When is the best time to lock in interest rates?
I always advise my clients to lock in their interest rate at the
earliest opportunity. Gambling with a client's interest rate is
never advisable. In my business, I have a standardized system in
place that we adhere to for all of our clientele.
A mortgage loan cannot be closed without locking in a rate, and
there are three main elements to take into consideration:
* Interest Rate * Points * Length of the lock
Locking in on a rate does not obligate the client to commit to
the loan until the loan is actually closed. The lock simply
eliminates any risk of the borrower being exposed to market
volatility. It provides the security of having time to complete
the mortgage and Real Estate transactions with some sense of
order. The lender must disburse funds to complete the
transaction within the rate-lock period, or else the original
commitment to provide a loan at a certain interest rate will
expire.
When a lender permits an extended lock-in period, the borrower
will usually see either a higher interest rate or more points
associated with the loan. The lender does this to minimize their
own exposure to market volatility; hence the borrower pays for
the lender to take on this risk.
For example, a 30-day rate lock commitment may cost the consumer
one-half point, while a 60-day rate lock commitment could cost 1
full point. If the borrower needed an extended lock period, but
did not want to pay points, the lender could make up the
difference in the interest rate. In this case, typically, a
60-day lock would have a higher interest rate than a 30-day
lock.
In my business, our standard procedure is to lock in a rate as
quickly as possible once we have received the loan application.
My team and I let our clients know that while interest rates
fluctuate daily, most lenders do not want to lose any business.
We know that in many cases, if there is a significant rally in
the market that causes interest rates to drop .25% or more, we
can ask the lender to renegotiate the rate. or understand that
we will take the loan to another lender. Often the lender allows
for a renegotiation of the rate to avoid losing the loan to
another lender.
If we allow our clients to sit on the fence and not lock in a
rate quickly, we would leave them exposed to market volatility.
Then, if rates do increase, the borrower may be unable to
qualify for the loan they want, which is a situation we try to
avoid at all costs.
By knowing our clients' needs and working intimately with them
to make the right decisions, my team and I are proud to say that
we have many clients who are raving fans.
Professional Strategies to make Realtors more successful.
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