranch on a well and septic in rural Unity County, with nothing down, and her mom is moving in with them. USDA?
All characters and records are fictional training material. New draft for the founders’ review. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Bonus chapter 52 · Ana & Jesse Lindgren · Phases 1–3 · new draft
Lena Park sends you her neighbors from across the hall in Mistral Falls: Ana and Jesse, who want a 2003 double-wide on two acres outside Hollis Creek. It has a well, a septic system and a vehicle title.
All characters and records are fictional training material. New draft, pending the founders’ review. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Bonus chapter 53 · Nate Kowalski · Phases 1–3 · new draft
Owen Murphy sends you Nate, the son of a longtime insurance client: a likable first-time buyer with a 21-day deadline, a paystub that doesn’t add up and a “gift” that comes with a payment plan.
All characters and records are fictional training material. New draft, pending the founders’ review. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 54 · Imani Pryor · Phases 1–3 · new draft
Sofia Alvarez sends her coworker Imani, a respiratory therapist declined online for an FHA purchase in Brackley Falls. FHA allows her 648 score and 49% DTI. The question is which lender will, at what total cost, before the November 25 commitment.
All characters, lenders and records are fictional training material. New draft, pending the founders’ review. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 55 · Lucia & Javier Ortega · Phases 1–3 · new draft
Russ Halvorsen sends a couple with a signed short-sale offer in Larkmoor. When the seller’s lender counters out of reach, they pivot to a bank-owned house with the water off and four required repairs.
All characters, lenders and records are fictional training material. New draft, pending the founders’ review. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 56 · Roz Abernathy · Phases 1–3 · new draft
Maya Chen sends her running partner Roz: $64,000 a year, $4,200 saved and her mom moving in. The cheapest option at the closing table comes due in full when she sells, so Ellen lays out every column and lets Roz choose.
All characters, lenders and records are fictional training material. New draft, pending the founders’ review. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Chapter 57 · Tomas Reyes · Phases 1–3 · new draft
Darius King sends his engine partner Tomas, a Navy veteran with a 2023 VA loan at 7.625% and a mailbox full of refinance pitches. Which offer is real, which is a costume, and when is the honest answer “not yet”?
All characters, lenders and records are fictional training material. New draft, pending the founders’ review. Rules and numbers are verified before public launch.
Learn · Rule cards
All the quick rules from the course, grouped by topic, with the source and where each one is taught. The chapters still teach each rule in context; this is the place to look one up. Guidelines change, so check the current source before you rely on one.
Mentor dashboard
Where each person you mentor is in the course, what they keep missing and where they’re stuck. Read their written answers and leave a review note. “View their course” shows exactly what they see, and nothing you click there changes their answers or progress. Their course progress, tasks and desk notes sync to their account, and that synced work is what you see here. Their contacts and the names behind their lists stay on their own device, so they never reach you.
Founders’ dashboard
Everything testers flag, where every learner is, and the questions people miss most. Visible to admins only.
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My Desk
Everything due, in one glance. Clear it, log it, win the day.
Everything syncs to your account, so it follows you between devices and lessons. Your tasks and notes are private to you, and they never hold real names.
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Free preview · free account
Chloe is renting and ready to buy her first condo, and she just asked you where to start. Work her file the way a real desk works it, with Ellen Quinn, a veteran loan officer, beside you. See exactly what the Field Guide teaches before you decide anything.
Base Camp · System guides
The deeper guide behind each Base Camp group: what each system is, the setup that matters in week one, what new loan officers get wrong, and the exact questions to ask your manager. Steps you already have in Base Camp show here with the same checkbox, so there’s one checklist, not two.
Build Your Book
Twelve real situations every new loan officer runs into, from the agent who won’t call back to the past client who refinanced somewhere else. Each one comes with a mission, exactly who to go after, the words to say and the line you never cross. Start with the one you’re living through. There’s no week you’re behind on.
General training, not legal advice. Each week names the compliance line that governs it; your company’s policy governs and your compliance department decides.
My Desk
One good loan becomes a career. Watch every referral branch into the next one.
Your practice tree from the course. Two agents sent your first files; those clients sent friends, coworkers and family. Every box is a person, every line a referral, and every closed loan pays you.
Real lead? Start here
Search or pick the situation in front of you. You’ll get the rule to check before you call them back, the chapters that teach it, and the exact steps to review.
For teams
For owners, branch leaders and mentors at any brokerage or lender with newer loan officers and a mentor willing to coach. Request the free preview to see exactly what the course teaches before you decide anything.
The free preview opens the Prologue and all of Chloe’s file, Chapters 1 and 2, exactly as a learner gets them, so you and your mentors can judge what it teaches. Full access and team pilots are available now. Pricing depends on your team and goals; Kim and Clayton walk you through it personally.
