Most lenders hand you a flowchart. Here's what actually happens at each stage, what I need from you, and where things usually slow down, so nothing about your loan is a surprise.
Before you tour a single house, we find out what you can actually borrow, and what the monthly payment really looks like.
There are two versions of this, and the difference matters. A pre-qualification is an estimate based on numbers you tell me over the phone. Nothing is verified, so it is really just a ballpark. A pre-approval is the real thing: I pull your credit, review your actual income and bank statements, and run the file through underwriting before you ever make an offer.
That is why a pre-approval letter carries weight. When a listing agent sees one from me, they know the numbers have already been checked, not just repeated back from a conversation. I wrote more about why pre-approval matters before you start touring homes, and what first-time buyers are usually surprised by.
Two things determine the answer: your ability to repay (income, employment history, debt-to-income) and your track record of repaying (credit history). Lenders like to see two years in the same job or the same line of work, but almost nothing here is carved in stone. A strong down payment or reserves can offset a thin spot somewhere else. Every file gets looked at on its own.
It's also worth getting pre-approved for more than one program. FHA, VA, USDA, and conventional all calculate your maximum differently, and the one with the highest number isn't always the one with the lowest payment.
What you get: a written pre-approval letter, a monthly payment breakdown including taxes and insurance, and a realistic cash-to-close figure.
Once you have an accepted offer, or you're ready to lock a refinance, we complete the full application and get your file moving.
The application is the official start of the loan. It usually happens within the first few days, and we can do the whole thing remotely if that's easier: phone, email, or e-sign.
Within three business days of applying you'll receive a Loan Estimate: a standardized, three-page form showing your rate, monthly payment, and every closing cost. It's designed so you can hold it next to another lender's and compare line for line. Ask me to walk you through it, most people have never had anyone actually explain one.
From there, processing begins. Your processor orders the credit report, appraisal, and title work, and verifies what's on the application. Anything unusual, such as a large deposit, a late payment, or a gap in employment, needs a short written explanation. That's routine, not a red flag.
The part everyone dreads. It goes fast if you gather a few things up front.
There is a longer version of this list in the four documents to have ready before your first call, but here is the short version.
If you're salaried: last two years of W-2s and one month of recent pay stubs.
If you're self-employed: last two years of personal and business tax returns, plus a year-to-date profit and loss.
Everyone: two to three months of bank statements, and recent statements for any retirement or brokerage accounts you're using for down payment or reserves.
Situational: rental agreements if you own investment property; a divorce decree if applicable; a letter of explanation if you're taking cash out; green card or visa documentation if you're not a U.S. citizen.
A note on credit: pull your own report before we start. If something on it is wrong (and it happens more than you'd think), it's far easier to fix in advance than mid-underwriting. If you've had real credit trouble, tell me plainly. Job loss, medical bills, and divorce are all things underwriters see every day, and a year of clean payments since usually carries more weight than the old problem.
An independent appraiser confirms the home is worth what you agreed to pay.
The appraiser is not deciding what your house is worth to you. Their job is to report what buyers have actually been paying for homes like it. For a single-family home that means looking at recent sales of similar houses nearby, then adjusting for differences in size, condition, and features. Those comparable sales are called comps, and they are the whole ballgame. Two other methods exist, one based on what it would cost to rebuild the house and one based on the rent it could earn, but for a typical home purchase they matter very little.
If the appraisal comes in at or above the contract price, we move on. If it comes in low, you have options: renegotiate the price, bring more cash, dispute the report with better comps, or walk away if your contract has an appraisal contingency. I'll tell you honestly which one makes sense.
A person at the lender checks every piece of your file and says yes. This is the quietest stretch of the loan, and the one people worry about most.
An underwriter is simply the person at the lender who makes the final call. They have never met you, so they are working entirely from the paperwork. Their job is to confirm four things: that you earn what we said you earn, that you have the money we said you have, that your credit history supports the loan, and that the house is worth what you are paying for it.
You will not hear much during this stretch. That silence is normal. Nothing is going wrong.
Almost every approval comes back conditional. This is the part that scares people, and it should not. A conditional approval is a yes with a short list attached. The underwriter is saying "approved, once you send me these last few things." Usually it is an updated pay stub, an explanation of where a deposit came from, or proof you bought homeowner's insurance.
Getting conditions does not mean you are being denied. I would be more surprised by a file that came back with none. We send what they asked for, they sign off, and the file becomes a clear to close, which is exactly what it sounds like.
One rule matters more than any other here: change nothing. No new credit cards, no car loans, no job changes, no large unexplained deposits, no moving money between accounts. Credit and employment get re-verified right before closing.
You sign, you fund, you get the keys.
At least three business days before closing you'll receive the Closing Disclosure, the final version of that Loan Estimate. Compare them side by side; the numbers should look familiar. That three-day window is federal law, and it exists so nobody gets surprised at the table.
What to bring:
One last thing, and I mean this seriously. You will never get wiring instructions from me by email. Criminals watch for pending closings and send convincing fake instructions that redirect your down payment, and that money is almost never recovered. I will give you the closing figure and tell you exactly where the funds go. If anything about wiring money ever shows up in your inbox, call me first at (708) 473-7688 before you send a dollar.
It is almost never the underwriter. In my experience the delays come from four places: documents that arrive a week after I ask for them, a large deposit nobody can source, a title issue like an old lien or an estate that was never properly closed, and new credit opened mid-process. Three of those four are entirely in your control, which is why I ask for everything up front and check in more often than you probably expect.
Most purchase loans close in 30 to 45 days from accepted offer, and refinances often run 21 to 30 days. The timeline depends mostly on how quickly documents come back and whether the appraisal or title work turns up anything unexpected.
A pre-qualification is an estimate based on what you tell me. A pre-approval means I have reviewed your credit, income, and assets and run the file through underwriting, it is the letter a listing agent takes seriously.
Do not open new credit accounts, finance a car, change jobs, or make large unexplained deposits. Credit and employment are re-verified shortly before closing, and any of those can change your approval.
You can renegotiate the purchase price, bring additional cash to closing, dispute the appraisal with stronger comparable sales, or exercise an appraisal contingency if your contract has one. We will look at the numbers together and decide.
Nope. The application, document upload, and disclosures can all be handled remotely. Plenty of my clients never sit across a desk from me until closing, and some not even then.
Send me a note or call. I'll tell you what's next and what it will cost. No fee, no pitch.