Reviewing and Editing Your Firm Offer of Credit Templates

What You Need Before You Start

Two things need to be in place before you open the templates:

• Desktop Microsoft Word. Google Docs and Word for the web can strip or misrender tracked changes, and neither can display an installed font. Open the templates in the desktop app.
• The Kletzien handwritten font. Your templates use a handwritten signature font. If it is not installed on your computer, Word substitutes a different font and the signature will not look correct.

Installing the Kletzien Handwritten Font

Download the font file, KLETZIEN.TTF, from the attachments at the bottom of this page. Then follow the steps for your operating system.

On Windows

1. Right-click the downloaded font file.
2. Select "Install for all users."
3. Close Word completely, then reopen it.

On Mac

1. Double-click the downloaded font file to open it in Font Book.
2. Select "Install Font."
3. Close Word completely, then reopen it.

Word only loads fonts when it starts, so the restart matters. If you had a template open during installation, close it and open it again. Once Word reopens, the signature displays in the correct handwritten style.

Your Two Templates

You will find two templates attached to this page. Both need review, and they serve different purposes.

Personalized offer. This is the version that goes to nearly every prospect. It comes from the individual loan officer and is sent by email.

Standard offer. This is a company-branded version used only in rare situations: the borrower's email address bounces, no email address is on file, or the loan officer who owns the relationship has left your company. In those cases, the standard offer is mailed as a physical letter.

You are editing both because the standard offer is your fallback. It runs infrequently, but when it runs it needs to be correct.

Firm Offer of Credit Requirements

Every firm offer of credit has content requirements that come from Experian, and your edits need to stay inside them. Review the requirements before you make changes so your templates clear on the first pass:

Firm offer of credit requirements for prescreened lists

If an edit you want to make looks like it might conflict with a requirement, send it to your Activation Manager as a question rather than making the change.

How to Edit and Return Your Templates

1. Download both template documents from the attachments at the bottom of this page.
2. Open each one in desktop Microsoft Word.
3. Confirm Track Changes is turned on. Go to the "Review" tab and check that "Track Changes" is highlighted. Every template is sent to you with Track Changes already on, so in most cases you only need to confirm it.
4. Make your edits directly in the document. Do not retype the document or copy the text into a new file, because that discards the tracking.
5. Save each file with Track Changes intact.
6. Email both completed documents to your Activation Manager.

Editing inside the tracked document is what allows your changes to be reviewed against the compliant original before anything is finalized.

FAQ

Can I edit the templates in Google Docs or Word for the web? No. Both can drop tracked changes, and neither displays the Kletzien font. Use desktop Microsoft Word.

The signature still looks wrong after I installed the font. Close Word completely and reopen it. Word loads fonts when it starts, so a template left open during installation will not pick up the new font.

Do I have to edit both templates if I only care about the personalized version? Yes. The standard offer is the fallback that goes out when an email cannot be delivered or a loan officer leaves, so it needs to be accurate even though it runs rarely.

What if I have no changes to make? Reply to your Activation Manager and let them know the templates are approved as written. You do not need to return an unedited file.

Summary

Install the Kletzien font, edit both templates in desktop Word with Track Changes on, and email them to your Activation Manager. Once your templates are approved, your firm offers are ready to send.