There are two reasons your rate may change during the loan application process:
1) Atmos interest rates are subject to adjustments from time to time to reflect the ongoing changes in the interest rate environment. Rates may increase or decrease. Every month we publish new rates to our partnering installation companies. If you pre-qualified for a loan in one month, but decided to move forward with your project loan in a subsequent month, you may see updating rates in your loan application. We try our best to reduce this risk to you by providing a 30-day rate lock once you've been formally approved for a loan. The 30-day rate lock is to give you time to read and understand your loan agreement, finalize any project considerations, and determine that you want to move forward with your rooftop solar installation.
Please note: Pre-qualification and a formal loan approval are not the same thing. A pre-qualification is performed with a soft credit inquiry with no impact to your credit score. There isn't a time limit associated with your pre-qualification as it is not a formal offer of credit.
2) The interest rate we can formally offer is based on your credit score from a hard credit inquiry. After you pre-qualify for an Atmos loan, which is done through a soft credit inquiry, we show you the indicative rate we can offer to you based on the credit score returned to us from Equifax. After you've pre-qualified, you'll have the opportunity to formally apply for an Atmos Solar Loan by accepting the project costs provided to us by your installation company. Atmos performs a hard credit inquiry at this time to finalize the rate we can offer you and complete any additional underwriting steps. It is not uncommon for credit scores to change slightly between soft and hard credit inquiries. Such changes may result from changes in your personal credit history. If you disagree with your credit score, contact information for Equifax can be provided to you. Atmos does not guarantee a rate based on pre-qualification.