If our online system automatically kicks applications to our underwriters-- does that make them an MLO?

No one has run across this issue yet?

Does the underwriter set and/or negotiate terms of the loan?

No. They just underwrite the loan based on the terms that the applicant applied for. An MLO would be assigned to the loan to negotiate with the applicant at a later point.

What if the loan is denied, who communicates that to the applicant?

We would have the MLO communicate the decline.