How to use the Lender Checklist.
Six steps from kickoff call to funded loan. Plus practitioner tips on title commitment timing, insurance binder discipline, third-party report cadence, and where closing-day blockers actually come from.
A. Six steps
- 1
Download the checklist pack
You receive an XLSX with deal-type variants (Acquisition · Refi · Bridge · Construction) plus a DOCX field guide explaining each row. Pick the variant matching your loan type; archive the others. Save into the deal folder:
Closing_Checklist_<Deal>_<YYYY-MM-DD>.xlsx. - 2
Assign owners + target dates to every row
Default columns: CP / Deliverable · Owner · Source · Status · Target Date · Actual Date · Notes. Every row needs an owner before the file leaves the kickoff call. Common owners: Borrower · Title · Counsel · Lender Counsel · Sponsor · 3rd-Party Consultant.
- 3
Track third-party reports as they arrive
Standard third-parties: Appraisal · Property Condition Report · Environmental Phase I (Phase II if required) · ALTA Survey · Insurance Certificate · Zoning Letter. Each has an owner (usually the borrower commissions, the lender approves the firm) and a typical timeline (1-4 weeks). Status field uses: Not Ordered · Ordered · Draft Received · Final Received · Lender Approved.
- 4
Run the weekly status pull
Every Monday: filter rows where Status ≠ "Approved" AND Target Date is within 14 days. That's your blocker list for the week. Send it to the borrower + counsel + sponsor as a structured update; no narrative needed. The Status column is the narrative.
- 5
Sequence the closing-day blocker priority
In the final 10 days, re-sort by "Blocker Priority" — items that physically prevent funding (title commitment, insurance binder, closing instructions, wire instructions) vs items that can be papered after (estoppels, post-closing covenants). The pre-funding call should focus only on the first list.
- 6
Archive the closed file + roll lessons to the next deal
After funding: lock the file as Final · save a PDF snapshot · move the editable XLSX to the deal-archive folder. Note any items that consistently slip (insurance binders take longer than estimated; surveys depend on the title company's preferred vendor) and update your default target dates for the next deal's checklist.
B. Practitioner tips
- Title commitment is the most reliable predictor of closing date. If you don't have a clean Schedule B-2 with 5 business days to go, you're slipping.
- Insurance binder timing: most carriers issue 5-10 business days before closing. Order early; the binder is a common closing-day blocker even on otherwise-clean deals.
- ALTA Survey: order at the same time as the title work, not after. Surveys take 3-6 weeks and almost always become the long pole if delayed.
- Environmental Phase I: 2-4 weeks standard. Phase II adds 4-8 weeks if recommended. Flag Phase II risk at the term-sheet stage, not at closing.
- Lender Counsel comments: budget 2 rounds. First round usually arrives 7-10 days after document distribution; second round is faster. Three rounds means a structural issue, not a paperwork issue.
- Closing-day wire instructions: confirm verbally with the title company on the day of closing. Wire fraud risk is real; the cost of one extra phone call is zero.
C. Scope & limits
- Not a substitute for counsel's closing checklist. Counsel maintains the formal CP list; this template tracks the operational status against it.
- Not for retail / specialty asset classes (data centers, healthcare, hospitality franchise transactions). Specialty asset classes have additional third-party requirements not built into the default rows.
- Not for multi-asset / portfolio closings out of the box. Cross-collateralized facilities require row-per-asset adaptation.
- Does not track legal-document version control. Maintain documents in counsel's deal site; this checklist tracks status and ownership only.
D. Pairs with
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Closing Checklist Builder
Skill (forthcoming Q4 2026)
Reads a signed term sheet and generates the deal-specific checklist with owners + target dates pre-populated.
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Closing Coordinator
Agent (forthcoming Q4 2026)
Owns the weekly status pull, the pre-funding call agenda, and the blocker-priority resort.
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Legal Reviewer
Agent (forthcoming Q3 2026)
Flags non-standard CP language on the term sheet that the checklist needs to track (e.g., unusual carve-outs, atypical estoppels).
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Deal Room Index Builder
Skill (forthcoming Q4 2026)
Builds the data-room tab structure that holds the third-party reports + signed documents as the checklist progresses.
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Timeline Builder
Template (available now)
Companion template — the checklist tracks status; the Timeline Builder shows visual sequencing for the kickoff and pre-funding calls.
Next step
Build the full stack around it.
This template is the work surface for a specific AI agent + skill workflow. Open the Company Builder and assemble the matching agents when they ship Q3 2026.