Garden City homes with the payment math done before you tour.

Tricia Wallentine works Garden City hard. It is her focus, her home, and the community she has called home since 1998. Most buyers fall in love with a home first and find out the payment later. Here, Tricia finds the home and her lending partner runs the real numbers up front, including the 2/1 buydown that can lower the payment for the first two years.

Garden City firstHome base at Bear Lake Realty Inc, 206 N Bear Lake Blvd, Garden City

$555,000Median sale price in Garden City, September 2026 snapshot

One market, all inCabins, condos, lake homes, and lots in Garden City and around Bear Lake

435-799-4312Call or text Tricia directly about a home or a tour

Tricia Wallentine

REALTOR® · Bear Lake Realty Inc · Garden City, Utah

435-799-4312

Meet Tricia

Tricia has called the Bear Lake valley home since 1998, nearly three decades now. She raised her family in Garden City, she is still big in the community, and the people here know her because she is one of them. This is not a market she drives into for showings. It is home.

She works with Bear Lake Realty Inc, the established local brokerage right on Bear Lake Blvd in Garden City, so her clients get a true local, in the valley since 1998, backed by a hometown company.

What that means if you are buying, especially a second home:

You get Tricia herself. You are not handed off to a team member or an assistant. The agent you call is the agent who shows up.
She helps you find the right deal, not just any deal. Bear Lake has everything from lake view cabins to golf course homes to condos near the marina, and the right one depends on how you will actually use it.
She flags the things only a local catches. Which areas allow short term rentals and which do not. Which neighborhoods have easy year round access and which get interesting in the winter. HOA rules, water and septic versus city services, winterizing a cabin, and how far you really are from the marina, the beach, and the golf course. An out of area buyer finds those things out after closing. Her buyers find out before they write the offer.
Her reputation is local and personal. When you live where you work and your family is raised there, every client is a neighbor. That is how she treats them.

Garden CitySweetwater and the Golf CourseSwan Creek VillageHarbor VillageIdeal BeachWaterdanceRaspberry PatchLake View at Bear LakeBridgerland VillageLighthouse Pointe

Those are the Garden City communities and areas Tricia focuses on for buyers and sellers. Ask her what is moving in any of them and she will run it down for you.

Real listings from Bear Lake Realty, with the buydown math run

Actual current listings from Tricia's brokerage, Bear Lake Realty Inc, pulled from the brokerage featured listings on October 22, 2026, at three very different price points. They are listings of Bear Lake Realty Inc, not Tricia's own listings, and she can show you any of them, plus anything else on the Garden City market. Tap any home and both calculators below load with its real price.

Bear Lake Realty Inc

$415,000

941 N Newberg Pl #2, Garden City, UT 84028 · 2 beds · 3 baths · 1,800 sq ft · Condo · MLS #2089758

Across from Bear Lake State Park Marina, with lake and marina views. A tri-level townhome with decks, a patio, and a lower level built for gathering after a day on the water. A classic Bear Lake second home setup.

With a seller funded 2/1 buydown at 10% down and a 7.25% note rate: save $485 a month in Year 1 and $248 a month in Year 2. Seller cost to fund it: $8,804, which is 2.12% of the price.

Bear Lake Realty Inc

$555,000

410 W Yarrow Dr, Garden City, UT 84028 · 2 beds · 2 baths · 1,440 sq ft · MLS #2183816

Right at the Garden City median sale price from the September snapshot. This is the heart of the market here, the full time home and second home tier most buyers are shopping in.

With a seller funded 2/1 buydown at 10% down and a 7.25% note rate: save $649 a month in Year 1 and $332 a month in Year 2. Seller cost to fund it: $11,774, which is 2.12% of the price.

Bear Lake Realty Inc

$1,295,000

730 S Balsamorhiza Rd, Garden City, UT 84028 · 8 beds · 5.5 baths · 4,343 sq ft · MLS #2184953

The big gathering home tier. Eight bedrooms in Garden City, the kind of place built for multi family lake trips, reunions, and a second home that everyone in the family actually uses.

With a seller funded 2/1 buydown at 10% down and a 7.25% note rate: save $1,515 a month in Year 1 and $775 a month in Year 2. Seller cost to fund it: $27,473, which is 2.12% of the price.

Listing data and photos come from the Bear Lake Realty Inc featured listings page (MLS data via UtahRealEstate.com, updated October 22, 2026). These homes are listed by Bear Lake Realty Inc; they are not listings of Tricia Wallentine, whose own roster page showed no active listings on that date. Prices and status can change without notice, so confirm current status with Tricia at 435-799-4312 before you plan a trip around any of them. All information is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed accurate.

