Have you ever experienced a situation where a loan doesn’t proceed because the processor couldn’t find standard conditions easily? This is the reason why ICE Mortgage Technology created the Enhanced Conditions Tool. This guide will explain the Enhanced Conditions Tool, how to convert conditions from beginning to end, and what real Encompass administrators wish they had known prior to their first migration.
Encompass is the loan origination system (LOS) developed by ICE Mortgage Technology and serves as the backbone for thousands of banks, credit unions, and independent mortgage companies in North America. Conditions are digital tasks in every loan’s eFolder within Encompass that inform the processors what items are missing to proceed with the loan. The Enhanced Conditions Tool is an admin utility to convert out-dated standard conditions to the newer more flexible Enhanced Conditions setup format.
This guide discusses how to useEnhanced Conditions Tool in Encompass, migration, and what an administrator usually wished they had known before their first conversion project.
What is the Encompass Enhanced Conditions Tool?
The Enhanced Conditions Tool in the mortgage and lending industry is a utility application used within the Encompass digital mortgage platform by ICE Mortgage Technology. It allows lenders to transition traditional “Standard Conditions” into highly customizable “Enhanced Conditions” for loan files. It is often used as part of how to use Enhanced Conditions Tool in Encompass workflows when organizations upgrade their conditions management system.
Enhanced Conditions were created with the 20.2 Encompass release. They solve a problem that standard conditions can’t. These could be granular (field-level) customizations and the ability to run Condition Reports on many loans at one time. Standard Encompass Conditions are too limited to achieve this. So larger lending teams end up creating manual reports or using Side Spreadsheets to track outstanding conditions across a pipeline.
Why Do Enhanced Conditions Matter?
Before beginning the process of how to use Enhanced Conditions Tool in Encompass, it is important to understand the reasons why lenders are migrating.
Traditionally, loan operations teams usually work with 6-8 underwriting conditions per loan file.
The Enhanced Conditions Tool enhances your ability to:
- Expand visibility through pipelines
- Eliminate manual effort in tracking of conditions
- Create role-specific users for tracking of conditions
- Integrate with new technologies such as Encompass Integration Services.
The Difference Between Standard Conditions vs. Enhanced Conditions
| Capability | Standard Conditions | Enhanced Conditions |
| Field-level customization | No | Yes |
| Cross-loan condition reporting | No | Yes |
| Persona-based access control | Limited | Yes, role and persona driven |
| Works in Encompass Web, TPO Connect | Partial | Full support |
| Automated condition rules (business logic) | No | Yes, via Automated Enhanced Conditions |
| API access through Developer Connect | Minimal | Full set of V3 APIs |
The trigger of shift from traditional condition management model to Enhanced Condition management model is what generally causes the Enhanced Condition Manager method to plan migration strategy.
Why Are Lenders Migrating Right Now?
Typically, mortgage teams only begin to look for new tools when they find that their old systems of operation are now costing them time/money/trust from borrowers to the lender. Therefore, treatment of Conditions Management has become one of the areas that can weaken value. In the case of Fannie Mae, their underwriters report that on average each loan file received six to eight conditions during underwriting.
Each condition must be tracked, documented and cleared before the loan can be closed as per Encompass Conditions setup. So, in addition to the number of loan files in a pipeline, a standard set of generic conditions, unstructured and flat, creates an operational drag at best.
The urgency facing the mortgage industry comes from the overall environment. The May 2026 ICE Mortgage Monitor report confirms that purchase loans closed in an average of 36.8 days in March 2026, marking a record low since tracking began. This timeline reflects a noticeable decrease from the 37.3 days average recorded during the same period in 2025.
When the speed at which a loan closes is a key competitive factor, each day that an institution loses due to attempting to resolve an unwieldy list of conditions is one more day that a competitor will have to gain an advantage in closing a new loan.
Step-by-Step: How to Convert Standard Conditions to Enhanced Conditions?
Prerequisites (for converting standard conditions to enhanced conditions)
In order for an administrator to succeed in utilizing Enhanced Conditions Tool in Encompass, some preparation must occur beforehand:
- Define and name the condition type of each enhanced condition, including matching criteria for Category, Prior To, Source, and Recipient as you have defined in the corresponding standard condition.
