Work Hard Mortgage
Should you buy down your rate — or keep more flexibility?
See what happens to your money with a permanent rate buydown versus a temporary buydown, especially if you refinance before the permanent option reaches break-even.
Your numbers
A few decisions. Everything else updates as you go.
$27,500 down on a $550,000 purchase.
Planning seller credit at 5% down: about $16,500 (3% of the purchase price). Change it to whatever the seller is actually offering.
Estimated conventional seller-concession limit. Based on conventional primary/second-home planning limits. Actual allowable contributions depend on loan program, occupancy, LTV, transaction details and current agency/investor rules.
Using today’s planning rate: 7.18%
The approved national 30-year average, observed 2026-11-05. It is not a personal rate quote, and nothing here is an offer of a specific rate.
How long might you keep this mortgage?
You don’t need to know exactly. Pick a timeframe you’d like to explore.
What that means
Your own numbers, at the timeframe you picked.
What your $16,500 credit can fund
Permanent option
Your credit would cover the modeled $7,800 permanent buydown, leaving about $8,700 of credit for other eligible costs.
Temporary 2-1 buydown option
Your credit would cover the full $12,278 a 2-1 buydown requires, leaving about $4,222 of credit for other eligible costs.
Seller and lender contributions are subject to the applicable loan program’s rules and limits, and may not cover every cost shown. A licensed loan officer can confirm what a specific credit can be used for on your loan.
If you refinance around month 24…
What this means
At month 24, you haven’t reached the permanent buydown’s 30-month break-even yet.
You’ve received about $6,264 of savings after paying $7,800 upfront, leaving approximately $1,536 not yet recovered through monthly payment savings.
This is not a verdict on which option is better — it is what your own numbers show at the timeframe you picked. Change the timeframe and it changes with you.
Permanent buydown
Pay $7,800 now
Save about $261/month
- Received by month 24
- $6,264 in savings
- Not yet recovered
- $1,536
- Break-even
- About month 30
Temporary 2-1 buydown
Year 1 payment $2,863
- Year 2 payment
- $3,193
- Full payment afterward
- $3,540
- Subsidy used by month 24
- About $12,276
- Estimated funds remaining
- About $2
Principal and interest only — taxes, homeowners insurance, mortgage insurance, HOA dues and closing costs are not included, and they do not change between these two strategies. Break-even divides the upfront cost by the monthly savings; it ignores the time value of money and any change in your plans.
Temporary Buydown Quick Reference
See the approximate funding needed for common temporary buydown structures using the purchase and loan amount above.
1-0 Buydown
6.18% → 7.18%
$4,155
Estimated funding
Your entered seller credit could cover this
2-1 Buydown
5.18% → 6.18% → 7.18%
$12,278
Estimated funding
Your entered seller credit could cover this
3-2-1 Buydown
4.18% → 5.18% → 6.18% → 7.18%
$24,165
Estimated funding
About $7,665 more than the entered credit
Funding is the actual monthly principal-and-interest difference for each subsidized year × 12 at the planning rate above — not a percentage of the loan amount. Seller and lender credit can only be used for costs your loan program allows, and not every dollar of an allowable concession can necessarily be applied to a temporary buydown. A licensed loan officer can confirm what a specific credit can be used for on your loan.
Questions about buydowns
Rates are illustrative planning assumptions based on the current approved national 30-year survey average of 7.18%, observed 2026-11-05. They are not a personal rate quote.
Important disclosures
Educational planning tool — not a loan approval, Loan Estimate, rate lock, or commitment to lend. Calculations are estimates and principal-and-interest only; they exclude taxes, homeowners insurance, mortgage insurance, HOA dues, closing costs and any other fees unless specifically stated. Rates and pricing change and are not guaranteed; actual discount-point pricing varies by lender, loan program, credit, lock period and market conditions. Temporary buydown availability and terms vary, and seller or lender contributions are subject to applicable loan-program rules and limits. With a properly structured temporary buydown, if the mortgage is paid off early — including through a refinance — remaining buydown funds are generally handled for the borrower’s benefit according to the buydown agreement and servicer and investor requirements; the exact treatment can vary. Refinancing is not guaranteed and future rates cannot be predicted. Please obtain an actual loan scenario from a licensed mortgage professional before making a financing decision.