Picture the scenario. You get pre-approved at 6.4%, fall for a house, negotiate a price, and forty days later you’re signing at the closing table at 6.75%. Nothing about your finances changed. So what happened?
Almost always, it comes down to one of two things. You were never actually locked, or your lock ran out before you closed. Both are common, and both get a lot less painful once you understand how rate locks and lender repricing really work.
Can a Mortgage Rate Change Before Closing? The Honest Answer
Yes. A mortgage rate is not a fixed number that follows you from application to closing. It’s the price of a financial product, and that price moves with the bond market every business day. Until you have a confirmed rate lock in writing, your quoted rate can change as often as the market does, sometimes more than once in the same afternoon.
After you lock, the rate is generally protected for a set period. Miss that window, and you’re back to whatever the market is offering when the lock expires. That’s where most unpleasant surprises come from.
What a Rate Lock Actually Protects (and What It Doesn’t)
Most buyers hear “rate lock” and assume everything is frozen. It isn’t. A lock freezes one thing: the interest rate attached to a specific set of loan terms. Change those terms, and the lock can be repriced or voided entirely.
How long locks typically last
Thirty, forty-five, and sixty days are the standard options. A 30-day lock on a purchase usually costs nothing extra if you close on schedule. Stretch it to 60 days because you’re buying new construction, and you may pay for the privilege through a slightly higher rate or an upfront fee, often around a quarter of a point.
What happens when a lock expires
Your lender doesn’t cancel the loan. It reprices it. If rates drifted higher while your deal stalled, you absorb the difference. On a $350,000 loan, a move from 6.5% to 6.875% adds roughly $85 a month and close to $30,000 in extra interest over 30 years. That’s the reason a two-week closing delay can cost far more than it looks like on paper.
Why Your Rate Can Change Even After You Lock
Lock or no lock, certain events give lenders the right to adjust your pricing. Here are the ones that come up most often.
- Your closing date slips past the lock period. Appraisal delays, title issues, or a slow seller’s attorney are the usual culprits.
- Your loan amount changes. A larger or smaller down payment can shift you into a different pricing tier.
- Your credit profile shifts. Financing a car or opening a new card mid-process shows up on a final credit refresh.
- The appraisal comes in low. A lower value raises your loan-to-value ratio, and your rate with it.
- You switch loan programs. FHA, VA, jumbo, and conventional each have separate pricing sheets.
- Occupancy or property type changes. Investment property and condo pricing differ from primary-residence single-family homes.
- The lender reprices its own book. Capacity limits, investor demand, and margin decisions can move pricing independent of the broader market.
Each of these is legally a “changed circumstance,” and your lender has to document it and send you a revised Loan Estimate within three business days. If you get a new Loan Estimate and nobody explains why, ask. You’re entitled to a straight answer.
Specialty programs carry their own rules too. A physician mortgage with no down payment requirement can have different lock terms and pricing adjustments than a standard conventional loan, so read the fine print on whatever program you’re using.
Wholesale Lenders, Brokers, and Why Your Quote May Move Differently
Where your loan is actually funded matters. If you work with a mortgage broker, your file likely ends up with a wholesale lender, and those lenders publish new rate sheets several times a day. A broker quoting you Tuesday morning may be working from pricing that expired before lunch. Knowing how wholesale lenders like LoanStream set and reprice their rates helps you ask sharper questions about timing.
Banks and credit unions tend to reprice on a slower schedule and sometimes offer portfolio terms you won’t find anywhere else. It’s worth comparing the home loan options a bank like Webster Bank actually offers against what a broker can bring you, particularly on lock length and float-down features.
Smaller and regional lenders vary widely, which is why it pays to check the details before applying with a lender like First Community Mortgage, including whether their lock includes a float-down and what an extension costs.
Float-Downs, Re-Locks, and Lock Extensions
Some lenders let you benefit from falling rates after you lock. A float-down gives you one shot at a lower rate if the market improves by a set amount, usually 0.25% or more, and it often comes with a fee. Ask whether yours is a one-time option and whether it only applies before a certain number of days out from closing.
If your closing gets delayed, you’ll need a lock extension. These generally cost between 0.125% and 0.375% of the loan amount per extension period, though many lenders waive the fee when the delay is on their end. Get the extension price in writing before you agree to a new closing date.
When a Rate Change Works in Your Favor
Rates fall as well as rise. A borrower who locked at 7.1% in a week when the market slides to 6.8% is sitting on a good problem, and a float-down solves it. A re-lock can too, though most lenders only allow that if you haven’t already locked, and some charge for it.
If you close at a higher rate than you wanted, refinancing later is always on the table. Timing a cash-out refinance or a simple rate-and-term refi around a friendlier market can undo a mediocre purchase rate, provided you’ve built the equity and kept your credit clean.
How to Keep Your Rate From Slipping Away
Most pre-closing rate surprises trace back to a handful of preventable mistakes.
- Get your lock confirmation in writing, with the exact expiration date and time.
- Don’t open or close credit accounts between application and closing.
- Leave your down payment funds where they are, and document any large deposits.
- Build at least a week of buffer between your expected closing and your lock expiration.
- Ask what an extension costs before you need one.
- Confirm whether a float-down is included or costs extra.
Three questions worth texting your loan officer today
Is my rate locked, and until what date? What would a fifteen-day extension cost me? Does my lock include a float-down, and how much does the market need to improve before it kicks in?
If the answer to the first question is “not yet,” then lock now or decide deliberately to float. The one thing you never want to do is float by accident, because the market doesn’t care what rate you were quoted last month.