Can a lender lock an interest rate without issuing a GFE? My lender states he didn't have SSN#'s and I checked for the credit report, but it wasn't pulled until later when the GFE was issued.

I guess so long as you had what you needed to lock the rate, but didn't have what you needed to consider it an application, there would be nothing to really stop you from it.

How can you lock a rate without an intent to proceed. How can you have an intent to proceed without an application?

Randy, RESPA changed the rules for bankers, not borrowers. Borrowers still shop rates. They'll talk to the lender and they'll indicate that they want to get a certain rate. If their a repeat customer, the Lender can recall info like credit scores and will call the investor and lock the rate prior to the borrowers coming in to complete the application. The GFE will be prepared based on the locked rate. Yes, it's a risk and I don't recommend it but I see it happening regularly.

Likewise, a rate lock is the bank's risk, not the consumers. I too do not like it, but our market is not a shopping market. They jump and lock a rate when they see it, and then worry about the details and then worry about the details.

That said, we do treat the lock date as the application date since the information required for a rate lock is the same information required under RESPA to be considered an application (and actually the lock requires even more information than an application under RESPA does), thus, in our shop GFE and early docs must be issued within three days of the rate lock.

Researching this thread and have a similar situation with lenders locking the rate without having all the information needed for an application under RESPA. Sometimes there may be as much as 6 days difference between the lock date and the GFE date.

When Just Jay says "the information required for a rate lock is the same information required under RESPA to be considered an application", I assume this is an internal policy.

Will someone please comment on whether there is a regulatory issue with the difference in dates or the nature of risk to the bank? Thanks.

• Borrower’s name
• Borrower’s monthly income
• Borrower’s social security number to obtain a credit report
• Property address
• Estimate of value of the property
• Loan amount

This is the information that constitutes an application under RESPA. If all of these items are required on your rate lock sheet, as they are on mine and Jay's, then you must deliver a GFE within three days of locking a rate whether you have a 1003 completed or not.

If these items are not on your rate lock request, I'm curious as to who you're locking the rate with.

Those items minus income are on the rate lock sheet. We lock with the bank first and then the investor, but I am told the investor does not require all 6 items either in order to lock the rate.

Careful how you think about that though... our investors don't specifically ask for income, but they do ask for the estimated DTI... I cannot provide a DTI unless I asked my applicant about their income... so in our interp for our shop, we default to having the income value, and thus an application under RESPA.

I am kinda surprisd you investor doesn't require the above that Truff mentioned... usually ours require much more than that even.

Ditto TR and JJ.

Thanks everyone. I am continuing to gather information on this end to test the rate lock "scenario" in question.