Every Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) puts out its Weekly Applications Survey, a comprehensive analysis of new mortgage applications submitted over the past seven days.
This week, — the MBA’s report will confirm what most of us already know – a frenzy of mortgage activity has come onto the scene due to plunging mortgage rates. Hopefully, you’re one of many Americans making hay with today’s low mortgage rates. If so, I hope you read and understand this statement:
When your rate was “locked,” it was done so with an expiration date!
Most likely, that rate lock was for thirty (30) days. Now, if you feel that 30 days feels like a comfortable amount of time, I offer you these words from our good friend Mr. Lee Corso of the ESPN College Football Game Day program: Not So Fast My Friends! . ..Especially if your rate locked before this past Thanksgiving, as these lock periods will lose a total of 14 days due to weekends and holidays – not to mention the 4 days you lose because of the Right To Cancel clause.
For this reason, your 30 day lock will actually provide 12 “working” days to underwrite and approve your mortgage – which is not a whole heck of a lot of time at all. To make matters worse, most underwriting departments – even at large lenders – have suffered such large personnel cutbacks that they are woefully understaffed and are hardly capable of handling even a modest work flow in a timely fashion. The fact that December is a prime vacation month doesn’t help things much either!
So, the best way for you to help your Florida mortgage broker close your loan within the official 30-day rate lock time frame is to be as responsive as possible to the process:
- Return, by fax if necessary, all pay stub, insurance declaration pages, bank statements (all pages, even that blank one at the end!), etc. to your mortgage broker the same day they’re requested
- Appraisers are getting busy again, so be sure to schedule your required appraisal as soon as possible
- If a closing date is scheduled, stick to it. Delaying your closing date by even one day can negatively impact your rate lock.
Folks, mortgage rates are at near 3-year lows, and the number of homeowners refinancing their loans is growing. As few of them have increased personnel, lenders and their underwriting departments will become more and more overburdened. If you’re looking to refinance your Florida home loan, now is the time. If you already have a loan in process, stay on the ball to keep your 30-day rate lock from expiring.
THE FLORIDA HOME LOANS SPECIALIST
I hope you enjoyed this article. As your Florida Home Loans Specialist, I’m here to answer any questions you might have about the mortgage industry. If I can help you locate financing for your Florida home purchase or assist you with a refinance, please do not hesitate to contact me at 863-604-3019.
I hope you found this post useful! As always, if you or anyone you know is in need of a local Florida mortgage loan originator, I’m your guy. Call me at 888-859-7418 or apply online for your Florida mortgage. We’ll keep you posted and let you know when it’s time to pull the trigger!
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