The prioritized question list for manager, compliance, brokerage, and Mitchell himself.
27 — Questions Mitchell Must Answer
Prepared 2026-07-22. Figures verified as of this date unless marked otherwise.
These are the questions research cannot answer — they need Mitchell, his manager, Ready's compliance officer, a brokerage, or (for a few) an attorney. They are ordered by what they block, not by how interesting they are.
P0 — blocks first outreach. Nothing goes to a realtor or borrower until these are answered.
P1 — blocks week-2+ actions. Outreach can start; content, brokerage moves, and platform decisions cannot.
P2 — blocks month-2 decisions. Deliberately deferred; don't burn manager goodwill on these in week 1.
Answer format for each: get it in writing (email counts), file it in the compliance folder, then update 00_assumptions_and_unknowns.md the same day.
P0 — Blocks first outreach
P0-0. What is Mitchell's personal runway — in months, computed, before Day 1? (added after red-team review, C3)
Why it matters: The re-based financial model (file 22 §6) says base case = first funded loan month 4 and ≈ $0 income months 1–5; true conservative = income that rounds to zero for the year. The plan's most likely kill condition is not strategy — it is running out of money. No file can compute this; only Mitchell can.
The four numbers to produce (file 22 §6A holds the formula):[MONTHLY_PERSONAL_BURN] (all-in household spend, including health insurance — see next bullet); [LIQUID_SAVINGS] (spendable cash, not retirement); [OTHER_MONTHLY_INCOME] (draw, documented household support, part-time income — $0 until proven); and the derived RUNWAY_MONTHS. Plus: what is the health-insurance plan if Ready offers none (file 20 Q14b)?
Who answers: Mitchell (and household). The draw/benefits inputs come from the manager meeting (file 20 Q14a/14b/14c).
What changes — the go/no-go rule:if RUNWAY_MONTHS < 9 at conservative-case income, the bridge is defined before Day 1 — draw negotiation in writing, a part-time income floor that doesn't consume the 9:30–6:00 calling window, or household support in writing. Without this answer the plan is not viable as designed regardless of its quality, and R11's early-warning signal can never fire.
P0-1. What is the exact Illinois disclosure block, and will Ready confirm the IL license in writing?
Why it matters: 38 Ill. Adm. Code 1050.940 requires company + individual NMLS IDs + nmlsconsumeraccess.org on every ad-like item — including his email signature and LinkedIn profile. IDFPR shows MB.6850275 ACTIVE, but Ready's own license page still says Florida-only; Mitchell needs the company's written confirmation plus a manual NMLS Consumer Access screenshot (5 minutes, his own to-do) before citing the license anywhere. [UNVERIFIED — confirm with manager]
What changes: Without it, zero outreach. With it, every template in files 15–18 gets its footer and ships. If IL capacity turns out to be brokering rather than lending, "direct lender" comes out of all IL copy.
P0-2. Which products can an IL MLO actually originate today — in writing?
Why it matters: The site's national menu is not an IL menu; bank-statement/DSCR aren't even on the site despite the family's impression. The plan's first-five sequence (conventional, FHA, VA, DPA lane, bank-statement) and the entire scenario-desk pitch depend on knowing what's real. [UNVERIFIED — confirm with manager]
Who answers: Manager (with investor list and overlays).
What changes: Defines the product one-pager and which scenarios Mitchell may accept. If FHA or VA is missing, the first-timer strategy is recut before launch. If bank-statement is missing, the Model-F-lite experiment is cancelled (it's optional by design) and product #5 gets replaced.
P0-3. What is Mitchell's comp plan? (fills [BPS_COMP])
Why it matters: Every income scenario and goal in the financial model runs on a named placeholder. Mitchell also can't judge which products are worth mastering without knowing what they pay.
Who answers: Manager / HR, in the comp agreement.
What changes: The financial model becomes real; monthly funded-volume targets and the 12-month funnel get actual dollar meaning.
P0-4. How do IL files actually flow — and what are honest turn times?
Why it matters: The Scenario Desk promise (ack ≤1 business hour, scenario brief ≤4 business hours) needs a back end: who answers Mitchell's underwriting questions, how fast, and where IL files are processed/underwritten/closed. The partners page claims in-house everything; unverified. [UNVERIFIED — confirm with manager]
Who answers: Manager + ops lead.
What changes: Sets whether the SLA is advertisable as documented, or downgraded until proven. Also sets the rule that no closing-timeline claim exists anywhere until real IL files have closed.
P0-5. Who approves Mitchell's marketing, and what may he cite?
Why it matters: Everything in the content plan needs a review lane and turnaround expectation. Specific pre-cleared items needed: A+ BBB citation, 4.9/384 Birdeye citation (Florida-customer caveat), the "in-house ops" phrasing, and the standing rule that the partners-page puffery ("all loan programs," "will get your loan closed!") is never repeated.
