A lower mortgage payment for the first year, two or three. Someone puts money in up front (the seller, the builder, the lender or even you) to cover part of your payment early on.
A temporary buydown doesn’t change the loan you pick. It pays part of your monthly payment for the first one, two or three years, using money set aside at closing. Then you move to the loan’s regular payment. It’s a head start that gives you breathing room while you move in and settle into the new payment. And you qualify at the full payment, so nobody’s betting you’ll grow into it.
You qualify at the full payment… the lower years are a head start, not the plan.
Year one is figured one point below the note rate. Year two, you're on the full payment. The smallest and least expensive of the three.
Two points below in year one, one point below in year two, full payment in year three. The one most people mean when they say buydown.
Three, then two, then one point below… full payment in year four. The biggest, and not every loan allows it.
Conventional, FHA, VA, fixed-rate, and some ARM, jumbo and USDA loans. We check eligibility for you.
Enter a loan amount and a rate to see your payment, year by year.
| Year | Figured at | You pay / mo | Buydown covers / mo | Buydown covers / yr |
|---|
The money that pays for a buydown doesn’t vanish at closing. It works for you, and the cost is simply the total of what gets applied to your payments. No mystery fee on top.
The buydown funds go into a separate account set up just for your loan.
Each month, a slice of that account goes toward your payment during the buydown years.
Sell or refinance early, and what’s left goes toward paying off your loan, not back to the seller. If rates drop and you refinance in year one, you didn’t lose the buydown.
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Just completed our refinance and it was a breeze! Megan and Jacquie are an amazing team! They are smart, hardworking, caring and knowledgeable!…
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Mike McKee, excellent service. His patience helped me to walk through the homebuying process with ease. He was available whenever I contacted him…
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Great experience overall! Jason always kept us up to date and communicated regularly and is very good about replying quickly to questions.
AD A.
OMG!!! Mike Mckee is phenomenal…I worked with him for almost 2yrs..I had lots of issues prior to opening and he continued to reach out to me and stay in contact…
Valerie S.
HappyDog was easy to work with and highly responsive during our escrow process. I highly recommend them.
Taylor M.
Mike McKee’s professionalism and efficiency are truly impressive. He seamlessly guides clients through the lending process with his expertise…
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Tori was amazing! She was providing several options for our budget for us to review and explained pros and cons with each option…
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The fine points, in plain English.
On a purchase, it’s most often the seller or the builder as part of the deal. Sometimes the lender offers one on certain loans, and you can pay for it yourself too.
A seller’s money can lower the price a little or make your first years easier. Which helps more depends on your plans, and we’ll run both side by side.
No. You qualify at the full payment. The lower years are a cushion, not the plan, which is why there are no surprises when the payment steps up.
The step-ups are planned, and you see every one before you sign. On a fixed-rate loan, nothing changes after that. On an ARM, the rate can still adjust later, the way any ARM does.
Loan programs cap how much a seller can contribute, and not every loan allows a 3-2-1. We’ll tell you what fits yours.
The unused part goes toward your loan payoff, per the buydown agreement.
Call or text us and we’ll show you the payment with one and without one, and give you a straight answer if it doesn’t make sense.
Calculator results are estimates for illustration only, based entirely on the numbers you enter. They show principal and interest only; taxes, homeowners insurance and mortgage insurance aren’t included, so an actual payment would be higher. A temporary buydown lowers the monthly payment for a set period (one, two or three years), after which the payment rises to the full payment at the note rate for the remaining term. Borrowers qualify at the full note-rate payment. Buydown funds are paid at closing and held in a custodial account; if the loan is paid in full before the funds are used, remaining funds are generally credited toward the payoff as set out in the buydown agreement. Temporary buydowns are available on some loan programs and products, including some adjustable-rate mortgages, depending on investor guidelines; on an adjustable-rate mortgage, the rate may increase after the initial fixed period. Availability, contribution limits and who may fund a buydown depend on the loan program and investor guidelines. Not a commitment to lend. Client reviews of the HappyDog team on Experience.com, Zillow, Facebook and Google, as of Oct 2026.
