Property Investment

6 min read3 Dec 2025

How long does it take to get a mortgage approved?

Learn the 30–60 day timeline, key steps, bank turnaround times and how to speed up your application.

Author: Peter Norris

Mortgage broker for over 10 years, property investor and Managing Director at Opes Mortgages

Reviewed by: Ed McKnight

Resident Economist, with a GradDipEcon and over five years at Opes Partners, is a trusted contributor to NZ Property Investor, Informed Investor, Stuff, Business Desk, and OneRoof.

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You’ve probably heard people say banks take five to 10 days to process a mortgage.

And you might’ve thought, “Sweet – I’ll have my mortgage in a week and a half.”

Unfortunately … it doesn’t quite work like that.

In fact it can often take much longer to get a mortgage officially approved. What most people don’t realise is how long it actually takes to pull everything together.

All up it can take roughly 30-60 days to get your mortgage approved and signed off.

In this article, you’ll learn what the key steps are in getting a mortgage approved, and how long each one typically takes.

Step	Time
Fill out mortgage documents; make an appointment with a mortgage adviser	2-3 days (depending on how fast you move)
First meeting with a mortgage adviser, getting your mortgage application ready	1-5 days
Submit application to the bank	Up to 10 days (depending on the bank)
Meeting the bank’s “conditions”	Up to 5 days (depending on you)
Discuss loan structure with your broker	1 day
Sign loan documents with your lawyer	1 day + (plus time to book the appointment)
Money released

Step #1: Fill out mortgage documents; make an appointment with a mortgage adviser

Time: 2-3 days (depending on how fast you move)

Before you even meet a mortgage adviser you’ll need to fill in an application form and pull together all your supporting paperwork.

It’s not the most thrilling task – but it’s essential.

Typically, this is done online through a secure portal. You’ll be asked to provide details about your income, debts, dependents and spending. You’ll also need to provide:

3 months of payslips
3 months of bank statements
6 months of credit card statements (for each card)
A copy of your passport
A rough monthly budget

If you’re motivated you can knock this out in 30 minutes. If you dip in and out (or procrastinate) it can take much, much longer. Some borrowers take a few days to dig through their inboxes for missing payslips.

At this point you’ve probably made an appointment to see your mortgage adviser.

But your adviser can’t do much until this step is done, so the faster you get it sorted, the sooner things start moving.

More from Opes:

Step #2: First meeting with a mortgage adviser, getting your mortgage application ready

Time: 1-5 days

Now the fun part – once your adviser has your information, you’ll sit down with them. You’ll go through all the details of how much you want to borrow (and what for).

They’ll identify any gaps and ask questions. Their job is to give your mortgage application a decent shot at getting approved.

Expect questions like:

“Are you sure you don’t have any credit cards?”
“What about Afterpay or hire purchases?”
“Are you planning on taking any parental leave soon?”

One of the biggest slip-ups? Forgetting about an old or unused credit card. Even if it sits unused in your wallet, it still affects how much you can borrow.

By the end of this meeting your adviser will either be ready to

submit your application or
request a few extra details.

For instance, let’s say you own a business and get dividends. Your adviser might ask your accountant to forecast your dividend income. After all, the bank is going to ask for it anyway.

So it’s often better to give the bank everything they’ll ask for. That way, you increase the chance you’ll get a ‘straight through approval’.

That’s where the application goes to the bank and they approve it without asking any more questions.

Getting all those details together might take an extra few days.

Top takeaway:

While banks may only take 5–10 days to assess your application, the full mortgage process usually takes around 30 days. Being organised and responsive is the fastest way to speed things up.

Step #3: Submit application to the bank

Time: Up to 10 days (depending on the bank)

This is where those “bank turnaround times” come into play.

Your adviser will send a completed application to the bank that they think works best for your situation.

How long will it take to hear back? It depends on the bank. At the time of writing:

ANZ: Takes around 5 days to process applications
TSB: Takes up to 10 days
ASB or BNZ: Somewhere between (5 – 10 days)

But these timelines move around depending on how busy the banks are. It can also depend on how complex your financial situation is.

Let’s say you own a home and are buying your first investment property. You want to buy it in your own name (not in a trust or company) and you earn a normal salary. That’s pretty simple for the bank to assess.

