How long does a commercial real estate loan take to close? Depends on product and file completeness — not on how hard you press refresh on email.
Close speed on investor commercial debt is a business-day clock, not a hope. Jaken Finance Group targets 7–14 business days on complete bridge files and about 14 business days on many DSCR files, at bridge 8.99%–13.5% IO and DSCR 5.75%–10.5%. Context: commercial real estate financing. Start a file: commercial loan request. (833) 264-7776.
Typical investor clocks (Q3 2026)
| Product | Complete file clock | What starts the clock |
|---|---|---|
| Bridge acquisition | 7–14 business days | Appraisal payment + cleared conditions |
| Value-add bridge + draws | 7–14 days initial close | Same; draws follow inspections |
| DSCR 1–4 unit | ~14 business days | Appraisal + insurance bind |
| DSCR 5+ / small commercial | ~14 business days | Commercial appraisal + rent roll |
| Bank CMBS / agency | 45–120+ days | Committee and third-party reports |
Bridge rates 8.99%–13.5% · DSCR 5.75%–10.5%
Day-by-day bridge example
Day 0 — commercial loan request with contract, exit memo, entity, liquidity
Day 1–2 — term sheet and appraisal order
Day 3–7 — appraisal, title, insurance
Day 8–10 — clear conditions, schedule closing
Day 10–14 — close and fund
Slip any item (unsigned OA, missing lease) and the clock resets.
What adds weeks
- Phase I environmental on industrial
- Survey issues or easement discovery
- Municipal violations on mixed-use
- 1031 QI wire timing misaligned with closing date
- Personal guarantee negotiations on bank files
Documents checklist: commercial loan documents checklist
Worked example — 1031 tail
Seller requires close in 12 days. Exchange proceeds land day 18.
Bridge closes day 10 at 72% as-is, 10.75% IO — DSCR refi month 7. Without bridge, replacement property is lost; with bridge, $14,000 IO carry buys the contract.
See bridge loans for investors.
Speed tips
- Submit one organized PDF package
- Name your exit lender or product
- Order insurance quote day one
- Confirm entity matches title before term sheet
Call (833) 264-7776 for scenario timing on your address.
Appraisal standards set days you cannot shout away
Most investor files wait on a licensed appraisal. The Appraisal Foundation publishes the standards appraisers work under. Your lender does not control the appraiser’s calendar, site access, or comparable search. Paying the invoice starts the work. Nagging the processor does not.
Order the report type named on the term sheet. A 1–4 unit form on a 12-unit wastes a week and a fee. Commercial income reports take longer than a drive-by. If the building is occupied, give tenant notice and a key plan on day one. See loan process for where appraisal sits in the sequence.
Title, surveys, and the ALTA clock
Title companies follow industry forms and practices published through ALTA. Survey exceptions, easements, and municipal liens appear on the commitment, not in your rent roll. An ALTA survey, if required, is its own vendor queue. You cannot close on a promised survey that has not been drawn.
Answer title emails the same day. A silent buyer on a plot exception is the most common “mystery delay.” Probate, divorce, and heirship add recorded documents. Those are calendar items. Tell the desk at commercial loan request before you promise a seller day 10.
Parallel workstreams that keep a 14-day close honest
Run these at the same time, not in a line:
- Insurance quote in the borrowing entity on the exact address
- Entity good standing and foreign registration if needed
- Rent-roll updates if leases sign during diligence
- 1031 intermediary wire instructions timed to recording
- Access for appraiser and any inspector
Serial work — wait for appraisal, then call insurance, then form the LLC — is how 14 business days become 30 calendar days. Investment property loans for LLC covers vesting so title is not waiting on articles.
Auction, 1031, and cash-equivalent seller tests
Sellers who say “cash only” often mean “will you actually fund on a date.” A complete bridge file at 8.99%–13.5% IO can compete when proof of funds and a written close plan exist. Exchange buyers should put identification and replacement deadlines on the same tracker as appraisal payment. Bridge loans for real estate investors exist for those tails.
Do not count Sunday as a business day. Do not count the day you forgot the EIN. Do not count the week the appraiser could not enter unit 3.
Bank CMBS clocks vs investor desks
Agency and CMBS files add committee, third-party reports, and securitization boxes. Forty-five to 120 days is not a slur. It is a different machine. Investor DSCR at 5.75%–10.5% and bridge still underwrite property cash flow first. That is why the table at the top of this page is shorter than a bank’s.
If a bank already has your package, you can still be slower than a clean private file because their committee does not meet for your contract. Second Look is for declined bank files that still have dates.
What actually slips a “complete” file after day 7
Common slips: insurance will not bind without a roof cert; a tenant estoppel contradicts the rent roll; a survey shows an encroachment; a member is added to the LLC after the term sheet; flood pricing blows DSCR. None of those are rate problems.
