Guild Mortgage Introduces 1% Down Payment Advantage Program, Making Sustainable Homeownership More Attainable

Mortgage lender tackles the barriers to purchasing a home in today’s market, opening doors for low-to-moderate income homebuyers by reducing down payment to 1% and buying down interest rate for first year of the loan

Guild Mortgage (NYSE: GHLD), a growth-oriented mortgage lending company originating and servicing residential loans since 1960, announced the immediate availability of its 1% Down Payment Advantage program, a new 1% down, 1% one-year lender interest rate buy down home loan program designed to make homeownership more attainable in today’s housing market.

Traditionally, a 3% down payment is the minimum required for conventional loans. The 1% Down Payment Advantage program allows homebuyers to purchase a home with a minimal down payment of only 1% of the purchase price, and Guild covers the remaining 2% to bring the down payment to the 3% requirement.

To save homebuyers even more, through the 1% Down Payment Advantage program, Guild will cover 1% of the interest rate for the first year with a lender-paid temporary buydown, keeping the homebuyer’s monthly payments lower for the first 12 months. Borrowers also have the flexibility to refinance with Guild later, with the added benefit of no lender fees under the company’s Payment Protection program.

"Guild is committed to providing innovative solutions that meet the current and future needs of homebuyers. No matter what is happening in the housing market, we want to get people into homes and help keep them there,” said Mary Ann McGarry, Guild CEO. “With our new 1% Down Payment Advantage program, we are meeting our clients where they are and addressing head on the accessibility challenges so many Americans are facing in today’s housing market.”

The 1% Down Payment Advantage program builds upon Guild's successful Payment Advantage program, which was introduced in December 2022 and has helped homebuyers achieve their homeownership goals. The program is available to first-time and repeat homebuyers purchasing single-family homes with income equal to or less than 80% of the area median income (AMI).

David Battany, Guild’s executive vice president of capital markets, emphasized the importance of addressing the three key areas that impact homeownership: the cost to get into the home, the monthly cost to stay in the home, and the ability to handle unexpected emergencies in the first five years of owning a new home. The 1% Down Payment Advantage program addresses all three.

"We know that accessibility to homeownership goes beyond just lowering the down payment. It's about ensuring long-term sustainability by tackling the three critical financial challenges of buying and maintaining a home: upfront costs, monthly expenses, and financial resilience after purchasing a home," said Battany. "With our 1% Down Payment Advantage program we support homebuyers in all three of these areas. By putting an extra two points of cash into their reserves on day one and offering a 1% one-year interest rate buydown that reduces their monthly mortgage payment, we assist borrowers to more quickly build up their cash reserves which helps sustain them in their new home during their critical first five years of homeownership when most first-time homebuyers typically have low cash savings reserves. This sets the stage for a successful homeownership journey, arming them with the confidence and means to handle life's unexpected surprises."

For more information about the 1% Down Payment Advantage and to begin the journey to homeownership, please visit https://www.guildmortgage.com/mortgage-loans/1-percent-down-payment-advantage/.

About Guild Mortgage

Founded in 1960 when the modern U.S. mortgage industry was just forming, Guild Mortgage Company is a nationally recognized independent mortgage lender providing residential mortgage products and local in-house origination and servicing. Guild’s collaborative culture and commitment to diversity and inclusion enable it to deliver a personalized experience for each customer. With more than 4,000 employees and over 300 retail branches, Guild has relationships with credit unions, community banks, and other financial institutions and services loans in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Guild’s highly trained loan professionals are experienced in government-sponsored programs such as FHA, VA, USDA, down payment assistance programs and other specialized loan programs. Guild Mortgage Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Guild Holdings Company, whose shares of Class A common stock trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol GHLD.

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