What is a "rate lock period"?

Lock It In

When you are promised a "rate lock" from your lender, it means that you are guaranteed to get a certain interest rate for a certain number of days for the application process. This means your interest rate can't rise during the application process.

While there might be a choice of rate lock periods (from 15 to 60 days), the longer ones are typically more expensive. You can get a longer period for your lock, but in doing so, will probably have a higher rate than you would have with a shorter rate lock span of time

More Ways to Save on Interest

There are other ways to get a good rate, in addition to opting for a shorter rate lock period. The bigger down payment you make, the lower your rate will be, since you will be starting with more equity. You can pay points to reduce your rate for the loan term, meaning you pay more initially. To a lot of people, this makes financial sense..

Ward Kilduff Mortgage can walk you through the pitfalls of getting a mortgage. Call us: (860) 658-7100.