A Slightly Higher Rate for You Means a Big Paycheck for Me. Getting you a loan with the lowest possible interest rate is not necessarily in your lender's best interest. Rather, he probably wants you to take the highest rate that you can afford. In any case, it adds up. That's a shame, says Peggy Twohig, Assistant Director for Credit Practices at the Federal Trade Commission.
Most consumers know enough to shop around.
BACK TO THE TOP 3. Don't Count on Your Rate Lock When Rates Are Rising. Even though you've locked in the interest rate on your new loan for 60 days, don't count on getting the rate when your application is approved. Sometimes lenders will actually hold up your application if it means you'll have to pay a higher rate. In 1993, the Federal Trade Commission charged Lomas Mortgage USA, one of the nation's largest lenders, with falsely promising borrowers that it would unconditionally lock in the mortgage rate and discount points for 60 days.