The 6 Major Steps in Mortgage Loan Processing

The mortgage loan process may seem far from simple. There’s a lot that happens between your initial consultation to your loan being funded. But we’ll walk you through it—and with full transparency.

We’ll explain every step of home loan processing, including a breakdown of all associated costs and fees. You’ll know exactly what you need to submit and when, and exactly where your loan is throughout processing. And if you ever feel you’re lost— just contact us! We understand that choosing a mortgage is the biggest financial decision of your life, and we’re committed to making the process as seamless, friendly and financially valuable to you as possible.

Here are the six major milestones you'll reach during loan processing and what’s happening at each stage of the process.

Mortgage loan process

1. Loan is submitted to processing

The Mortgage Consultant collects and verifies all documents necessary to prepare the loan file for underwriting. These documents provide us with everything that we need to know about you (the borrower), and the property you are financing.

During processing, the Mortgage Consultant:

Begins verifying assets, income and employment
Orders a home appraisal to determine the value of the property (if/when needed)
Runs various compliance and eligibility checks to ensure the process advances quickly and smoothly

Common documentation requested by underwriting includes:

Evidence of Earnest Money
Asset Verification
Borrower Letter of Explanation (LOX)
Gift Letter
Copy of Note
Source Large Deposits
Verification of Employment (VOE)
Fully Executed Sales Contract

Next step: Processing submits the loan file to underwriting for initial review and approval.

2. Loan is submitted to underwriting

The Underwriter begins the loan underwriting process, reviewing all documentation to determine whether you qualify for a mortgage.

While the Loan Officer and Mortgage Consultant will do their best to submit a complete file during loan underwriting, an Underwriter may still have questions and/or require additional documentation to satisfy any conditions for a final approval.

In addition to the loan file submitted by processing, the Underwriter examines:

The completed appraisal
Credit report
Other ancillary documentation pertinent to the loan

If the loan is approved, the borrower receives a list of conditions required to be met before receiving final approval and notification of Clear to Close.

Next step: The Loan Coordinator provides you with underwriting's preliminary decision on the loan.

3. Loan is conditionally approved

What does conditionally approved mean?

A conditional loan approval means that the Underwriter has signed-off on the parameters of the loan and most of the documentation, but still needs a few more items before fully approving the borrower for the loan.

The Loan Coordinator contacts you to review the conditional approval mortgage and discuss any additional required items, as well as any ancillary documents that are needed to finalize the loan. This documentation can include:

The completed appraisal (or updates to the existing report)
Additional verifications
Standard in-house items required for closing

Once all conditions have been obtained, the Loan Coordinator will send the file back to the underwriter for a final review and approval.

Next step: Once the loan is approved, a Mortgage Professional will schedule the closing.

Steps After Conditional Approval

Clear to Close
Closing
Funding

4. Loan is Clear to Close

What is clear to close?

"Clear to Close" means the Underwriter has signed-off on all documents and issued a final approval. You meet all of your lenders’ requirements to qualify for a mortgage, and your mortgage team has been given the green light to move forward with your home loan.

When you reach this stage of the mortgage process, your lender will send you a clear to close letter along with a copy of the Closing Disclosure (CD). The CD is the standardized document that details the finalized terms for the loan, including a breakdown of all closing costs and fees. You won’t receive the Closing Disclosure until you’ve been cleared to close.

You’re in the home stretch now, but there’s still work to be done behind the scenes: The lender will schedule your closing and review the CD to ensure every cost and contingency has been incorporated before heading to the closing table.

Clear to close timeline

How many days before closing do you receive mortgage approval? Clear to close timelines vary by lender and even underwriting team. There are also unique conditions that could extend the clear to close timeline, like irregularities in a loan application or spikes in mortgage team workloads. When lending activity is high — in other words, when a lot of people are applying for mortgages and refis — it may take underwriters more time to process loans.

How long does clear to close take?

Waiting on clear to close can be agonizing for a homebuyer, which is why we speed up this process as much as possible to get you to the closing table without delay. Our goal is to have you clear to close in as little as 10 days — and the clock starts running as soon as we receive your loan application.

How long from clear to close is closing?

Once your loan is approved and cleared to close, the mortgage team will have 3 days to finalize all of your closing documents so you’re ready to complete the transaction. So, barring any unforeseen complications, you’ll be sitting at the closing table and signing the property deed on your new home a mere 72 hours from the time you receive your CD.

What happens after clear to close?

In most cases, there’s nothing left to do on your end as a homebuyer but wait for your closing date to come around. In the meantime, your lender’s underwriting team will take care of some final housekeeping tasks, like double-checking your credit report, employment status and monthly income. But don’t worry too much about these last-minute financial reviews; lenders just want to be sure there are no unwelcome surprises in the 11th hour of the closing process.

If there are some unexpected changes to your finances, however, they could jeopardize your loan application status. But those are rare cases, reserved for major events like losing a job or taking on large amounts of extra debt (financing a new car, for instance). As long as you’ve held down steady employment and avoided taking out any large loans during the underwriting process, you should be just fine.

Next step: Closing the mortgage.

5. Closing

Closing processes vary slightly depending on the type of transaction, as well as local, state and municipal laws.

The type of transaction—purchase or refinance—determines who can provide you with accurate final numbers.

Purchase: You can receive estimated figures from your Mortgage Professional, but they'll need to speak with your local title company or real estate attorney for a final amount.
Refinance: In most states, you won't be required to use an attorney to close. In that case, you should speak with your Mortgage Professional for the bottom-line.

What to bring to the closing:

Photo identification
Personal check or bank check from an approved account to cover the closing costs and down payment (unless the money was wired). NOTE: Your mortgage team will advise the best way to transfer funds for your closing.

Whether purchasing or refinancing, prepare to sign a lot of documents!

Purchase: While the process varies by state, typically a professional explains every document and notes where to sign. The lender’s wire may need to clear before you're handed the house keys and provided with copies of all the documents.
Refinance: Depending on local laws, an agent from the title company will explain each document to be signed. If refinancing a primary residence, the loan will fund once the 3-day right of rescission has expired (on the fourth day). Once the rescission period has expired, the loan can no longer be cancelled. If refinancing an investment property or second home, the loan will fund on the same day.

Next step: Funding the mortgage.

6. Loan has been funded

The final step on the loan process is now complete: Your loan has been funded!

At this time, all documentation is complete and the funds for the loan have been disbursed to the seller (purchase) or to the payoff of the prior loan (refinance).

You should receive your first payment statement at the closing. This should be used to make the first and possibly second loan payment.

If you did not receive the statement or cannot find it, you can reach out to your Mortgage Professional for a copy

Final step: You'll receive correspondence in the mail from the final servicer (the company to which you will make all subsequent payments). This information details where to make future payments and how to set up auto-pay if desired.

Hopefully, this breakdown helps you understand the inner-workings of the mortgage process. Don’t hesitate to contact us with your specific questions along the way. We’re here to simplify a complex process and to provide the kind of personal service and advice you deserve. We’re here to get you home.

*Owning cannot guarantee that an applicant will be approved or that a closing can occur within a specific timeframe. All dates are estimates and will vary based on all involved parties level of participation at any stage of the loan process.

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