The Contract-to-Close Lender Playbook | How a Loan ACTUALLY Closes on Time in 2026

Congratulations, you're in contract. In this video, I'm going to tell you exactly what to expect from contract till closing, so you have an idea of what's coming next, who you're going to be talking to, what about, where you're at in the process at all times. As always, if you have any questions during the process, you feel free to reach out to Michelle or I with any questions. Once you're in the processing phase, you can reach out to Velvet. We're here for you. But this is going to give you a good idea of what to expect now that you're in contract from now until the day you close and the day you have the keys to your new home. So without further ado, I'm going to pull up this graphic. I can email this to you so you can have it little step by step on what's going to happen. I'm also going to tell you a little bit in this video about what each and every step along the way means. So first and foremost, you have an accepted offer. Congratulations to you. Your agent did a great job negotiating. Now you're in contract. The sell side is going to open up escrow. That's where you send your funds in. And in order to send you the most accurate loan estimate possible, we are going to order title fees from the escrow company exactly how they're written in the contract. Maybe you're splitting title. Maybe you're paying for all of it. Uh whatever the case is, we're going to order those exact title fees so that is accurate. Nothing required on your end. We just want to let you know we're doing that because within 24 to 48 hours, we're going to send out your initial loan estimate. So, this is an important part of the process for you as the buyer cuz we're going to be telling you sign that loan estimate as soon as you get it. This is your intent to proceed and this allows us to submit your loan and also to order the appraisal. So, as soon as you get that, just know that it's not a final document, right? There's going to be some edits needed. So sign it as soon as you get it. Even if a name is slightly misspelled, they spelled your middle name with a Y instead of an I or a job start date you notice when you look through it is 3 months off because you guessed when you entered it in your application um originally. So minor details can be fixed. Don't worry about that. Even if you're changing loan terms and you're putting a larger down payment or you want to slide down on the rate sheet from 6. 1 to 5. 875 875 and you know that comes with an extra cost. Any and all of that stuff can be corrected. The important part during this step is just sign that. It's your intent to proceed. You're not bound to anything just because it's in that initial loan estimate. Once you sign that, we will order your appraisal and we'll let you know that a link to pay for that appraisal will be coming soon. When you get that link, it's also important that you act with a little bit of urgency during this step because the appraisal will not be assigned. ordered until you pay for the appraisal. So, you get the link, pay for that appraisal, it gets assigned, it gets scheduled, and your processor, Velvet, is going to submit your loan to underwriting. So, again, quick recap on steps two and three. You're going to sign your loan estimate as soon as you get it. It's going to come in email form. We'll give you a heads up on, you know, who to look for on that email, whether it's a lender that uses the Ease Docs platform or it's another lender where it comes from somewhere else as a broker. We're working with many different lenders, but sign your loan estimate as soon as possible. will pay for that appraisal Velvet is going to submit your loan to underwriting. Now, once your loan is in underwriting, just for your knowledge, know that Velvet, who's the processor on the loan, who's been doing this for 20 plus years and is an absolute pro. Any and all loan conditions where the lender says, "We need another month of payubs. We your bank account. We want a letter of explanation for, you know, why you're moving from this city to that city or that you can work remote and that's why it's okay that your job is 89 miles from this new house. Whatever that is, um, know that Velvet working with you and working with the lender simultaneously is the best point of contact. She's going to be submitting the loan, reviewing what the lender is asking for. Some of it with her vast experience, she's going to clear on her own and say, "You guys don't really need this. This is explained easily. Look at this document I have. But the stuff she needs from you, she'll communicate to you. You get that back to her. Any questions on that stuff, you can feel free to ask her. Always. You can come back to Michelle and I who were working with you during the pre-approval stage and ask us questions on, hey, can I float the rate down to a 5. 875 or what is that going to cost? Or maybe if I put 5% more down because I'm getting a gift, what does that look like? All of that stuff. Feel free to come back to us. If you have a question about something Velvet needs and you want to bounce it off us, feel free. But Velvet's the main point of contact during most of this process. And there may be a few back and forth. Lenders, even if you have the most full and complete file and everything is buttoned up, just know that they're going to ask for stuff. This is totally normal. You shouldn't feel like it's a sign like, "Oh my gosh, my loan is not going to go through. " It happens on every single loan we've ever submitted. They're going to ask for follow-up documentation. So, get that in. Once the appraisal's back, the appraisal's been cleared, any and all documentation, follow-up requests that the lender has asked for, you've turned those in and submitted those. Once all of that stuff is in, we're going to get a clear to close, which means we're done with the lender requirement of documents. And now they're going to settle up final loan

documents. This is where your numbers get finalized. The exact days of interest from your close date to the first payment are calculated. And we get out the closing disclosure, which I didn't even include it in here because you're going to get so many updates from us. You're going to have such a clear idea of when stuff is coming and when to sign it. Sign that loan or that closing disclosure. As soon as you get it, it starts a 3-day clock when you can actually close your loan. But once all the stuff is in and cleared, you're going to get clear to close. And I put this as step number five. You're almost there. Once all these lender conditions are satisfied, we're going to get the clear to close and draw final loan documents. Once those are drawn and sent to the title company, that's where we kind of hand the baton to the title company. And the same title company that opened escrow that asked you to send in that earnest money deposit within the first 72 hours. You're going to get with them and they're going to say, "Would you like to come into our title office and sign? Would you like us to send a mobile notary? Do you need to confirm the wiring instructions to wire your total cash to close? All of that stuff is going to be coordinated with the title company. You're going to sign your final loan documents. You're going to wire in your total cash to close. We are going to wire in our funds from the lender. And once all of that stuff is with title and all of that is complete and the seller has signed, usually the next day, it is going to fund and record. And record means it records with the county. It's officially in your name. It's officially your home. That's a brief overview of what to expect contract to close. You know, I didn't go over every piece of minutia because as a welloiled machine who's in constant communication with not just you as the buyer, but also all the agents, there's going to be plenty of opportunity to say, "Here's this, here's that. " But this gives you a rough idea starting on what different things to expect along the way. Hopefully, this was helpful. Hopefully, this gives you some peace of mind. You're working with a great team who's done this quite a few times. You're working with a team who cares about the experience going smooth for you and you having a great experience. So, you refer your friends and your family this year and for years to come. So, again, congratulations. Let us know if there's anything we can help with. Off we go.