Request the free previewAbout the free preview
A short form. It goes straight to the two of us.
What we are, and aren’t. We teach the craft, the daily discipline and the business — the part your best originator teaches one-on-one when they have the time. The files are written from a broker’s desk, where a loan officer works with more than one wholesale lender, but the judgment they teach — reading the file, checking the guideline, explaining the next step — is the same at a bank, a credit union or a retail lender. We are not a CRM, not a lead source and not a recruiter, and we store nothing of your company’s: no borrowers, no loan files, no pipeline. A learner’s own contacts and notes stay private to them. What we store, and what to keep out.
Reps
Purchases, refinances, FHA, VA, jumbo, non-QM, condos, divorces, self-employed borrowers and reverse mortgages, across ten states.
Habits
Learners practice recording open questions, scheduling follow-ups and deciding when to ask for help. We show our own approach as a starting point for a conversation with their manager. Your team sets the workflow, within your company’s recordkeeping and compliance requirements.
Live help
When a real file gets complicated, the Scenario Finder points them to the exact chapters and rules before they call back.
01A first-call file noteEvery fact labeled Reported, Open, Documented or Verified.02A qualifying summaryIncome, debts, ratios and cash for each practice file, with the open items named.03A focused document requestEvery request with a reason, an owner and a priority.04A next-step planThe message to the borrower and a follow-up they can count on.Every loan file has a beginning, a middle and an end. So does learning to work one.
Start with the free preview. Your team lead can work Chapter 1 exactly the way a learner would.
A short form. It goes straight to the two of us.
Why we built this
Licensing, company training, lender resources and mentors give new loan officers a foundation. Handling an incomplete or unfamiliar borrower file still takes practice, and most people get that practice on live borrowers.
Field guides explain. Training companions give you reps. Scenarios supply the context. Together they help you spot patterns, ask better questions, understand why a document matters and know when to ask for help.
Between us: decades of experience teaching and originating, and one question we kept hearing from new loan officers: “Why didn’t anyone show me this?”
Co-founder · Originating since 2003
Clayton has originated mortgages since 2003, helping thousands of homeowners through the process. He’s worked nearly every kind of lending shop: small mortgage companies, a community bank, national retail lenders, and today as a broker originating residential and commercial loans.
That range is the point. He knows how the work looks from each side of the desk, and how much of it nobody explains to new loan officers. He holds a B.S. in Economics and Finance from Bentley University and speaks English, Spanish and Romanian. Off the clock, he’s reading or on a golf course.
Co-founder · Educator turned originator
Kim spent nearly two decades in classrooms in Oregon, Alaska and Florida, most of them teaching middle school math. She co-led professional development for her district’s math teachers, writing learning targets, rubrics and common assessments, served on curriculum-writing and math leadership teams, and took part in instructional coaching research with the Jim Knight Coaching Institute and the University of Kansas.
In 2016 she became a loan officer and found the same problem she’d spent her career solving: people being handed complicated material without being taught how to work through it. Since 2023 she has originated as a mortgage broker. She builds the Field Guide the way she built lessons, in small steps, with practice before pressure. She holds a master’s degree in Elementary and Middle School Education from Pacific University.
Nothing unusual usually requires a follow-up question.
We built it for the loan officers we mentor. Now we’re polishing it with a small group of new loan officers.
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Get started
The Field Guide is for every loan officer: new to the industry, moving between retail, bank and broker, or ready to take on more complex files. And for the managers, mentors and trainers who develop them. Tell us a little about yourself. We read every request and reply personally, and loan officers we approve get an invitation to set up an account.
Thank you. Your request is in. Kim or Clayton will reply by email.
Prefer email? Write to hello@loanofficerfieldguide.com.
My Contacts · Practice run
Every loan officer’s business runs on relationships: family, friends, neighbors, past clients, agents and other professionals. Nobody teaches you how to organize them, or how to stay in touch without it feeling like a sales pitch. Practice on a sample book first, then do it for real in your contact system.
My Desk
Your business starts with the people you already know. Here’s how to set them up in your company’s approved system, and keep the daily rhythm going there.
The Field Guide doesn’t store real people. Your contacts belong in the CRM, company phone or secure spreadsheet your company approved.
Build your list offline. Download the contact template, fill it in on your own computer with Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets, then import it into your company’s CRM, Google Contacts or Outlook. Most systems let you match the columns when you import. The Field Guide never takes the file back: real people belong in your company’s system.
⬇ Contacts workbook (Excel) Outlook import (CSV) Google import (CSV) Any CRM (CSV)
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