The closing process end to end

What actually happens between a signed purchase agreement and funding

Signing the purchase agreement is a milestone, not the finish line — a real sequence of steps still has to happen before any money moves and ownership actually transfers. Roughly: final loan underwriting and commitment, satisfaction of the closing conditions set in the purchase agreement and loan documents, execution of ancillary documents (the note, security agreements, any seller note and standby agreement), funding of escrow, and finally the actual disbursement of funds and recording of the change of ownership.

None of these steps is usually instant. Final underwriting alone can take one to two weeks even for a deal that's been moving smoothly, since the lender is confirming the deal that was preliminarily approved still matches what's actually being signed.

Who does what

Your attorney drafts and reviews the purchase agreement and ancillary closing documents, coordinates with the seller's attorney on redlines, and generally quarterbacks the buyer side of the transaction.

Your lender (see the SBA 7(a) basics and lender pre-qualification guides) finalizes underwriting, issues loan documents, and confirms every closing condition tied to the loan has been satisfied before releasing funds — the lender's checklist and your attorney's checklist overlap heavily but aren't identical (see the attorney and lender coordination guide).

A closing agent or title company — common in deals that include real estate, sometimes just the attorney's office in an asset-only sale — often administers the actual fund transfer and document execution on closing day, acting as a neutral party holding everything until all conditions are simultaneously satisfied.

The seller and their attorney sign off on the same purchase agreement and closing documents, and the seller's own obligations — delivering clean title, satisfying any liens, providing the disclosures the agreement requires — run on the same timeline as yours.

How long it realistically takes

From a signed purchase agreement to actual closing, a few weeks to a month is typical for a deal that's already been through diligence and has a lender close to final approval. That's shorter than the LOI-to-close timeline covered in the SBA 7(a) basics guide, since by this point diligence and most negotiation is already behind you.

Deals with real estate, an environmental review, or a seller note requiring a subordination agreement typically run longer, since each of those adds a dependency with its own lead time that can't always be compressed by working other tracks in parallel.

What can still go wrong this late, and why it's not done until funds are wired

A deal can still fall apart or get delayed at this stage, even after months of work: a last-minute lien or title issue the seller didn't disclose, a closing condition that turns out to take longer than expected (see the closing conditions guide), or a lender's final funds-verification check turning up something new.

Nothing is actually final until funds are disbursed and ownership is legally transferred. A purchase agreement signature is a strong commitment, but it isn't the close — treat the period between signing and funding with the same attention you gave diligence, rather than assuming the hard part is over once the agreement is signed.