Speed is the reason most borrowers turn to hard money in the first place, and it's the reason most brokers bring us their time-sensitive deals. But "fast" isn't a single fixed number. It's a range, and where a specific deal lands in that range depends heavily on how it's put together from the start.
The biggest factor is the completeness of the file at submission. A package with clear title, a realistic scope of work, accurate property information, and a clear exit strategy moves through underwriting quickly because there's nothing to chase down. A file missing key documents or built around unrealistic numbers slows down no matter how motivated everyone is to close.
Property-level factors matter too. A straightforward single-family property with clean title and no unusual liens or occupancy issues will always move faster than a property with a title cloud, an existing tenant, or a complicated ownership history. None of these issues are necessarily deal killers, but they do add time, and it's better for a broker to flag them upfront than to have them surface midway through underwriting.
At JMJ Funding, our underwriting is built to move quickly once a file is complete, because we're evaluating the deal and the property directly rather than routing it through layers of committee approval. The single best thing a broker can do to speed up a close is bring us a complete, accurate package from day one. From there, we move as fast as the deal allows.
