Can you guarantee on-time closing?
Ask mortgage lenders about closing timelines and process efficiency. Compare closing speed when shopping for a home loan.
What You'll Learn in This Chapter
- Why lenders cite third-party factors to avoid accountability for their own process efficiency
- How to separate legitimate timeline risks from lender-controlled delays
- Scripts to get specific commitments about lender-controlled parts of the closing process
You ask a lender if they can guarantee you'll close on time. The lender responds: "I can guarantee that I'll do everything in my power to close on time, but there are factors outside of my control—like appraisal and title work—that could affect the timeline."
But, here's what's really happening...
Closing Timeline Deflection is a tactic where lenders cite legitimate third-party uncertainties to avoid accountability for their own internal process efficiency. The loan officer's process is to lump all closing delays together—whether caused by slow appraisers OR their own slow underwriting—making it impossible to evaluate whether this lender is actually efficient or just hiding behind external factors.
As a shopper, your counter-process is to separate lender-controlled timelines (application review, underwriting, final approval) from third-party timelines (appraisal, title search). Efficient lenders can provide specific commitments about THEIR parts of the process: "We complete initial underwriting within 48 hours" or "Our average time from clear-to-close to funding is 3 days." When lenders refuse to commit to any timeline specifics, they're revealing they either have poor internal processes or don't want to be held accountable. Honest lenders acknowledge uncertainty while still providing clear expectations about what they control.
Now that you understand the tactic, let's look at how most people fall into the trap.
➡ How People Get Trapped
Most people respond with:
That's fair. I appreciate your honesty about the uncertainties. Let's move forward.
Don't do that.
When you accept vague timeline commitments without pressing for specifics about the lender's internal process, you've given up your ability to compare lender efficiency. The lender's acknowledgment of third-party uncertainties is legitimate—but it shouldn't prevent them from being specific about THEIR parts of the process. By not asking "How long does YOUR underwriting take?" or "What's YOUR average time to clear-to-close?", you'll never know if this lender has a 5-day underwriting process or a 20-day process.
Get specific commitments about lender-controlled timelines.
➡ What You Should Say Instead
I understand there are third-party factors outside your control, and I appreciate your honesty about that. Can you tell me how long YOUR internal process typically takes—from application submission to initial underwriting decision, and from clear-to-close to funding? I'd like to compare your internal efficiency with other lenders.
Here's why this is the right approach:
- Acknowledges legitimate third-party uncertainties
- Separates lender-controlled timelines from external factors
- Requests specific data about internal process efficiency
- Makes lenders accountable for what they actually control
The script treats closing timeline concerns as legitimate while still demanding transparency about lender-controlled parts of the process.
➡ See The Mortgage Script in Action
➡ Key Takeaway
Lenders control some parts of the closing timeline (underwriting, processing, approvals) even if they don't control others (appraisal, title). Get specific commitments about lender-controlled timelines to compare efficiency across lenders.
Related Mortgage Resources
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