Seller Concessions in Georgia: How Much Can a Seller Pay?

Most buyers budget for the down payment and get surprised by everything else. Seller concessions in Georgia are one of the cleanest ways to shrink the cash you need at closing, and in a market where homes sit a little longer, sellers agree to them more often than buyers expect.

There are limits, though. Every loan program caps what a seller can contribute, and the cap depends on your loan type and your down payment.

What seller concessions actually are

A seller concession is money the seller agrees to credit toward your costs at closing. It comes out of the seller’s proceeds. You never receive it as cash.

Concessions can generally be applied to:

• Lender fees and third-party closing costs
• Attorney and title charges
• Prepaid items such as homeowners insurance, property tax escrow deposits, and prepaid interest
• Discount points or a temporary rate buydown

What they cannot do is fund your down payment, and they cannot exceed your actual costs. If the seller agrees to $10,000 and your costs total $8,000, the extra $2,000 does not come back to you.

Seller concessions in Georgia by loan type

Lenders call these interested party contributions. The limits are set by the loan program, not by Georgia law.

• Conventional, less than 10% down — up to 3% of the price
• Conventional, 10% to just under 25% down — up to 6%
• Conventional, 25% or more down — up to 9%
• Conventional investment property — up to 2%, regardless of down payment
• FHA — up to 6% of the sales price
• USDA — up to 6% of the sales price
• VA — the seller can pay your reasonable closing costs, and separately up to 4% of the home’s reasonable value in concessions, which covers items like prepaid taxes and insurance and the VA funding fee

The percentage is calculated on the lower of the sales price or the appraised value. That detail matters when an appraisal comes in under contract.

Why the conventional 3% cap catches buyers

A first-time buyer putting 3% or 5% down on a conventional loan is limited to a 3% seller contribution. On a $350,000 home that is $10,500, which usually covers most of the closing costs and prepaids but not always all of them.

The same buyer on an FHA loan could accept up to 6%. That difference is one of several reasons to compare loan types side by side before you write an offer. Our guide to closing costs in Georgia walks through the line items a concession would be paying.

Using a concession to lower your rate

A concession does not have to go only toward fees. It can pay for discount points that permanently reduce your rate, or for a temporary buydown that lowers your payment for the first year or two.

For a buyer who has the cash to close but wants a lower payment, this is often the better use of the money. A seller who will not drop the price by $8,000 will sometimes agree to $8,000 in concessions, and the payment impact can be larger. Before you choose, lock strategy matters too. Our explainer on mortgage rate locks covers the timing.

How to ask for seller concessions in Georgia

The request goes into your offer. In Georgia it is typically written into the purchase and sale agreement as a dollar amount or a percentage the seller will contribute at closing.

A few things make the request stronger:

• Ask for a number tied to real costs. Have your loan originator estimate your closing costs and prepaids first so you are not guessing.
• Mind the appraisal. Raising the price to cover a concession only works if the home appraises at the higher number.
• Read the market. A home that has been listed for 45 days is a different conversation than one with five offers the first weekend.
• Know your cap before you negotiate. Asking for 6% on a loan that allows 3% wastes leverage.

What concessions cannot fix

Concessions reduce cash to close. They do not change whether you qualify. Your credit, income, and debt-to-income ratio are evaluated the same way with or without them.

They also are not free in every case. A seller weighing two offers looks at the net, so a full-price offer with a 3% concession is competing against a slightly lower offer with none. Your agent and your loan originator should be running those numbers together.

The official program limits are published in each agency’s guide. Fannie Mae’s are available through its originating and underwriting resources.

The bottom line

Seller concessions in Georgia can cover a large share of your closing costs, your prepaids, or a lower rate. The limit depends on your loan type and down payment, and the request has to be in the contract.

Georgia Platinum Mortgage works with buyers in all 159 Georgia counties and compares roughly 80 wholesale lenders. Contact us today and we will show you the cap for your loan and the cost estimate to back up your offer.