A price cut isn't always the best deal
The same dollars from a seller can do more for your monthly payment as a credit toward buying down your rate than as a lower price. The calculator below shows both, side by side.
For home buyers
Higher rates?Lower the payment.
A seller can pay to buy down your rate, cover your closing costs, or cut the price — and some loans can be taken over at the seller's old rate. See what each does to your payment, then have Mike ask for it in your offer.
No obligation · never sold
Sound familiar?
The price isn't the only thing you can negotiate.
If you don't ask, the answer is no
Seller credits and buydowns are negotiated in the offer. Mike writes the ask in a way your lender can use — and knows which option fits which home.
Price cut vs. buydown
Same dollars. Different payment.
Monthly principal and interest
Enter a price
Principal and interest only, on the numbers you entered; taxes, insurance, HOA and any mortgage insurance add to it. Not a loan offer. Whether your loan allows a buydown, and how much a seller may contribute, depends on the loan program — a licensed lender confirms both. Nothing you type here is saved; if you send your details, this summary goes to Mike with them.
Have Mike ask for it in your offerHow it works
See your options. Ask for them.
- 01
Tell Mike where you're looking
The area and the best way to reach you. It goes to Mike and nobody else.
- 02
Compare the options
A price cut vs. a seller-paid buydown on your own numbers — the calculator shows what each does to the monthly payment.
- 03
Mike writes it into your offer
The right ask for the home, and an introduction to lenders who can confirm what your loan allows.
Your agent
Mike Olson
Licensed Agent · Director of AI Strategy & Innovation · eXp Realty
Listings & sales · 20 years selling the Lowcountry
Questions
Straight answers.
What is a 2-1 buydown?
A temporary buydown. Money paid up front — often by the seller — lowers your rate for the first two years: two points below your note rate in year one, one point below in year two, then the full rate. Lenders generally qualify you at the full rate. Your lender confirms whether your loan allows it.
Should I wait for rates to drop?
Nobody can promise where rates go. Buy a payment you can carry at today's rate; a refinance later is a possibility, not a plan. Mike can show you what's for sale now either way.
Is Mike a lender?
No. Mike works in real estate. Rates, terms, and whether a buydown, credit or program fits your loan come only from a licensed mortgage lender. Every loan type caps how much a seller can contribute; your lender will tell you yours.
Rates are rates. The deal is negotiable.
Want Mike to find the savings? Two steps, ten seconds. It goes to Mike and nobody else.