Keep one owner of the condition list. Split ownership between a partner, an attorney, and a VA who does not answer email is a delay pattern. Call (833) 264-7776 when a condition has sat two business days with no vendor update.
Worked clock — Savannah 1031 replacement
Seller required recording on business day 11. Exchange funds were scheduled to land day 16. The sponsor closed a bridge on day 10 at 71% as-is, 10.875% IO, then took DSCR in month 8 after lease-up. Interest carry was cheaper than losing the replacement property. The file worked because appraisal was paid on day 1, not day 6.
Construction leftovers and takeout timing
If you are finishing a renovation, the close clock for takeout is not the same as a clean acquisition. Punch-list, certificate of occupancy, and draw reconciliation add days. See construction-to-DSCR takeout when the “last two items” are still open. Do not book a DSCR close date on a building that cannot be occupied.
Five-to-ten unit permanent exits should match income exhibits to multifamily 5–10 unit DSCR loans. Wrong report type is a 7–10 day penalty you can avoid on day zero.
How to ask for timing without asking “how fast can you close?”
Send the address, contract date, and whether appraisal is already ordered. Ask which items start the clock. That is a timing question. “Can you do seven days?” with no packet is not. Commercial property loans by asset class flags extra diligence — tanks, pads, hospitality — that lengthen honest clocks.
Proof of funds letters, if you need one for a bid, have their own turnaround. Ask for that separately from funding day. Jaken Finance Group still quotes qualified files in the published bands. Speed is a completeness product.
Insurance bind, flood, and the last 48 hours
A quote on day two is not a binder on day twelve. Coastal wind deductibles and flood policies can take longer than the appraisal. If the property is in a mapped flood zone, start that conversation when you apply. Waiting until the title company asks for evidence of insurance is how a clean underwriting file misses the seller’s date.
Named insured must match the LLC. Mortgagee clause must match the lender’s instruction letter. A binder in your personal name on an LLC loan is a redo. Investment property loans for LLC is worth a five-minute read before you email the broker.
Wire instructions, fraud review, and recording cutoffs
Funding is not “approved, therefore money.” Title sends wiring instructions. Your bank may hold a large outgoing wire. Same-day ACH is not a commercial close tool. Ask your bank about cutoffs the week before, not at 3 p.m. on funding day.
Fraud review can pause a file that looks finished. Confirm phone numbers out of band. Do not accept a last-minute email that changes the account. ALTA members take this seriously for a reason — see ALTA resources on closing practices.
County recording cutoffs vary. A 4 p.m. “we funded” that misses the recorder still is not closed in that county’s eyes. Build a buffer if the seller’s drop-dead is a Friday.
DSCR permanent vs bridge: two different 14-day stories
Bridge acquisition often clears faster because the report can be as-is and the product is short. DSCR at 5.75%–10.5% needs the income story to survive the appraisal. A vacancy surprise or a concession the rent roll hid adds a revision cycle. Budget a few extra business days on first DSCR 5+ files even when the table says “about 14.”
DSCR loans explain the ratio. This page explains the calendar. Both have to be true at once.
When to call instead of refreshing email
Call (833) 264-7776 when the seller moved the date, the appraiser cannot access a unit, title found a lien you did not know, or you are inside five business days with an open condition. Have the address and the condition name ready. Hub context: commercial real estate financing.
Holiday weeks are not full business-day weeks. Plan around them the way you plan around appraisal payment. A complete file still closes in the published windows — 7–14 business days on many bridge acquisitions — when vendors are working and you answer the same day.
Tenant access, estoppels, and occupied buildings
Occupied buildings close slower when nobody can enter unit 4B. Put the manager’s cell on the appraisal order. If a commercial tenant must sign an estoppel, send it the week you accept the term sheet, not the week you want to fund. A tenant on vacation is a real delay.
Residential month-to-month occupants still need notice for interior inspection. Local notice rules are not the lender’s invention. Budget them.
Draw closings vs acquisition closings
Value-add files that close and then fund rehab in draws have two clocks. The first is acquisition. The second is each inspection and lien waiver. Do not tell a contractor they will be paid “at close” if the close is only the purchase. Bridge loans for real estate investors can include draws. The calendar for a draw is an inspection calendar.
Jaken Finance Group qualified rates stay in band — bridge 8.99%–13.5% IO, DSCR 5.75%–10.5%. The clock is vendor and completeness. It is not a coupon contest.
The close clock starts after appraisal payment — USPAP reports via the Appraisal Foundation, title per ALTA. Use commercial loan request when the date is real. (833) 264-7776.
Rates, terms and conditions offered only to qualified borrowers and are subject to change at any time without notice. Closing times are in business days and commence upon receipt of appraisal payment and satisfaction of borrower conditions. All loans are subject to full underwriting for loan approvals. Jaken Finance Group only finances non-owner occupied investment properties.