How to Buy Down the First Year (or Two! or Three!) of Your Mortgage

The recent housing market has been a challenge. Home prices are elevated in some areas, mortgage rates have been a little higher than buyers would like, and inventory can be unpredictable. Finding a home that matches your needs and budget can be tough. 

A buydown program offers a Temporary rate reduction that can make homeownership more affordable. You can contact our team today to learn more or get the mortgage process started with our no-obligation pre-approval.

What is a temporary mortgage rate buydown?

A temporary buydown reduces the interest rate on your mortgage for the first one to three years of your loan. The seller and/or lender can contribute to your loan to lower the rate during the initial period, and then payments go back up after that initial period is over. This is called a ‘seller-funded buydown’ or ‘lender-funded buydown’, and is necessary for the program to function. 

How does a seller-funded buydown work?

To get a temporary funded buydown, the seller of the home has to offer to fund it. In the case of new construction, the builder can offer to fund the buydown. It needs to be included in the purchase contract as a seller concession.

The amount of money that the seller or builder is pre-paying for the buydown normally called the concession, is paid during closing and kept in an escrow account.

It's best to work with a real estate agent to negotiate the details between all the parties. The amount paid by the seller or builder depends on the price of the home and the buydown type and is usually calculated as a percentage of the loan amount.

What are the available Premia buydown options?

We offer five types of temporary buydowns. The most common is called a 2-1 buydown, but there’s also a 3-2-1, 1-1-1, 1-0 and 1.5-0.5 buydown. 

They all offer a period of time with a lower rate and work similarly. You’ll notice that their names correspond with the periods of lower rates—so a 3-2-1 Buydown offers a 3% lower rate for the first year, a 2% lower rate in the second year and a 1% lower rate in the third year before the rest of the mortgage reverts to its original rate, and so on.

3-2-1 Buydown

• 3% Lower Year 1, 2% Lower Year 2 & 1% Lower Year 3
• Fixed at Note Rate years 4-30

2-1 Buydown

• 2% Lower Year 1 & 1% Lower Year 2 
• Fixed at Note Rate years 3-30

1-1-1 Buydown

• 1% Lower Years 1-3 
• Fixed at Note Rate years 4-30

1-0 Buydown

• 1% Lower Year 1
• Fixed at Note Rate years 2-30

1.5-.5 Buydown

• 1.5% Lower Year 1 and .5% Year 2
• Fixed at Note Rate years 3-30

How a 2-1 Buydown works

Let’s take a look at an example of how this would work with a 2-1 Buydown. 

In this scenario, you find a home and agree to a purchase price of $500,000, and you pay a 20% down payment. Your loan would be $400,000. For the sake of this example, let’s say you qualify for a mortgage rate of 6.875%.

The total buydown contribution that the seller or the builder would offer is $9,269.52 in this example.

Temporary buydown pros and cons

You’re probably asking yourself, why would a seller offer to pay to help you get charged less on your mortgage? Well, it depends on the conditions in the local housing market. If a seller needs to sell, but there aren’t enough buyers able to afford the monthly payments on the house due to current mortgage rates, a Temporary Buydown could help close the deal.

In addition, it’s a great alternative to cutting the asking price of the home. This way, a seller can help make the buyer’s monthly budget work while still getting a full-price offer. Funding a buydown contribution could potentially be less costly than what they would have taken off the price of the home.

This is especially true with builders as well. If a construction company is having difficulty selling and is sitting on many new homes, they could provide an incentive. This allows them to keep the cash flowing so they can move on to other projects.

The benefits to a buyer are pretty apparent:

• Ease into homeownership and the monthly payment, knowing they’ll likely be able to afford a bit more each year

• More money to handle the initial expenses that come with moving into a new home

It’s important to remember that a Temporary Buydown is just that—temporary. After a year, the monthly expenses go up, and again the year after that, for homeowners with a 2-1 or 1.5-0.5 buydown. 

How can I get into a buydown program?

Homebuyers looking to find an affordable rate should look into every option they can find to lower their monthly payments. A buydown may be the perfect solution for a buyer and a seller, so it’s worth asking for it as part of your negotiation. 

You can start your application today to get on the path to homeownership with a reduced mortgage rate or contact a Premia Mortgage Consultant to get additional information.

*Both temporary and permanent buydown options are available from participating builders and sellers on select properties. Buyer-paid buydown options are also available for qualified borrowers on any approvable property per loan product restrictions.

** Monthly payment includes principal and interest, not taxes, insurance or other expenses. Sample loan scenarios do not include advertised rates, are provided for illustration purposes only and are not intended to provide mortgage or other financial advice specific to the circumstances of any individual and should not be relied upon in that regard. Premia cannot predict where rates will be in the future.

 Applicant subject to credit and underwriting approval. Not all applicants will be approved for financing. Receipt of application does not represent an approval for financing or interest rate guarantee. Refinancing your mortgage may increase costs over the term of your loan. Restrictions may apply. All information provided in this publication is for informational and educational purposes only, and in no way is any of the content contained herein to be construed as financial, investment, or legal advice or instruction. Premia Relocation Mortgage (Premia) does not guarantee the quality, accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the information in this publication. While efforts are made to verify the information provided, the information should not be assumed to be error-free. Some information in the publication may have been provided by third parties and has not necessarily been verified by Premia. Premia does not assume any liability for the information contained herein, be it direct, indirect, consequential, special, or exemplary, or other damages whatsoever and howsoever caused, arising out of or in connection with the use of this publication or in reliance on the information, including any personal or pecuniary loss, whether the action is in contract, tort (including negligence) or other tortious action.

Applicant subject to credit and underwriting approval. Not all applicants will be approved for financing. Receipt of application does not represent an approval for financing or interest rate guarantee. Restrictions may apply, contact Premia for current rates and more information. All information provided in this publication is for informational and educational purposes only, and in no way is any of the content contained herein to be construed as financial, investment, or legal advice or instruction. Premia Relocation Mortgage does not guarantee the quality, accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the information in this publication. While efforts are made to verify the information provided, the information should not be assumed to be error-free. Some information in the publication may have been provided by third parties and has not necessarily been verified by Premia. Premia does not assume any liability for the information contained herein, be it direct, indirect, consequential, special, or exemplary, or other damages whatsoever and howsoever caused, arising out of or in connection with the use of this publication or in reliance on the information, including any personal or pecuniary loss, whether the action is in contract, tort (including negligence) or other tortious action. Rate does not provide tax advice. Please contact your tax adviser for any tax-related questions.