Who answers: Compliance officer / whoever owns marketing approval.
What changes: Content calendar go-live date; which credibility points appear in scripts; the compliance-approval checklist in decision_gate/ gets its named approver.
P1 — Blocks week-2+ actions
P1-1. Will Ready pursue IHDA participating-lender approval — and what DPA exists meanwhile?
Why it matters: Ready is verified NOT on the IHDA list (eff. 2025-12-18) while the top SW-suburb competitors are. The approval path exists (direct originators only; U.S. Bank MRBP is the usual sticking point and lead time). Meanwhile: can Ready pair with Cook County DPA (reopened 2026-07-20, up to $25k)? Reach FHLB Downpayment Plus through a member-bank path? Support Chenoa-style national DPA? Seller credits and gift-fund rules? [UNVERIFIED — confirm with manager]
Who answers: Manager, escalating to ownership (MRBP application is a company decision).
What changes: Whether product #4 is "IHDA (pending)" or "alternative DPA stack"; the honesty script for the most common agent question in the $250–350k band; whether the Southland First-Home Lab content leads with IHDA-education-plus-referral or IHDA-execution.
P1-2. Will Ready approve the real estate broker license as an outside business activity — in writing?
Why it matters: The whole brokerage decision (Crosstown Hybrid 75/25, Fathom ~$465/deal, eXp 80/20) is contingent on Ready's written OBA approval and its NMLS MU4 disclosure. Many lenders ban dual employment outright. The Flex "no" stands regardless.
Who answers: Manager + compliance (OBA policy).
What changes: OBA yes → Mitchell picks a parking brokerage and gets managing-broker dual-career consent (P2-2). OBA no → license stays inactive/parked; no brokerage conversations needed; MLS access sourced another way (association membership question).
P1-3. → PROMOTED TO P0-6 (below). (Red-team M4: this blocks Day-3 calling, not week 2.)
P0-6. Does Ready hold a National DNC Registry Subscription Account Number — and what telemarketing/texting infrastructure exists? (promoted from P1-3 after red-team review)
Why it matters: Manual live calls start Day 3, but scrubbing against the National DNC Registry requires an organization Subscription Account Number — Ready's, not Mitchell's personal signup. [UNVERIFIED whether Ready holds one — ask compliance.] Under the plan's own rules, no SAN = unscrubbed cells are NO-CALL, and the calling channel silently degrades to email/LinkedIn/office-landline in week 1 (file 15 §4 fallback rule). Also needed: written confirmation of the no-dialer/no-RVM/no-AI-voice ban as company policy, the internal suppression-list procedure (5-year retention), and approval of any texting/email tool before first use (10DLC, consent capture, opt-out automation).
Who answers: Compliance officer.
What changes: Whether Mitchell may call numbers he can't verify as office landlines (scrubbed) or restricts to landlines + inbound/replied contacts (unscrubbed); which, if any, sequencing tool the 14-day cadence may use versus running fully manual from a spreadsheet. If no SAN: written request that Ready obtain one goes out Day 1 (first 5 area codes are low-cost), owner + date on the Decision Sheet (file 20 line 22), and week-1–2 conversation targets are cut to match the degraded channel.
P1-4. Will Ready approve the AI SOP and tool list in writing?
Why it matters: Fannie LL-2026-04 makes AI governance a seller requirement — employers now need written AI policies, so unsanctioned tool use is a real policy violation, not a gray zone. The SOP (Claude Pro + ChatGPT Plus, training toggles off, no NPI ever, human review gates) is drafted; Kimi requires explicit approval and the expected answer is no (China-hosted, trains on inputs, no opt-out) — the plan loses nothing dropping it.
Who answers: Compliance officer / manager.
What changes: Whether AI-assisted drafting appears anywhere in the workflow, and on which tier. If the company mandates a business tier for anything sensitive, budget moves from $40/mo toward ~$25–30/seat products.
P1-5. Is Mitchell Ready's first Illinois MLO, and what IL volume exists to date?
Why it matters: License is ~8 months old; no IL office, reviews, or LinkedIn footprint. If Mitchell is employee-one in IL, that changes expectation-setting (he's also the guinea pig for IL closings, disclosures, and investor delivery) and his positioning honesty ("now serving Illinois," never "established"). [UNVERIFIED — confirm with manager]
Who answers: Manager.
What changes: How much operational slack to build into early closings (first-file friction is real); how hard to lean on "local point of contact" framing; how urgently the stale license page (P0-1) needs fixing.
P1-6. Which realtor associations/MLS will Mitchell join, and what is the budget?
Why it matters: The footprint straddles Mainstreet (19,000+ members, suburban Cook) and Three Rivers (~1,000, Will/Grundy). Affiliate membership is how lenders get into association events — the highest-quality face time with the pilot list.
Who answers: Mitchell (money and time), manager (whether Ready reimburses affiliate dues).
