# How long does it take to close on a house? The process, step by step

Source: https://nobullshitloans.com/buy/steps/
By Tyler Rood, Loan Officer, NMLS ID # 2064776, Edge Home Finance, LLC (NMLS ID # 891464). Updated 2026-11-09.

## The short answer

Once you're under contract, I typically close in 30 days or less, and it typically takes 45 to 60 days from my first call with a buyer to keys. The steps run in this order: a goal review, the application and documents, a pre-approval, shopping and an offer, a ratified contract, underwriting and its conditions, clear to close, then signing and funding. A complete file at the start is the biggest thing that speeds it up.

Nobody hands you the order of operations, so every step of buying a house feels like a surprise. Here is the home buying process step by step the way I run it: what happens, who does it, how long it takes, and where deals usually stall.

## The home buying process step by step

I start at the finish line, a funded closing, and work backward to today. Every milestone gets a no-later-than date, counted in business days around holidays. Here are the steps to buying a house, in order:

1. **Goal review.** A 10 to 15 minute call about your goals, timeline and budget.
2. **Application.** About 25 to 30 minutes by phone, or online from a text link.
3. **Documents.** Pay stubs, W-2s, bank statements and ID, all at once.
4. **Pre-approval.** I calculate your income, pull credit, run automated underwriting and issue the letter.
5. **Consultation.** About an hour on your payment and cash to close at a few prices.
6. **Shopping and the offer.** Your agent handles the house. I size a letter to each offer.
7. **Ratified contract.** Everyone has signed, and the signed contract is back in the other side's hands.
8. **The first 24 hours.** On a complete file: rate lock with your OK, disclosures, appraisal ordered, title opened, file into underwriting.
9. **Underwriting.** Conditional approval, a list of conditions, resubmission.
10. **Clear to close.** No open conditions, the appraisal is in, and the lender has signed off.
11. **Closing and funding.** The Closing Disclosure, a waiting period, signing, and the loan funds.


## Before you shop: goal review, application and pre-approval

The goal review isn't a sales call, and we don't talk loan products. I want to know what you plan to spend and what you're willing to spend, monthly and in cash, and what would keep you up at night. If you're a first-time buyer with a long runway, there's no credit pull on day one.

Think of the application as the intake form at a doctor's office and the documents as the lab work. The answers come after the labs. You don't need anything in front of you for the application, just your brain. Dates should match your other records, like your license.

Then the letter. I only issue pre-approvals, and only on a documented file; the eight things I check and the full document list are on [pre-approval vs pre-qualification](https://nobullshitloans.com/buy/pre-approval/). After the letter we spend about an hour on your payment and cash to close at several prices, your down payment options side by side, and how this first house fits a longer plan like the [Wheel of Wealth](https://nobullshitloans.com/wealth/wheel-of-wealth/).

## Shopping and making an offer

I handle the money. Your agent handles the house. When you find one you love, text me the address. Taxes change across a county line and HOA dues change from one community to the next, so I rerun your payment on that exact house, usually within minutes, and size the letter to your offer.

How hard to push depends on how much you want the house. I have buyers sort every showing into like it, love it or gotta have it, because the bucket sets the offer: a like-it gets a lower price and a seller credit request, a gotta-have gets a clean, strong offer. The full playbook, including why a seller credit usually beats a price cut, is on [making an offer](https://nobullshitloans.com/buy/making-an-offer/).

## After your offer is accepted: the first 24 hours

Ratified means every party has signed and the fully signed contract has been delivered back to the other side. Now the house is pending, and three things land on you:

- **Earnest money.** In my deals it's often around 1% of the price ($3,500 on $350,000), due within a few days under your contract. It counts toward your cash to close. Pay it from your own account and keep the receipt, because underwriting will ask where it came from.
- **The inspection.** It's usually your last get-out-of-jail-free card. If it goes badly, call me before I push more paperwork out. Repairs and contract terms are your agent's call.
- **Homeowners insurance.** Underwriting needs a quote, so I introduce you to an insurance agent the day you go under contract. You can use anyone you like, but the quote is needed either way. Send the whole policy PDF, not one page.

On my side, on a complete file, my standard is five things within 24 hours of ratification: lock your rate with your OK, send your disclosures, order the appraisal, open title and submit the file to underwriting. When a lock protects you, and when it doesn't, is on [rate locks](https://nobullshitloans.com/buy/rate-lock/).

