Seller Buydown · 2-1 and 1-0

1What it is and who it's for

The seller pre-pays part of the buyer's interest. On a 2-1 the rate starts two points lower and steps up one point in year two; on a 1-0 it starts one point lower for twelve months. Either way the buyer qualifies based on the full note-rate payment.

On a $575,000 home with 10% down, a buydown of about $12,265 gives the buyer the same first-year payment as a price cut of roughly $108,000. The seller keeps their price, and the comp on the street holds.

Which one to reach for. The 2-1 is the stronger offer and costs roughly three times as much. The 1-0 is the one to lead with when the seller has already taken a price reduction — a $9,000 price cut typically moves the buyer's payment about $60 a month, where a 1-0 costing well under half that can move it more than $300. Run both in the tool and show the seller the two numbers side by side.

2Learn it

The first question to any interested agent

"What is the buyer putting down?" That answer decides whether the buydown fits under the seller's contribution limit.

Seller contribution limits

Say it right

• A 2-1 is temporary. The rate steps up in year two and settles at the note rate in year three.
• If the buyer refinances or sells early, the unused part of the buydown is credited against their loan.
• A buyer rate on a flyer always carries the APR next to it. The tool does this for you.

3Tools

Pick the program (2-1 or 1-0) at the top — every payment, the seller's cost, the step-up table, the explainer wording and the disclosures follow it. Then enter the listing, drop in the photos, add the listing agent, and set the price, down payment and today's rate for this scenario. Payments, the seller's cost, the contribution-limit check, the estimated APR and the disclosures update as you type. Your details come from your CLEAR profile. Pick the Classic or Split layout, then print.

APR is estimated on CLEAR's standard fees (15 days prepaid interest; mortgage insurance at 0.40% a year when the buyer puts down less than 20%) and labeled as an estimate on the flyer. Use today's pricing for the exact scenario. Listing photos belong to the listing brokerage, so use them with the listing agent's OK.

4Market it

The flyer from the tool is the piece for the listing agent and their seller. For social posts and general buydown pieces without rates, use the Studio.

5Compliance and contacts

• Status: pending compliance re-check (October 2026). The flyers were updated for the re-check: a true headline, the full payment table with the APR, and the required disclosures.
• Never guarantee a rate, payment or APR. Every flyer states the full repayment schedule, the down payment and the APR.
• Hand-sent pieces go personally to the listing agent. No mass texts or email blasts.
• The new-listing emails are the one approved exception (Christa Votaw, 10/05/2026): one agent at a time, at most one email every 14 days, every figure from one example scenario printed in full with its APR, and every email says it is an advertisement and carries an unsubscribe link and the corporate address. The day-1 flyer is CLEAR's buydown financing flyer for the listing, with the listing agent shown only as the listing contact (name, brokerage, phone; no headshot or logo). It goes to every listing agent the same way and is never conditioned on referrals. An unsubscribe is honored for good. Texts to agents who never opted in stay manual.