Praying low-rate loans return? They’re already here

Mike and Cathy Blackwell were eager to buy their first rental property, but with interest rates over 7% earlier this year, they were stumped on how to make the math work. Then Mike stumbled on Roam, a site where listings highlight not only home prices, but also interest rates as low as 2%.

Roam focuses on listings with assumable mortgages, which let buyers take over the seller’s loan, as well as its interest rate. “We found a home near Houston with a 2.75% interest rate that saves us around $400 per month in interest,” Mike says. “It’s now a cash-flowing rental. My wife described me as a genius to her family. I now tell everyone that if they’re looking for a house, assumable loans are the best-kept secret.”

According to Roam founder Raunaq Singh, one in three loans is transferable, a fact he uncovered while reviewing contracts as a loan officer. He believes loan takeovers could be the key to unlocking America’s unaffordable housing market.

“Sellers are stuck in their homes because most got their loans in 2020 and 2021 when rates were under 3%. Compared to today’s 6.5%, it no longer makes sense [for them] to move,” he explains. Meanwhile, “buyers facing higher rates are priced out of the market. I was looking for a home in New Jersey and experienced this firsthand. It felt suffocating.”

On Roam, buyers save around $200,000 in interest over the life of their loan, while sellers snag a 5% premium. Since launching two years ago, the site has facilitated over $500 million in sales in 17 states. “And we’re expanding quickly,” Singh adds. “New Jersey is next.” (Other real estate sites can be filtered to pinpoint listings with assumable loans.)

Zoom out: Only FHA, VA, and USDA loans are currently assumable, but the Trump administration is exploring making Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans assumable as well, along with other options to make housing more affordable, like 50-year mortgages and portable mortgages (see below). In the meantime, Singh wants people to know that there’s no need to wait.

“Our main challenge is awareness,” he says. “I expected sellers would already be promoting this, listing their homes as ‘3% mortgage available!’ But many sellers don’t even realize they have an assumable loan. Neither do their agents. That’s when I knew there was an opportunity.”

Here’s more on how to make the most of assumable loans.