Florida Virtual Houses

Warning: Expiring mortgage-rate lock-ins

June 10th, 2009

Just heard from a friend whose friend is losing what she thought was a sure-thing cheap rate on a mortgage. The lender got so busy that the 45-day lock-in is expiring.

My friend writes:

Seems like a pretty naked attempt to weasel out of the original low rate and make more money from her (certainly unethical, and maybe even illegal?)

My impression is that deliberately holding up an application during a period of rising rates would be illegal, but simply falling behind because of lots of paperwork would not be. I just went to the consumer's guide on mortgages published by HSH Associates . It says borrowers can lose lock-ins whether the delays are "caused by you, others involved in the settlement process, or the lender."

Have you lost out on a lock-in through no fault of your own, because the lender was swamped? If so, how mad were you?

Entry Filed under: News