Rocket Mortgage has rolled out a new program called “BUY+” that offers a credit of up to $10,000 when you use a Rocket Homes Partner Real Estate Agent to find a home.
Prospective home buyers who use a real estate agent that participates in Rocket Homes’ Partner Network receive a 1.5% credit that can be applied toward closing costs.
For example, someone putting down 5% on a $500,000 home purchase would get a credit of $7,125.
This could be used to offset closing costs and keep out-of-pocket costs to a minimum.
Sister company Rocket Homes is also offering rebates when you a sell a home via their network.
How Rocket Mortgage BUY+ Works
As noted, those who use Rocket Mortgage to obtain their home loan and a Rocket Homes Partner Real Estate Agent will receive a 1.5% lender credit.
This credit is based on the loan amount. As seen in the example above, 1.5% of $475,000 would be $7,125.
The lender credit cannot exceed $10,000, so those with loan amounts above ~$667,000 would be maxed.
The funds can be used toward various closing costs, such as the appraisal fee, title insurance, discount points, and so on.
If there happens to be any credit left over, it will be applied to the principal balance of your loan.
The aim of the program is to make it easier for prospective home buyers to get to the closing table, with a smaller cash burden required.
Even those who use an unaffiliated real estate agent can earn a 0.75% credit if that individual refers them to Rocket Mortgage.
It’s also possible to snag the 0.75% credit if you generate a Verified Approval or a RateShield letter via Rocket Mortgage.
Finally, customers who buy a home with their own agent can still receive a 0.25% lender paid credit when using Rocket Mortgage.
In order to be eligible, you must lock your mortgage rate on or after 3/31/2023 through 8/31/2023.
Rocket Homes SELL+ Comes with a 1% Rebate
In conjunction with BUY+, sister company Rocket Homes has launched “SELL+.”
It offers a 1% rebate of the final sale price when you use a real estate agent who participates in Rocket Homes’ Partner Network.
These real estate agents “are vetted and verified real estate professionals” that come highly rated.
Per closed client surveys, more than one million customers have already been served, with an overall average agent rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars.
In terms of savings, it depends on the sales price.
For example, a home seller in California could receive $7,500 via rebate check if they sold a $750,000 home via the program.
While someone selling a $400,000 home in Texas would be entitled to $4,000.
The Rocket Homes rebate checks will be issued within 30 days of the company receiving documentation (e.g. settlement statements) required to calculate the pertinent rebate amount.
Note that the Rocket Homes SELL+ rebate is not available in states where such rebates aren’t permitted.
This includes Alabama, Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Tennessee.
You Can Bundle Both Programs If Buying and Selling a Home
Many home sellers are also home buyers, so if that’s you, it’s possible to bundle the savings.
You can take advantage of the 1.5% lender credit on the purchase side, and the 1% rebate on the sell side.
To qualify, you simply need to use a Rocket Homes Partner Agent for both transactions, and Rocket Mortgage to get your home loan.
Additionally, it’s possible to combine the BUY+ credit with any Rocket Rewards you’ve earned.
Rocket Mortgage’s loyalty program is known as Rocket Rewards. It allows you to earn points for reading homeownership articles, watching videos, or simply signing up.
Points are worth a penny each, so 10,000 Rocket Rewards would be worth $100 off closing costs.
There’s also the recently-launched Rocket Visa Signature Card, which earns rewards that can be applied to closing costs or a down payment on a home.
As always, be sure to compare offers from other banks and mortgage lenders. While lender credits and rebates can save you money, you’ve got to consider the big picture.
That includes the mortgage rate and the net closing costs after any credits. And the company’s ability to get you to the finish line.
Same goes for the partner agents. Pay attention to what their real estate commission is, as these can range significantly as well.
But if you don’t already have a preferred lender and/or real estate agent and are open to being referred, this could save you some cash at closing.