How long does it take to get final approval from...?

Question

underwriter when purchasing a home. The mortgage company has already submitted the required documents about employment and our finances, and we plan to close on August 29th. We were pre-approved before hand, but now that we've signed a contract on the house we want, do we have to wait for final approval from the underwriter? If it helps, this is an FHA loan.

Answer 1

Preapproval speeds up the process, always best to do this.

But, FHA loan approval means the process will slow down greatly.

If you could get PMI, private mortgage insurance, this would be almost immediate.

Depending on backlog, it could take a month for FHA to approve the loan (they are a govt agency that guarantees to lender to take the note, if you default).

Right now, government agencies are swamped by many defaulting loans, and they have new tougher requirements, that's where the bottle neck is, I believe.

Enjoy your home, and don't forget to apply for the "free money" from the government, a new $7,000 loan for new home buyers. (must be paid back in your taxes over next 15 years).  Your real estate agent should have info on this too.

Answer 2

Yes, you cannot close until you get final approval from the underwriter.

If the title, appraisal and ALL of your documentation are in, it shouldn't take more than 2 to 3 days to approve the loan.

Technically, it only takes about 25 minutes to underwrite a file...less if it's clean.

PS:  Ok....Doris has obviously NEVER worked with FHA loans.

FHA are gov't insured loans, but HUD DOES NOT DO LENDING!!! or the underwriting and are performed NO DIFFERENTLY than any other mortgage loan.  

As a former FHA underwriter, I used to work for regular banks and I was licensed by HUD through a process called "Direct Endorsement" to underwrite these loans on their behalf.  FHA underwriters are also called "DE underwriters".

You are employed directly through the bank and underwrite the bank's loans long with FHA and VA.