When you're promised a "rate lock" from your lender, it means that you are guaranteed to get a particular interest rate over a certain number of days while you work on your application process. This means your interest rate cannot grow while you are working through the application process.
While there are various lengths of rate lock periods (from 15 to 60 days), the longer spans are typically more expensive. The lender can agree to lock in an interest rate and points for a longer span of time, such as sixty days, but in exchange, the rate (and sometimes points) will be higher than that of a rate lock of a shorter period.
In addition to going with a shorter rate lock period, there are more ways you can attain the lowest rate. A larger down payment will get you a lower interest rate, because you will have a good amount of equity from the beginning. You might choose to pay points to lower your interest rate for the loan term, meaning you pay more up front. For a lot of people, this makes sense and is a good deal..
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