What changes: Which events enter the weekly calendar; whether the pilot list skews Cook (Harlem Ave corridor) or balances into Will County earlier.
P1-7. Verify the July-2026 IHDA limits and the live status of every DPA program before any borrower-facing number ships.
Why it matters: IHDA's limits page applies new figures to reservations dated 2026-07-01+ but is JS-gated; the $134,520/$610,939 figures in the research are 2024-vintage. Cook County DPA reopened 2026-07-20 but funding cycles drain; SmartBuy is currently closed. Quoting a dead program or stale limit to an agent is a credibility kill.
What changes: Every number in the first-time-buyer content; whether the Cook County DPA hook is still timely when content ships.
P2 — Blocks month-2 decisions
P2-1. The dual-role legal stack: Reg Z comp analysis, VA position, FHA/conventional overlays, E&O gaps.
Why it matters: Year-one rule is already set — never both roles on one transaction — so this blocks nothing immediate. But before that rule is ever revisited: counsel memo on 1026.36(d) (commission + LO comp on one deal — unresolved); VA Handbook 26-7 position (unverified); Ready's FHA/conventional overlay position; both-sides E&O exclusion review; IDFPR written confirmation that the salesperson-era FAQ covers the broker license; the counsel-cite cleanup list (current 4000.1 section, HB-1-3555 §4.2 text, RELA §10-10, RMLA ad statute).
What changes: Whether a same-transaction dual role ever becomes an option, or the broker license stays a fluency-and-optionality asset permanently.
P2-2. If OBA is approved: which parking brokerage, on what written terms?
Why it matters: Decision memo already ranks: Crosstown Hybrid 75/25 no-fee, Fathom (~$700/yr + $465/deal), eXp (80/20, $16k cap, $85/mo). Flex is a standing no (ZHL contact-rate KPI, FUB surveillance allegations, active steering litigation — structurally incompatible with a Ready MLO). Questions for Crosstown if pursued: dual-licensed-MLO policy, organic-split terms in a written ICA, FUB contact ownership on exit, E&O coverage of a dual licensee and its mortgage-activity exclusion.
Who answers: Mitchell + each managing broker; Ready compliance countersigns the arrangement.
What changes: ~$0–90/mo carrying cost; MLS access route; whether occasional referral-out listing business exists as a side income lane.
P2-3. Does the Model-F-lite experiment (self-employed/investor content) get resourced at day 60?
Why it matters: Contingent on P0-2 (does bank-statement exist in IL?) and on the day-60 review of the primary engine's KPIs. It's one content franchise, not a pivot — the discipline is saying no if the scenario desk needs the hours.
Who answers: Mitchell, against the KPI scorecard.
What changes: 2–3 scenario drills/week and one content series either start or don't.
P2-4. HECM and renovation: what's the referral/support model?
Why it matters: Reverse is defer/refer for a rookie, but SW-suburb demand is real (aging, equity-rich, tax-squeezed owners) — Mitchell needs a clean answer when a listing agent asks. Does Ready have an internal reverse desk or should he build an external referral relationship? Is 203(k)/HomeStyle available (strong fit for 1950s–70s local stock)? [UNVERIFIED — confirm with manager]
Who answers: Manager.
What changes: The defer/refer scripts in the product matrix; whether renovation joins the learn-opportunistically list; whether the tax-squeeze content can carry a compliant "options for staying put" pointer.
P2-5. What does Mitchell actually want the broker license to be?
Why it matters: The one question only Mitchell answers. The research supports the license as transaction fluency + MLS access + optionality — not as a second production career (Model B is on the NOT-NOW list). If his honest ambition is dual production, the whole architecture should be rebuilt deliberately rather than drifted into.
Who answers: Mitchell, at the day-60 review, with 60 days of real pipeline data in hand.
What changes: Everything downstream of P1-2 and P2-2 — or nothing, which is the expected and recommended answer for year one.
P2-6. Phase-2 geography: when do Frankfort–Mokena–New Lenox and Homewood–Flossmoor–Matteson turn on?
Why it matters: The wedge (Tinley + Oak Forest + Orland + Lockport) is deliberate focus, not a ceiling. Day-90+ triggers: pilot-list conversation rate sustained, first closings landed, and — for the south tier — the 2026 reassessment story maturing (that market also carries the sharpest payment-shock risk and the Cook County DPA QCT no-cap advantage).
Who answers: Mitchell, against the KPI scorecard at day 90.
What changes: Pilot-list expansion targets, association event mix, and which town-level content gets written next.
The one-page version for the manager meeting
Bring nine asks to the first meeting: P0-1 through P0-6 plus P1-1 and P1-2 — and P0-0's outputs (Mitchell walks in already knowing his runway number so the Q14 draw/benefits conversation is concrete). All reasonable, all answerable by a manager and a compliance officer inside a week. Everything else is sequenced so no single meeting has to carry the whole plan. (Renumbered from "seven asks" after red-team review — m8.)