Approval isn't a single moment. It happens in two stages: pre-approval once your documents have been reviewed, then final approval after the appraisal and a full underwriting review.

The first stage moves quickly when your paperwork is in order. The second is where time goes. It depends on when the appraiser can be scheduled, what conditions underwriting returns, and how complex your income structure is.

Conditions are the items underwriting needs resolved before the file can move forward. Some borrowers face one or two formalities. Others submit additional documentation several times over. That difference accounts for most of the variation in timelines.

Conditions also arrive in sequence. Clearing one produces the next question based on what you just submitted. So a day's delay in responding often costs several days overall, not one. When a timeline slips, it's usually not that the lender is slow — it's that time leaks here.

Delays carry cost. Running past your rate lock means paying to extend it. Running past the date in your purchase contract puts the contract itself at risk. Two files opened in the same week can finish weeks apart, and most of that gap is determined before the file is ever submitted.