The 13 human decisions required before the build phase runs.
Decision Gate — Decisions Needed Before Prompt 2 Runs
Prepared 2026-07-22. Every decision below must be made by a human — Mitchell, his manager, or Ready compliance — before Prompt 2 builds anything. Format per decision: Decision / Options / Recommendation / Who decides / Blocks what. Record each answer in writing (email counts), file it, and update 00_assumptions_and_unknowns.md the same day. Cross-references: file 27 (questions), file 20 (manager agenda + Decision Sheet), file 26 (plan of record).
A. Manager / Ready confirmations
A1. Illinois capacity and wording
Decision: Confirm in writing that IL license MB.6850275 covers Mitchell's origination, whether Ready lends direct or brokers in IL (this decides whether "direct lender" may appear in any IL copy), and who fixes the stale Florida-only license page by when.
Options: (a) Direct lending confirmed → full copy; (b) brokering → "direct lender" stripped from all IL copy; (c) no written confirmation → no launch.
Recommendation: Get (a) or (b) in writing at the Day-1 meeting; treat (c) as a Plan-B half-trigger.
Who decides: Ready manager + compliance. Blocks: all outreach, the website prototype's every page, all disclosures. (27 P0-1; 20 Block 1)
A2. The real IL product menu
Decision: Which products can Mitchell originate in IL today, in writing, with overlays: conventional / FHA / VA / USDA / bank-statement / DSCR / non-warrantable condo / others.
Options: Full agency core + non-QM → plan as designed; agency core only → F-lite becomes training-only and product #5 is replaced; FHA or VA missing → first-timer strategy recut before launch.
Recommendation: Build Prompt-2 assets only around confirmed products; every unconfirmed product keeps its [UNVERIFIED] tag or is removed from copy.
Who decides: Ready manager (with investor list). Blocks: product pages, scenario-desk scope, F-lite, the Five Lanes sheet. (27 P0-2; 20 Block 2)
A3. Compensation, draw, status, benefits
Decision: [BPS_COMP] in writing; draw yes/no (amount, duration, recoverability); W-2 vs 1099 ([TAX_PCT]); health insurance/benefits.
Options: As offered / negotiated draw per the runway conversation (20 Q14c).
Recommendation: If Mitchell's runway < 9 months (B1 below), negotiate the draw now — this is the income bridge, not a perk.
Who decides: Ready manager/HR + Mitchell. Blocks: the financial model becoming real; the runway gate; B1. (27 P0-3; 20 Q14–14c)
A4. Marketing rules and the approval lane
Decision: Who approves Mitchell's marketing, on what turnaround; the exact disclosure block per medium; personal website/domain permission; social pre-approval process; testimonial policy; which credibility facts are pre-cleared (BBB A+, Birdeye 4.9 with FL caveat).
Options: Named approver + SLA → content engine runs; undefined → contingency track + day-7/14/21 escalations; still undefined day 21 → employer-viability signal (26 §4).
Recommendation: Leave the Day-1 meeting with a named approver and a turnaround expectation, even a rough one.
Who decides: Ready compliance/marketing. Blocks: every script, every content piece, the website, the email footer — i.e., everything Prompt 2 builds. (27 P0-5; 20 Block 5)
A5. AI policy
Decision: Will Ready approve the written AI SOP (file 19) and the tool list (Claude Pro + ChatGPT Plus, training toggles off, redaction gate, no NPI ever)? Kimi expected "no" — plan loses nothing.
Options: Approve as written / approve with business-tier requirement (budget moves ~$25–30/seat) / reject (workflow reverts to manual drafting).
Recommendation: Present the SOP as an asset (Fannie LL-2026-04 seller AI-governance requirement) — Ready likely has nothing like it.
Who decides: Ready compliance + manager. Blocks: the AI-assisted workflow and every Prompt-2 prompt/skill deliverable. (27 P1-4)
A6. Outside-business-activity (broker license)
Decision: Written OBA approval for the IL broker license — yes/no, conditions.
Options: Yes → pick parking seat (B2); no → license parked inactive, plan loses nothing.
