How long does it take to refinance a house? – atlantisthemes

There are many reasons to refinance your mortgage. Perhaps you want to take advantage of lower interest rates, tap into your home equity, or reduce your monthly mortgage payments. Alternatively, you may simply want to extend your loan term or even pay it off sooner. Regardless of the reason, refinancing your mortgage can often be a smart financial decision. But just how long does it take? Here’s what the numbers tell us.

• MORE: See our top picks for the best mortgage refinance lenders.

According to ICE Mortgage Technology, it took an average of 42 days for borrowers to refinance a mortgage loan in September 2025 — this number reflects conventional and FHA loans nationwide. That’s down from 44 days in June and July, and it’s the same number of days as the average closing time for purchase loans.

Conventional loans close faster than government-backed ones, according to ICE’s data. In August, it took 44 days to refinance FHA loans and just 41 days to refinance conventional loans.

• Find out how soon you can refinance after buying a home.

Refinancing your mortgage is much like applying for your first loan. You’ll need to shop for the best mortgage lenders, fill out an application, provide documentation, and pay closing costs. Here’s what the process looks like, step by step:

1. Determine your goal and the type of refinance you need: What are you trying to achieve with your refinance? This will help you determine which type of mortgage refinance is best — a cash-out refinance, a rate-and-term refinance, a cash-in refinance, or a streamline refinance.

2. Shop around for lenders: Get rate quotes from your current lender, as well as some other banks, credit unions, and mortgage companies. You could also use a mortgage broker, who can shop around on your behalf. Once you have several quotes, compare each one on rates, fees, and other details, and see which one meets your budget and needs best.

3. Gather documentation: You’ll need to provide your lender with a substantial amount of financial documentation to refinance your mortgage, so start gathering it early to stay on track. You’ll typically need recent tax returns, W-2s, bank statements, pay stubs from work, statements for any investments or assets, and identification documents.

4. Apply for your loan: Fill out your lender’s application. With most companies, you can do this online. You will also need to submit the documentation you gathered in step 3.

5. Await your appraisal: In many cases, refinancing will require a new home appraisal, which determines the market value of your home. If this is the case with your loan, your lender will order and schedule an appraisal on their end and notify you when it has been completed.

6. Go through the underwriting process: Your loan will undergo the mortgage underwriting process, which involves a more in-depth review of your finances and documentation to ensure you meet the loan’s requirements.

7. Close on your loan: Lastly, you’ll attend your closing appointment (sometimes this can be done virtually), where you’ll sign your loan documents and finalize your refinance. You will also need to pay your refinance closing costs, which typically range from 2% to 6% of the loan amount.

Once you apply for your loan, your loan officer will help guide you through each of these steps to complete your refinance. Ensure you stay in touch and respond promptly if they require additional documentation.

As you can see above, the type of loan you’re refinancing into can play into how long it takes. Since government-backed mortgages tend to have more red tape than conventional ones, they can often take longer to close — both on purchases and refinances.

The type of loan you’re refinancing out of matters too. For example, if you’re refinancing from one FHA loan to another, you might be able to use an FHA Streamline Refinance. This allows you to skip more time-consuming steps like an appraisal and a credit report check, which can potentially speed up the process considerably.

VA loans also have a streamline option if you’re refinancing from one VA loan to another. This is called the VA IRRRL (Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan) program.

But let’s say you’re refinancing out of an FHA loan and into a conventional loan. This might take a little longer because you’d need to have a home appraisal and credit check done again.

Here are some other factors that can impact your refinancing timeline:

• Your mortgage lender: What is their staffing and workload like? Lenders with larger staffs and greater work capacity may be able to process your refinance more quickly.

• Market conditions: Is there a lot of demand for mortgages and refinancing right now? If so, this could slow down the process.

• Your finances: Do you have non-traditional income that needs extra documentation or more careful underwriting? These factors can lengthen your refinancing timeline.

• Your preparation for the loan application: How prepared are you for the refinance, and have you gathered all the appropriate documentation? If your lender needs to request additional information, it can delay the process.

How responsive you are to your loan officer’s requests can also be a factor. By communicating efficiently, you can help move things forward.

MORE:See our top picks for cash-out refinance lenders.

You can’t always control how quickly your refinance moves, but you can take some steps to help move the process along.

If you want your refinance to go more quickly, you can:

• Do your research: Know which kind of home loan you will refinance into and what type of refinance you will pursue (traditional rate-and-term refinance, cash-out refinance, or streamline). Then, you can go into the refinancing process fully prepared.

• Make sure you qualify first: Check your mortgage lender’s eligibility requirements, and make sure you meet their minimum standards for credit score, debt-to-income ratio, and loan-to-value ratio. Getting denied and having to shop around for a new lender and loan will only delay the process. Keep in mind that you don’t have to refinance with the same lender you used for your original mortgage (though going doing so may speed up your refinance in some cases).

• Prepare your documentation early: Go ahead and pull your W-2s, tax returns, recent pay stubs and bank statements, and other financial documents. This will allow you to move through your application process as quickly as possible.

• Be responsive: If your loan officer has a question or needs more documentation, respond quickly. The longer you delay getting them information, the longer your loan will take to underwrite and close.

• Get your home ready: Your home will likely need to be appraised before you can refinance your mortgage, so make sure the property is prepared. Give your curb appeal a quick spruce-up, make any necessary and obvious repairs, and have the documents and receipts on hand for any upgrades that could impact your home’s value.

Shopping around for your mortgage lender can also help. For instance, some lenders may specialize in faster closing times. Better Mortgage, for instance, advertises refinancing timelines 10 days faster than industry averages, while New American Funding offers a 14-day closing guarantee. These may help you refinance even more quickly than if you use your original lender.

The national average is 42 days to refinance a mortgage. You can also speed up the process by having your documentation ready, being responsive to your loan officer, and pursuing a streamline refinance for FHA, VA, and USDA loans.

The turnaround time for a mortgage refinance depends on your lender, the loan type you’re refinancing into and out of, your financial situation, and market conditions. As of September 2025, the average processing time was 42 days.

Make sure you have your financial documents ready before you apply for your loan, and respond quickly to your loan officer’s questions and requests. You can also shop around for your lender (some offer faster closing times than others) and pursue a streamline refinance, which could let you skip more time-consuming steps like appraisals and digging up certain documentation.

According to government data, about 17% of all refinance applications were denied in 2024. To make sure your application is approved, work to improve your credit score, pay down your debts, and have your documentation ready.

Laura Grace Tarpley edited this article.