- Define and name the documents relevant to the enhanced condition(s).
- Define and name the user roles associated with the enhanced condition, matching the role(s) assigned to the standard condition.
- Activate the Enable Enhanced Conditions setting in Admin Tools
If Enable Enhanced Conditions is not completed correctly, the converted conditions will not activate within the system.
From the Windows Start menu/icon, navigate to the Ellie Mae Encompass program folder, click Admin Tools and select the Enhanced Condition Manager interface. Double click and enable Enhanced Conditions Tool.
You have two options:
- Convert Standard to Enhanced Conditions and migrate Enhanced Conditions between instances.
- Choose Convert Standard to Enhanced Conditions, then click Next.
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Log into the target Encompass instance by entering the Instance ID, User ID, and Password (administrator credentials), then click Log In.
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The tool reviews all standard and enhanced conditions in the instance and loads the list of standard conditions.
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The Standard and Enhanced Conditions Review Tool will review all instances’ standard and enhanced conditions and load a list of all of the standard conditions.
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Select the standard conditions to be converted by clicking on one or more of the condition names (you can click the column headings to sort your conditions). You can select the standard conditions you want to convert by:
- Alt+clicking on each condition individually.
- Shift+clicking on the first and last conditions of a group of conditions, you want to convert.
Example: You could Alt+click on each of your “Asset” standard conditions to select them for conversion.
From the Drop Down listing at the top of the screen, select the enhanced condition type (using condition types as defined by the administrator in the eFolder Setup > Enhanced Conditions), to which you want to convert the selected condition(s).
This step defines the Loan Enhanced Condition mapping logic used in underwriting workflows.
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Once you select the Drop Down listing, click on the “Assign” button and the assigned enhanced condition type will be placed in the Type column for the condition(s) you selected.
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Once you have assigned an enhanced condition type to a selected condition, you will see that enhanced condition type in the Type column for the selected condition(s).
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To add additional standard conditions to be converted, repeat steps 5 – 7.
To convert the selected standard conditions to enhanced conditions, click on “Next” at the bottom of the screen.
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You can leave the conversion tool when you are finished converting the selected standard conditions using the “Exit” button.
After conversion, administrators must still Enable Enhanced Conditions manually for production use.
NOTE: After standard conditions have been converted, they are not automatically activated for use unless the Encompass Administrator manually activates them in the Encompass system.
Understanding Enhanced Condition Manager
The Enhanced Condition Manager is mistaken frequently for the conversion tool. However it describes the “administration layer” that has been developed for ongoing operations after the Migration.
It is also typically seen as a complementary tool for managing process flows in Encompass and managing conditions through the following methods:
- Monitoring active conditions
- Managing your Template Conditions
- Modifying workflows
- Controlling the Loan Enhanced Condition assignments.
In general, when organizations use the Enhanced Condition Manager along with the Enhanced Condition Tool, they have a more stable governance environment with respect to the Pipelines they are working through their loans.
Common Mistakes Teams Make During Migration
A number of missteps regularly resurface based on the administration of Encompass. Naming each of them upfront can save your organization valuable time.
- Messing with the taxonomy prior to migration:
Teams that think they can fix up and reorganize every last condition before converting almost always end up delaying the project indefinitely. You should migrate first, activate only the conditions you need, and then refine the others later on.
- Confusing documents with conditions:
Documents represent files that a borrower has uploaded while conditions describe the requirements necessary to complete your underwriting decision. Confusing these two items is a huge source of reporting errors down the line.
- Forgetting about user persona controls:
Enhanced conditions are available through user persona. Hence, if an admin forgets to map the roles correctly, the authorized users will be denied access to the conditions that they are supposed to manage.
Role of Encompass Developer Connect
The future of modern loan processing will be built on the use of APIs and automation in support of loan workflow. The Encompass Developer Connect program will provide:
- Access through APIs to Employable Conditions
- Ability to automate workflows
- Ability to integrate with external LOSs
- The ability to track conditions in real-time
The greater majority of advanced scenarios for leveraging the Enhanced Conditions Tool in Encompass depend on Encompass Developer Connect for scaling workforce enterprise processes.
