What is a 2-1 Buydown Mortgage Loan?

Many lenders are shouting about “Fixed Rate Mortgages starting at 5.000%.” Which is really a 2-1 buydown program.

I’ve even gotten calls from Real Estate Agents asking how they are doing this! Some of these offers are NOT good deals.  For more information about MISLEADING Ads involving this program click here.

However, in the right situation, it’s a good loan.  So let’s do some math – and I’ll try to make this as simple as possible.

The 2-1 Buydown is usually used with a FHA loan, although you can also do this with other loan types.  Fixed rate FHA loans, today are around 7.00% (7.34 APR) So let’s work on that number… A fixed rate mortgage for 30 years with an interest rate of 7.0%*.

If you have a Conventional loan of $300,000,000 (for instance) then your principal and interest payment at 7.0%* is $1,995.91 – and that payment, along with your taxes and insurance (and mortgage insurance) will be used when we are qualifying you for a mortgage.

So where did the 5.00% come in?

Well, in an effort to help folks feel more comfortable with homeownership, lenders are offering a FIRST year rate of 5.0% on the loan and a SECOND year rate of 6.0% – and then for the rest of the life of the loan, the payments will be made at 7.00%* … this is why it’s called a 2-1 buy down.  The interest rate is “bought down” 2% (from 7.0 to 5.0) the first year, and 1% the next year (from 7.0 to 6.0).

So the next question might be what does “Bought Down” mean – and this is where you might need a calculator.

In basic terms, the difference between the 7.00%* rate on the mortgage – and the payment rate of 5.0 for the first 12 months is put into an escrow account.

So the $300,000 loan at 7.00%* has a P&I (Principal and Interest) payment of $1,995.91.  For that same $300,000 loan, the P&I at 5.0% is $1,610.46.  The difference in the payment is $385.45.

On the $300,000 loan at 6.0%, the P&I is $1,798.65.  The difference between the 7.00%* payment and the 6.0% payment is $197.28.

To establish the escrow account (and make this program work) a seller must contribute an amount equal to 12 months of $385.45 (or $4,625.40) and 12 months of $197.26 (or $2367.12) – a total of $6,992.52.

Then, when you make your payment for the first year at $1,610.46, and your mortgage is accruing interest at a payment rate of $995.91, the bank is pulling out $385.45 every month from the escrow account and applying it to the mortgage!

See??  That wasn’t so hard to understand!  My husband and I purchased our house under this program – only we had a 3-2-1 buydown!

And here’s the BEST part… as I understand it, even though the Seller is paying this money on your behalf…. you can still WRITE OFF $5689.92 (the amount of the escrow) on your taxes in your first year???  HOW COOL IS THAT!?!

These buydowns can be used with a 3% down payment program too!  There’s no first time home buyer requirement with the program!

***THIS IS NOT A RATE QUOTE  / * I used a current APR of  7.34% for this example.  I’m using mortgage rates simply to show you what is a 2-1 Buydown, how it works, and how it might be quoted in the market place. Rates change daily, sometimes more often than that.  To get a quote for TODAY – call Steve Thorne 919 649 5058 we offer this program, and we know how to help you buy your dream home!