When you're promised a "rate lock" from your lender, it means that you are guaranteed to get a certain interest rate over a certain number of days for your application process. This means your interest rate will not rise during the application process.
Although there are various lengths of rate lock periods (from 15 to 60 days), the longer spans are typically more expensive. You can get a longer period for your lock, but in choosing this option, will most likely have a higher rate than you would have with a shorter rate lock span of time
In addition to choosing the shorter lock period, there are more ways you can score the best rate. A larger down payment will give you a better interest rate, since you will have a good amount of equity from the beginning. You can pay points to bring down your rate over the life of the loan, meaning you pay more initially. For a lot of people, this makes financial sense..
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