Free Tool

Temporary buydown calculator.

A temporary buydown lowers your interest rate for the first year or two, then steps up to your full rate. See the payment each year and exactly what the buydown costs, money that is usually paid by the seller.

Garrett Potz

Independent Mortgage Broker · Affinity Home Lending

NMLS #631592 · Company NMLS #1181151 · (770) 401-1759 · gpotz@affinityhomelending.com · www.garrettpotz.com

Temporary Buydown Analysis

Loan amount

Note rate % / yr, permanent

Your full rate once the buydown ends. Check today's rates →

Loan term

Buydown structure

2-1 is the most common: 2% off in year one, 1% off in year two, then your full note rate.

Total Buydown Cost

funded upfront, typically by the seller

$0Year 1 payment

$0Year 1 savings/mo

$0Payment after

This is an estimate for planning only and covers principal and interest, not taxes, insurance, or PMI. A temporary buydown does not change your actual note rate; it uses a lump sum, usually a seller credit, to cover the difference between the reduced payment and the full payment during the buydown period. If you sell or refinance before the buydown ends, any unused funds are typically credited back toward your loan. For real numbers based on today's rates and your situation, let's talk.

Good to know

How a temporary buydown works

Most often the seller, as a negotiated credit at closing. Builders and lenders sometimes offer them too. The full cost is set aside upfront and used to cover your lower payments during the buydown years, so it does not come out of your pocket month to month.

Your note rate stays the same the whole time. The buydown simply subsidizes the difference so your payment is lower in the early years, then returns to the full payment once the buydown period ends.

Any buydown funds that have not been used yet are typically applied to your loan as a credit, so the money is not lost. That makes a buydown a flexible option when rates are expected to come down.

It depends on how long you plan to stay and where rates are headed. A temporary buydown gives you breathing room now with a plan to refinance later, while paying points buys a permanently lower rate. I am happy to run both side by side for your numbers.

Want to structure a buydown?

I can show you a real buydown on your loan, including how to ask the seller to cover it. It's free, and there's no obligation.

Get Started — It's Free

📞 (770) 401-1759 ✉ gpotz@affinityhomelending.com