## Underwriting, conditions and clear to close

Around day 14 of a 30-day contract, the underwriter issues a conditional approval: approved, once a list of items is cleared. I send that list in one numbered email, good news first, with what's on your side separated from what's in motion and needs nothing from you. You clear your items, I resubmit, and the underwriter either signs off or sends a short new list.

Clear to close means no open conditions, the appraisal is in and the lender has signed off. That's the day I call and tell you: you're clear to close, and you don't have to be scared anymore. Don't book the movers before that call. What underwriters ask for, and why, is on [underwriting and conditions](https://nobullshitloans.com/buy/underwriting/).

## Closing day in Virginia

After clear to close, the lender sends the Closing Disclosure with your final numbers. A required waiting period runs between that disclosure and your signing, so one that goes out a day late can turn a Friday closing into a Monday one.

In the Richmond area your closing runs through a settlement agent, either a settlement attorney or a title company; Virginia doesn't require an attorney. Virginia law gives you, the buyer, the right to choose the settlement agent, and a seller can't require a particular one (Va. Code 55.1-1006). Before signing, the settlement agent, the lender and the seller's side each submit their figures and reconcile them. Once everybody balances, your signing gets scheduled. Virginia law also sets the funding rules: the lender's money has to reach the settlement agent at or before closing, and the settlement agent pays out within two business days, generally after the documents are recorded. The line-by-line costs, including Virginia's recordation taxes, are on [Virginia closing costs](https://nobullshitloans.com/virginia/closing-costs/).

One thing that confuses buyers: the closing date the lender sees is about two days ahead of your contract deadline. That's a buffer I set on purpose, not a mistake.


**Your 30 days under contract** A 30-day contract on a complete file, the way I run it.

1. Day 0: Ratified contract. Every party has signed. Earnest money is due within a few days under your contract.
2. Within 24 hours: My day-one standard. Rate lock with your OK, disclosures, appraisal ordered, title opened, file into underwriting.
3. First days: Your side. Pay the deposit from your own account, do the inspection, and get the insurance quote.
4. About day 14: Conditional approval. Approved once a list of items is cleared. You get the list in one numbered email.
5. After your items clear: Clear to close. No open conditions, the appraisal is in, and the lender has signed off. Now book the movers.
6. About day 28: The lender's closing date. About two days ahead of your contract deadline, on purpose. The Closing Disclosure and its waiting period come first.
7. Day 30: Contract deadline. The latest day for signing, funding and keys. The two days before it are the cushion I build in.


**Watch out**
Never wire closing money based on an email alone. Look up the settlement agent's number yourself and call it, never the number in the email, before you send a dollar. Wiring instructions never come from me; they come only from your settlement agent.


## How long does it take to close on a house?

Once you're under contract, I typically close in 30 days or less. From my first call with a buyer to keys in hand, buying a house typically takes 45 to 60 days, and most of the difference is how long the house hunt takes. Here's the mortgage process timeline in my files:

| Stage | Typical time in my files | What sets the pace |
|---|---|---|
| Goal review | 10 to 15 minutes | You |
| Application | 25 to 30 minutes | You |
| Documents to pre-approval letter | Same day to a few days on a W-2 file; weeks if self-employed | How fast your documents arrive |
| House hunt and offer | Varies | The market, and how picky you are |
| Contract to conditional approval | About 2 weeks | Underwriting |
| Contract to closing | 30 days or less | Everyone on the deal |

What makes a fast close possible: a complete file at the start, no home-sale contingency, documents refreshed every month while you shop, and the appraisal ordered the day you're ratified. Even then, the appraisal, title and underwriting run on their own clocks.

On a VA purchase I plan on about 30 days, because the VA appraisal is usually the slow part. Going faster means ordering the appraisal at contract instead of waiting on the inspection. It's doable, but it's a tight one.

## What slows a closing down?

I sort everything that can derail a file into five buckets and plan for each one:

- **Value:** the appraisal comes in low or late.
- **Conditions:** extra or late underwriting requests.
- **Clocks:** the rate lock, the Closing Disclosure date, holidays.
- **You:** missing documents, a new car or card, a job change, a deposit nobody can trace.
- **Third parties:** insurance bound late, title questions, a crowded month-end.

The small ones bite hardest: names that don't match across your ID and documents, an e-signature email sitting in spam, no receipt for the earnest money, and switching lenders after the contract. My protection is a complete file, one simple structure, the same checklist every time, and bad news by phone, never buried in an email. What not to touch until you close is on [what not to do before closing](https://nobullshitloans.com/buy/what-not-to-do-before-closing/).

