Buying A House And Locking Interest Rates

by Home Buyer Locking At Five Percent
(USA)

Recently we were buying a house. About a month ago, we met with our mortgage broker and had the opportunity to lock our interest rate at 4.875 percent by buying one point.

Our broker informed us that it was the position of her company to encourage people NOT to lock rates since they predicted rates would continue their downward slide. Considering our buyer had not yet received his commitment letter, we were afraid to lock and then have it fall through and have to pay a fee for not taking out a mortgage.

So, we waited. Our broker was constantly e-mailing us rates back and forth. They definitely didn't continue their downward slide.

At one point, we thought we'd have to get 5.5% and buy 2 points. We were not happy because it meant needing an extra $4000 at closing and our monthly payment was nearly $200 more.

The waiting paid off for us, however. We were fortunate enough to lock at 5% and buy 1 point.

This was the last day we had available to lock since we were closing just two days later. Now that we have just closed on our house, I don't plan on looking at interest rates any more. I don't want to know if they went any lower.




Hi Home Buyer Locking at 5%,

I can't say I heard of a company wide policy that encourages home buyers to NOT lock. I am glad in your case delaying your mortgage rate lock turned out okay although it sounds like you might of experienced a few weeks of volatile rates while buying the house.

I hope you'll come back to my website again in the future. Of course, all of my information is free.

So remember to bookmark Get-Your-Best-Mortgage-Rate.com to your favorites and visit often for up to date tips for buying a house, mortgage news and refinancing advice.

You can also invite friends to comment on this page or create a page of their own like you did.

Best Wishes,





Your Online Mortgage Advice Friend

P.S. Go to my Best Mortgage Rate Blog, an entertaining source of mortgage information. Subscribe now to the RSS feed.

Best Mortgage Advice | Affordability | Pre Approval
Closing Costs | Compare Rates | Rate Lock | Online Advice

Do you know when to lock in your interest rate? Discover Kate's mortgage rate lock guarantee.


The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for financial, real estate or legal advice. You should consult an attorney, accountant, lender or real estate agent, as applicable, for advice regarding your individual situation. Comments and opinions found here are not necessarily those of
Get-Your-Best-Mortgage-Rate.com

Comments for
Buying A House And Locking Interest Rates

Click here to add your own comments

Waiting To Lock Comment
by: Anonymous

Interesting. I also have never heard of a lender saying "wait" on the lock.

It's a risky strategy. But with most things in life, context has to be considered.

Normally, you would want to lock your rate ASAP because in world of rising interest rates "chances are" if you do not lock, you will have to pay a higher rate.

But the context now is a world of deflation and "chance are" the rate might go down, hence don't lock. Hopefully they did their homework and "knew" what the worst rate they could live with if taking the chance did not go their way.

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How?
Simply click here to return to Ask Kate About Buying A House

Grin and Bear It!

We're getting a facelift! Please bear with me! The content is identical so continue to browse. I'm working as fast as I can to finish up!

Your friend,
Kate Ford

You Can Own My Brain

Lock Answers by Kate - Learn the nitty gritty inside story of locking your mortgage rate.

Refinance Answers by Kate - Refinancing brings out opinions, for sure! Get the facts here.

Answers by Kate For Seniors - Reverse Mortgage, the unique income answer for retirees.

Home Buying Answers by Kate - Learn how to buy a house. Unusual facts to aid your home buying experience.

Credit Answers by Kate - Improving credit could change your life. Find how to get more than temporary results.

FHA and VA Answers by Kate - Clear the fog. The low down on VA and FHA loan requirements.

PMI Answers by Kate - Private mortgage insurance, friend or foe? Do you know how to get rid of it?

ARM Answers by Kate - Do you have an adjustable rate home mortgage? You can ask Kate for help.

Loan Modification Answers by Kate - Unique help for modifying your mortgage. Make sure you don't miss this.

Website Answers by Kate - Yes... Readers even ask Kate how to build a website.