Take the price cut if you are paying cash, making a very large down payment, expect to sell within a couple of years, or need a lower purchase price to stay under a loan limit or program cap. Full breakdown: Builder Rate Buydown vs. Price Reduction in Utah: Which Is Actually Better? · Utah Builder…
A recorded price reduction lowers the comparable sales for every remaining home in the community. A financing incentive does not show up the same way. Protecting comps is worth enough to builders that they will spend more on a buydown than they would cut from the price. Full breakdown: Builder Rate Buydown vs. Price Reduction…
On a documented mid-2026 Utah deal it took about three years and eight months on a 30-year fixed and about two years on a 7/6 ARM. The exact figure depends on loan size and the size of the rate reduction, but it is commonly shorter than buyers expect. Full breakdown: Builder Rate Buydown vs. Price…
Usually yes, if you plan to keep the loan more than a few years. Builders subsidize rate buydowns beyond what they add to the price, so the same nominal dollars deliver more value through the buydown. On a real Utah deal, $20,000 bought a rate reduction worth closer to $40,000. Full breakdown: Builder Rate Buydown…
Your payment rises to the full note rate starting in year three, and stays there. There is no further adjustment or step-up. Make sure the year-three payment is one you are comfortable with, because that is the real payment. Full breakdown: 2-1 Buydown vs. Permanent Buydown: Which Is Better in Utah? · Utah Builder Incentives…
Often yes. Many Utah builders let you direct the same incentive toward either structure, and some will also let you apply it to closing costs instead. Ask specifically how the credit can be allocated rather than accepting the default. Full breakdown: 2-1 Buydown vs. Permanent Buydown: Which Is Better in Utah? · Utah Builder Incentives…
A permanent buydown does, because it lowers the note rate the lender qualifies you on. A 2-1 buydown does not. Utah lenders underwrite you at the full note rate regardless of the temporary discount. Full breakdown: 2-1 Buydown vs. Permanent Buydown: Which Is Better in Utah? · Utah Builder Incentives Explained
Yes. Unused buydown funds are credited back if you refinance during the two-year period. Selling triggers the same refund. If you hold the loan through the full two years, there is nothing left to refund because it was already applied to your payments. Full breakdown: 2-1 Buydown vs. Permanent Buydown: Which Is Better in Utah?…
For most buyers, the permanent buydown. It lowers your rate for the life of the loan and increases what you qualify for, while a 2-1 only lasts two years and adds no buying power. The 2-1 wins mainly if you have a specific reason to expect a refinance or sale within that window. Full breakdown:…
No. You can use any lender you choose. Most Utah builders tie their incentive — the rate buydown or closing cost credit — to their preferred lender, so using an outside lender often means giving up that incentive. Have your own lender review the builder’s loan estimate rather than trying to replace it; five to…