Congratulations on your decision to buy a new home!  Buying a new home can be a very exciting time; however, there are many things to consider and many things to get done.   One of the most important things - if not the most important thing - when buying a new home is your choice of lenders and the interest rates they charge.   Get this wrong and it could cost you thousands of dollars over the life of your loan. 

Whether you are buying a new home or just re-financing your current one, it is a good idea to do some comparison shopping for the best lender with the best rates.  A low interest rate isn't the only thing you should consider when shopping for a loan.  You will also want to consider the terms of the mortgage, what the closing costs will be and you will want to check the reputation of your lender.  Remember, this is going to be your lender for quite possibly 30 years, so you want to make sure they are reputable.

Your real estate agent will be a huge help when it comes to lenders and loans.  They will be able to provide you with a list of lenders that have the best loan packages available and will be able to tell you what their qualifying requirements are.   Your realtor can also tell you which lenders are willing to go above and beyond the call of duty  to provide you with excellent service and the ones that will make sure everything goes smoothly from start to finish. 

The first thing your lender and realtor will tell you is that you need to "Lock In" your interest rate.  What that means is that the lender will guarantee you the current interest rate with specific predetermined points and fees for a specific amount of time, usually 30 days. 

So after you have applied for your mortgage loan, the rates will more than likely fluctuate from day to day and week to week.  Therefore, if you don't want to risk losing that great current interest rate, you will need to ask for a rate lock from the lender.   This will lock in your interest rate.

Don't worry, your real estate agent will be there to help you.   So don't hesitate to pick up the phone and give them a call.  They are professionals with years of experience just waiting to help you through the home buying process and will be there for you every step of the way.