JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate hovering around 6.5%, many prospective homebuyers have put their plans on hold as higher borrowing costs drive up monthly payments.
Click here for more Addressing A4dability coverage.
Recommended Videos
But some buyers are finding a workaround: assumable mortgages.
An assumable mortgage allows a qualified buyer to take over a seller’s existing home loan, including its interest rate, instead of applying for a new mortgage at current market rates. Many homeowners who purchased or refinanced during 2020 and 2021 locked in rates below 3%, making those loans especially attractive in today’s market.
For Wesley Jones, an Air Force service member relocating with his family from Satellite Beach to Jacksonville, an assumable mortgage made a significant difference.
“Much more affordable,” Jones said. “I shudder to think what it would be if we had financed at today’s rates.”
Jones said interest rates became part of the conversation as soon as his family began searching for a home.
“I knew what an assumable rate was just from talking to different people in my squadron,” Jones said. “At first I just started to look with putting ‘assumable’ in the extra keywords you can search for in Zillow.”
Eventually, he connected with Jacksonville Realtor Natali Zaher, who uses WithRoam, a website that specializes in listing homes with assumable mortgages.
“I just helped my buyers relocate to Jacksonville with a 2.75% interest rate,” Zaher said. “That’s a win for everyone involved.”
Zaher said buyers can search for assumable homes through WithRoam. You can look on popular sites like Zillow or Redfin, but not all homes with assumable loans are advertised in the listing details.
The lower interest rate allowed Jones to stretch his homebuying budget.
“If we were to buy a comparable house in the area that we were looking for, I think we would have had to make some sacrifices in terms of the amenities that we were looking at in the house,” Jones said. “Because we were able to assume the rate of the home that we’re purchasing, it just gave us so much more buying power.”
However, Zaher cautioned that assumable mortgages are not without challenges.
She said buyers should expect a closing process that typically takes 60 to 120 days instead of the standard 30 days. The process also requires additional paperwork and often involves working directly with the seller’s mortgage company, which can take longer than working with a traditional lender.
Another hurdle is the equity gap.
If a seller owes $400,000 on a mortgage but is selling the home for $600,000, the buyer must come up with or finance the remaining $200,000 difference. Zaher said some buyers bridge that gap with a second mortgage.
Despite those obstacles, Zaher believes the savings can outweigh the inconvenience.
“I think it’s worth it,” she said. “You’re saving yourself maybe $3,000 a month. My client’s payment would have no doubt been almost double what his payment is now due to interest rates.”
For buyers who qualify, assumable mortgages can provide access to homes that might otherwise be out of reach in today’s higher-rate environment.
“We’re gonna make Jacksonville our new home,” Jones said.