Process · 5 min read
How long does a mortgage closing take, and do I have to take the day off?
August 5, 2026 · Written by Bill Egan, NMLS 7342
Short answer
The signing itself is usually about 30 to 60 minutes if the file is already clear to close. You should not have to burn a whole vacation day sitting around for a wire. Other lenders often make you sign, then wait on a funding desk. As a mortgage banker, Egan Financial Group LLC sends the money. When the file is clear, funds can be waiting at the table.
01
Why this comes up
Everyone will tell you to take the whole afternoon off. That is if work will give you the day, the kids will pick themselves up from school, and you sit in a conference room while someone “checks on funding.”
02
Where this goes wrong
It shows up on closing day. You sign a stack of documents, then you wait. The other lender is waiting on a funding approval or a wire that has not left their bank. The title company will not record. Keys stay in an envelope. You took PTO for a two-hour appointment that became four. A dry closing — you signed, the money did not — is how a “quick” closing eats the day.
03
What we do about it
We are the lender that sends the money. Other shops originate and then wait on someone else to fund. When your file is clear to close, we can have funds sitting at the table in 30 to 60 minutes. You are not waiting on a last-minute funding approval from a desk you will never meet. We also give you the opportunity to e-sign about 90 percent of the closing documents before you get to the table, so you are not hand-signing dozens of pages in the conference room. A few documents still get signed in person.
04
How to get ready
Ask, before you book the appointment, whether funds will be there when you sit down or after you sign. Bring a government ID, any cashier’s check the Closing Disclosure called for, and your insurance binder. Do not schedule a two-hour closing at 4:30 p.m. if the notary, title, or your job cannot slip. If the file is not clear to close, do not take the day off hoping it will magically fund. We will tell you when it is actually clear. Then you can often close in a lunch window instead of burning a vacation day.