# Loan Approval Wait Time



## moonspinner (Jul 2, 2002)

A friend is buying some property and went to his credit union to take out a personal loan of $20,000. The loan officer advised him to get online approval which he was told should be 24-48 hours. After the 2 days passed with no word my friend called his bank who then told him it could be longer with a larger figure like he was asking. My friend is a great candidate, has a steady good construction job, solid financial history and his father is co-signing.
How long should approval take?


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## po boy (Jul 12, 2010)

Varies by lender.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Also varies by your relationship with the lender/institution


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## moonspinner (Jul 2, 2002)

I'm pretty sure he's been with this bank for quite some time.


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## po boy (Jul 12, 2010)

$20,000 is not a large amount to most lenders and with a normal bank an approval could be as little as a few minutes. It could be a large amount to this lender and require more than automated underwriting.


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## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

po boy said:


> $20,000 is not a large amount to most lenders and with a normal bank an approval could be as little as a few minutes.


THIS !

A lot of people will say otherwise, but I think it's a good idea to deal with a real brick and mortar bank, where you can walk right in and talk with real people, rather than all of this on line stuff. The smaller locally owned banks are typically better to deal with than the big multi-branch, statewide banks. 

I used to keep a line of credit available. Set it up in advance of needing anything and the money could be acquired in very short notice if something came up. We rarely used it, but it was handy when we did.


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## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

Maybe the fact that it's a credit union could be a problem?

My credit union told me to let them know when I want to take out a large amount of money, like $1,000. That's right, a one and three zeros. Been with them for about 25-30 years.

Mon


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## flewism (Apr 2, 2007)

frogmammy said:


> Maybe the fact that it's a credit union could be a problem?
> 
> My credit union told me to let them know when I want to take out a large amount of money, like $1,000. That's right, a one and three zeros. Been with them for about 25-30 years.
> 
> Mon


They are talking about loan approval times, but I've had this problem in the past. One time I tried to pull out $8K of my own money and they sent me to the main office in town 15 miles away. In the old days credit unions were the best for loans at a cheap rate, today not so much.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Wikipedia
*Banks* tend to keep only enough *cash* in the vault to meet their anticipated transaction needs. Very small *banks* may only keep $50,000 or less on *hand*, while larger *banks* might keep as *much* as $200,000 or more available for transactions.


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## moonspinner (Jul 2, 2002)

Turns out my friend got turned down. The bank told him this was an unsecured personal loan and that he could only apply for a mortgage. I don't get why the bank didn't advise him of this when he made out his application I know there are alternatives to banks - any suggestions?


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Apply for the mortgage.


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## po boy (Jul 12, 2010)

Does the Credit Union make loans on land?
Does your friend have a down payment, it could be 40% of the property sales price or the lesser of appraised value and purchase price.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Our bank would have happily given us a credit card, at a 25% interest rate. We ended up taking out a line of credit on our home to buy another property.

But if he needed a cosigner his credit isn't really that great. Only the tiny percentage of people with outstanding credit can get that kind of money with just a signature. The interest on a signature loan is higher than the interest on a real estate loan.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Loans on bare land are less likely to be approved.


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## po boy (Jul 12, 2010)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> Loans on bare land are less likely to be approved.


Almost impossible and very few has the down payment required.


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## RobertaDavissk (Dec 21, 2021)

The last time we talked to our Mortgage Advisor Cardiff, he told us that it would take a long time for the bank to approve our paperwork for a $40k loan. We understood that this was reasonable since the bank needed some time to confirm and obtain data on our jobs and our general ability to work. Don't let your friend worry about the time. We waited about five days for confirmation, if not more, but we didn't complain and ended up with a $40,000 home mortgage. Tell your friend to have patience, and then everything will be very easy for him.


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## Wellbuilt (Dec 25, 2020)

That sucks , it had to get a lone now for a lot of people .


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

moonspinner said:


> Turns out my friend got turned down. The bank told him this was an unsecured personal loan and that he could only apply for a mortgage. I don't get why the bank didn't advise him of this when he made out his application I know there are alternatives to banks - any suggestions?


In The Good Old Days, I could get a signature loan for a goodly sum from my credit union, with next to no waiting. 

Today... meh. Even a bank with whom I have a good relationship wants collateral.


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## Wellbuilt (Dec 25, 2020)

they never say no , they are after the Application money I think the get 300 bucks to apply for a lone .


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## Wolf mom (Mar 8, 2005)

With the very real possibility of interest rates rising, many people are refinancing now. That'll make loan approval take longer. If appraisers are busy, that can make loan approval take longer. If one is getting a co-signer, they both have to be approved. Again, another reason for longer approval times. It's not always about the person applying for a loan.

Why don't you ask the land owner if he'll carry the mortgage. Make it worth his while by giving him one or two points above going rate. Aside from having a hard time finding a lender for raw land, the lender will want 40% down in most cases and you'll also have a hard time finding a lender to lend under $50,000. If you are going to build immediately, see if you can find an unconventional lender (one who does not follow FNMA guidelines) who will give you a construction loan with the land included. Do not go to a bank or credit union. Find a mortgage broker who has more avenues to fulfill your needs.


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## Reloader (Nov 15, 2020)

I was looking for some real estate (not bare land) recently and was told I had to be pre-approved before I could even make an offer. Got a couple of approvals from two different banks. The local bank done in person took two weeks and the other bank done on the phone and internet took 24 hours. 
A while back I purchased some bare land and was able to get a personal loan for $60k while I was waiting for some money to transfer.


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## RicardoAdams (8 mo ago)

Approval should not take more than 72 hours. If the approval has not been received for so long, there is something wrong with the credit union. From the moment the candidate's credit profile is great, the approval comes even faster than 72 hours. Have you read the reviews about that credit union? Is it reliable? Unfortunately, there are a lot of credit scams. That's why you have to tell your friend to be careful. To be safe, I recommend that you find top-rated personal loans on the internet and choose a loan. I always do that, and the experience is nice. When is something wrong with approval, you have to pay attention to all the details!


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## MartinWilliams (8 mo ago)

If we had asked, our bank would have cheerfully issued us a credit card with a 25% interest rate. In order to acquire another property, we ultimately took out a line of credit on our house.

However, his credit isn't really that good if he needs a cosigner. That type of money can only be obtained with a signature from the extremely small fraction of persons with excellent credit. A real estate loan has a higher interest rate than a signature loan does.


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