Our lean is against paying points, and in this matchup the bigger down payment usually wins the math anyway. Start with what the buydown costs. As a rule of thumb, each quarter-point of rate improvement runs about one discount point (1% of the loan amount), and it gets more expensive the further you push below the market's par rate. Going from 6.7% to 5.9% is nearly a full point of rate, which can run several points of the loan amount. Now compare where the same money does more. Using a round example, $122,000 spent on discount points saves a certain amount each month, but that same $122,000 put toward the down payment (borrowing less in the first place) usually saves more on the monthly payment. And points are a sunk cost the moment you refinance: if rates improve and you replace the loan, the buydown money is gone, while a bigger down payment permanently reduced your balance. Where points can earn their keep is qualifying and affordability: if you need a lower payment to fit the debt-to-income box or a hard budget, buying the rate down can be what gets the loan done. That should be your informed choice for that specific reason, never a lender's default pitch. The buydown-versus-down-payment side-by-side is something some people want to see, and we'll run that comparison for you on your real numbers in a Roadmap conversation.