That is a lender-menu issue. No rule forbids a 1-1 buydown. A 1-1 buydown gives you one year at a reduced rate before the payment steps up to the note rate. An upfront subsidy sits in an escrow-style account and covers the difference each month, the same mechanism as the more common 2-1, just one step shorter. What you are running into is availability. Some investors advertise a 1-1 openly, while plenty simply market the 2-1 and never list a 1-1 as a menu option. The rule of thumb: a lender willing to do temporary buydowns at all can usually accommodate a 1-1, because the plumbing is identical and only the subsidy amount changes. A "we can't do that" often means their system was never set up for it. So ask directly, and shop the request elsewhere if your lender will not budge. One caution before you chase it. A temporary buydown is a short-term payment bridge, usually funded by a seller or builder credit, and the payment steps up on schedule no matter what rates do. We lean against spending your own money on buydowns, and even with someone else's credit it is worth comparing the buydown against putting that same money toward closing costs or a permanent rate reduction. We will run that comparison for your situation on the free Roadmap conversation.