Getting a buyer under contract is your win. You found the house, wrote the offer, and negotiated the terms. What happens over the next 30 days decides whether that win turns into a closing.
That part is my job. Once the contract is signed, your lender should be the one running the transaction: setting the timeline, lining up the appraiser, the closing attorney, the insurance agent, and the association, and making sure nobody is waiting on anybody. I think of it as playing quarterback. You called the play. I'm responsible for moving the ball down the field.
A lot of agents have learned to expect less than that. They chase the lender for updates, hear about a problem the week of closing, and manage the buyer's nerves on their own. This is what you should expect instead, from me or from any lender you trust with a client.
Before the Offer: A Pre-Approval You Can Put Your Name Behind
The work starts before the contract. When you attach a pre-approval letter to an offer, you're vouching for it to the listing agent. Your lender's job is to make that safe.
Here's what that takes:
- Full underwriting up front. Income, assets, and credit reviewed before the letter goes out, not a five-minute estimate over the phone. I issue pre-approvals, not pre-qualifications.
- A letter written for the offer. Matched to the price and terms of that property, and updated quickly when the number changes.
- A look at the property, not just the buyer. In the Lowcountry, the house can sink a loan as easily as the borrower can. Is the condo warrantable? Is it in a flood zone? Will it be taxed at 4% or 6%? What are the regime fees? Those answers belong before the offer, not in week three.
- A payment the buyer has already seen. Buyers get cold feet when the real payment surprises them. Taxes, insurance, and association dues should be in the number from the first conversation.
- A call to the listing agent. When your offer is competing, your lender should be willing to pick up the phone and tell the other side how solid the file is.
From Contract to Close: Who Should Be Doing What
Once the contract is signed, the clock belongs to the lender. Here is what should be happening at each stage, and what you should be hearing without having to ask.
| Stage | What your lender should be doing | What you should hear |
|---|---|---|
| The day the contract is signed | Reads the contract, maps the loan timeline against the due diligence, financing, and closing dates, and introduces everyone: both agents, the buyer, and the closing attorney. | A kickoff message with the key dates and who is handling what. |
| The first few days | Gets loan disclosures out and signed. Orders the appraisal. Settles the rate lock plan with the buyer. Starts insurance quotes, including wind and flood. Requests the condo questionnaire and association documents if there is an HOA or regime. | That the appraisal is ordered, and when to expect it. |
| During due diligence | Submits the file to underwriting and works the conditions. Coordinates title work with the closing attorney. Flags anything about the property that could affect the loan while the buyer can still act on it. | The conditional approval, and any issue that could change the deal. |
| When the appraisal comes back | Reviews the value and any required repairs the same day. If the value is short, comes to you with options. | The value, right away, good or bad. |
| Before the financing deadline | Clears the remaining conditions. Confirms the insurance binder. | Whether the financing date is safe, before it arrives. |
| Clear to close | Gets final approval, coordinates the closing package with the attorney, and makes sure the buyer receives the Closing Disclosure at least three business days before closing. | "Clear to close," with the confirmed closing date and time. |
| Closing day | Confirms funding and stays reachable until it's done. I attend closings in person so nothing gets stuck at the table. | That it funded. |
None of that is extra. It's the job. My average time from contract to close is 21 days, and it comes from doing the first three rows early, not from rushing the last two.
Everyone Your Lender Should Be Coordinating
A purchase has seven or eight parties, and most delays happen in the handoffs between them. Somebody has to own those handoffs. After the contract, that's the lender.
- The buyer. Documents, deadlines, and the list of things not to do before closing. I cover those in 5 Things That Can Derail a Lowcountry Mortgage Closing.
- You. You should never have to guess where the loan stands.
- The listing agent. A listing agent who hears nothing gets nervous, and so does the seller. They should get updates too.
- The closing attorney. South Carolina closings run through an attorney. Title work, payoffs, and the closing package all have to line up with the loan timeline.
- The appraiser. I can't influence the value, and you shouldn't trust a lender who says they can. What I can do is order it early, track it, and tell you when it's scheduled so you can meet the appraiser with your comps.
- The insurance agent. Wind, flood, and the homeowners policy all have to be quoted, bound, and delivered in the lender's format before closing.
