How long a payoff quote stays good, and what happens after

The letter tells you. There is no market convention, no statutory period and no default — the validity window is whatever the funder writes, and it ranges from a handful of business days to the end of the month.

What matters more than the length is the second number, which many letters omit: what it costs per day once the date passes.

Two per-day figures that behave nothing alike

Illustrative only — $52,000 at a 14% nominal annual rate accrues $19.95 a day. Five days late: $99.73. Ten days late: $199.45. If your quote expires and the wire slips a week, the consequence is roughly the cost of a business lunch.

Illustrative only — $700 per business day. Five business days: $3,500. Ten: $7,000.

Same phrase on the letter, a 175-fold difference in what a week of slippage costs. That single comparison is the reason to ask which kind of per diem you are dealing with before you plan a closing.

Why the amount can move in your favour too

On a fixed-repayment advance, the debits that clear after the quote date reduce what you owe. If the quote was $50,400 and five more $700 debits clear, the correct payoff is $46,900, not $53,900. The number is not accruing on top — the obligation is being paid down in the ordinary way.

That sounds obvious and is a frequent source of error. A funder that hands you a stale quote of $50,400 and takes a wire for $50,400 after five more debits cleared has been overpaid by $3,500. Always ask for a refreshed figure as of the actual funding date, not a figure plus per diem, on this product type.

Where the quote does move against you on this product is with fees: a returned payment during the overrun, a re-quote fee if the letter charges for one, or default charges if a debit failed.

The four things a usable letter states

1. The figure and the date it is good through. A date, not "10 days from issue", because issue dates get disputed.
2. The per-day amount after that date, and whether it is additive or whether the figure will be refreshed.
3. Whether scheduled debits continue during the validity window, and the date of the last already-originated entry.
4. Wire instructions and a reference, so the payment is applied to your account rather than to a suspense ledger.

If any of the four is missing, ask for a revised letter. This is a routine request and a servicer who refuses it is telling you something.

Choosing the window

Ask for five to seven business days, starting from a date a couple of days out, not from today. Reasoning:

• You need one to two days to reconcile the figure against your own count of cleared debits.
• An incoming funder needs a day or two after receiving the letter to add it to their disbursement authorisation.
• Wire cut-off times mean a payment initiated Friday afternoon may not be applied until Monday.
• A single missing signature costs a day, and there is always a missing signature.

A three-day quote forces a rushed closing. A thirty-day quote sounds generous but on a daily-remittance product it is nearly meaningless, because the correct figure changes every morning.

What happens if you wire against an expired quote

The payment is applied. The obligation is not satisfied. You now hold a wire confirmation and an account with a small balance, the UCC-1 stays on record, the guarantee stays live, and on some agreements the remaining balance is still capable of triggering default machinery.

On the incoming side it is worse: a refinance that closed on the assumption the old position was cleared has a broken condition precedent, and the new funder may hold back the remainder of your proceeds until it is fixed.

The fix is mechanical — request a revised figure, wire the difference, get the paid-in-full letter — but it takes days you did not budget, during which debits may still be running.

The sequence to run

1. Request the letter with all four elements, good through a date five to seven business days out.
2. Reconcile the figure against your cleared-debit count from bank statements.
3. Confirm the last already-originated debit date in writing.
4. Fund early in the week, allowing for cut-off times.
5. On the morning of funding, ask for a same-day confirmation of the figure if the product is a daily-remittance one.
6. Get the paid-in-full letter and the commitment to file the UCC termination.
7. Run a UCC search 30 days later.

What to have ready

A count of cleared debits, from statements. The servicer's notice address. A decision on who sends the wire — direct disbursement from the incoming funder is better than money passing through your account. And a buffer amount you are willing to overpay by, so that a one-day slip does not become a reason to re-open a closing.

Validity periods, per-diem definitions and fee triggers are all set by your specific agreement and letter, and their effect depends on the state law the contract selects. This describes the general mechanics rather than your particular document, and it is not legal advice.