When you are offered a "rate lock" from a lender, it means that you are guaranteed to keep a particular interest rate for a certain number of days while you work on the application process. This keeps you from going through your entire application process and finding out at the end that your interest rate has gotten higher.
While there may be a choice of rate lock periods (from 15 to 60 days), the longer spans are typically more expensive. You can get a longer period for your lock, but in making this choice, will likely have a higher interest rate than you would with a shorter rate lock period
There are more ways to get a good rate, besides choosing a shorter rate lock period. The bigger the down payment, the smaller your rate will be, as you will have more equity from the beginning. You could opt to pay points to lower your interest rate over the loan term, meaning you pay more initially. For many people, this makes sense and is a good deal..
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