When you're promised a "rate lock" from a lender, it means that you are guaranteed to get a certain interest rate over a determined period while you work on your application process. This ensures that your interest rate will not rise as you are going through the application process.
While there are various lengths of rate lock periods (from 15 to 60 days), the longer ones are generally 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 with a shorter period
There are more ways to get a low rate, in addition to going with a shorter rate lock period. The bigger the down payment, the better your rate will be, as you will have more equity from the beginning. You can pay points to bring down your interest rate over the life of the loan, meaning you pay more initially. To many people, this makes sense and is a good deal..
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