A bid is a complete statement of the terms and conditions a lender is offering to purchase a loan from the exchange. It includes the net price, program type, fees, lock period, and other factors related to closing the transaction.
IMPORTANT! The rate and points specified in a bid include all adjustments based on the posted parameters of the loan. Barring the discovery of any non-disclosed relevant factors during underwriting, the rate and points listed in the bid are the final net price for the loan.
A bid does not have to match the asking terms for the loan. In fact, it is common to receive fixed and ARM bids for the same loan. All bids have an explicit expiration time that cannot be extended by either party. Once a bid expires, the lender must post a new bid if they are still interested in acquiring the loan.