A few years ago, when Ben Johnson first started looking to buy a home, it was just bad timing. The housing market was hot and prices were skyrocketing. Then, mortgage rates spiked. And with his first child on the way, it seemed like there was no way that buying a home could be affordable.
That is, until Allen Edwin Homes unveiled a special program offering homebuyers below-market mortgage rates. All of a sudden, the timing got really good.
“It almost seemed like my back was against the wall in a way,” said Johnson, 36. “The fact I was able to get it down to 5.5%, that really kind of sealed the deal for me.”
Allen Edwin and My City Home Loans have come together and launched a special promotion to help prospective homebuyers solve the challenge of affordability. Because the mortgage rate has a big impact on a homeowner’s monthly payment, they decided to lower the cost by offering a discounted rate on Allen Edwin’s Move-In Ready homes.
The unique program is proving to be a success.
“Affordability is probably the biggest obstacle right now for a lot of people looking to purchase a home,” said James Eerdmans, CEO of My City Home Loans. “We’re taking some of the money that we’d ordinarily make from closing a mortgage and using that to buy the interest rate down.”

Here’s a look at how it works:
- Let’s say you’re looking at a $350,000 home loan with a 30-year mortgage rate at 7%. The monthly principal and interest payment on that would be $2,328.
- Now, with a 5.5% mortgage rate on one of Allen Edwin’s Move-In Ready homes, that monthly payment dips to $1,987.
- That’s a monthly savings of $341 – over $4,000 per year and more than $120,000 over the life of the loan!
The market rate for a 30-year, fixed mortgage was around 7% when Johnson was buying his new Allen Edwin home, and he was able to get a 5.5% rate through My City Home Loans. Now that the market rate has fallen to around 6%, rates available through the Allen Edwin promotion are even lower.
Whatever the market rate is, the rate through My City Home Loans will be 1-2% lower when you buy a Move-In Ready home.
“We’ve closed some loans in the high 4s with this promotion,” Eerdmans said. “It’s a big factor for people to get into a home with an affordable payment.”
Before Johnson moved into Allen Edwin’s Meadow View community in Adrian, he was looking at used houses. On two occasions, he actually had his offer accepted by the seller – only to have the deals fall through after home inspections turned up problems and the sellers refused to pay for repairs.
When he came across one of Allen Edwin’s Move-In Ready homes in Meadow View, he started thinking that maybe a new build was the best way to go. For one, the neighborhood is really nice. And the home itself has an open concept with light gray paint and white trim that’s all on trend.
Plus, the appliances all are new. The roof and windows are good for the next 20 or 30 years. And there’s a warranty for peace of mind.

Add in the best mortgage rate around and buying a new build with Allen Edwin just made sense.
“I think this is the safer way to go,” Johnson said. “Everything checked all the boxes for me. There’s not really any work for me to do here. The process has gone really smooth.”
Allen Edwin Homes has more than 100 homes available for occupancy in 90 days or less! With a new build, you don’t have to haggle with the seller over repairs or compete with other buyers that push the price higher and higher. You also don’t have to spend a fortune updating old flooring, fixtures or paint. And you don’t to have to worry about the furnace and air conditioner going bad anytime soon.
Check out the Move-In Ready homes available right now and find out just how low your mortgage rate could go when you buy with Allen Edwin and My City Home Loans.