A rate "lock" or "commitment" is a lender's promise to lock in a specific interest rate and a specific number of points for you for a certain period of time during your application process. This means your interest rate cannot go up as you are going through the application process.
Rate lock periods can be various lengths of time, anywhere from 15 to 60 days, with the longer spans typically costing more. The lender can agree to freeze an interest rate and points for a longer span of time, say sixty days, but in exchange, the rate (and sometimes points) will be higher than that of a rate lock of a shorter period.
There are other ways to get a better rate, besides choosing a shorter rate lock period. A larger down payment will result in a lower interest rate, because you'll have more equity at the start. You can pay points to lower your rate for the life of the loan, meaning you pay more initially. For a lot of people, this makes financial sense..
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