The two three day rules at the end of a mortgage
Closing does not happen when everyone is ready. It happens when two federal waiting periods have run, and they are not the same period.
People plan removals around a closing date and then find the date move. Usually it is one of two federal timing rules doing exactly what it was written to do.
Rule one: the Closing Disclosure
You have to receive the Closing Disclosure at least three business days before you sign. It is not a courtesy. It exists so that the final numbers cannot be put in front of you for the first time at the table.
Certain late changes restart that clock. A change to the loan product, an increase in the APR beyond a tolerance, or the addition of a prepayment penalty will all reset it to three business days. Most other corrections will not.
Earlier in the process there is a matching rule at the front: a Loan Estimate has to reach you within three business days of a completed application.
Rule two: rescission
This one only applies when the loan is secured by your principal residence and it is not a purchase. Refinances and home equity lines of credit generally carry a three business day right of rescission under the Truth in Lending Act.
You sign, and then you have three business days to change your mind. Funds do not disburse until that window closes. On a refinance, this is why the money does not arrive on the day you sign.
A purchase does not carry rescission. That is the difference people trip over: they refinance expecting it to feel like their purchase closing, and it does not.
What this means in practice
- Do not book anything irreversible against a closing date until the Closing Disclosure has actually been issued.
- On a refinance, count three business days past signing before you expect funds.
- Clearing underwriting conditions quickly is the part of the timeline you control. These two windows are not.
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