- The HOA or regime. The condo questionnaire, the master insurance policy, and the dues letter. On Hilton Head Island these can decide whether the loan works at all.
- Underwriting. You never have to talk to them. I do. There's no processing team to get handed off to, and I stay your point of contact from application through closing.
What You Should Hear, and When
Most agent frustration with lenders comes down to one thing: silence. The loan may be fine, but you don't know that, and your client is asking. A lender running the deal should make four things standard.
- A scheduled update to both agents. Every week, whether or not anything changed. "Nothing new, still on track for the 24th" is a useful message.
- Milestones the day they happen. Appraisal ordered, appraisal in, conditional approval, clear to close.
- Bad news first, and fast. If a problem could change the price, the closing date, or the approval, you should hear it from the lender the day it surfaces, along with what we're doing about it. You should never hear it from the closing attorney.
- One person who answers. Not a call center and not a queue. Offers get written on nights and weekends, so that's when your lender needs to be reachable too.
When Something Goes Wrong
Something usually does. The difference between lenders shows up here. One reports the problem and waits. The other shows up with a plan.
A recent example
On a recent file, we were already in underwriting when something turned up that nobody knew about, including the borrower. The co-borrower was on the title to their parents' mobile home. They had helped their parents buy it and never realized their name was on it.
To an underwriter, that looks like a second property, and the costs that come with it count against the borrower. That's the kind of surprise that ends a deal in week three.
So I went through the details. The home was titled as a mobile home, which makes it personal property (the lending term is chattel), not real estate. It sat on a leased lot, and the lot lease was in the parents' names, not the co-borrower's. That meant the lot payment wasn't the co-borrower's obligation, and it didn't have to be counted.
That saved the deal. The agent never heard about any of it.
Most problems should end that way, solved inside the loan file before they ever reach you. The ones that do reach you should come with a plan attached. If all you get is the problem, your lender has handed the ball back to you.
Eight Questions to Ask Any Lender Before You Hand Over a Client
Use these on me, on the lender your buyer walked in with, or on the name at the top of a pre-approval letter attached to an offer on your listing.
| Ask this | My answer |
|---|---|
| Is this a pre-approval with documents reviewed, or a pre-qualification? | A pre-approval. I run full underwriting up front. |
| Who do I call for an update, and will that person pick up? | Me, directly: (404) 398-9991 or Brad@TheNoPayneBroker.com. |
| Who keeps the listing agent informed? | I do. Both sides get the same updates. |
| When does the appraisal get ordered? | In the first few days, not after underwriting. |
| Have you looked at this property yet? | Yes. Condo status, flood zone, taxes, and association dues before the offer goes in. |
| If the appraisal is low or the condo isn't warrantable, is the deal dead? | Rarely. I shop more than 150 wholesale lenders, so I can usually move the loan to a program that fits. |
| How long do you take to close? | 21 days on average. |
| Will you be at the closing? | Yes, I attend closings in person. |
If a lender can't answer these quickly, that tells you how the next 30 days will go.
Put Me In on Your Next Deal
Call or text me at (404) 398-9991, or email me the deal at Brad@TheNoPayneBroker.com. It can be a buyer who's just getting started, an offer going in this weekend, or a contract where the other lender has gone quiet.
It doesn't have to be a new file, either. If your buyer already has a lender and you just want a second look at the numbers or the approval, email it over and I'll tell you what I see.
When you send me a buyer, I usually reach them the same day, and from then on you'll know where things stand.
I can help on the listing side too:
- A listing that's sitting. I'll put together a net sheet and payment comparison that shows buyers what a seller-paid rate buydown does for them compared with a price cut.
- A seller who needs equity to buy the next home. Call me before the sign goes up. A HELOC usually has to be opened before the home is listed, and it costs far less than a bridge loan.
You got the contract signed. Getting it closed is on me.
More for agents
Loan programs at a glance, tools you can send buyers, and how I work with agents are on the Realtors page.
This article is general information for real estate professionals and is not a commitment to lend. Closing timelines are averages and vary with the loan program, the property, and how quickly documents come back. All loans are subject to underwriting approval. Brad Payne NMLS #2366717 · Empire Home Loans NMLS #1839243 · Equal Housing Lender · Licensed in SC, GA & VA.