Yeah, the randomness of refinancing timelines is spot-on.
"Honestly, a lot depends on who's handling your file—some underwriters are super thorough (maybe too thorough?), and others just seem to rubber-stamp everything."
Pretty much this. When I refinanced a couple years back, I swear it felt like the underwriter was checking every single coffee purchase I'd ever made. 😂 They asked for documents I'd never even heard of before—like, seriously, who keeps track of a $40 Venmo payment from three months ago? I had to dig through emails and bank statements for hours. Felt like a forensic audit rather than a refinance.
On the flip side, a buddy of mine refinanced around the same time, same lender even, and his sailed through in less than two weeks with minimal fuss. He joked he could've submitted crayon drawings as financial statements and still gotten approved faster than me. So yeah, there's definitely an element of luck involved with the underwriter you get assigned.
As for switching lenders mid-process... been there, done that, wouldn't recommend it. I tried it once when my first lender seemed stuck in neutral, thinking I'd speed things up. Big mistake. Ended up resetting the clock entirely and had to re-submit everything from scratch. Lost weeks in the process and ended up with basically the same rate anyway.
Best advice I can give is just keep your docs organized and ready to go. They'll probably come back asking for something random at the last minute anyway (they always do), but at least you'll be prepared to send it over quickly. Hang in there—it's frustrating, but it'll get done eventually.
Totally agree with keeping docs organized. I learned that the hard way during my first refinance—felt like I was playing catch-up every time they asked for something new. Second time around, I made a dedicated folder on my laptop with scanned PDFs of pay stubs, bank statements, and even random stuff like proof of insurance. Saved me a bunch of hassle.
One thing I'm curious about though: has anyone noticed if smaller lenders or credit unions tend to be quicker or easier to deal with than the big banks? I've heard mixed stories—some say they're quicker because there's less bureaucracy, others say they're slower because they don't have as many resources. I'm considering going smaller next time just to save some headaches, but not sure if it's worth the gamble...
"some say they're quicker because there's less bureaucracy, others say they're slower because they don't have as many resources."
I've done refinances with both big banks and smaller credit unions, and honestly, it's a bit of a toss-up. With smaller lenders, I found communication was definitely smoother—fewer hoops to jump through—but sometimes they'd take an extra day or two processing paperwork due to limited staffing. Big banks had more resources, sure, but it felt like my docs vanished into a black hole sometimes... Pick your poison, I guess.
I've seen it go both ways too. Had a client recently who went with a smaller lender because he thought it'd be quicker—fewer layers of approval and all that. Communication was great, super responsive, but then the loan officer went on vacation (small team, remember?), and everything just stalled for a week. On the flip side, I've had clients with big banks who felt like their paperwork was stuck in some endless loop of "we'll get back to you shortly." Eventually, things moved along fine, but it took patience and a fair bit of nudging.
Honestly, I think timing and luck play bigger roles than most people realize. If your application lands on someone's desk during a busy period or staffing shortage, you're gonna wait longer no matter who you're dealing with. Hang in there though... refinances always feel like they take forever, but they usually get sorted out in the end.
Had a similar experience myself recently. Went with a smaller lender thinking it'd streamline things, but ended up waiting longer than expected because someone got sick. Seems there's no foolproof way—just gotta roll with the punches sometimes.
