Mortgage shopping tips
Another question that you should be asking any potential mortgage loan officers is in regards to closing time frame and interest rate locks. You should first determine how long they expect it would take for you to close on your mortgage.
This can vary substantially from one lender to another. The timeframe that you should expect to hear from your mortgage loan officer should be anywhere from three weeks to 60 days.
Obviously if they tell you it's going to take 60 days to close you should probably look for other options unless there rates and fees are just substantially better than everyone else in the time frame is not important to you.
And on the other hand if they tell you that they can close in 7 to 10 days while it is possible I would be a little bit is that it's not common in the industry.
Once you determine how long they expected to take four closing you can then determine how long you need to lock your rate for. You should also ask your potential mortgage loan officer if there is a fee for locking your rate.
Some mortgage loan companies or banks will charge a rate lock fee. They charge you this fee to make sure that you are committed to them. They will usually credit this fee back to you at closing but it is usually nonrefundable if you do not close the loan with them.
I would probably steer away from a company that charged a rate lock fee, but that's not a hard and fast rule. If I was very comfortable with them, they had good reviews online and they were substantially better in pricing and other lenders may still consider them, but if I could get the same pricing somewhere else without a rate lock fee that is probably what I'll do.
It is okay to pay the appraisal fee when you lock your rate, but that is separate from a rate lock fee. You should also ask your mortgage loan officer if the appraisal is transferable to another lender should something happen to your loan.
It is always a good idea to have a transferable appraisal because you never know what could happen and if your loan is denied for some unusual reason you would like to be able to take the appraisal to another lender so that you do not have to pay for a second appraisal at another lender.
The last consideration regarding rate locks are float down options. Some mortgage companies will offer you the option to get a lower rate if rates improve during the processing of your mortgage application. If you are working with a lender who offers a float down option you should get the details of the requirements up front.
Most mortgage companies require their rate to drop a certain amount before you are eligible and while your rate will be lowered it will not be lowered to the current market rate. For this reason it is important to discuss if a float down option is available, and if so what the details are or what the requirements are for you to be eligible.
Additional Resources:
Florida Mortgage Rates
Florida Mortgage Information
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