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Mortgage Rates, Locks, and Rate Sheets

Mortgage-rate lock terms used to compare quoted rates, locked rates, float-down rights, and lender rate sheets.

Mortgage Rates, Locks, and Rate Sheets covers mortgage rates, ARMs, hybrid ARMs, rate caps, indexes, buydowns, discount mortgages, locks, float-downs, and rate-sheet terms.

Use these pages when rate structure or lock mechanics change borrower cost, payment volatility, prepayment behavior, or investor yield. It sits inside Rate Caps, Locks, and Indexes, so readers can move up when the broader property-finance context matters.

Use the table below to choose the narrower mortgage or real-estate finance branch before applying a term to a loan file, closing record, servicing review, investor report, appraisal, or valuation model. Move into the term page when the document, calculation, party role, lien position, or property cash flow matters.

What This Branch Covers

AreaUse it for
Locked-In Interest RateA locked-in interest rate is a rate that a lender promises to a borrower at the time of the loan application.
Mortgage RateA mortgage rate is the interest rate charged on a mortgage loan, affecting monthly payment, total interest, and affordability.
Mortgage Rate Lock Float DownA mortgage rate lock float down preserves a locked rate while allowing a lower rate if market pricing improves under the agreement.
Rate LockA rate lock holds a quoted mortgage rate for a specified period while the loan moves toward closing.
Rate SheetA document provided by lenders that outlines the mortgage rates offered to borrowers, encompassing various loan products and interest rates.

What to Check

  • Note rate, APR, index, margin, reset period, cap, floor, teaser rate, lock agreement, and rate sheet.
  • Fixed, adjustable, hybrid, buydown, discount, offset, or renegotiated-rate structure.
  • Points, fees, lock expiration, float-down terms, conversion options, and payment adjustment schedule.
  • Effect on payment, affordability, refinancing, prepayment, default risk, and investor yield.
  • Whether quoted rates include points, fees, program limits, and borrower assumptions.

Common Mistakes

  • Comparing rates without APR, points, fees, lock terms, and loan assumptions.
  • Ignoring ARM caps, margins, indexes, reset dates, and payment shock.
  • Treating a rate quote as a locked rate.
  • Assuming a buydown permanently lowers all loan economics.

Mortgage-rate content is educational and does not provide rate forecasts, borrowing advice, refinancing advice, or investment recommendations.

In this section

Choose a subsection first. Deeper term pages live inside each subsection, which keeps large topic hubs readable.

Locked-In Interest Rate

A locked-in interest rate is a rate that a lender promises to a borrower at the time of the loan application.

Mortgage Rate

A mortgage rate is the interest rate charged on a mortgage loan, affecting monthly payment, total interest, and affordability.

Mortgage Rate Lock Float Down

A mortgage rate lock float down preserves a locked rate while allowing a lower rate if market pricing improves under the agreement.

Rate Lock

A rate lock holds a quoted mortgage rate for a specified period while the loan moves toward closing.

Rate Sheet

A document provided by lenders that outlines the mortgage rates offered to borrowers, encompassing various loan products and interest rates.

Revised on Sunday, June 21, 2026