Getting a Low Interest Rate

Locking in your Interest Rate

When you're promised a "rate lock" from a lender, it means that you are guaranteed to keep a specific interest rate over a certain number of days for the application process. This prevents you from working through your entire application process and discovering at the end that your interest rate has gone up.

Rate lock periods can vary in length, between fifteen to sixty days, with the longer ones usually costing more. You can get a longer period for your lock, but in making this choice, will probably have a higher interest rate than you would with a shorter rate lock span of time

More Ways to Get a Great Interest Rate

There are other ways to get a reduced rate, besides agreeing to a shorter rate lock period. A larger down payment will give you a better interest rate, because you'll have a good deal of equity from the beginning. You might opt to pay points to reduce your rate for the term of the loan, meaning you pay more initially. One strategy that is a good option for many people is to pay points to reduce the interest rate over the term of the loan. You'll pay more up front, but you'll come out ahead, especially if you don't refinance early.