How long a commercial mortgage actually takes.
Nobody gives you a straight timeline, so here is one. These are the stages, the realistic figures for each, and the things that quietly add weeks.
The short answer
Conventional commercial financing commonly runs 45 to 90 days end to end, insured multifamily runs three to five months, and bridge or private financing funds in one to two weeks.
| Path | End to end | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Conventional | 45 to 90 days | The number to plan a purchase around, once the package is complete |
| Insured multifamily | Three to five months | The insurer review takes eight to twelve weeks on its own before the lender can close |
| Bridge or private | One to two weeks | The speed is what the premium is paying for |
The stages and what each one takes
Sizing and lender selection: a few days. Once the package is complete this is quick. Incomplete packages are where the first week disappears.
Term sheet: one to two weeks. The lender confirms appetite and sets out structure, rate, leverage and conditions.
Appraisal and environmental reports: two to four weeks. Usually the real bottleneck, and longer on unusual properties or when a second stage environmental report is required.
Credit approval: one to three weeks after the reports land. Committees sit on their own schedule.
Legal and funding: one to two weeks. Instructions to counsel, security registered, funds advanced.
Realistic totals (45 to 90 days conventional)
Conventional commercial financing commonly runs 45 to 90 days end to end. That is the number to plan a purchase around.
Insured multifamily runs longer, three to five months, because the insurer review takes eight to twelve weeks on its own before the lender can close. Our MLI Select page covers what that process involves.
Bridge and private financing funds in one to two weeks, which is what you are paying the premium for.
What makes a file slow
Incomplete packages, first and worst. Every missing document restarts a review cycle that had already begun.
Reports ordered late. Waiting for a signed term sheet before ordering the appraisal can add two weeks for no reason on a file you are confident about.
Rent rolls that do not reconcile to the leases. An underwriter who finds one discrepancy checks everything else, and that costs days.
And borrowers who go quiet. A question that waits four days for an answer is four days added to the close. The deal submission checklist exists to prevent most of this.
What we commit to on timing
A named person on your file who you can reach, rather than a queue.
A straight answer on whether the file is fundable before anyone spends money on reports. If it is not, you hear that in the first week.
An update at each stage rather than silence between them, including when the update is that we are still waiting. Our process page sets out how a file runs from first call to funding.
Timing questions.
Related situations
Start with a date and work backwards.
Tell us when you need to fund and send the property details. We will tell you whether the date is realistic conventionally, and what it would take to make it.