u/FrankSwimGood

Hi All,

Wanted to get advice on the best mortgage option.

$898k House in SoCal

20% Downpayment

$718,400 Loan

$52k in seller credits for a new build and $1k in lender credits.

Current rate is 6.5% for fixed 30 year.

We are going to be in this house for 4-5 years before we sell and upsize.

We are considering a fixed rate with a 3/2/1 buydown or a 7/6 ARM with a 2/1 buydown.

Going to prepay 12 months of HOA at $400/mo and closing costs so 0 out of pocket.

What do you think would be the best loan out of the 2 and am I missing any other mortgage products that could be better.

The goal is to reduce the monthly payment as much as possible for the first 5 years of the loan since we have $53k in credits and WILL move before year 6.

Thank you!

Looking for some perspective because this whole situation has been confusing and I’m not sure if we pushed too hard or if the builder just isn’t engaging.

My wife and I are looking at a new build in SoCal. It’s actually a quick move-in home for July, not something we originally went in asking for. They brought it up to us as an option.

Purchase price is $883,900 which includes:
$5k lot premium
About $6.9k in builder-selected upgrades (not things we chose)

We put down a $20k check to hold the lot.

Current promo is about $48,200 in incentives (rate buydown).

Important context:

We would have to break our lease early, which costs about $15.8k

One of the agents originally told us the builder would cover the lease break in closing costs beyond the $48k

Later it became clear that wouldn’t really work because of the incentive cap

The lot itself isn’t ideal. The lower level sits below street level and the balcony is basically at sidewalk height

We were also considering later phase homes so we wouldn’t have to break our lease (timing would push us into Q1 2027), but we were told those would only have a $24k closing costs credit and not $48k. The current quick move in hasn’t sold in 3 weeks.

Big issue: communication

We’ve been dealing with two people:

Agent 1, who seems more knowledgeable

Agent 2, who honestly seems very confused and has messed up multiple things

Examples:

Gave conflicting info on lease break help

Didn’t seem to understand incentive cap

Responses feel like copy/paste policy replies

We even had a conversation with the sales manager and it felt like they were backing her up instead of actually engaging on the deal.

Round 1 (probably too aggressive):

We asked for:
LVP flooring throughout
Tile in bathrooms
Ceiling fans
Blinds
Garage epoxy
Full incentive cap ($53k)

They basically ignored most of it and came back with:
“Here’s $48,200 or you can wait for another lot”

I don’t think Agent 2 even submitted the offer as written to her manager.

Why did we submit it to Agent 2 and not Agent 1? Agent 1 was off yesterday and today and apparently we had to submit the offer today with a contract deadline of Sunday.

Round 2 Plan:

We scaled way back and focused on what actually matters:
LVP throughout the home
Tile in primary bathroom
$52,200 incentive

So:
Dropped all extras
Didn’t ask for full cap
Made flooring the main issue

We are planning to submit the offer to Agent 1 tomorrow.

Where I’m at now:

Feels like:
We’re only a few thousand dollars apart

Flooring is the main sticking point

But they’re not actually negotiating, just restating the promo

Also not sure if:

We asked for too much initially and lost credibility
Or they just don’t negotiate unless pushed hard

Main question:
What would you do here?
Push one more time and hold position
Drop incentive ask and just fight for flooring
Take the deal as-is
Walk and wait for a later phase

Appreciate any insight, especially from people who’ve dealt with builders.