Active Partner Access

Welcome to the Desk.

Your home base for everything you need from the Arbor Executive Partner Channel. Reach the team, send a scenario, refer your client, and grab the marketing assets — all in one place. Bookmark this page.

Direct line: 866-639-6554 Hours: Mon–Fri 7a–6p PT · Weekends on call
01 / Talk to the Team

Reach the right person in one click.

Every member of the Desk has a specific job. Pick the person whose job matches what you need — or call the main line and we’ll route you.

Ryan O’Kane
CEO & Founder
Practice growth strategy, partner co-marketing, market intelligence, escalations. Anything that needs the CEO’s eyes.
David Walters
Chief Lending Strategist
Loan structuring, complex income, scenario design, pricing strategy. New scenarios and pre-approval requests start here.
Taylor Bowen
Production Manager
Pipeline velocity, file flow from app to clear-to-close, swim-lane execution. File status and process questions land here.
Krista Sabol
Lead Processor
Underwriting drag, conditions, document chasers. If a file is stuck in UW, this is who unsticks it.
Margaret Rangel
Servicing & Client Care
Post-close support for your past clients — payment questions, escrow, servicing transfers, and trusted referrals to CPAs, attorneys, planners, insurance, and more.
Jessica Wendt
Event Coordinator
Partner events, client-appreciation gatherings, lunch & learns, and the Arbor event center. Co-host an event with us or plan one of your own.
02 / Send a Scenario

Pre-approval request, structured.

Send David the borrower picture and we’ll come back inside 48 hours with a written file assessment — product path, backup path, and what we need to underwrite. The template below covers everything we ask for.

New Scenario / Pre-Approval Request
Edit the placeholders, then send. Or copy the template and paste it into your own email client.
Email Template
New Scenario — [Borrower Name]
David, Sending you a new scenario. Quick picture of the borrower and what they're trying to do: Borrower: [Name] Income type: [W-2 / Self-employed / 1099 / Investor / Mixed] Target purchase price or refi amount: [$X] Down payment / equity available: [$X or %] Property type: [Primary / Second home / Investment / 1031] Location: [City, State] Credit estimate: [Score range if known] Timing: [Pre-approval needed by / Offers in / Close target] Income detail: [2-3 sentences on the income story — recent business performance, K-1 distributions, bank deposits, rental income on existing properties, anything unusual] What I'd like from you: [Pre-approval letter / Product options / Structured proposal / Quote / All of the above] Anything else worth flagging: [Past credit events, pending sale, contingencies, etc.] Thanks, [Your name]
Send to David →
03 / Refer Your Client

Make the introduction in two clicks.

Send your client a polished welcome page that frames the introduction the way you would — not a cold lender pitch. Choose how you want to reach them.

Your Personalized Welcome Link
Send this URL to your client. The page is written to the borrower, attributes the introduction to you, and routes them straight to a 15-minute intro with Ryan or David.

Personalize: replace Your+Name and Your+Firm in the URL above. The welcome page will show your client “[Your Name] from [Your Firm] sent you.” Preview Page

Templated Email to Your Client
Copy this into your email or hit the button to open it pre-filled in your mail app. Replace the placeholders with your client’s situation.
Email Template · To Your Client
An introduction worth making — Arbor Executive Desk
[Client first name], Quick note. You and I have talked about [the home purchase / refinance / investment property / timeline / current lender frustration], and I want to introduce you to my preferred lender — the team I personally trust with my best clients. Ryan O'Kane and David Walters run the VIP channel of one of Orange County's top-rated lenders, Arbor Financial Group. Their leadership owns every file personally, they're licensed in 46 states with their own banking lines plus 162 lender relationships, and they're rated [GOOGLE RATING ★ / REVIEW COUNT] on Google reviews — for a reason. I'd suggest a 15-minute intro call. No pitch, no pressure — just a chance to see how they work and decide if it's the right fit. Three easy ways to start: • Call: 866-639-6554 • Text: [TEXT NUMBER] • Schedule online: [PARTNER: paste your personalized welcome URL here] I've already let them know to expect you. They'll handle it from there. [Your name]
04 / Resources & Co-Marketing

Assets you can hand to a client.

One-pagers, brand assets, and co-marketing materials. Click any tile to download or request the latest version from the team.

05 / Quick Math

Run the numbers without picking up the phone.

Four working calculators for the questions you get most: how much house can my client afford, do they qualify on paper, what does it take to close, and is a refi worth doing. Indicative only — final pricing and approvals run through David, but this gets you most of the way to a real answer.

