MG The Mortgage GentlemanDennis Hudson · NMLS #2148859

How my loans close in 22 days, and why 99% closed on time

By Dennis Hudson, The Mortgage Gentleman · Loan Officer, NMLS #2148859 · June 2026

In 2024, 99% of my loans closed on time, and my average from application to clear-to-close ran 22 days. Those are my real numbers, and I put them on everything, because in this business speed is not bragging rights. Speed is whether you get the house. Keep that sentence somewhere; it will matter again at the end.

A delayed closing costs real money: extended rate locks, another month of rent, movers rebooked, sellers getting cold feet, and in a competitive DFW market, offers that lose to buyers whose lenders close. So here is the actual machine behind those numbers, useful to you even if you never call me, because you should demand this from whoever you use.

The five things that make a loan fast

  1. The complete file, day one. Most delays are born in the first 48 hours, when a lender starts a file with half the documents and discovers the problems three weeks later. I front-load everything: income, assets, and the awkward questions, before you are under contract, not after.
  2. Underwriting early, not eventually. A pre-approval that is just a credit pull and a handshake is theater. Where it matters, I push files toward real underwriting scrutiny up front, so the yes you are holding is a yes that survives.
  3. One conversation, every program. When a file fits the wrong program, it dies slowly. Supreme Lending's shelf gives me more than 66 programs, so the file starts where it can actually finish. The full lineup is here.
  4. The boring follow-up, daily. Appraisal ordered the moment it can be. Title and insurance chased before they are late. Conditions cleared in hours, not piles. Nothing in my pipeline sits quietly going stale.
  5. Answering the phone. Saturday afternoon, the listing agent wants to know if your offer's financing is real. I pick up. Deals are won there more often than people think.
What you can do as a borrower: respond to document requests the same day, do not move money between accounts mid-process without a heads-up, and do not finance a truck two weeks before closing. Half of speed is the lender's process; the other half is a clean, undisturbed file.

What to ask any lender before you commit

Three questions, and insist on numbers: What percentage of your loans closed on time last year? What is your average days-to-close? Who do I actually talk to when something goes wrong? If the answers are vague, the timeline will be too. Mine are 99%, 22 days, and me, on my cell: (972) 979-9065.

If you are getting ready to buy, in DFW from Rockwall to Frisco or anywhere in the country, start with the 60-second form. No credit pull, no obligation, and you will hear from me personally, usually the same day. Or weigh your program options first with FHA vs conventional, the honest version.

Need a closing you can set a calendar by?

Your movers, your lease end, your first night in the new place: all of it hangs on one date holding. Tell me your timeline in 60 seconds, and I will tell you, usually the same day, exactly how we hit it.

Show me where I stand →