The 2/1 buydown, explained plainly

A temporary buydown lowers the buyer payment for the first two years. The note rate does not change. The difference is prepaid into an escrow account at closing, usually by the seller, and escrow tops up each payment.

Year 1

Payment is calculated at the note rate minus 2%. On a 7.25% note, that is a 5.25% payment for the first 12 months.

Year 2

Payment steps up to the note rate minus 1%, a 6.25% payment on that same example, for months 13 through 24.

Year 3 and after

Payment settles at the full note rate for the rest of the loan. If the buyer refinances early, unused escrow funds typically apply to the loan balance.

How the money actually moves

At closing, the seller deposits the total two year savings into a buydown escrow account. Each month, escrow adds the difference so the servicer receives the full payment, while the buyer pays the lowered amount. The cost is fixed and known on day one, which is why it is easy to compare against any other concession.

Sellers: two tools, one goal

A price cut and a buydown are two different tools for the same job, getting a qualified buyer to yes. A price cut lowers the price for every future comp. A buydown keeps the price and focuses the same dollars on the monthly payment, which is what most buyers actually qualify on. Neither one is the wrong answer. The right choice depends on the home, the buyer pool, and the appraisal. Tricia will run both side by side on your home so you can decide with facts.

Loan programs, in plain English

Utah and Bear Lake specific, because a lake home, a first home in Rich County, and a full time home in Logan do not all fit the same loan.

Most common

Conventional

The standard loan for buyers with solid credit. As little as 3% to 5% down for a primary home.

Best pricing usually at 20% down, with no mortgage insurance
Works for primary homes, second homes, and investment homes at different down payments
Gift funds and seller concessions allowed within program limits

Low down payment

FHA

A flexible option with 3.5% down and more forgiving credit guidelines.

Popular with first time buyers across Utah
Upfront and monthly mortgage insurance apply
Seller can help with closing costs within FHA limits

Veterans

VA

For eligible veterans, active duty service members, and surviving spouses.

Zero down for most eligible buyers
No monthly mortgage insurance
A funding fee applies unless the veteran is exempt

Rural Utah

USDA

Zero down for eligible rural areas and income qualified buyers. Much of Rich County and the Bear Lake area sits in USDA eligible territory, but every address must be checked.

Zero down when the home and household income qualify
Address and income limits apply, so ask before you assume
A good fit for full time homes outside the bigger Utah metros

Bear Lake specialty

Second Home

Bear Lake is a second home market, and those loans have their own rules.

Typically 10% down or more for a true second home
The home must be suitable for year round use and for the buyer personal use
Short term rental income usually does not count to qualify, so plan on your own income

First time and higher price

Utah Housing and Jumbo

Two ends of the spectrum, both common in Utah.

Utah Housing programs can help with down payment for qualified first time buyers
Jumbo loans cover prices above the conforming limit, common for lake view homes
Either way, the payment and buydown math on this page still applies

Run the numbers yourself

Both calculators are linked. Tap an example home above, or type any price, and both will update.

Full monthly payment

Home price ($)

Down payment (%)

Note rate (%)

Term

Property tax (% of price per year)

Home insurance ($ per year)

HOA ($ per month)

2/1 buydown calculator

Home price ($)

Down payment (%)

Note rate (%)

Buydown cost is the total principal and interest savings over Years 1 and 2. Check any seller paid buydown against the program interested party contribution limit for your down payment before you write the offer. That check happens on every scenario before an offer goes in.

What buyers say about the lending side

Borrower reviews from real closed loans, shared by the lending team at the bottom of this page.

★★★★★

“Friendly, people oriented and very kind”

Verified homebuyer, about Oliver Ames, the mortgage broker on this team

★★★★★

“Communication and follow-through were unmatched”

Verified homebuyer, about Oliver Ames, the mortgage broker on this team

One team, start to finish

Two people, one team. Tricia handles the home: the search, the showings, the offer, the negotiation. Oliver handles the loan: the numbers, the buydown, the closing. Either one of us can start the conversation.

Tricia Wallentine

REALTOR®

Bear Lake Realty Inc

206 N Bear Lake Blvd
Garden City, UT 84028
435-799-4312

Call Tricia

Oliver Ames

Mortgage Broker

Swift Mortgage

NMLS #1605202 · Swift Mortgage NMLS #1925754
Personally licensed in AZ & UT.
Me and my team cover 16 states, with select bank-direct programs available nationwide.

Text Oliver for your numbers