To Lock or Not to Lock, That is the Question; Charles Martino of Richmond County Mortgage and Martino Realty Gives Six Tips on How to Avoid Rate Lock Fees

Staten Island, NY, September 17, 2017 --(PR.com)-- One of the decisions home buyers will face during the closing process is whether or not to lock in an interest rate for a mortgage. The term,” Lock” means that the lender will hold that interest rate for a specific period of time. Rate locks are usually 15, 30, 45, or 60 days with adjustments to the rate for the time frame, the longer the lock the higher the rate becomes. A 15 day lock may be 4% and a 60 day lock the same day can be as much as 4.125% as an example.

Whether or not to lock is always a stressful decision for most borrowers. If one doesn’t lock and rates go up the payment will be higher, and if one does lock and rates go down they could miss out on a lower payment opportunity. In some cases many lock and find themselves in a position where the sellers are not ready to close and the rate lock will either expire or one may have to pay to extend the rate.

With over 30+ years of experience Charles Martino founder of Martino Realty and Richmond County Mortgage Corp. gives six tips to avoid the rate lock dilemma.

Here are some tips to avoid the rate lock dilemma:

1. Rate timing, nobody can predict the market so don’t try. For every $100,000 in mortgage a 1/8 difference in rate is only $7.23 per month, so the numbers are not that dramatic.

2. Prior to locking confirm with your realtor that the sellers are ready, willing, and able to close within the time frame. If the sellers are repurchasing you need to have them confirm that time frame and continue down the line to the last domino.

3. Confirm with your attorney that they will be available within that the time frame.

4. Have your realtor confirm the sellers’ attorney time frame.

5. Confirm with your attorney whether or not the seller may have open title issues that may take time to resolve.

6. Confirm with your lender that they will have you clear to close.

If a borrower follows the above they will usually be able to close in timing with the original rate lock. If a situation occurs where the borrower can’t close in time, discuss the extension options with the lender. These options vary from lender to lender and can sometimes be done free of charge.