The questions on a mortgage fact find are familiar to any adviser. Completing it means turning each answer into information that is complete, accurate and backed by evidence.
AI tools are now helping with that work. They work alongside the adviser, capturing, organising and pre-filling information so the fact find comes together with less manual work and less typing.
Below are seven assumptions about the mortgage fact find that are worth questioning, and what changes when tools like Collibry and Monicio become part of the process.
Collibry, MAT's AI meeting platform for mortgage advisers, captures details as the conversation happens and turns each meeting into a transcript, summary and notes, and Monicio keeps a client's documents, fact find and case in one place, using AI to review paperwork, pre-fill the fact find and chase any documents still outstanding.
Myth 1: The Meeting Is the Only Source of the Fact Find
Reality: The meeting is one source of the mortgage fact find. Documents and follow-ups complete the picture.
A fact find draws on far more than the meeting. The information behind it comes from:
- the first meeting or call
- follow-up calls to clarify income or commitments
- emails with details the client remembered later
- payslips, bank statements and ID
- criteria checks that raise new questions
MAT captures each piece at its source. Collibry handles the conversations, recording what the client shares while the meeting is still happening. Monicio handles the documents, reading through them and picking out the details that matter. Details from the Collibry meeting then pass straight into the client's case in Monicio, bringing the conversation and the documents together in one place.
Myth 2: Typing It Up Afterwards Is Just Part of the Job
Reality: Collibry captures information as you talk, so less needs to be typed up afterwards.
Every time information is copied from one place to another, something can slip: a figure transposed, a commitment left out, a client's reasoning reduced to a few words. Collibry is a meeting platform built for mortgage professionals. Details are picked up live during the conversation and fed towards the fact find.
Because Collibry captures information during the call, the fact find is already under way when the meeting ends. Its Voice to FactFind feature, covered below, can also build a fact find from a call that has already been recorded.
Myth 3: Using AI Means Handing Over Control of the Fact Find
Reality: AI does the groundwork. The adviser stays in control.
This is an understandable concern, and it has a clear answer. Advisers are responsible for their advice, and with Monicio, the adviser checks what has been gathered and moves the case forward. Monicio handles the evidence side of the fact find:
- Clients send their documents through a secure online portal that opens in their browser, so there is nothing to install.
- AI reads through bank statements, ID and proof of income and picks out the details that matter.
- Relevant sections of the fact find are filled in ahead of review, and details from the Collibry meeting can pass straight into the client's case.
- Outstanding documents are chased automatically.
Interpreting that information stays with the adviser. Whether a new contract is stable enough, whether a client's priorities are realistic, whether a product is suitable: those calls belong to the adviser. The point is to cut repeat requests and duplicate entry, freeing advisers to spend their time with clients.
Myth 4: A Recording Is All the Evidence You Need
Reality: A recording captures what was said. A fact find turns it into a structured record.
The FCA's mortgage rules (MCOB 4.7A) require firms to take reasonable steps to ensure that advice is suitable for the customer, and to make and retain a record explaining why. Those records must be kept for a minimum of three years. A fact find sets that evidence out in a structured form.
Collibry's Voice to FactFind feature builds a fact find from a recorded call, and earlier transcripts, notes and recordings remain on hand, so the original conversation can be revisited whenever needed. The recording supports the record. It does not replace it.
Myth 5: A Longer Fact Find Is a Better One
Reality: Length does not make a mortgage fact find complete. Covering every relevant area does.
What matters is that every detail shaping the recommendation is captured. A useful test is whether the fact find gives a clear answer to each of these:
- Who is applying, and who depends on them financially?
- What does each applicant earn, and how is that income evidenced?
- What are their committed outgoings, from loans and credit cards to childcare?
- Is there anything in their credit history a lender will ask about?
- How much deposit is there, and where is it coming from?
- What property and loan are they looking for, and over what term?
- What matters most to them: the rate, flexibility, overpayments or portability?
- What might change during the mortgage term, from income to family plans?
- What protection do they already have, and where are the gaps?
Collibry helps capture these answers during the conversation, and Monicio picks out the supporting details from the client's documents.
Myth 6: AI Tools Are Only for Large Firms
Reality: MAT's pricing is modular: firms choose the tools they need now and add others later.
MAT has separate solutions for solo brokers, broker firms, growing brokerages, and large firms and networks. Costs scale with the business, and firms pay only for what they use.
For solo brokers, MAT takes on tasks such as responding to leads, booking appointments, drafting emails and running compliance checks. That lets one person work with the kind of speed and structure a larger firm gets from its staff, without taking anyone on. Collibry comes in three tiers, Lite, Standard and Premium, and every tier can be tried free for 14 days.
Myth 7: Routine Cases Don't Need the Same Detail
Reality: Every case needs a fact find based on the client's current circumstances.
A remortgage for a returning client can feel like a formality, yet a lot can change between cases: a new job, a new child, a change in working hours, a loan taken out since the last application.
Capturing a new conversation in Collibry and checking the latest documents through Monicio keeps the fact find based on the client's current situation, not on what was true when they last took out a mortgage. It also gives the firm an up-to-date record for any future review.
What This Means for Your Fact Find Process
With Collibry capturing meetings and Monicio reviewing documents and chasing what is outstanding, advisers spend less time on admin and more time on the part of the fact find that needs them: understanding the client, testing their plans and deciding what is suitable.
Clients benefit from this too, with a secure online portal for sending documents and nothing to install.
With Collibry and Monicio working together, details from each meeting pass straight into the client's case, where their paperwork, fact find and case progress are all kept together.
The fact find is one stage of a much longer case. To see how AI supports the rest of it, from first enquiry to application, read our guide to AI tools for mortgage brokers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a mortgage fact find?
A mortgage fact find is a structured record of a client's personal circumstances, income, outgoings, credit history, deposit and goals. Advisers use it to understand the client's needs and support a suitable mortgage recommendation, which makes it an important part of the evidence behind the advice.
What information is needed for a mortgage fact find?
A fact find typically covers personal details and dependants, employment and income, committed outgoings, credit history, savings and deposit source, the property and loan required, the client's priorities, expected future changes and existing protection. Payslips, bank statements and ID are used to evidence the figures.
How long does a mortgage fact find take?
It varies from case to case. The meeting is only part of the process, and completing the fact find can take several days while follow-up questions are answered and documents arrive. Capturing information during the meeting and pre-filling details from documents reduces the rekeying involved.
Can AI complete a mortgage fact find?
AI can do much of the groundwork. Collibry captures information during client meetings and can build a fact find from a recorded call, and Monicio pre-fills details from client documents. Checking the result, asking follow-up questions and deciding what is suitable remain the adviser's job.
Is an AI-assisted fact find suitable under FCA requirements?
AI can be used as part of an FCA-regulated advice process, with responsibility for the advice staying with the firm and the adviser. MAT includes automated FCA compliance checks, along with built-in tracking of documentation and regulatory requirements, as part of the everyday process rather than leaving them to the end. Firms should review AI output and check that their processes meet their own regulatory obligations.
See Where AI Fits into Your Fact Find
Book a demo and find out how Collibry and Monicio could fit the way your firm handles fact finds today, and which tools suit where your firm is now and what it wants to spend.
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