When you're promised a "rate lock" from a lender, it means that you are guaranteed to get a certain interest rate over a certain number of days while you work on your application process. This ensures that your interest rate won't rise during the application process.
Rate lock periods can vary in length, between 15 to 60 days, with the longer spans generally costing more. You can get a longer period for your lock, but in doing so, will probably have a higher interest rate than you would have with a shorter rate lock period
In addition to going with a shorter rate lock period, there are several ways you can get the best rate. The bigger the down payment, the better the rate will be, because you will be starting with more equity. You might choose to pay points to improve your rate over the life of the loan, meaning you pay more up front. To a lot of people, this makes sense and is a good deal..
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