Locking In Your Interest Rate
As soon as you are in contract, we will discuss locking in your interest rate. Mortgage interest rates change daily, sometimes hourly, depending on how the U.S. bond market and Wall Street traders respond to economic data on any given day.  

Normally, I will quote a rate that can be locked in for 30 days; if your escrow period is longer and the rate needs to be locked for more than 30 days, then either the rate or the points will be a little bit higher than the 30 day rate.

The alternative to locking in your rate as soon as you get into escrow is to let it "float", and hope that rates wil be the same or better when you get closer to your closing date. I usually don’t recommend this option, because rates can rise unexpectedly and with very little warning.

What if rates do go down during your escrow period? Most of our lenders have a float-down policy; if their rate drops more than .25% during the escrow period and there is still time to process the paperwork (or you can extend your escrow period), you will automatically be locked in at the lower rate.