We love to do as much as we can for the Loan Officer. But when it comes to locking a loan, we assist in
the locking of the loan but the responsibility falls on the LO. Nothing can blow a deal more than having
the pricing change or the loan locked incorrectly.
Lender’s websites are various and some are complex to navigate. We do not mind helping the loan
officer lock but often we find the loansifter pricing was off or the pricing of the loan changed or was
wrong in some fashion. The Loan Officer talked with the borrower and knows what they expect to see
on the LE. If we pulled the trigger on a lock and the pricing was off, even the slightest, the LO could lose
the deal if the borrower decides there was a bait-and-switch or loses faith.
Additionally, in a volatile market, if we have 15 LOs all calling us at the same time to lock the loan before
an imminent pricing change, its impossible to stop processing and change to marketing and lock these
all in.
There are some lenders who do not allow locking in the initial process. If the LO wants to lock on
Monday but we cannot lock until Wednesday the pricing may have changed or the LO may not want to
lock and just wait until the following Monday, etc. This is another reason we must revert the
responsibility of locking on the LO.
So it is the policy of The Processing Center that locking is the LOs responsibility but this is not to say that
we cannot help out and lock in the lender’s system at the direction of the LO. We just cannot be
responsible for locks for all the reasons above.