Some of life’s biggest milestones involve taking out a loan, whether it’s buying a house, starting a business, or buying a vehicle. However, if you’ve never taken out a loan, the process can feel daunting. With so much paperwork to gather and plenty of decisions to make, many first-time borrowers don’t know where to start with their loan application.

As a lender, there are many things you can do to make the Loan Approval Process easier for your first-time customers. Here are five ways to make borrowing more accessible and support your customers through the process.

1. Clearly Communicate Your Loan Descriptions and Requirements

Before your customers apply for a loan, they need to understand exactly what they’re applying for and what to expect. Provide clear descriptions of each lending product you offer on your website and through paper materials in your brick-and-mortar locations. Descriptions should list terms and conditions, including payment schedules, interest rates, and any additional fees.

You should also communicate the standard Loan Approval Process requirements for each loan. These include minimum credit scores, debt-to-income ratio, minimum monthly income, and required documents. Prospective borrowers should be able to look at this information and quickly determine if they’re likely to qualify for the loan.

Having this information readily available helps borrowers better identify loans that meet their needs. Borrowers will avoid wasting time applying for loans they won’t qualify for. Access to information up-front also reduces confusion as the lending process moves forward.

2. Offer a Streamlined Income Verification Process

Verification of income is a necessary and important part of the loan verification process. However, many lenders require borrowers to submit physical copies or scans of their pay stubs, tax returns, and employer contracts. Submitting paper documents is typically inconvenient for borrowers, many of whom don’t have access to printers or scanners at home. Paper documents also need to be manually verified, which makes the process take even longer.

Instead, switch to an online income verification process. This allows borrowers to submit documents online, rather than having to mail or hand-deliver them. Automated technology also makes it easy to process and verify documents in just a few minutes.

Streamlining the income verification process means that borrowers will get their application results much faster. It also saves your team time, since you’ll no longer need to spend hours verifying documents and calling references.

3. Prioritize Responsive Customer Service

First-time borrowers will have more questions about the lending process than repeat borrowers. To ensure they don’t feel left in the dark, prioritize customer service throughout the entire lending process. Put yourself in the borrower’s shoes — what would they need to feel comfortable and supported through this decision?

Ideally, each borrower should have a dedicated customer service specialist to contact when questions arise. This gives you the opportunity to build a rapport with your client and better understand their needs. It also streamlines communication with loan applicants, ensuring that their questions don’t go ignored.

In addition to offering personalized guidance, add responsive customer service features to your website. For example, implement an online chatbot to answer simple questions from customers. This way, even when your customer service team isn’t available, prospective borrowers can learn more about your products online. You should also have an in-depth lending FAQ page available for customers to reference.

4. Provide a Realistic Approval Timeline

Putting in an application for a loan can feel nerve-wracking, particularly for first-time borrowers. When customers have to wait a long time for approval, it makes the process feel even more overwhelming. To make things easier for your first-time borrowers, provide a realistic approval timeline right from the beginning.

Let your applicants know exactly how long each part of the approval process will take. If you have a backlog of applications to process or are expecting delays, factor that into the timeline. Even if the approval process is lengthy, your customers will feel better knowing exactly what to expect

You should also encourage borrowers to check back in if they haven’t received a decision in the expected time period. This gives you an opportunity to reassure them and provide clarification about what’s going on. It also assures borrowers that you’re there to guide them through the process and answer any questions they have.

5. Run Specialized Programs for First-Time Borrowers

If you find that you struggle to get first-time borrowers in the door, consider running special promotions or programs targeted to them. There are already many government lending programs that use this strategy, but private lenders can make these offers as well. When loans are marketed specifically to first-time buyers, it often helps prospective customers feel more comfortable starting the process and completing an application.

First-time lending programs are usually designed for borrowers with low credit scores. They also require lower down payments than standard loans. However, borrowers must still meet specific income requirements to qualify. This makes borrowing more accessible to people of different economic backgrounds.

Final Thoughts

Taking out a loan is a big financial step, but it’s also one that can help your customers achieve their goals. It’s normal for first-time borrowers to be hesitant, so you’ll need to take steps to help them feel more comfortable. Adjusting your services to meet their unique needs will make the Loan Approval Process easier and smoother for everyone.