How It Works
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How It Works
Licensed in VA - MD - DC - CA - FL - TX - WV
From First Question to Closing Day, Step by Step
Most people feel lost in the mortgage process. We built ours to be the opposite — transparent, fast, and fully digital. Here’s exactly what happens from your first call to the day you get your keys.
20+YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
5 steps, no surprises
The Access Financial mortgage process
Apply online — takes about 10 minutes
Start with our secure online application. Tell us what you’re trying to accomplish — purchase, refinance, or a specialty situation. No credit pull at this stage. No commitment. Just information so we can identify the right program and the right lender for your situation.
We identify your loan program and shop 100+ lenders
Your dedicated loan officer reviews your income, credit, down payment, and goals — then identifies every program you qualify for. We run your loan across our full panel of 100+ institutional lenders and wholesale banks. You get the best available rate on that day, not what one bank decided to put on a billboard.
Pre-approval in 24 hours
Pre-approval letter issued within 24 hours for qualified borrowers. Your Realtor gets everything they need to submit competitive offers immediately. We also confirm your funding fee status (for VA loans), DPA eligibility (for first-time buyers), and rate lock options — before you spend another weekend touring homes.
From contract to underwriting — tracked daily
Once you’re under contract, your loan officer orders the appraisal immediately, submits to underwriting, and gives you real-time status updates at every milestone. No ‘your file is under review.’ No communication blackouts. You hear from us — not your Realtor — when there’s a development on your file.
Clear-to-close and keys
Underwriting clears. We schedule closing with the title company. You review and sign your loan documents. For purchase loans: keys at closing. For refinances: funds disbursed 3 business days after signing (the right of rescission period). Your new rate takes effect immediately.
Your Trusted Mortgage Brokde
3 things that make our process different from a bank
Trusted By 56+ Clients
We shop the whole market
When you apply with Access Financial, your loan gets submitted across 100+ lenders simultaneously. Institutional banks, wholesale lenders, and specialty programs all compete for your loan. You get the result. Most banks give you their rate and call it competitive.
One loan officer from start to finish
To give every borrower — regardless of income source, employment structure, nationality, or life stage — access to the full mortgage market, the best available rate, and a loan officer who treats their situation as the only one that matters.
100% digital — close from anywhere
Secure online application. E-signature. Encrypted document upload. Real-time loan status portal. We’ve closed loans for military families overseas, California investors buying in Virginia, and WV rural buyers who never stepped into an office. If you have internet access, we can close your loan.
Quick answers
Standard purchase loans close in 30–45 days from application. FHA Streamline and VA IRRRL refinances close in 21 days. DSCR investor loans close in 14–21 days. The biggest variables are appraisal scheduling and document turnaround. Access Financial orders appraisals immediately on contract and tracks them daily. Pre-approval: 24 hours. Keys: 30 days average on purchase loans.
For W2 borrowers: 2 months pay stubs, 2 years W2s, 2–3 months bank statements, government ID, and the property address (if under contract). For self-employed: 12–24 months bank statements or a CPA-prepared P&L statement. For VA loans: Certificate of Eligibility (we pull this for you). For ITIN loans: Individual Taxpayer ID + alternative credit documentation. No documents are required at the inquiry stage — only if you proceed to a full application.
A full pre-approval requires a hard credit pull, which typically reduces your score by 2–5 points temporarily. Scores recover within 90 days for most borrowers. Multiple mortgage inquiries within a 14–45 day window are typically treated as a single inquiry by FICO — so shopping multiple lenders in a short window has minimal credit impact. The initial inquiry at the information-gathering stage does not require a credit pull.
Mortgage process questions
Pre-qualification is an estimate based on self-reported information — no documents, no credit check, not binding. Sellers and Realtors treat it as meaningless in competitive markets. Pre-approval is a verified credit decision based on income documentation, assets, and a credit pull. It carries weight. Access Financial issues full pre-approval letters within 24 hours — we skip the pre-qualification step entirely.
Pre-approval at Access Financial is free. No fee, no credit pull required at the inquiry stage, no obligation. A credit pull is required only if you proceed to a full application — and even then, it's part of the standard application process with no additional charge. The only upfront cost in the mortgage process is the appraisal fee, which is paid when the appraiser is ordered (after you're under contract).
Yes. Self-employed borrowers use a bank statement loan program that substitutes 12 or 24 months of deposit history for tax returns and W2s. Your write-offs don't count against you — your actual deposits qualify you. Access Financial has bank statement, P&L only, and asset depletion programs for self-employed borrowers across all 7 licensed states.
A denial from one lender is not a final answer. As a broker with 100+ lender partners, Access Financial often identifies alternative programs when a primary lender declines. If the primary program doesn't fit, we evaluate Non-QM options, different down payment structures, or programs with different income qualification methods. A free consultation before application identifies the highest-probability path forward.