Our lean is against paying points. The zero-point rate is the honest baseline, and a buydown only earns its keep if you hold that exact loan well past the break-even. The mechanics, so you can judge it yourself. Points are an upfront, sunk cost you recoup only through the lower payment over time. A rough rule of thumb on a 30-year: about 1% of the loan amount buys somewhere around a quarter-point lower rate (this varies by day and lender, so treat it as illustrative). On a $500,000 loan, that is roughly $5,000 upfront to save on the order of $80 a month, which takes around five years just to break even. Refinance or sell before then and the money is gone. The same logic cuts against points if you plan to pay the loan off fast. Committed to a 10-to-12-year payoff? Spending cash on a buydown is questionable, and a 15-year loan is often the better structure, because it starts at a meaningfully lower rate on its own (a point also tends to buy closer to a half-point reduction on a 15-year versus a quarter on a 30). The trade-off is a higher required payment, so only go that route if you are very comfortable with the payment and your reserves. In the end this is your call, driven by your timeline, and points can be right for a specific, deliberate reason. Where we push back is points as a default, or a lender whose opening quote already has them baked in. The buydown math is something some people want to see, and we will run that comparison for you against your real numbers on the free Roadmap conversation.