Illustration: Hunter Newton/Bankrate
When Jessica Lee bought a townhome in Nashville, Tennessee, the builder offered her 5 percent of the closing costs if she borrowed from her preferred lender. The 28-year-old financial analyst felt that he would not be able to buy a house without using a lender. “If a builder offers it, you’d be crazy not to take it,” she says. “But then you feel like you’re blaming yourself for having to work with this financial company.”
Setting the stage for home buying
The National Association of Realtors reports that two-thirds of builders now offer buyers incentives such as price reductions, interest rate buybacks and closing cost subsidies. And townhomes like Lee make up 18% of single-family construction, making them an increasingly popular option thanks to affordability and entry into homeownership.
But renting from a builder isn’t your only option. It’s not always clear to the buyer. It is common knowledge among experts that buyers who compare multiple quotes end up paying less than buyers who follow the first quote they are given. Builder’s rates make sense for buyers, but it never hurts to shop around. It may be easier than buyers think. For example, the advertised interest rate offered on Bankrate on any given day is typically one percentage point lower than the interest rate advertised on the major lender’s own website.
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Lee earned nearly $100,000 over four years while saving for a down payment, but he still didn’t feel he could make a 20% down payment. That’s when she asked her family for help.
With a gift from her parents, Lee was able to pay $33,000, or 9.4%, on a $350,000 townhome. She also took advantage of the state’s first-time homebuyer program.
Still, Lee says the funding process is a major headache. “I don’t think I ever went a week without crying because I was so confused and overwhelmed,” she admits. The time spent going back and forth about financing until closing was filled with anxiety.
“I felt like something could go wrong at any moment and I might not be able to buy a house,” she says.
Now, Lee says he would like to refinance if interest rates drop to around 4%. And she may be closer than you think. In mid-March, refinance rates posted on Bankrate were as low as 5.75%, nearly one percentage point lower than the national average refinance rate of 6.7% in March.
Her take on homeownership
Lee loves being a homeowner, but the costs are less predictable than she thought. She didn’t take into account that taxes, HOA fees, or escrow can increase from year to year, especially if you live in a metropolitan area.
“(Homeownership) is a really great option for stability, but it’s not necessarily the financial haven that people thought it was when I was younger,” she says.
zoom out
American homebuyers are more satisfied with their mortgage lenders today than they were in 2023, when Lee bought her home. JD Power reports that overall customer satisfaction with lenders was 760 points (out of 1,000) in 2025, up 30 points from 2023.
Still, Bankrate’s 2025 Homeowner Regret Study found that some homeowners regret paying too much for their mortgage (16%) or not getting the best mortgage rate (10%).
her dream of home ownership
Mr. Lee dreams of buying another house and renting it out. She hopes that the value of her current home will increase. And she wants to keep her home as a family. “With this, we are building generational wealth,” she says.