How fast a hard money loan closes depends less on the lender than on the file. Our standard process closes in 5 to 7 days once the file is complete, and as fast as 3 days on a clean file. The rest of this post is about what “complete” and “clean” mean, because that is the part you can influence.
Four numbers, one process
If you have researched us, you may have seen four closing times: 5 to 7 days, as fast as 3 days, 3 to 14 days on bridge loans and 7 to 10 days nationwide. They are not competing claims. They describe one process at different levels of file readiness.
- As fast as 3 days is the clean file: nothing to clear on the title report, a straightforward valuation, entity and insurance documents ready before anyone asks, every signer available. Some short-term files can also use a broker price opinion or an internal review instead of a full appraisal.
- 5 to 7 days is our standard once the file is complete: the documents are in, the Letter of Intent is signed and the third-party work runs in its normal order.
- 3 to 14 days is the bridge program’s published range. The bridge program covers residential and commercial property and sees files at every stage of readiness, so the range starts at the clean-file case. Where a file lands inside it depends on what is ready when it opens and how fast the third parties respond.
- 7 to 10 days nationwide is how our homepage states the same process for a file anywhere in the country, where title, escrow and the valuation are handled by companies local to the property.
The process does not change between them. The readiness of the file does. All four describe loans on investment property. A loan on the home you live in is a different process and takes longer.
The four steps from application to funding
The same four steps apply on every program, as set out on the borrow page.
1. Complete your application. The property, the price or the payoff, the amount you need, the timeline and how the loan will be repaid. The exit belongs in the application, because it is the first thing we underwrite.
2. Submit required documentation. Minimal documentation is required on our bridge, fix and flip and construction programs. Fix and flip lists it as the application, a schedule of real estate owned and proof of funds.
3. Sign your Letter of Intent. The Letter of Intent sets out the amount, rate, term, points, fees, leverage and the conditions to close. Signing it moves the file into processing, and it is the point at which the lender orders third-party reports such as the valuation. It is not a commitment to lend: underwriting still has to clear the conditions.
4. We process and close your loan in 5-7 days. Processing and underwriting are in-house. The title work, the valuation, insurance, the loan documents, signing and funding all happen in this step.
A 5 to 7 day file, day by day
Here is how a typical 5 to 7 day file uses the window. Treat it as an illustration rather than a schedule: the stages overlap, and part of the pace is set by the title company, the appraiser and your insurance agent.
Day 1: the file is complete. The application and documents are in and the Letter of Intent is signed. Title and escrow are open, ideally since the day you applied. The valuation is ordered, and your insurance agent has the lender’s requirements.
Days 2 to 4: the third parties work in parallel. The preliminary title report arrives and gets read line by line. The appraiser or broker inspects the property and writes the report. Underwriting reviews the entity documents and clears conditions as they come in. Your agent issues the insurance with the lender named correctly.
Days 5 to 7: documents, signing and funding. The loan documents are drawn and sent to escrow. You sign. The lender funds, and escrow records and releases the money.
On a clean file the stages compress, which is how a file closes as fast as 3 days. A title item or a missing document stretches the middle stage, and the closing date moves with it.
What slows a closing
Rarely the credit decision. Files slow down at the handoffs to third parties and in the paperwork.
Title and escrow. A lien paid years ago with no recorded release, an old deed of trust never reconveyed, a vesting name that does not match the borrower. None of these is a credit problem, and no lender can hurry them. A genuine title problem takes as long as it takes to clear, on any program. Order the preliminary report when you open the file and read it yourself. Our title and escrow post lists the usual culprits.
The valuation. Access is usually the constraint, not the appraiser, especially on tenanted or vacant property, and commercial or unusual properties take longer than a standard house. A value below the contract price means resizing the loan or renegotiating. See how a lender values your property.
Entity documents for an LLC. An unsigned operating agreement, a lapsed registration, a missing resolution authorizing the signer, or two required signers and only one available on closing day. Reinstating an entity runs on the state’s timeline, not ours. Vesting an investment loan in an LLC covers what to have ready.
Insurance. The policy has to be in place and name the lender correctly before funding. It routinely holds files at the last hour, and the fix is to call your agent on day one.
Your own documents. Proof of funds that does not cover the cash to close, statements with missing pages, a contract amendment nobody forwarded, an expired payoff demand on a refinance. Each one is small, and each one stops the clock.
What to have ready on day one
Put these in one folder before you apply:
- The signed purchase contract or, on a refinance, the details of the loan being paid off.
- The property: address, type, condition and, for a renovation, the scope of work and the budget.
- The completed application and a schedule of real estate owned.
- Proof of funds for the down payment, the closing costs and enough to carry the loan.
- For an LLC: articles, evidence of good standing, the signed operating agreement, the authority to sign and the tax identification number.
- The title and escrow contact, with the preliminary report ordered.
- Your insurance agent, with the lender’s requirements sent over.
- Access for the valuation, including every unit on an occupied property.
- The exit: the comparable sales behind your sale price, or the refinance you plan to use.
- One person on your side who can answer questions and sign.
Can a hard money loan close in 48 hours?
Not as a published promise from us. The fastest figure we publish is as fast as 3 days, on a clean file. The limit is not the credit decision: a closing also needs an insurable title, a valuation, insurance naming the lender, signed documents and a recording, and each of those depends on someone other than the lender.
If your deadline is real, start earlier instead of hoping for an exceptional close. On a cash-only listing, get the approval before you write the offer, so the offer can compete with cash. On a foreclosure auction purchase, the common structure is to bid with your own funds and refinance into a bridge loan after the sale, with the approval arranged before the auction.
How long you have to repay
Hard money loans are short by design. Our published terms by program:
- Bridge loans: 1 or 2 year terms.
- Fix and flip loans: 6 to 18 months.
- Construction loans: 12 to 18 months.
- Second and third mortgages: 12 to 36 months, business purpose only.
At the end of the term the remaining balance is due, which is why the exit is agreed before the loan funds, not after. The bridge and fix and flip programs carry no prepayment penalty, so the loan can be repaid the day the sale or refinance is ready. Every rate, term and price is subject to change, and every loan is subject to underwriting.
If the exit runs late
Plans slip: a buyer walks, a contractor leaves, the refinance appraisal comes in low. Our interest-only residential bridge publishes up to two 6 month extensions while the loan is current; other programs handle extensions case by case with the cost disclosed at the time, and on every program the condition that matters is being current on payments.
Timing matters even more. Call in the month you learn the exit is late, not the month the loan matures, and bring revised numbers and a proposal. An extension, a partial paydown or a different takeout is easier to arrange with time left on the loan. Our post on exit strategy covers planning both exits before you buy.
Start with a complete file
The quickest way to shorten a closing is to open it with everything above already in the folder. Review the published terms on the bridge loan program, send the property, the price and the exit through a loan request, or call (619) 617-2797 and we will tell you what your file still needs before it can close.
