🏡 Mortgage Rates Are Rude. Let's Talk 3-2-1 Buydowns. 😏

Let's just address the elephant sitting on the rate sheet...

Mortgage rates aren't exactly being cute right now. 😂

But a higher rate environment doesn't necessarily mean you throw your house-hunting plans into a drawer and check back when the universe gets its act together.

Sometimes, you look at strategy.

Enter the 3-2-1 temporary buydown. 👋

Here's the simple version:

Let's say your actual mortgage note rate is 7.00%.

With a 3-2-1 buydown, your payment could initially be calculated as though your rate were:

🏡 Year 1: 4.00%
🏡 Year 2: 5.00%
🏡 Year 3: 6.00%
🏡 Year 4 and beyond: the full 7.00% note-rate payment

Important little Mortgage Mama disclaimer: your actual interest rate isn't changing each year. The difference in those early payments is funded upfront through the temporary buydown.

And depending on the loan and transaction, that money may be contributed by an eligible third party—often as part of negotiating seller concessions.

See where this gets interesting? 👀

Instead of only asking:

“Can we get the seller to lower the price?”

Sometimes the better conversation is:

“Could we negotiate seller help and use some of it to make my first few years of payments more comfortable?”

Because knocking a few thousand dollars off the sales price doesn't always change the monthly payment nearly as dramatically as buyers expect.

A temporary buydown may give you more breathing room during those first few years of homeownership—when you're also buying blinds, furniture, lawn equipment and approximately 947 things you somehow never needed while renting. 😂

Is a 3-2-1 buydown right for everybody?

Nope.

Neither is every mortgage program, despite what your cousin who bought a house once and is now apparently a mortgage expert might tell you. 😂

The important part is running the numbers and comparing the options before deciding what makes the most sense for your situation.

Rates may be stubborn.

That doesn't mean we can't be strategic. 😉🏡

📲 If you're thinking about buying and want to see what a temporary buydown—or another financing strategy—could look like for your numbers, let's talk.

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