Integration Perspective
Enhanced Conditions are not standalone processes; they are established through direct integration with:
- Web applications
- TPO Connect
- Internal LOSs
- External services completed through the use of Encompass’ Integration Services.
The integration of these systems/technologies will ensure that conditions are consistently presented to users regardless of where or how the user accesses them.
Where to Go From Here?
The best next step for teams that have not moved to an alternate operation is to conduct a quick prior prerequisites audit. Confirm the requirement to verify that the type will support you (e.g., asset set type) and link them to documentation as well as assign roles before entering Admin Tools. From this point, begin a small test conversion on one line type (e.g., assets), then walk it through the Web to confirm successful conversion before activating it on the larger loan team.
For additional configuration inquiries and configuring a persona with an appropriate method, the best resources to consult are the ICE Resource Center and/or the Developer Connect documentation. Furthermore, this will provide more details for implementing a well-structured, internal roll-out plan that helps to ensure that a smooth migration versus a stalled migration occurs.
Wrapping Up
The Encompass Enhanced Conditions Tool is more than just a migration tool; it allows lenders to build an organized, scalable, and efficient Conditions Management Process. Through replacing Standard Conditions from legacy systems to Enhanced Conditions, organizations benefit from the flexibility to customize the information in fields where they apply, provide improved reporting, have more robust role-based access controls, and create a seamless experience across Encompass Web, TPO Connect, and Developer Connect integrations.
As the time frame to close Loans continues to shorten and lenders are faced with increased demands to increase efficiency, modernizing your conditions management process will help to reduce manual tasks, improve collaboration and provide a better experience for your lending team and borrower alike.
When done correctly with the right level of detail in their plans, the correct use of the available Encompass integration services and having the right migration process defined from how to use the Enhanced Conditions Tool in Encompass. We can expect that there will be faster processing, improved visibility and enhanced automation for lenders throughout their entire pipeline.
Rather than attempting a large-scale migration all at once, start with a small pilot, validate your configuration, and expand gradually. With a well-planned rollout, the Enhanced Conditions Tool can become a valuable step toward a faster, more automated, and future-ready mortgage operation.
FAQs
1. Is the Enhanced Conditions Tool the same thing as Enhanced Conditions?
Yes, they are. Enhanced Conditions are the new customizable field-level condition types added in Encompass 20.2. The Enhanced Conditions Tool is an administration utility that converts old standard conditions to the Enhanced Conditions format and migrates condition sets from one instance to another. Both are part of how to use Enhanced Conditions Tool in Encompass workflows.
2. Will converting standard conditions delete my existing data?
A conversion does not delete your old standard condition data; it assigns your old standard condition data to new Enhanced Condition types through a mapping. However, once converted, your Enhanced Conditions will not be active until an administrator turns them on, thus providing your team a built-in security checkpoint.
3. Do Enhanced Conditions work in Encompass Web and TPO Connect?
Yes. Enhanced Conditions are fully compatible with Encompass, Encompass LO Connect, and Encompass TPO Connect and can be accessed through the API interfaces for developers using Encompass Developer Connect to build custom integrations.
4. How long does a typical conversion take?
Because every conversion is different, there is no specific time frame since it really depends on how many of your instance’s standard condition categories you have and how well you have already set up your prerequisites. Most teams that already prepare their condition types, document links and roles ahead of time will go through the actual conversion tool in a single working session.
5. Who should run this tool: a loan officer or an admin?
The Enhanced Conditions Tool can be run by only an Encompass administrator with the correct credentials and access rights. Administrators are the ones who actually perform both the conversion and migration of an Enhanced Condition. Loan officers and processors only access the resulting Enhanced Conditions within their loan files, but they do not do the conversion/migration.
6. What does Enable Enhanced Conditions do?
The Enable Enhanced Conditions feature enables existing converted conditions to be utilized as operational use conditions.
7. Who should run the migration?
Migration can only be performed by administrators utilizing the Enhanced Condition Manager and Admin Tools.
