A banker once told me my rate lock was too long, and I should have listened

Back in 2022 I was refinancing my house in Tacoma and I locked in a rate for 90 days because I was worried rates would jump. The loan officer said "you're paying extra for that security, but it might not pay off." I thought I knew better since I had done a refi back in 2017 and it worked out fine. Well rates actually dipped a bit after my lock started, and I was stuck with a higher rate for the whole 60 extra days. Ended up costing me about $800 in extra fees for the longer lock period. Now I look at the trend over just the last 30 days instead of guessing a full quarter out. Has anyone else gotten burned by locking in too early during a volatile market?

2 comments

2 Comments

miab8710d ago

Took me a solid year to stop kicking myself after I locked a rate too early back in 2020.

spencer_hayes7110d ago

Used to think timing the lock was no big deal, that rates always go down again eventually. Then 2021 hit and I watched mortgage rates climb while I was stuck with a higher one from the year before. Did you end up refinancing later or just ride it out?