Escrow is a neutral third party holding money and documents until every condition in the contract has been met. Nothing mysterious happens inside it; the delays almost always come from one of four predictable places.
The sequence
Deposit, inspections, appraisal, loan approval, title review, final walkthrough, funding, recording. Each step depends on the one before it, which is why a two-day delay early on rarely stays two days.
Where deals stall
Title defects, appraisal gaps, late loan conditions and repair negotiations account for the overwhelming majority of extensions.
Escrow does not move faster because you want it to. It moves faster when every document arrives before it is asked for.
