Once you’ve got an accepted offer, you can lock in your interest rate. (You can also wait if you want to.)
Mortgage rates change daily, even hourly. A rate lock protects you from rate fluctuations. It’s a written guarantee from us that you’ll get a specific interest rate on your loan, despite what the market does (as long as your loan closes when it’s expected to).
At this point, we’ll also work on putting your full application and file together to begin the underwriting process. We’ll likely be asking for additional financial documents (sometimes we just need to update the documents you already gave us, especially if it’s been a while since you were pre-approved).
While we’re working on your loan, you’ll make sure that you’re buying the house you think you’re buying (we’ll have a hand in that, too).