What’s Better: A Rate Buydown or Price Reduction?
Requesting seller concessions to pay for a rate buydown can lead to greater monthly and lifetime savings than requesting a lower purchase price.
April 24, 2025 8 MIN
Requesting seller concessions to pay for a rate buydown can lead to greater monthly and lifetime savings than requesting a lower purchase price.
Lowering your interest rate from 7% to 6% will reduce your principal and interest payments by 9.88%, saving the typical US homebuyer around $250 per month.
Can a Reconsideration of Value (ROV) help increase your home's value for a mortgage?
We dug into the numbers to find out what someone needs to make to potentially qualify to buy a $300,000 home.
USDA loan pre-approval provides an accurate idea of the loan size you may qualify for and gives you a competitive advantage when making offers on homes.
Seller concessions can be used to cover your out-of-pocket closing costs, with the USDA setting the maximum contribution limit at 6% of the home’s purchase price.
Having student loans won’t prevent you from qualifying for a USDA mortgage, but they will count toward your debt-to-income ratio, which can affect how large of a loan you are eligible for.
USDA direct loans are more challenging to qualify for but offer lower monthly costs. USDA guaranteed loans are more widely available but have slightly higher, although still competitive, interest rates and payments.
