A rate "lock" or "commitment" is a lender's promise to lock in a specific interest rate and a certain number of points for you for a specified period during your application process. This means your interest rate will not go up as you are going through the application process.
While there are various lengths of rate lock periods (from 15 to 60 days), the longer spans are generally more expensive. You can get a longer period for your lock, but in doing so, will likely have a higher rate than you would with a shorter rate lock span of time
There are other ways to get a reduced rate, in addition to going with a shorter rate lock period. The bigger the down payment, the better your rate will be, as you will be entering the loan with more equity. You can pay points to reduce your rate for the term of the loan, meaning you pay more initially. To a lot of people, this makes financial sense..
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