How Long Does a Commercial Loan Take to Close? Timelines by Product
Anyone shopping for a commercial loan in Texas wants to know the same thing up front: how long will this take to close? The answer depends on the loan product, and the range is enormous. A well-run hard money deal can close in a week. A HUD 223(f) refinance can run nine months. Knowing where your specific deal lands on that spectrum is the difference between making a credible offer and wasting three months on a purchase contract that was never going to survive.
Here is the realistic timeline on every major commercial loan product we place in DFW, with the specific factors that push each one faster or slower.
| Loan product | Typical close | Why it takes that long |
|---|---|---|
| Hard money (private) | 7–14 days | Asset-based underwriting, minimal documentation, balance-sheet capital |
| Commercial bridge | 14–21 days | Balance-sheet lender, third-party reports are the bottleneck |
| Community / regional bank | 30–45 days | Relationship-based; credit committee and standard documentation |
| SBA 7(a), Preferred Lender | 45–60 days | Delegated authority lets the bank approve without returning to the SBA |
| Agency multifamily (Fannie DUS / Freddie Optigo / SBL) | 45–75 days | Standardized process; faster than CMBS because no secondary market B-piece review |
| SBA 504 | 60–90 days | Two separate closings (bank first, then CDC debenture after the SBA bond sale) |
| CMBS (conduit) | 60–90 days | Secondary-market B-piece buyer review adds about a week on the back end |
| Life insurance company | 60–90 days | Tightest credit + heaviest lender legal documentation in the market |
| HUD 223(f) refinance | 180–270 days | Multi-stage HUD review process; the slowest closing in commercial real estate |
How fast can a hard money loan close in Dallas?
Hard money is the fastest commercial capital in the Dallas market. A private lender with an existing borrower relationship, a current appraisal in hand, and a clean title search can close in 7 to 10 days. Even without those shortcuts, 10 to 14 days is achievable for most hard money deals. The key inputs are collateral quality, exit strategy credibility, and how motivated the lender is to deploy capital that week.
How long does a commercial bridge loan take to close?
Institutional bridge lenders in DFW typically close in 14 to 21 days on a clean file with an experienced sponsor. The bottleneck is almost always third-party reports (appraisal, Phase 1 environmental, property condition report) and legal documentation. Sponsors with repeat relationships at a bridge lender will always move faster than first-time borrowers at the same lender. We have closed bridge deals in under 10 days when the seller deadline was hard and the exit was airtight.
What is the typical closing timeline for a DFW community bank commercial loan?
Community and regional bank loans in Dallas-Fort Worth typically close in 30 to 45 days for existing relationship customers. First-time customers take longer, usually 45 to 60 days, because of KYC requirements, relationship onboarding, and the extra layer of credit committee scrutiny a bank applies to someone they do not know yet. The fastest bank closings we see are refinances with the existing lender, where the relationship and property history are already in place.
How long does an SBA 7(a) loan take to close in Texas?
45 to 60 days with an SBA Preferred Lender. Preferred Lender Program (PLP) banks have delegated authority to issue SBA approvals in-house without sending the file back to the SBA for review, which cuts 2 to 4 weeks off the closing timeline versus a non-PLP lender. We prioritize PLP lenders on every SBA file because the timeline difference is enormous and the borrower does not pay more for the faster execution.
Why does an SBA 504 loan take longer to close than a 7(a)?
SBA 504 is structurally slower because it involves two separate closings. The conventional bank piece (50 percent of the deal) closes first. The CDC debenture (40 percent, backed by an SBA bond) closes weeks later after the bond pool sells. Total closing timeline is 60 to 90 days from term sheet to the CDC piece funding. During the gap between the two closings, the bank typically provides interim financing at the bank rate. If you need to close faster than 60 days, SBA 504 is not realistic and the file should move to 7(a) instead. For the full comparison of the two programs, see SBA 504 vs SBA 7(a): which is right for your DFW deal.
How long does agency multifamily (Fannie and Freddie) take to close?
Fannie DUS and Freddie Mac (Optigo or SBL) deals typically close in 45 to 60 days with an experienced lender. The standardized agency process is actually faster than CMBS because there is no secondary market B-piece buyer review adding a week on the back end. Freddie SBL is the fastest of the agency options because the documentation is lighter. Fannie DUS on a complex institutional deal can run closer to 75 days if there is a lot of legal back-and-forth or a complicated partnership structure on the borrower side.
What is the closing timeline for a CMBS commercial loan in DFW?
60 to 90 days from signed term sheet. The extra time versus agency comes from the CMBS secondary market B-piece buyer, who gets to review the loan before it goes into a securitization pool and can push back on specific loan features. Most CMBS closings run on the longer end of that range. The benefit of CMBS is non-recourse execution and flexibility on asset classes (retail, industrial, office, hotel, mixed-use) that the agencies do not touch.
How long does a life insurance company commercial loan take to close?
60 to 90 days on life-co deals. Life companies write the tightest credit in commercial real estate and that discipline shows up in the underwriting and documentation process. The trade-off is that life-co pricing is often the best in the market for trophy assets, so the extra 30 days versus a bank closing is worth it on the right deal.
How long does a HUD 223(f) refinance take to close?
Six to nine months. HUD is the longest commercial loan closing process in the U.S. by a wide margin. The documentation requirements are exhaustive, the review steps are layered, and the final HUD commitment takes several weeks on its own. The reward for the patience is access to the cheapest long-term fixed-rate capital available in multifamily. For sponsors on a 15-year or 20-year hold who actually care about saving 100 to 200 basis points on the rate, HUD is still worth it. For anyone else, it is not.
What actually slows commercial loan closings down?
Five things, ranked by how often they show up in our post-mortems:
- Slow document production on the borrower side. This is by far the most common cause of delayed closings. The lender is asking for operating statements, tax returns, and entity documents, and the borrower takes two weeks to send them.
- Last-minute discoveries in the property condition report or Phase 1 environmental that require additional investigation or remediation quotes.
- Title issues, especially on older properties or properties with complicated ownership history.
- Changes to the capital stack or deal structure after the term sheet is signed. Renegotiating in the middle of closing always adds weeks.
- Delays in the seller's delivery of estoppel certificates, tenant lease files, or other due diligence items that the buyer depends on.
Have a DFW deal that matches this article?
Get a Quote