But, what if you:

own a business
own 3 investment properties (2 in a trust, 1 in a company)
own your own home (but it’s in a separate trust)
And you want to buy this new investment property 50/50 with a friend

That’s a complex situation. It’ll take more time for the bank to assess and (potentially) approve.

Step #4: Meeting the bank’s “conditions”

Time: Up to 5 days (depending on you)

At this point the bank has assessed your mortgage application and let’s say they give you a ‘yes’.

That doesn’t mean you absolutely can borrow the money yet. At this point the bank will typically give you conditional approval. This is sometimes called a pre-approval.

But you’ll often need to tick off a few conditions before you get the money.

That might mean:

showing proof of your deposit
confirming insurance
providing a signed sale and purchase agreement
or getting a registered valuation

Sometimes these details can be fiddly.

One borrower I know had to get a certificate of insurance from their body corporate, only for it to be rejected because the document said ASB instead of ASB Limited.

Small details like that can add a day or two to your timeline.

Once you’ve ticked all the bank’s boxes your approval becomes unconditional and you’re good to go.

Step #5: Discuss loan structure with your broker

Time: 1 day

Once your mortgage approval is locked in you’ll meet your adviser again to decide how to structure your loan.

This is where you’ll discuss:

The right interest rate for you
If you’re going to split your loan into chunks
If you use an offset or revolving credit account

A good structure can save you a lot in interest over the life of your loan … so don’t rush this part. It’s important.

Step #6: Sign loan documents with your lawyer

Time: 1 day + (plus time to book the appointment)

Next, you’ll meet your lawyer to sign the official loan documents.

This can take a day because lawyers’ calendars fill up fast.

And whatever you do, bring all the documents they ask for … otherwise you’ll be back for round two.

Step #7: Money released

Time: 1 day (usually settlement day)

And finally, your money is released on settlement day. That’s the day you officially pay for the property.

While I’ve said it’s one day here, it can sometimes take a little longer, depending on when your settlement is scheduled.

For instance, it might take 4 weeks between when you go ‘unconditional’ on your house and when you need money to pay for it.

Can you speed things up and get a mortgage approved faster?

In my experience 30 days to get a mortgage approved is fairly standard, considering waiting times, missed documents, and back-and-forth communication.

However, you can shave a few days off if you speed up the parts within your control.

So things like:

Sending your documents to your mortgage adviser fast
Making sure everything is accurate and up-to-date
Responding quickly to requests for extra information

The fewer mistakes, the less back-and-forth, and the faster your loan will move through.

That said, some applications are naturally more complex and take longer, especially if you’re self-employed, earn variable income, or have a complex financial situation.

If this is you, you’ll need to jump through more hoops, provide more documents, and engage more people.

Is it faster to get a mortgage approved if you go straight to the bank rather than through a mortgage adviser?

It can be faster to get a mortgage approved if you go directly to the bank (rather than through a mortgage adviser).

If you’re a business owner your existing banker may be the quickest route as they already understand your financial situation.

However, for most salary or wage earners, a mortgage adviser is the faster and smoother option. Banks can process your loan, sure – but they can’t strategise or recommend the lender that suits you best.

A good adviser will aim to give your mortgage application a higher chance of being approved. They’ll handle the back and forth and chase you when you need to give them documents.

How long can I expect my mortgage to take?

While banks might only take 5-10 days to process an application, the whole mortgage process typically takes around 30 days.

That’s from the day you start gathering up your documents to the money landing in your lawyer’s account.

If you’re well-organised, responsive, and have a good adviser, you can make it happen faster.

But for most people, a month is a realistic timeline.

Peter Norris

Mortgage broker for over 10 years, property investor and Managing Director at Opes Mortgages

Peter Norris, a certified mortgage adviser with 10+ years of experience, serves as the Managing Director at Opes Mortgages. Having facilitated over $1.2 billion in lending for 2000+ clients, Peter is a respected authority in property financing. He's a frequent writer for Informed Investor Magazine and Property Investor Magazine, while also being recognized as BNZ Mortgage Adviser of the Year in 2018 and listed among NZ Adviser's top advisers in 2022, showcasing his expertise.

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Ok, now for the legal bit:

This article is for your general information. It’s not financial advice. See here for details about our Financial Advice Provider Disclosure. So Opes isn’t telling you what to do with your own money.

We’ve made every effort to make sure the information is accurate. But we occasionally get the odd fact wrong. Make sure you do your own research or talk to a financial adviser before making any investment decisions.

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