Borrower Portal

Borrower Portal Specification

Design the feature specification and security requirements for a borrower-facing mortgage portal that allows applicants to track their loan status, upload required documents, communicate with their loan team, and manage closing logistics — reducing inbound calls and improving the borrower experience.

Authentication

Registration:

• Initiated by loan officer or processor: system sends invitation email to borrower's email address on file
• Borrower creates password on first login (not pre-set by staff)
• Password requirements: minimum 10 characters, must include upper, lower, number; common passwords rejected
• Email verification: confirmation link expires in 48 hours; resend available

Multi-Factor Authentication:

• MFA required for all borrower accounts
• TOTP (authenticator app) or SMS OTP accepted
• MFA enrollment required on first login after password set
• Fallback: email OTP if phone number changes
• Session timeout: 20 minutes of inactivity; absolute limit 8 hours

Session security:

• HTTPS only; TLS 1.2 minimum
• Secure cookie flags (HttpOnly, Secure, SameSite=Strict)
• Session token invalidated on logout and on MFA re-authentication
• Concurrent session limit: 2 devices (additional login invalidates oldest session with notification)
• Failed login: 5 consecutive failures → 15-minute lockout (not full account lock — reduces abuse risk)

Account recovery:

• Password reset: email verification link (expires 30 minutes)
• MFA device lost: verified via security questions + email OTP; requires identity re-verification before full access restored
• Fraud alert: 3 failed recovery attempts → email notification to borrower and loan team notification

Loan Status Dashboard

Status overview:

The primary view shows the borrower's current loan status with a visual progress indicator (milestone pipeline).

Milestone display for borrower (plain language):

Outstanding Conditions

Conditions display:

Show borrower only the conditions they can fulfill — not internal UW conditions requiring lender action.

Status lifecycle:

Needed → [Borrower uploads] → Uploaded (pending review) → [Staff reviews] → Accepted or Returned with comments

If document is returned: borrower receives notification with specific reason; condition returns to Needed status.

Document Upload

Upload requirements:

• Accepted file types: PDF, JPG, PNG, TIFF, HEIC
• Maximum file size: 25MB per file; 100MB per upload session
• Multiple files per condition: allowed (borrower can upload more than one file for a single condition if documents are split across pages)
• File naming: system assigns name based on condition + timestamp; borrower does not need to name files

Upload flow:

1. Borrower selects condition requiring a document
2. Upload instructions displayed (what the document must contain; example shown if available)
3. File selection (drag-and-drop or file picker)
4. Preview displayed: first page of PDF or image
5. Borrower confirms upload
6. System virus scans file (in-flight; typical < 5 seconds)
7. If scan fails: error message, file rejected
8. If scan passes: file stored; condition status changes to "Uploaded — pending review"
9. Loan team notified of document upload (in-system notification + email summary)

Security:

• Files stored in encrypted storage (AES-256 at rest)
• Access control: only borrower, co-borrower, and loan team can access uploaded files
• Files retained per lender's document retention policy; not accessible after loan is closed and retention period expires

Secure Messaging

Message thread structure:

• One thread per loan (not per topic)
• Participants: borrower, co-borrower, loan officer, processor (as configured by loan team)
• Message history: complete history from application to close retained in loan file

Messaging rules:

• Borrower cannot initiate contact with a new party not added to their thread
• Files can be attached to messages (same file type and size limits as document upload — for informal back-and-forth; formal document submission uses the Conditions section)
• Read receipts: loan team can see when borrower has read a message (borrower can see when loan team has read a message)
• Response time display: "Typical response time: [N] business hours" set by lender

Message notifications:

• New message from loan team → email notification to borrower: "You have a new message in your portal" (no loan details in email)
• Unread message indicator in portal header
• SMS notification (optional, if borrower opts in): same content as email

Wire fraud warning (pinned to message thread):

A permanent, prominent notice displayed at the top of every message thread:

Important: Wire Fraud Warning Our team will NEVER ask you to wire money based on an email or message alone. Before wiring any funds, call your loan officer directly at [loan officer phone number] to verify the wire instructions. Wire fraud is common and wires are irreversible.

Closing Coordination

CD review and acknowledgment:

When CD is issued:

• Portal displays "Your Closing Disclosure is ready" banner
• CD PDF viewable in portal (full document)
• Key figures highlighted: cash to close, monthly payment, loan amount, interest rate
• Borrower must click "I have reviewed my Closing Disclosure" to acknowledge (does not constitute legal acknowledgment for TRID purposes — this is informational UX; formal LE/CD delivery compliance handled separately)
• 3-business-day wait countdown shown: "Closing available on or after [date]"

Closing appointment:

• Closing date, time, and location displayed once confirmed
• Option to add to calendar (ICS file download)
• Closing details:
  • Physical address or "Remote Online Notarization" with technology instructions
  • Who will be at closing (settlement agent name and contact)
  • What to bring: valid government-issued photo ID, any cashier's check (if not wiring), any items noted in CD
  • Wiring instructions (if applicable): displayed with mandatory fraud warning adjacent; instructions displayed only after loan team has verified with title company

Wire instructions display:

Your wire instructions — read before wiring

Before wiring any funds, call [title company name] directly at [verified phone number on file] to confirm these instructions have not changed. Do not send a wire based on this page alone — wire fraud is common.

[Wire instructions displayed below]

Post-Close

After funding:

• Loan status changes to "Your loan is funded — congratulations!"
• First payment information displayed: due date, amount, servicer name and payment address
• If loan is transferred to a servicer: servicer contact information displayed
• Escrow analysis information: if escrow account established, explanation of initial setup and when first annual analysis will occur
• Portal access continues for 30 days post-close (borrower can download documents they uploaded; read message history)

Portal Security Requirements Summary

Output Format

Deliver two artifacts:

1. Portal Feature Specification — User story format (as a [borrower / loan officer / processor], I can [action] so that [benefit]) with acceptance criteria for each feature

2. Security Requirements Specification — Authentication, session management, encryption, audit logging, and testing requirements; input validation requirements for all borrower-submitted data