Did you consult with your lawyer before locking in the rate? How much does it typically cost to do the lock?
thanks :)
i know lottsa questions but we're really getting into it now...
FTRBRIDE
Posted:
Member since
Re: Who was your bank/lender?
You can lock it at anytime, but I would speak with the mortgage broker before you choose to do so. Different banks have different lengths of time that you can lock in for...30 days, 60 days or 90 days usually. They will usually tell you not to lock in until X number of days before your closing, but they will watch the market for you and alert you if anything changes and they feel you should lock in sooner.
They advise this way b/c if the rates go up and you wish to extend your lock in rate it can get very pricey. For us, it is about $72/day for the first thirty days past the lock-in, and it goes up after that.
That being said, you really need to find out what your on or about closing date is, assume your closing will be about 30 days later, and speak w/ your mortgage broker to find out how long you can lock in for and their costs.
ETA: we're using American Home Mortgage, and so far they have great. My parents used them when they built they're house a few years ago and thought they were great also.
skew
Posted:
Member since
Re: Who was your bank/lender?
we locked for 60 days w/ no fee. lock in time is typically 30-60 days.
we made sure to lock 20 days prior to contract date closing. we KNEW from the onset the closing was going to be 30 days after contract date so we wanted to guarntee the rate and leave additional leeway in case we didn't close when we anticpated.
eta: you cannot lock until the contract is signed.
NPbride
Posted:
Member since
Re: Who was your bank/lender?
We were locked in at no fee for 82 days. I know this is unusual but we went through some first time home buyer's program.
Gonnacatchapeacock
Posted:
Member since
Re: Who was your bank/lender?
Posted by NPbride
We were locked in at no fee for 82 days. I know this is unusual but we went through some first time home buyer's program.
Can you give me more info maybe I can look into that?
NPbride
Posted:
Member since
Re: Who was your bank/lender?
It's a non-profit organization that provides assistance to first time homebuyers. They provide classes about buying your first home and a lot of others about homeownership (such as home maintenance stuff). They also work with a variety of banks to provide a little bit of a lower interest. They also know of all the grants that are out there for first time homebuyers (unfortunately, they are almost all for first timers that have a low income) but they'll try to get you whatever grants you're eligible for. They have an office in Freeport and Centereach (we used Centereach). The website is cdcli.org (I'm almost positive). We had a good experience and I'm glad we found out about them. Good luck!
