Chosen by Asker

Oops. The question "Am I qualified" that is "Will you loan me the money and how much money will you loan me" is a completely separate question from "What is my rate". Many people choose to get pre-qualified for the loan amount to find out how much they can borrow, but wait to lock in the rate because the lock is usually only good for 60 days max and there is a fee if the loan doesn't close within that time. Emphasis is on the word "close", not make an offer and not sign a contract. If it's any consolation, they probably saved you some trouble. If you took a few weeks to find the house, then there isn't much time to do all the paperwork required to close, like get a survey and appraisal, etc. You might have missed the 60 days and then you would have been stuck with a fee (maybe $500) and lock would have expired and you would have to take whatever the market rate is at that time. Some places lock only for 30 or 45 days. If you had gotten a 30 day lock you would have left yourself only a week to close and that never happens. Good luck. It is a decent rate. Some areas of the country are higher and some are lower. More money down gets you a better rate. Good credit gets you a better rate than average credit. (Bad credit is out of luck in this market) Look at www.bankrate.com and type in your location and amount of purchase and amount down.

Source(s)

I'm going through this at this. At this very moment the loan papers are sitting on my desk for review.

by Ted

1 month ago

Asker's Rating: 

Keep shopping...but make certain that whatever rate you get is a FIXED rate and not an ADJUSTABLE rate (ARM). The rate varies a little every day, so until you lock it in, it can change. The good news is that if you prequalified with one lender, you probably won't have any trouble qualifying with others. Go with the lowest fixed rate you can find.

by BigAl- 1 month ago