Answers · The process
How long does a mortgage take, start to finish?
A typical home purchase runs a few weeks from a complete application to closing, and the word that matters is complete. Refinances can be faster. Investor loans on a clean deal can close in two to three weeks. The calendar is set less by the lender than by how quickly documents arrive and how the appraisal goes.
Written by Andrew Malm, Senior Loan Originator, NMLS# 2663426. Last reviewed .
The timeline has stages. Application and document collection, which can be two days or two weeks depending on you. Underwriting, where the file is reviewed and conditions come back. The appraisal, which runs in parallel and is the step nobody controls. Then clear to close, final disclosures, and the closing itself, which has a legally required waiting period after the final numbers are issued.
The fastest files I have closed had one thing in common: the buyer sent everything the first time, and answered the follow-up questions the same day. The slowest had one thing in common too: a surprise in the final week.
If you are under contract, your purchase agreement has a closing date and your rate lock has an expiration. Those two dates are the ones to manage. Ask your lender where the file stands against them every week.
What I'd do
- Get pre-approved with documents reviewed before you shop. That moves half the work to before the contract.
- Ask for a written timeline with the appraisal order date and the rate lock date on it.
- Answer every request within a day. The file only moves when you move.
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