Skip to content

Buydown to Reduce Your Mortgage Interest Rate

points

If you are buying a home, you have probably looked at all kinds of ways to reduce your monthly mortgage costs. These can include putting down a higher down payment or improving your credit to get a lower interest rate. But did you know that you can actually pay to lower your interest rate by doing a buydown?

Buying down points on your mortgage is when you, the buyer, pays a fee to lower the interest rate of your loan. This fee is paid upfront, with each point purchased costing 1% of the overall loan amount. Let’s look at an example.

Sally wants to purchase a home for $500,000 with a down payment of $100,000 and her lender offers her a 30-year fixed loan with a 3.75% interest rate. Sally wants a better interest rate, resulting in greater savings, especially in the first few years that she is paying the mortgage because the interest is paid up front. The lender says that she can purchase one point for 1% of the loan amount, $4,000 for the $400,000 that Sally plans to borrow, and it will reduce her interest rate by 0.25%. Sally is happy that she will get an interest rate of 3.5%.

Most of the time, buyers are interested in buying mortgage points, but sometimes the seller will offer to buy points for the buyer to make the purchase more appealing. This is more common in a buyer’s market when the seller has to make extra concessions to get their home sold. Builders can also use the same strategy to sell new homes.

What is a 3-2-1 buydown?

When using a 3-2-1 buydown, the overall interest rate is reduced for the first three years of the loan and increases incrementally until it reaches the original amount at Year 4. If it is reduced by 0.25% increments, the first year it will be 0.75% lower, the second year it will be 0.5% lower, and the third year it will be 0.25% lower. A similar strategy can be used with a 2-1 buydown as well.

What is an Interest Rate Reduction?

When the lower interest rate applies to the entire duration of the loan, it is called an interest rate reduction. The cost to reduce the interest rate in these cases tends to be higher, but the savings can be significant if there is a lot of time left on the loan.

When should you buy points?

To determine if buying mortgage points to reduce your interest rate is the best option for you, consider how long it will take you to recoup the upfront costs. You can divide the cost of the points by the monthly savings to determine your breakeven point, the amount of time it will take you to recoup that expense. If you plan to sell the home before that point, it is probably not the best idea to buy points. If you have to chose between the down payment and buying points, contributing more to your down payment is usually the better choice.

There may be situations where you cannot buy down points, such as an investment property or during a cash-out refinance. Talk to your lender about what options are available for you.

Author Bio: Greg Sandler
Greg Sandler is a distinguished leader and strategist in the mortgage and real estate investment industry. With over two decades of experience, Greg has honed his expertise in guiding his clients to build wealth through real estate.

Greg Sandler has direct and first-hand experience as co-founder and CEO of USA Investment Group Management Inc., focusing on growing real estate holdings and diversified asset portfolios. Under Greg's guidance, the company has executed hundreds of traditional real estate acquisitions and currently manages a substantial portfolio of rental units.

Greg also has a track record of driving multi-million-dollar revenues and leading high-performing teams to success in mortgage loan originations, achieving the prestigious "Top 1% Originator" status in consecutive years. Currently steering the helm as the President at USALending.AI in Keller, TX, Greg has revitalized this division of a mortgage bank, significantly expanding the company's scale.

Prior to this, Greg's role as Senior Vice President at Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp in Rocklin, CA, was marked by his pivotal contribution in establishing the company's presence in northern California and northern Nevada. Under Greg's leadership, his team of nearly 110 dedicated mortgage professionals originated and funded approximately $800 million in residential mortgages annually.

Greg's professional journey is marked by his exceptional skills in negotiation, sales leadership, financial analysis, and P&L management. His ability to strategize, coupled with his in-depth knowledge of the mortgage and real estate sectors, makes him a visionary leader and a respected figure in the industry.

To book a call with Greg Sandler, please visit: www.calendly.com/greg-sandler

Back To Top