A perfect example of why dawdling with your mortgage decision can cost you valuable money came directly through a customer of mine. This customer called in a few weeks ago and was looking to refinance his FHA loan, in order to consolidate some debt and lower his monthly mortgage payment. This customer agreed to a deal in principle that would save him nearly $500 a month as well as pay off a chunk of his credit card debt. When the customer and I first discussed the FHA refinance, his rate would have been 6%. All it took was the submission of six pieces of information and we could lock in that rate. Unfortunately, instead of accumulating the files that night as I had advised, the customer took his time gathering the required documents. By the time the documents were sent to me, the rates had moved over 6.25%. The customer just cost himself about a hundred dollars a month. If the customer had just gathered the documents that evening in an efficient manner, he would have saved almost $500 a month. Instead, the customer is still gathering his last pieces of information and is at the mercy of the market. While the borrower will still be able to save himself a sizeable amount on his FHA mortgage payment, his inefficiency will have cost him close to a hundred dollars a month over thirty years. I do not need to do the math for you to realize that is a sizeable chunk of change.
The moral of the story here is to get your documents into the hands of your lender. If you choose to waste time, you could potentially be costing yourself anywhere between a few weeks of groceries to a car payment each month.