Debt-to-Income
Quickest read on whether a borrower qualifies on paper. Conventional caps at 43%, jumbo to 50%, non-QM bank-statement programs to 55%.
Back-End DTI
Enter all three fields to see the result.
Indicative only. Compensating factors (reserves, credit, LTV) can shift the cap in either direction.
Max Purchase Price
What can the client realistically buy? Enter income, debts, the down payment they have, and a rate — we solve for the price.
Max Purchase Price
Fill in the fields to see the qualifying price and PITI.
Assumes 1.5% annual taxes + insurance baseline. Real numbers shift with state, property type, and HOA.
Cash to Close
Real number for "how much will I need at the table." Down + closing costs + reserves + third-party fees.
Estimated Cash to Close
Enter the price and a down payment % to start.
Reserves are program-specific (typically 2 months for primary conforming, 6+ for jumbo or investment).
Refinance Break-Even
Worth doing? Compare current vs. new payment and see how many months the closing costs take to recover.
Break-Even
Fill all three fields to see how long until the refi pays back.
If your client plans to stay past the break-even point, the refi pencils. Inside that window, it usually doesn’t.
06 / Talking Points

What to say when your client asks the hard one.

The questions you get every week and rarely have time to script an answer for. These are the responses we’d give — written so you can read them, paraphrase them, or send them. Reasoning underneath each one, so you’re not just repeating words.

Two different answers depending on what you’re doing. If you’re buying because the right home came up and the math works at today’s payment, don’t wait — refinancing later is straightforward, finding the right house twice is not. If it’s a pure refinance and the savings don’t cover closing costs in a reasonable break-even window, then waiting may genuinely be smart. Send me the specific numbers and I’ll have Arbor’s team run a real break-even — that’s a 24-hour turnaround, not a guess.
Why this works We can’t predict rates — nobody can. We can math out the actual decision. Most "wait" hesitations dissolve once the real break-even number is on paper. The answer is also honest: sometimes waiting is the right call, and saying so builds trust for when it isn’t.
A rate isn’t a quote — a Loan Estimate is. Send me both LEs side by side and Arbor will do a real apples-to-apples comparison: rate, points paid, lender fees, third-party fees, and lock terms. About half the time the “lower rate” has discount points baked in; the other half it’s a teaser priced for a credit profile that won’t survive underwriting. Worth 15 minutes to be sure of what you’re actually comparing.
Why this works Most rate-shopping comparisons are misleading because the units — points, fees, lock periods, escrow setup — don’t match. Don’t argue about the rate. Change the unit of comparison.
Self-employed files don’t fail because the borrower can’t pay — they fail because someone misreads a tax return. Arbor’s Chief Lending Strategist personally structures the income on every complex file: K-1s, add-backs, depreciation, §179 deductions, distributions vs. retained earnings. A generalist desk runs your client through a checklist designed for W-2s. It’s a different operating model for a different kind of borrower.
Why this works Self-employed denials are the #1 cause of late-stage fall-throughs. Most lenders staff for W-2 volume and process SE files with the same workflow. Specialization shows up in the file structuring, not the marketing.
Pre-approvals from three lenders don’t help you negotiate — they cost you control. Each pull is fine credit-wise (rate-shopping inquiries within 14 days bucket together), but you’ll get three different numbers, three different sets of conditions, and three different lenders calling. Pick one execution partner, get one real pre-approval that an offer can lean on, and shop pricing only when you’re under contract. That’s where Arbor’s actual rates show up anyway — at lock, not pre-qual.
Why this works The "shop three lenders" advice was for an era of unreliable pre-approvals. Today, the pre-approval is the offer’s foundation — multiple half-baked PAs are noise, not leverage.
Their bank will likely approve them — and on a clean W-2 file, the rate may even be competitive. But banks staff for W-2 volume; if anything in the file is unusual (self-employed income, multiple properties, jumbo, gift funds, tight close), that’s where the wheels come off in week three. You’re not arguing about the bank. You’re asking whether their file is the kind that benefits from a specialist desk. If the answer’s yes, I have one I trust. If no, the bank’s fine.
Why this works Don’t attack the bank — most W-2 files would close fine there. Reframe around file complexity, where Arbor’s specialization actually matters. Honest framing builds more trust than positioning.
Low appraisals happen, especially in shifting markets. There are usually three live paths: re-negotiate the price down to the appraised value, buyer brings extra cash to cover the gap, or appeal the appraisal with comparable sales the appraiser missed. Arbor’s team has handled hundreds of these. Send the report over and within 48 hours we’ll tell you which path your specific deal can survive — and which is the cleanest exit if none of them work.
Why this works Appraisal cuts are the most common late-stage deal killer. Knowing the three paths in advance reduces panic and protects the relationship — even when the deal can’t be saved.
07 / Tools

Built for you. Use them.

Tools we’ve built or partnered on. Free for active partners.

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