## Who does what

| Who | What they handle |
|---|---|
| Me, your loan officer | Your money: qualifying, structure, documents, the letter, updates to everyone |
| Your buyer's agent | The house: showings, the offer, contract terms, repairs |
| Processor | Organizes your file and readies it for underwriting |
| Underwriter | Approves the loan, sets conditions or asks for more |
| Appraiser | Values the home for the lender |
| Settlement agent | In Virginia, an attorney or title company: title work, the final numbers, signing |
| Insurance agent | Your homeowners quote, binder and declarations page |

I'll tell you what a house costs you per month. Whether it's priced right is your agent's call.

## How you'll know where your loan stands

At every milestone I send what I call a Mortgage Update to four groups: you, your agent and their coordinator, the seller's agent and their coordinator, and the settlement agent. The milestones: application, letter issued, disclosed, submitted to underwriting, approved with conditions, resubmitted, clear to close, documents out, documents signed and funded. Each update says where the file is, what's next and what I need from you, even when the answer is nothing. My call comes first and the written update follows. Bad news comes by phone. Nobody chases anybody.

## My lease ends soon. When should I start?

Start with the day you need keys and count backward. Your first mortgage payment is usually due on the first of the month after next, so you skip a month. With a lease that ends July 1, a May closing puts your first payment on July 1, and you never pay rent and a mortgage in the same month. A June closing is skinny: one slip and you have nowhere to live. Working back from a May closing, you want to be under contract in April, which means calling me by March. Check your lease's notice period while you're at it.

Almost every delay traces back to a step that started late. Get the documents in first, and the rest of the calendar has room to breathe.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do I have to use the lender my agent recommends?

No, you pick your lender. Compare more than the rate: will they close on time, will they answer when an offer is live, and will they keep your agent and the settlement agent in the loop. If you're talking to more than one lender, tell each loan officer, so nobody gets surprised.

### What does it mean when my loan is "disclosed"?

Your loan is disclosed when the lender has sent your initial disclosure package, including the Loan Estimate, for e-signature. The email comes from the lender, not from me, so check your spam folder. Read the rate first, then the cost sections. Signing says you received it and intend to proceed; it doesn't bind you to the loan.

### Can I move my closing date earlier?

Moving your closing date up a day or two usually causes more trouble than it saves. Your homeowners insurance is bound for the original date, and a new policy can change your payment and your final numbers. An earlier time on the same day is often possible; the settlement agent and the lender set it.

### How long does it take to close after the appraisal?

Closing often comes about a week after the appraisal, if everything else is in. The appraisal comes back, the last documents go in, underwriting does its final review, and clear to close follows within a day or two. Then the Closing Disclosure goes out, its waiting period runs, and signing gets scheduled once everyone's numbers match.

### Can I buy a house before I sell mine?

Yes, you can buy before you sell. A contingent offer is the safest route, tandem closings (sell in the morning, buy in the afternoon) come next, and no contingency at all works only if your old home's sale closes and funds first. The options and the math are on [buying before you sell](/buy/buy-before-you-sell/).

## Sources

- [CFPB, Regulation Z official interpretation of 1026.19, Closing Disclosure timing](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1026/interp-19)
- [Code of Virginia Title 55.1, Chapter 10, Real Estate Settlement Agents](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacodefull/title55.1/chapter10/)
- [Code of Virginia 55.1-1006, choice of settlement agent](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title55.1/chapter10/section55.1-1006/)
- [Code of Virginia 55.1-902, duty of lender](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title55.1/chapter9/section55.1-902/)
- [Code of Virginia 55.1-903, duty of settlement agent](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title55.1/chapter9/section55.1-903/)

## Disclosures

Individual Originator: Tyler Rood, Loan Officer, NMLS ID # 2064776 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org). Licensed in NC, PA, TX and VA.
Edge Home Finance, LLC | NMLS ID # 891464 | www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org. Licensed in all U.S. states & D.C., EXCEPT New York. Edge Home Finance, LLC is a mortgage broker, not a direct lender or creditor. Virginia Broker License MC-7006. North Carolina Mortgage Broker License B-201539. Pennsylvania Mortgage Broker License 81041. Texas: Mortgage Company License, Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending.
THIS IS NOT A LOAN APPROVAL. A pre-approval is a conditional review of your credit, income, assets and debts. Final approval depends on underwriting review of the complete file, an acceptable appraisal and title, property eligibility, no material change in your finances, credit or employment before closing, and the program's guidelines. A rate is not guaranteed until it is locked.
Edge Home Finance, LLC is a private mortgage broker and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of or at the direction of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), or any other government agency.
We do business in accordance with the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.