Recommendation: Ask early, framed as license-parking (no production). Flex is a standing "no" regardless.
Who decides: Ready compliance. Blocks: B2 only — nothing on the mortgage-first critical path. (27 P1-2; 20 Q30)
A7. DNC Subscription Account Number (SAN)
Decision: Does Ready hold a SAN? If not, will it obtain one (owner + date on the Decision Sheet line 22)?
Options: Yes → full calling plan; no-but-will → degraded channel until active; no-and-won't → cold calls to cells are permanently off; sequence redesigned around email/LinkedIn/office-landline/in-person and targets recut.
Recommendation: Written request filed Day 1 if missing (first 5 area codes are low-cost).
Who decides: Ready compliance. Blocks: the Day-3 calling sprints and every calling block in files 12–13. (27 P0-6; red-team M4)
A8. IHDA path + interim DPA structures
Decision: Will Ready pursue IHDA participating-lender approval (U.S. Bank MRBP)? Owner + timeline. Meanwhile: Cook County DPA pairing? FHLB DPP channel? Seller credit/gift rules?
Options: Path + interim structures → DPA lane as planned; no path, no pairing → execute the pre-committed recut in 26 §5 (condo triage first, tax-arbitrage second, FTB via FHA readiness + honest DPA referral).
Recommendation: Push for a written yes/no/timeline — an honest "no" is buildable; a shrug is not.
Decision: Can Ready name a reviewer for scenario briefs (with turnaround) and confirm weekend/evening coverage — i.e., what operational promise will Ready stand behind (20 Q36)?
Decision: Fill [MONTHLY_PERSONAL_BURN], [LIQUID_SAVINGS], [OTHER_MONTHLY_INCOME]; compute RUNWAY_MONTHS; apply the rule: < 9 months at true-conservative pace → income bridge defined before Day 1.
Options: ≥9 months → go; <9 → draw negotiation / part-time floor compatible with the calling window / documented household support — chosen and written down, then go; no viable bridge → the start date moves, honestly.
Recommendation: Do this before the manager meeting so the draw conversation (A3) is concrete.
Who decides: Mitchell (and household). Blocks: Day 1 itself. This is the plan's most likely kill condition — file 22 §6A. (27 P0-0; red-team C3)
B2. Brokerage seat (only if A6 = yes)
Decision: Park the broker license at Crosstown Hybrid (75/25, no fees, no Flex leads) vs. Fathom (~$700/yr + $465/deal) vs. eXp (80/20, $85/mo) vs. let it lapse.
Options: As listed. Flex is excluded permanently while a Ready MLO.
Recommendation: Crosstown Hybrid if the family relationship makes it natural and the written ICA covers contact ownership + E&O; else lapse — the mortgage-first plan loses nothing.
Who decides: Mitchell, countersigned by Ready compliance. Blocks: nothing on the critical path. (27 P2-2; file 21)
B3. Niche confirmation
Decision: Confirm the primary/secondary niche as recommended (Scenario Desk in Tinley/Oak Forest/Orland/Lockport; First-Home Lab) — or amend now, before Prompt 2 builds around it.
Options: Confirm / amend geography / amend segments (e.g., adopt the 26 §5 recut immediately if A8 lands badly).
Recommendation: Confirm; the scorecard (file 08) and red team both upheld it.
Who decides: Mitchell. Blocks: the website's page structure, content calendar, pilot-list composition.
B4. Lab name approval
Decision: "Southland First-Home Lab" approved by Ready, or the fallback ("Mitchell [LASTNAME], Ready Mortgage Lenders" unbranded)?
Options: Approve name / fallback / alternative name.
Recommendation: Ask at the Day-1 meeting; do not let naming block content — the fallback ships fine.
Who decides: Ready compliance/marketing + Mitchell. Blocks: Lab branding on the site and content headers only.
Resolution rule: a decision counts as made only when it is (a) written, (b) filed in the compliance folder, and (c) reflected in the project files it touches. Unresolved A1, A2, A4, A7, or B1 = Prompt 2 does not run (see prompt_2_readiness.md).